5 Tips To Win Sneaker Trades On Tradeblock
Congrats!
So you FINALLY jumped on Tradeblock to refresh your sneaker closet. You've got plenty of pairs of kicks that you're willing to swap, and you're excited about the possibilities of what you can get in return. So you add all of the sneakers you're ready to part with to your closet. You already know how the app works. It's pretty simple — you explore other sneakerheads' closets to find the grails you want. Next, you send your trade offers to other collectors or wait for someone to send you one. Once connected, you negotiate an offer. After this, you both ship your shoes to their Tradeblock official authentication center. Once verified, you get your grails in the mail!
It all seems so easy, right?
Except there's a snag — for whatever reason, you can't seem to get a trade going.
Don't worry. You aren't alone.
It's not your shoes; it may just be how you're using the platform. This isn't your fault either. We're slowly rolling out a guide on the best practices of trading on Tradeblock, and we're glad you found us.
First of all, let me introduce myself – I'm Izzy, the Head of Content at Tradeblock. I've completed my fair share of trades on the platform, and Tradeblock users are dope! Everyone is on the platform to work something out, and depending on the deal, you may have to do a little negotiation.
The good news?
Negotiation is a skill that can easily be taught.
The quick backstory here: My first trade on Tradeblock was my used Air Jordan 1 Obsidian's for another trader's Used Air Jordan 1 Shattered Backboard 3.0's, and their Air Jordan 1 Low Gold Toes. The reason why I am bringing this is is to share how this trader did a masterful job of negotiating with me. He used several strategies that pushed me to get the trade done, including having quality pictures of his shoes, offering to pay my trading fee, and even looking at my wishlist to make sure that he offered a pair that was on there.
I proceeded to take those Shattered Backboards & Gold Toes and traded them at a local sneaker shop for a pair of deadstock A Ma Maniere 3's (this was when the price was around $300 for my size.) It was the come up of the century.
So with all that being said, welcome to class; here are five trade hacks on how to get to your first trade on Tradeblock.
1. Offer to pay someone's service fee
This is by far the easiest hack. Offer some bread on top of the sneaker trade! Sometimes the
easiest way to convince someone to accept your offer is to simply offer to pay their service fee.
When I was approached to trade my Air Jordan 1 Obsidian’s - I was super hesitant. Money was
tight and let’s face it, we’ve all been at a point where cash is low or you just don’t want to pay
more but sometimes a little nudge goes a long way.
I had initially said no but persistence is a virtue. The other party offered an extra $40 to cover
the Tradeblock fees on top of the two pairs of shoes. Not only did that balance the trade a little
bit, but it covered the fee that I didn’t want to pay. Could I have waited? Yeah. But with him
covering the fee, what was the point? It got the deal done and both parties were happy.
2. Let people know the reasoning behind your offer/decline
The messaging feature is so underused on Tradeblock. Some of my most successful trades
have been because of the constant communication that messaging the other trader gives.
Traders @sio_thomas and @jjkim57 do a great job of this. They both sent me messages asking
what a trade would look like and the process went very smoothly.
Think of going to a garage sale or flea market. You’re looking for a bargain so you need to talk
to the person on the other side to get a feel of what they’re looking for. That’s what messaging
someone does on Tradeblock. Allows you to negotiate real time without having to wait for the
offer, decline and counter. Streamlines the process so both parties are happy with whatever deal
goes down.
3. Expect to pay over 20% for premium items
Premium drops are a bit different. Sometimes people hoard these drops and only want them in
their closets. Sometimes people cop these to trade for general releases or vice versa. That said,
premium drops are usually more limited and because of this, may require giving up a little more
in order to get the deal done.
In our research, traders are more likely to give up their premium drops if you offer 20% over
value for them. I have a pair of A Ma Maniere Jordan 1’s on Tradeblock right now that I won’t
just give up for a general release. Keep in mind that premium drops are limited and harder to
get so whether you’re paying or trading, yesterday’s price is not today’s price.
4. Click the person's closet to view their willingness to trade and their wishlist
When you click on someone’s profile, there are two tabs under the follow and message buttons.
One is closet and is auto selected for you. If you click on the wishlist tab, the person's trade
wishlist pops up.
I refer to this as the holy grail of trading. You have everything you need at your fingertips.
Imagine a world where you’re really trying to get rid of a pair of deadstock Wave Runners that you
bought your ex but before you could give them the gift, you got dumped. You don’t want to stare
at those shoes. Could you sell them? Yeah. Could you light them on fire in spite of them? Yeah.
But you could also trade those same shoes for a grail of yours. Check out the traders that have
Wave Runners on their wishlist and trade them for something YOU want. No better feeling than
getting back at an ex, right?
5. Read Traders bio’s on their profile!!!
Sometimes the answer to a successful trade is right in front of you. People leave amazing
nuggets of information in their bio. Examples like, “Deadstock Only or I wear my shoes” can
move the process along a lot quicker. It honestly weeds out the people that may be interested in
a trade with you. Traders include shoes they’re looking for, specific sizes or even what shoes
they’re looking to move in their bio. Be sure to keep yours updated as well. If you’re looking for
offers, the easiest way to do that is keep your bio updated.
There you have it, five hacks to get your first trade on Tradeblock. Follow the steps I outlined
above to not only get your first trade but to ensure that more offers and trades are in your future.
What did I miss? Do you have any tips/hacks to get your first trade? Sound off on our social media channels.
And if you're not in our community yet, you can download the official Tradeblock app, available for free on iOS and Android today.
