Trading Your Cards by Mail

[jimivintage]

I have belonged to Vintage Card Traders (VCT) for 11 years, Old Card Traders (OCT) for almost the same length, and Dugout Traders for a few years, too. Three great vintage trading groups where all members have earned their rights to be in those groups. We are a small community of baseball fans who love old cards. It's not EBAY, but it's something to check out. You can certainly PM me if you are interested. Mostly set collectors, but a few other type collectors, too.

Good luck!

Jimi

[Exhibitman]

Send it tracked and insured to cover an unfortunate loss. That's really about all you can do. I've had very good luck with collectors here; peer pressure works wonders for ensuring honest trades

[HaloFan]

I've done it a few times. Probably more with non-sports cards. Had some issues when I traded with a guy and his daughter from Canada where the postal system is very different. Took awhile for the package to reach them. He sent me some emails in a panic after not receiving them for a couple of weeks(if I remembered). I went to the post office to investigate and they assured me it would get there. Started developing a plan on how to compensate him(and his daughter) for his loss, but then he told me that the cards had arrived and was pleased with the trade.

Communication is important. The cards I received in the trade weren't as vital to me as it had been for him and his daughter. They were trying to complete a set and I think I was trading extras. I haven't done any trades with high dollar or rare cards, but nonetheless even cheap cards can be valuable in a trade, so you have to treat the transaction the same.

Craig H.

[Wite3]

I have been a member of an online trading card group for nearly 25 years now (OBC) and have rarely had a problem (maybe one or two in that entire time consisting of literally thousands of cards traded). Trust is key and knowing who you are trading with and their reputation is very important. Even before trading within this group, I trusted and traded with people via the mail (Gar Miller, Lew Lipsett, Frank Frisch come to mind) and the internet (Len Mederios, Solomon Cramer). It was all about trust and reputation. I try very hard to protect both and my end and make sure that I do the same for my trading partners.

A few things I do to ensure the trade is legit and goes smoothly.

Start off small. Do not send your $1,000 card to an unknown. Start with a smaller trade and you can work your way up.

Ask for references. Many traders who still trade through the mail have been around for awhile. Get ebay, auction house, and other trade references that you can check on.

Send to a physical address with del. confirmation at the very least, no PO boxes for me UNLESS I know the person and trust them completely.

Ask to get your end of the trade first. Many honest traders and even some dealers will send your item first for inspection...be prepared though...they might turn the tables and ask for your references.

Hope this helps...

Joshua