Welcome back to Iron Bank’s trading post. Going a slightly
different direction with this one. Most of my posts here review specific
aspects of our league. However, this is one inspired by my time trying to trade
in this league.
One of the things that makes this league my favorite is the
diversity of the teams/owners. Every league has teams that fall all along the
win now/productive struggle spectrum. The part that makes this league special
is the variety of strategies within that spectrum.
There are struggle teams looking to build through picks/the
draft, others building on buzzworthy high potential prospects that just need
time to marinate, and others who invest in undervalued assets due to either
injury of public perception.
By that same token, the win now teams that weight the
importance of each position differently. Some are stacked at WR, some super
deep at RB, others invest heavily in getting the best 2 QBs they can get their
hands on.
This dichotomy of values and teambuilding approaches, in
addition to the level of activity of the owners in the league, leads to a rich trading
landscape (one that I frequent regularly). At this point, I have a pretty good
idea about what each owner is trying to do when they trade, the best way to
approach them, and what to expect from the dealings.
I’ve consolidated these to 9 archetypes of trading. In many
cases, owners are a blend of them, but fall primarily into one or another. I
won’t share who’s in which (unless you’d like to know, feel free to PM me on
Groupme).
1. Trade block or bust- These are your most Vanilla
traders. They post what they want to deal on their trade blocks. If an offer
comes in not around one of those pieces, it’s often declined without further
discussion beyond “not looking to move them.” Occasionally one of these “cold
calls” will bear fruit, but it’s best to stick to what they want to trade.
2. With a side of sass- Lots of owners I’ll send a
feeler offer to in order to gauge interest. These tend to be on the low side of
value, but everyone knows I’m game to negotiate. These owners, however, don’t
bother with such tactics unless you feel like catching hell for it. Their
approach is to respond to low/even offers with comments either in trade
responses or public chat indicating what a piece of shit the offer/you are.
Why? To get you to overpay of course! I tend to stay away from these owners
unless they clearly state their intentions for a move either via trade block or
mentions in chat.
3. Nickel and Dime- By far my least favorite type
of trader to deal with. Their approach is simple.
a.
Step 1- They want to trade player X or for type
of player Y, you send an offer
b.
Step 2- They like the offer, but they need a
little bit more, after negotiation, you give a bit more
c.
Step 3- A little bit later, they’re really
struggling with it, just need a bit more to hit accept, thinking it’s a done
deal, you add a bit more
d.
Step 4- They just can’t do it as constructed,
they watched more tape and really love this player unless you add more, you
walk away or continue perpetuating the cycle
Some of my worst trades were due to falling
into a trap associated with this approach, be mindful of what the other owner
is doing, know the price you’re willing to go up to and stick to it.
4. Hit or Miss- Another set of frustrating owners.
Not because of their approach to trading, but more that when you send them an
offer, it comes back with a decline with no comment or an accept with no
comment. No indication of what’s good, what’s bad, are you close, are you far
off. Nothing. One owner in this group
has indicated they do this on purpose to get an overpay, but this isn’t fun to
deal with. Giving some feedback won’t kill you, and it makes the offers you get
better.
5. Hard Days Night- As the archetype implies,
trading with these owners is like a hard days night and you’ll work like a dog
to get a deal done. It takes sending an offer, following up on that offer
multiple times, and usually doesn’t result in a deal. Kicking the tire on deals
with these owners is a good approach from time to time, but clear your schedule
if you expect to get a deal done.
6. Blood from a stone- One of my favorite quotes
when it comes to trading/sales/life is the foolish man laments the 99 that say
no while the wise man celebrates the 1 that says yes. With these owners, that
ratio skews a bit higher. You’ll get the 99 no’s still, but that yes is, like
the archetype implies, squeezing blood from a stone. You might get some, but
expect some of yours to be in there as well.
7. Take it or leave it- A very interesting set of
owners. As mentioned, most owners will send an offer on the low side and leave
room for negotiation. Not these. The offer sent may allow for a little wiggle
room, but is mostly take it or leave it. While sometimes refreshing to avoid
the haggle, often this take it or leave it bakes in a rather healthy profit for
the other owner, making it less of a win-win unless there’s an arbitrage to be
had
8. What would it take- These are my favorite owners
to make a deal with. They don’t send many offers, but you almost always get a
counter to an offer you sent them. For those of us who don’t subscribe to the “core
player” approach and that anyone can be traded, these owners are a godsend,
because even if we can’t come to a deal, I understand why.
9. Checking the Market- People must have been
wondering “gee Bank, where do you fall in this spectrum?” We’ve arrived. This
archetype (which I admit I belong to), focuses on testing the waters/feelings
of different owners on players. They send out a ton of offers to see which make
the most sense. Due to the volume of offers sent out, they tend to be the more
active traders in a league. Working with these owners is the equivalent of
antique picking. You’ll see a lot of stuff that’s either worthless or not
interesting, but eventually you’ll find a great deal that you need to jump at.
Anyways, those are my thoughts at this point. As usual, I
welcome any feedback people have or any other archetypes you think I missed.
