MATH TRADE: Discussion Thread

SuperflyTNT wrote: So, I just participated in a BGG math trade, got 7 bites. Here's the rub....

I spent 100$ in shipping for 7 games. I gave up 7 games, as well.

I got Rush and Crush, Subbuteo, Coup G54 (wOOt), Rush n' Crush, X-Files (the Clue-like card game, not the board game), King of Tokyo, Five Fingered Severance, and the latest iteration of DungeonQuest.

I'm thinking that I could've picked up X-Files, KoT, FFS, Coup, and Dungeonquest for 100$, easily. Subbuteo, probably not in the budget.

So, why the fuck am I doing math trades? The answer: I'm fucking retarded. I think I'm done trading for the most part. I keep looking at it like I'm giving up X for Y but in reality, I'm giving up X for (Y - $15.00). Sure, the other guy is too, but that just means that we're both kind of dense.

With shipping rates as they are, if the game won't fit into a flat rate USPS box it's no longer worth the expense to place it in a math trade, at least for me.

At this point, the only allure of these trades seems to consist of hoping that someone fucks up their want list and launches an awesome trade chain for everyone else.

Everything else is just the predictable scenario: downtrade if you want anything, and don't overdo it or prepare for massive shipping charge hemorrhage for a bunch of used games.

I like the F:AT math trades, even after shipping, because I generally like the people here. I don't mind dropping a few extra bucks to get a game to the forum frequents. I find it less much rewarding to drop those dimes on shipping to some random person I have no connection with. You all can probably rely on me to participate in future F:AT math trades, but that just might be all the shipping cost I'm interested in fronting going forward. I mean that in the best possible way.