A Nameless Trade

 I am not going to share the "who" this TCDB trade was with, but not because it was a bad trade, but because it raised a question for me, and I'd be curious what others think.

Does it matter to you if you are trading with someone who is collecting for themselves, or if they are either a flipper, or looking to sell cards they trade for?

Here is what I got...

Showing the back of the couple serial numbered Jays cards as that's important, and why I picked up the trade - they mean something to me and fit my collection nicely.

What I gave up was a non-rookie Topps flagship base Ohtani card. Nothing too fancy, and understandably worth a few dollars. I am happy with the trade, and that's the important part to me.

The only reason I paused in the first place was because I did a trade with the member not too long ago for a copy of the same Ohtani card. Again, I was happy with that trade too, so don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining about what I got out of it. It did leave me a little gun shy on the trade though as I had this tinge of wanting to get the card to someone who would appreciate it in their collection, rather than trying to flip it for a few dollars.

I think it's fair to say, I'd happily settle for a little less in a trade to help someone with a card for their collection, versus maximizing what I get out of it. I also look at what I am really into the cards for - my cost, whether I should or not, when doing a trade.

As you all know if you follow me along here, many of the cards I have for trade, in all honesty, cost me a penny give or take because of the lots they come from - and frankly, most of those lots paid for themselves with the sale of a card or two that I lucked out getting in each.

The result - happy to share the benefit in trades with people collecting for themselves...not so easy for me to want to share with someone looking to sell the card to someone else who is the collector. I prefer cutting out the "middleman" as it were.

It doesn't mean I will never trade with people who are sellers - but I would lean towards collectors if I knew and had to choose between the two.

DO you have any such preferences? Does it impact your trades if you know why the person you are trading with is wanting the card(s)?