trade requests

i've keep getting 'trade' requests from people the day they sign up on DG - i never would have considered doing that myself, so maybe i'm overreacting thinking it's a little pushy....anyone else having the same experience?

I'm a Newbie and wouldn't have considered it being pushy if I thought I had something a person really would want, but I'm headed for the Kentucky Round up which resulted in me getting my feet wet in a hurry.

I have however noticed at least one Newby who may not be "legit" and if I'm right there are may people being taken advantage of big time. It would be nice to be able to point this kind of situation out to a long time member or Dave so maybe a descreet check could be made.

I would see nothing wrong with requiring the person making a trade request to mail theirs first including proof of mailing. If they are a newbie, and they initiate the request, that would make a more equitable trade. And once you receive their trade you can post on their feedback and they won't be quite such a newbie anymore. I've been trading for two years now, and if I initiate the contact especially with someone who wasn't making an offer, I wouldn't be offended by being asked to send first. I started it, I should be willing to take the risk.

judyc - you can contact Dave anytime you like either in the Dave's Garden forum or by emailing him. Just click on his name to reach his member page.

You're probably getting them b/c you have a trade list posted. I get alot of trade requests too, especially from non-paying subscribers.

If you want to avoid the problem, you can just keep your trade list on hand, but not posted and supply it whenever you want to use it.

I havnt posted my trade list only cuz I usualy trade at the spur of the moment and I dont have anything (yet) in large supply. I do get requests about things I have posted for trade or sase in the forums. I dont mind, even when Ive posted at the top of the thread that everything is gone, because I think that if ya dont ask how do you know I dont have at least something similar and the worst I can do(or someone do to me) is say no or laugh a bit, no biggy.
Maybe Im not getting inundated like it seems some of you are, I get maybe one or two a month if that.

Is it possible that alot of people join DG in order to do trades, so they can't wait to start once they become members?

thanks everyone for your feedback! i've deleted my lists - i think it'll be much easier for me to offer, as i've done in the past, rather than remember to update the trade list.

Perhaps people visit DG for a long time without signing up, then they see something that they want or become interested in trading and that motivates them to sign up. Myself, I give away seeds for SASE, but I don't have anything listed in my plant trade list. For those, I just wait until I see where someone is wanting what I have.

I am a newbie and I thought trading was just part of DG. I did not know you have to be a member for a certain amount of time before you can trade.In fact I think trading is one of the great things about DG. I personally have not put a trade list up because my computer is so slow and I started my Journal but I haven't really done anything else yet. I would hate to think I offended anyone.Maybe who ever it is needs to know your feelings about them or at least know they are being a little pushy .

cceamore, there are NO restrictions about how long you have to be a Subscriber in order to trade... It's just that as we have grown, a few folks have abused the system and have taken unfair advantage of others.

I understand that but don't let a few bad apples spoil our tree. I am new and I too have reservations about trading but you don't have to do anything you don't want to and you can always say no or all your plants are already traded if its somebody your not sure about.
Darius-
This is off the subject but my brother use to live in Ashville .He had bought his dream house next to the national forest with a trout stream running through his back yard but he only got to enjoy it for 2 years before he passed away
of congested heart failure.He was only 36 years old. I have not been back up to Ashville since but you sure live in a beautiful place.

cc... sorry about losing your brother,,, but I'll bet he died happy in the place he wanted to be... it's truly beautiful.

I know he did That is the only thing that gives me comfort.I know he was happier than he had ever been there. Thanks for your sentiment.

Different people have different personalities. Because we weren't all raised in the same household, we likely all think differently and have different ways of accomplishing our individual goals. While our goals concerning new plant aquisition arelikely similar, the way we make the first contact may differ greatly. Sometimes we loose all sense/control of ettiquette. Not everybody was required to read Emily Post cover-to-cover. I know I've caused near fatal accidents doing U-turns on busy highways at rush hour to go back and pick some seeds on the right-of-way. And other times my glee to get a cutting here or there has failed. Sometimes my enthusiasm comes off in a way other than how I intended. Perhaps they "read me" as being threatening. I don't come with an instruction manual or an emotional translator. This covers most of the in-person contact.

Contact via email is a another plethora of variables. I usually try to read what I scribble before posting or sending the email. I ask myself "How would I react if somebody emailed me this mess?". When I receive an email written in a style other than my own, I don't perceive the sender as a bad apple. Though big drama can often compensate for lousy communication on Dysfunctional Reality TV talk shows, I'm not in the garden to improve my ratings. When I receive an email that is offensive, I delete it without replying. When someone tries to serve me something unplatable, there is no law which decrees I must touch/eat/swallow it. You don't have to absorb & reply to every email that comes your way. Delete it and move on.


Or maybe there's another option; gee, that would mean out of the millions of possibilities, the answer isn't the one I most want to believe.


Just my honest opinion. -dave

This message was edited Oct 2, 2004 12:38 PM

I have only been a member since last spring. The people I have dealt with are ordinary folks, like me that want to have someone enjoy the increase in their plants. Also I like to make a "newbie" happy and glad to be a part of Dave's Garden. I have always loved gardening but could not always afford the plants available. I have a minor problem in that I need to have postage reimbursed. If not for that, I will happily mail anything to anyone. I must admit, I am amazed at the gerenosity of some people who have plants I can only dream about, who mail me seeds.