How do you prepare for a trade offer?

[Vegeto25]

I was hoping to get some input on how to best prepare a trade offer and I thought some other people may benefit from/be interested in the discussion.

If I am trading nons I usually try to offer 1 to 1 and I try to keep them in the same ranking(REV). In the past I would concern myself with what rarity level they were(R1-5) but I've gotten away from that now that there are less generics. When trading Uniques or Super Rares I usually use Ebay and check the average of the top 15 or 20 auctions(or I check Ol' Dut's guide). If there is a minor difference$3-5_ in Unique Prices I'll try to pad it with a couple of Nons (or extremely low end Unigues/LEs like Parasite or MM LEs). If there is a bigger difference(say$5 or more I'll go for a Mid-to-lower end Unique. If it gets close to a $10 or more difference I will offer or ask for an additional descent unique.

I was wondering what tactics other people use to trade/negotiate?

[BudPalmer]

You nailed my thoughts on the subject. Though I do tend to throw extra nons around like they are candy.

[Vegeto25]

I'll do that too. Especially when someone asks for a bunch of Rookies because they run tournaments and give them out to kids. Heck Yeah I'll help out some kids!

[ThunderRun]

Dunno if this is the spirit of the thread, but I'll divulge my method.

If I'm just trying to get rid of a particular piece, what I'll do is first look for sales threads to see if it's in there and browse eBay. That way, I can get a good idea of what market value is. I do this for all my pieces, just to try and ensure that I'm aware of how much its worth and if someone making an offer to me is trying to rip me off.

I also tend to search through the forums more than post my own threads. Posting my own threads has rarely, if ever, gotten me anywhere, unfortunately.

[TMNT99]

that's all well and good, and usually i do that too but....

sometimes desire just plays to much into it. for instance, i really want Catwoman Halley Berry Le right now. I would trade heavy for her right now.

on the other hand, it may cost you 6.00 to buy nenora, but she's almsot worth a very good Veteran in my opinion.