I love trading. I really do. But, sometimes it just pisses me off dealing with people who are either too full of themselves or simply just ignorant. Now, I'm not here to accuse people or discriminate anyone. I'm bringing up this topic as a learning point on how people can be when it comes to trading and when especially, the deal involves cash, it's best to be aware of yourself and the people you are dealing with.
Let's start off with the worst of the bunch; these people make it into the blacklist I have on a local forum for their selfish action and it really spoilt my day then when I have to deal with their selfishness. However, for the sake of non-disclosure of personal information, I'm only putting the scenarios and not their personal information.
Guy A, [17/5/13]
Blacklisted reason:
Decided to pull out of trade after rearranging the dates to his convenience and after that irresponsibly backed out with the reason as quoted, "plans have changed. I can't make it today"; And "I think I don't want to buy already." when I called him on 17/5/13, 7.01pm, even after inquiring him for a more convenient date and time. If he genuinely have a change of plans, he should have just informed me in advance.
(24th May 2013: I decided to entertain him once more but this guy pushed his luck. He keep changing his trade orders and timing when I told him only at 4.30 today. After awhile I simply got fed up and cancelled the deal upon request and agreement of my friend (some were my friend's cards). He went on to hurl insults and vulgarities when I told him to mind his trading ethics.)
If in case you wonder why I did this, it's more than just to get even with him. My reasoning is simple, treat others the way you want to be treated. Throughout the entire situation, he showed no remorse despite that minor apology message which didn't sound convincing. After repeated reminder to stick to the posted message on the forum and our agreed deals, he continued to disturb me throughout the day. In the end, it was a last straw that I decided to teach him a lesson. Later I found out that he was a secondary school kid and has irritated quite a number of traders and even the more reputable ones are also afraid to deal with him for his nuisance attitude.
(3rd August 2013: Suddenly received a message in caps at around 9pm complaining that he was blacklisted and about how I think I am right, calling me names like "little prick". He then went on to quote a Shakespearean quote from Romeo and Juliet, "Thou detestable maw , thou womb of death", as an insult. literally implying that I killed him with my mouth. Ironic that he can still send me a text message and all. As seem learnt as he is, I'd rather him not waste his time on me and put his talent on better use in the society. Last checked post my 2nd update regarding him, his reputation as a trader isn't at all great.)
Guy B, [23/8/14]
Blacklisted reason:
I messaged him the day before asking him if trade is confirmed and called him 5x prior to the scheduled meeting time, but no reply; "M1 customer not responding". So no replies means what? You're backing out? Busy? MIA? I don't want assume anything first but please respond to my message or calls. At least let me know on your end and not leave the other party cliffhanging. If u are busy, I can rearrange another deal; If you want to back out from the deal, it's fine. But, what is the meaning of this?
So as you can see, the above 2 cases is when people decided to strike a deal with me, then decided to disappear or even better, for the first case, decided to revoke his deal and later postpone it once I threatened to make the situation public. Please, you all are better than this. Please do not follow their actions. In plain words, you're just being a dick.
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Okay, in the next of the list, I have many scenarios that pissed me off when dealing with some of the local players and even some of the overseas traders that I have met. There are minor quirks that can take off the otherwise mostly positive trading experiences, but there is 2 kinds which really irritates me. As again, it's not to discriminate anyone, so no personal information will be revealed.
- Lowballing / haggling
I have met people who loves to squeeze out any amount of discount possible. Really, I have actually met people who actually haggles when buying bulk rare pieces from me! Generally I'll give the appropriate discounts to make the deal a good one, but sometimes these people will go as far as to asking for 50% or worse, even up to 80% off from the quoted price (mind you, I'm still talking about bulk rares which I sell $0.50 to $1 a piece...)
I know and I have said in a much earlier article here about how trades should be fair; normally I don't mind being at the slight losing end to earn a regular trading partner, which I would eventually get to have better negotiation grounds for fairer trades, but some are really just out to squeeze every penny out from your well intentions... So, being nice sometimes isn't right huh.
Let's see another scenario I have encountered; I have a regular who always want to take in my bulk rares at a very low rate compared to what prices I have posted. But, on the good side is that he will normally buy about 100 - 200 pieces. Initially I folded to have him as a trading partner (as mentioned above) then eventually, I requested to use TCG Mid or any other pricing websites to get a fairer trade deal. Then this happened.
343 rares (bulk to $1.50) for the following:
- 1x Polluted Delta
- 1x Bloodstained Mire
This was the initial trade proposal. Just to give you a rough idea, the valuation he made was about $0.10 a piece, as opposed to the range of prices I have posted on forum. I have to admit I was annoyed and even irritated after calculating the valuation of the trades on both side. I objected to the proposal and requested for re-negotiation. The following were the other proposed trades:
- 1x Bloodstained Mire
- 2x Overgrown Tomb
- 1x Bloodstained Mire
- 3x Overgrown Tomb
- 1x Bloodstained Mire
- 4x Overgrown Tomb
Eventually, the trade was settled with the following cards.
- 1x Bloodstained Mire
- 1x Polluted Delta
- 4x Overgrown Tomb
- 1x Temple of the False God
- 1x Siege Rhino
At this point, I'm still at the losing end of $40 of value. However, I still accepted the trade for 2 reasons.
- No matter how I look, the cards I am trading out are still considered bulk or near bulk range. It will be difficult to get them at full value if I were to individually sell out. Also, given the time factor for trading and sell those cards out, my work hour will depreciate if I hold out longer. As a trader, I have to also consider those options and not just look at the face value of the cards.
- No matter what it is, I value trading partnerships more than the face value of cards. It's better to have another ally than someone who works against you. Dealing in such trades like bulk rare is actually really simple; many people can actually just start off tomorrow and honestly, their collection are definitely bigger and have more capital than me to win me. So, business point, I rather be diplomatic in most cases unless the person is being a dick to me like the ones I blacklisted.
I'm sorry if this comes out as a rant post. The point I'm trying to drive here is that we, as a community, love Magic: the Gathering. That's already one thing we have in common as a whole that brought us together to meet, play and trade. So why try to break this community? It's really upsetting to see people behaving like this, ripping off or lowballing other people just for personal gains or even worse, for money.
Speaking of ripping... Do read the excerpts below. Oh yeah, for the part below, I'm not censoring any names because I feel that these people deserve to be known for their actions and should be avoided.
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| Boxed is a black-listed post I made which summarised the entire story. The post below it is the full consolidation that MTG players in Singapore have made about his deeds and details. The case isn't closed though |
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| The original Poster of this thread is a friend of mine; He knows the guy for a few years and looking through the post, he is known to have such shady dealings. That's all I am going to talk about... |
Question is why? Why these people want to be dicks and start scamming, ripping and even go as far as to sell fakes to others?
Seriously people, don't be dicks to other people. There is karma even if you don't believe in it.
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