Chase insert ethics

[keithwilliams]

Here's a genuine question for you all:

Is it OK to shop a hot insert and get far more than the card will ultimately be worth? 

I'll give 2 real examples of what I'm talking about, though there are several recent cases that we could mention (Satin, anyone?).

First, when the May League Leaders inserts came out, I immediately bought some packs and was fortunate to pull both Kluber and Romo in one pack, about 5 packs in. These are brand new cards (like 10 minutes new), but the article announcing them clearly stated that they would be 3000 and 2750 card counts respectively. There was a guy in the comments on that article offering Altuve Diamond Bowman (22) for both cards. I offered him the trade, and he accepted.

Second, Zack Wheeler EC had been in packs for 3-4 days, and was showing a card count of only 33 yesterday. When the Twitter packs came out, I bought them like crazy, and in the first batch I got one Wheeler that I immediately locked down since I'm chasing the set and had been trying to trade for him unsuccessfully. When the evening Twitter packs dropped, I actually pulled three more. So I unlocked him, and posted on fan feed that he was available for trade. Offers flooded in, and I eventually accepted two of them--one where I got Fielder Bowman (65) and Fielder sig (200) with me adding some more cards including Braun sig, and another that was Wilson sig (200) for Wheeler, 1-1. 

In both cases, I knew that the card counts were going to go up, and the value of the cards I was holding was going to go down, but I was trading the cards based on the current market value and only taking what people were willing to give. 

Should I feel bad about that, or is this just the way the game works?

[jrb92aggie]

That's the feeding frenzy the market creates. You clearly got offers from veterans with the cards to trade -

[beck0420]

Jun 4, 2014 11:06:41 GMT -5 keithwilliams said:

Here's a genuine question for you all:

Is it OK to shop a hot insert and get far more than the card will ultimately be worth? 

I'll give 2 real examples of what I'm talking about, though there are several recent cases that we could mention (Satin, anyone?).

First, when the May League Leaders inserts came out, I immediately bought some packs and was fortunate to pull both Kluber and Romo in one pack, about 5 packs in. These are brand new cards (like 10 minutes new), but the article announcing them clearly stated that they would be 3000 and 2750 card counts respectively. There was a guy in the comments on that article offering Altuve Diamond Bowman (22) for both cards. I offered him the trade, and he accepted.

Second, Zack Wheeler EC had been in packs for 3-4 days, and was showing a card count of only 33 yesterday. When the Twitter packs came out, I bought them like crazy, and in the first batch I got one Wheeler that I immediately locked down since I'm chasing the set and had been trying to trade for him unsuccessfully. When the evening Twitter packs dropped, I actually pulled three more. So I unlocked him, and posted on fan feed that he was available for trade. Offers flooded in, and I eventually accepted two of them--one where I got Fielder Bowman (65) and Fielder sig (200) with me adding some more cards including Braun sig, and another that was Wilson sig (200) for Wheeler, 1-1. 

In both cases, I knew that the card counts were going to go up, and the value of the cards I was holding was going to go down, but I was trading the cards based on the current market value and only taking what people were willing to give. 

Should I feel bad about that, or is this just the way the game works?

its just the way the game is played...you get what people are willing to give for them. I dont even offer trades anymore....i will only accept or decline them after spamming the trade feed

[rockchalk88]

I think it's fair because well when you're chasing a set, it's gonna happen to you.

I gave up A LOT chasing the Bowman set... which is why I didn't feel bad trading away extra Mays for sigs for the HOF Heroes. I also saw that Wheeler EC was being pumped out yesterday and I ended up getting a Getz sig plus some other cards of value that I wanted.

I think it balances itself out and you'll end up using those cards to acquire cards in a chase you'll want later down the line.

By the way, some of these people have said "I have the cards to acquire this and I'll do whatever it takes."

They know...

[purplefanatic14]

Free market economy dictates the price over time. Milton Friedman would say you were operating from a position of more complete market knowledge than the others. Did I mention I'm an economics dork on the side?

[TylerFeth]

Jun 4, 2014 20:26:17 GMT -5 purplefanatic14 said:

Free market economy dictates the price over time. Milton Friedman would say you were operating from a position of more complete market knowledge than the others. Did I mention I'm an economics dork on the side?

Shhhh, my Economics degree is also a secret.

Both examples are fair game. Value can be dictated by what someone is willing to pay. I've been screwed by this(the laughable Satin prices) and have benefited(pulled an early Gray sig and had an offer of Fielder sig that I took). 

I think maybe the only problem would be if you, or anybody really, was out advertising the card at a ridiculous price. But if you just advertise you have the card and someone over offers, it's difficult to turn that down. Hell, we have a "Steal Trades" thread that proves this.

[Vicious1]

I think it's fair game and if someone wants the latest and greatest thing then so be it...it's natural that people will overpay. I overpaid for Wheeler FC and I'm happy with the deal because it allowed me to focus on something else. Of course I could've waited for the price to drop but I didn't thats the price I was willing to pay. The value of time and effort freed up to work on another set was well worth it to me.

Basically what I'm trying to say is if someone is willing to offer a lot for something let them...haha.

[davidg200]

My two cents here is that there is no really right or wrong answer. Everyone is different and assesses value differently depending on their interest here, i.e.: PTS or collecting or both. I get crazy offers and I am sure some people have said I make crazy offers. It's difficult to follow trade etiquette when value is so diverse here.

[agee1131]

It's the basic law of supply and demand. When a card is new and hard to get it should cost more.