Trading Up

Trading is a fixture in the sports world. This applies in the real-life game, online spin offs, and, above all, card collecting. Collectors love to trade up - giving dozens of worthless or little-loved cards for a diamond in the rough. Personally, I do this all the time. Recently, I handed off a few dozen low-level Pokemon cards (!) for a quintuplet of NHL Pro Set, Topps, Score, and O-Pee-Chee cards. All I did was flood my fellow collector with options, and one was bound to stick. I walked away from the deal with $20 worth of Hall of Famers -

- 1992 O-Pee-Chee Nicklas Lidstrom

- 1991 Score Jarome Jagr

- 1991 Topps Mark Messier

- 1990 Pro Set Mark Recchi

- 1991 Pro Set Dominik Hasek Rookie

I'd say it was a pretty good deal! Still, above all, you have to be willing to compromise. Bend but don't break. You don't want to get ripped off, and the other person doesn't, either. Give them what they want, so you get what you want. Complex, right? It's actually really simple. For example:

Your "foe" wants, say, an Alex Ovechkin card, and you're dying for a Crosby. Duplicates are helpful. They give security, if you will. It's a back up, almost like a spare tire. Say you have two Ovechkin's. Give them one, and take a Crosby back in return. Maybe you can get something else, too. After all, it's Ovechkin! See? Simple.