Where Do You Trade?

[Gryphonic]

Now that the Trading Hub's been out for a while I'm curious just how many of us use it, for what kind of trades (bloodswaps, CBs, rares, bulk, what have you), and whether anyone prefers it to the Trading forum threads or vice versa.  

I'm also curious about any trends you all might have noticed so far.  I've seen a few anecdotes about offers being taken down quickly, or things offered that do not match the request at all, or wildly unreasonable requests.  Those things happen in forum trading too, but I was wondering if they're more common outside the forum, and if anyone posts different kinds of trades in different places because of it.  Let's try to keep it non-ranty, though.  🙂

Personally I've just been using the hub to trade for Papers because it's easy to search for them, and I obviously don't have to check lineages.  If I want to bloodswap something, or have a very specific 'Want', I use the forums still. 

[Aalbiel]

I personally use Trading Hub the most, because it's very convenient. (Pagination issues aside). I still occasionally use the forums (or Discord) to organise IOUs, or if I have a bigger ask that might take longer to fill and I want it to be more visible (again, pagination issues).

 

I have certainly seen a lot of wild asks, especially to do with new releases. To be frank I think all the things to do with undervaluing or overvaluing stuff are much more common on the Trading Hub than they are on forums, because it's a different population. On forums you mostly get people who have been trading for a long time, know more or less the value of things and all the lingo. On DC you get every player, including all those that have never set foot on forums and were probably baffled by some of the "wants" abbreviations.  If you played solo up to now, how are you to know CB is "good" and messy is "bad"? (I think those value judgments are bad themselves but it is what it is).

[olympe]

Personally, I hardly ever trade (unless it's for holiday mates, which usually results in bloodswaps) - but I like to gift. The trading hub is perfect for this, as you get responses within a couple of minutes. (And, yes, technically it is trading because I need to ask for a dummy egg.)

[The Dragoness]

I try to use both to get more exposure for my trades. In my opinion, both methods have pros and cons, so I can't really say one is "better."

[Jazeki]

Lately, I've been using the trading hub more because I get quicker responses. But sometimes I post in both. And my gifts end up going to the Departure Thread usually.

[Labyrinthian]

I like using the forums because I can link people to wishlists and my signature allowed people to know I accepted IOUs (even though explicitly offering/accepting this isn't allowed on the forums and it's actually no longer in my signature); I also don't particularly like the character limit to what you can put on the Trading Hub - unless this has been increased or removed since I last tried it out. While there is an option to search by breed for what I want on the Hub, I do like threads that aren't limited to one breed but still narrow down what's being offered, metallics, prizes, rares, CBs, etc.

[Kaini]

I'll use the hub because it's quicker. If I have lengthy wants or the dragon offered has an important lineage (that makes it rare rather than just the egg itself) I'll still cross-post to the forums.

[WildestRose]

I usually use the hub, because I find that I get plenty of responses way quicker, and when I'm looking for something specific, I can just search through the system instead of having to look through pages of forum posts to see if anyone's trading what I want.

 

However, if I have a more lengthy/detailed request that can't fit onto the "Wants" section, I'll post it onto the forums. This doesn't happen too often though, because often I'm only looking for one specific thing.

[Predat0rs]

Lately, definitely more of the Trading Hub. It's quick and easy. I don't have to format a post. I'll still peruse the Forum trades, but rarely make my own posts anymore. If something really needs to be formatted (ex: I need something very specific, or have a long "Want" list) I'll post it up. Also if a trade has been up in the Hub for a while without any pokes, I'll post it up to get it moving along. Basically, Trading Hub has taken over my trading habits.

[Moonlight_Eevee]

I mainly use the trading hub strictly now. It's simple and easy and I don't have to constantly check my trades to see if people have offered yet

[HeatherMarie]

I've been using the Trading Hub the most lately, because I've been wanting a few specific breeds that I was very close to scroll-goals with, so those wants could (sort of) fit in the very-limited Want box. If I'm not after one or two specific breeds I'll post on the forums because I can point to my sig-list, which gives people a lot more options to offer and (possibly) gives me more options to accept from. I also think the forums are better when it comes to specifying exactly what you want, if what you want isn't confined to 100 characters... On the forums I can mention that I don't want lineages with a specific dragon, and I can put a disclaimer that I'm looking for *really* messy lineages and certain 'semi-messies' are not what I'm looking for. In that way I think the forum might be better if you are looking for something specific, and I get a *lot* less unwanted offers when I only post on the forum, probably in part because I can be that specific about what I want. 

 

I also think that, in general, forum members know more about the relative value of different things, so posting on the forum might get more equal-value offers. I mean I know a lot of people have seen the Trading Hub trades with a common messy asking for a CB rare and such, I think most people who are familiar with forum-trading wouldn't do that. It works the other way, too: I ask for messy commons, and if I post in the Hub I've gotten multiple offers of messy uncommons/rares, possibly because those people don't know what is and isn't considered common.

[osmarks]

I use both on the same trades - the hub for visibility to the wider DC audience and the forums because pagination.

[hedy]

I haven't been trading much lately, but when I do, I usually use the Hub. It's quick and easy for simple trades, but when I want to trade for bloodswaps etc., I like to use the forum, so my trade doesn't disappear instantly. I like to browse both the forum and the hub for interesting trades though.