I can't hold this in any longer (griping inside)

[nigel-bigel]

Something has been bugging me for almost two weeks now, and I just have to get it off my chest. I hesitated to do this because it seems like there have been a barrage of negative posts on the boards lately, and I don't want to seem like I'm beating a dead horse. But if I don't say this I'm going to either get bitter or quit trading, and I don't want either of those things to happen. Okay, you've been warned, so here goes...

I now know why people send out Pinpics trade requests that are embarassingly lopsided! It is because they aren't going to take the time to make thoughtful offers when they won't even receive the courtesy of a reply!

Several weeks ago I sent out requests to 22 people, and only heard back from five. F-I-V-E. Of those, 2 became trades, 2 were no thanks, and one I had to turn down b/c I made the same trade w/someone else. I spent a good amount of time before those offers went out to make offers as balanced as I could. I only offer an LE for an LE, but I'm not one to worry about edition sizes, unless they are super high or super low. (For instance, I would offer a 5000 for a 2000 if they had the same general supply/demand ratio. In this case I was offering LEs of -I think- 2000, 2500, and 5000)

What is interesting about this is that the following week I sent out a batch of offers of mostly rack pins for other rack pins for my DDs collection. Of the 12 requests that went out, over half responded,(and not one person said no thanks!). While this is still an unacceptable rate of response (didn't these people learn anything from their mothers?) it is intersting that it is still over twice the rate of my LE offers.

I think Pinpics is such a great tool, I'm certainly not slamming them. Also I've met and traded with some warm and wonderful people I have met through Pinpics - there are certainly good people there.

And I know there have been numerous threads regarding people who don't respond the offers. But I just don't get it. Why would someone even get involved w/Pinpics if they can't muster the energy to type "no, thanks"? And the wildest thing is not getting responses from people I've traded with before! We have a history of trouble-free trades, we've left refereces for each other at Dizpins, and then they ignore me?!?! (For the record, I've never had a problem with a trade. My pins have always arrived in a timely fashion in excellent condition. Noone has ever complained to me about *anything*.)

I really don't get this. But I'm getting pretty frustrated combing through Pinpics trying to present fair offers when I feel like I'm going to be ignored anyway. I certainly see how it would be easier to check off every possible trade (rack for LE) and not care how ridiculous it is because the only people I will have contact with will be the ones who accept my offers.

Why should I respect their time to read my offer when they aren't going to respect my time to make it?

Well, that's over with. Do I feel better? Not really, maybe a tinge. Thank you for letting me unload. And please, if you have any suggestions for me, I'd like to hear it.

Nicole

 

[Dom13]

I know I have been guilty of this in the past. There are times that life gets a little too hectic and I just don't have the time to respond to 25 e-mails. In the past few months I have had to deal with the death of my grandfather, Christmas, a trip to WDW, a trip to Baltimore, increasing demands at work, design work for PinPics and MousePins, and my nephew being diagnosed with a speech disorder. There have been several times I didn't even have the time to respond to regular e-mails let alone ones about pins! To that end about 3 weeks ago I took myself off the TA. I realized I could not keep up with things and I just turned it off. My lack of response had NOTHING to do with the fairness of the trade. It was simply life getting in the way. If I offended anyone I'm sorry. It took me a couple of weeks to realize it was just too much. When things calm down and I get a chance to update my pins I will turn it back on.

In the TA's defense I am sure there are a fair number of inactive e-mail addresses in there. I am also certain there are a fair numkber of persons that are not in to pins any more and do not bother to remove themsleves, maybe they do not know how or that they can, from the TA.

 

[n2mm]

Nicole, I totally agree with you. I, too, am new at this TA stuff. It took me 6 hours to set up my pinpics last weekend and was eagerly ready to do some trading. So, being totally out of control, off the offers went, over 50 of them to 30 different members. I tried hard to be fair, just a couple of times I messed up and sent a lopsided offer (didn't know I could delete it before it went out). For example, Monster's openning day LE 2000 for a Return to neverland LE 2000--no go. Oh well. Out of my 50 requests I received 2 trades. I did better than you and did receive 15 gracious declines and 15 no responses. I found myself saying, well maybe they are all at the Princess Ball this weekend. I am not new at trading, but am new at trading online. I know my pins and know the value even when the numbers are not equal. I noticed that you can turn the Trade Assistant off, and thought if folks don't want to participate they can use this option. Am I wrong? I truly thought that since I've been collecting and trading Disney pins since 1999, I could help people complete sets and find some older pins. I read a thread of some of the dizpins members trying to decide how to organize all of their pending trades and trade request and thought, hmmm what's wrong with me?? Since putting my pins in pinpics the only requests I've received is trades for my Mickey for President. I have almost 400 pins on my trade list, but do understand not getting too many requests, since my want list is so small. My personal collection consist of over 1000 Disney pins and framed Pin art and pin sets. So there are not alot of pins I don't own. Hang in there Nicole, I don't give up too easy. Just remember, there is another newbie like you that's out there. My Pinpics ID is WALTSGIRL.

 

[jojo_ct]

Well, I am sure I am responsible for some of the bad feelings over PinPics so I would just like to explain my process. I generally see my email once a day, but sometimes it might take a day or two to see an offer. The offers fall into three categories. 1) The offers that are exactly what I'm looking for. I answer those immediately. 2) The offers that are not equitable or involve pins I just received or just traded away. I answer those immediately. 3) The offers that make me pause and go....hmmm, that is an interesting offer. It's not an offer I jump on, but it is one I am considering. After a day or two I might decide it makes sense or I might decide that I'm not comfortable with it. Those requests don't get answered immediately. I try to close them all out after a week, but like Dom, sometimes life gets in the way.

So if jojoct is one of the people who has ignored your requests in the past, please forgive me. I do try.

 

[tennisnut]

N2MM,
If you are offering a Monsters Inc Opening Day pin for my Return to Neverland....I would be more than happy to trade.

Please e-mail me.
Susan

Off to bed now, I will check my mail in the morning.

 

[n2mm]

Tennisnut, I sent you an email. No one here is on my list of no responses. Would it be safe to said that I could make up a list of members that do not respond to my request, and not send them any further requests?

 

[AZ JazzyJ]

This is an interesting topic and one I have been pondering the past few days. During my trip to Salt Lake City, I was away from my computer and my e-mail for 15 days. Not having the foresight to turn off the PinPics Trade Assistant before I left (one of many activities that did not get done before I took off), I returned to find 432 e-mail messages. Of those messages perhaps a third or more were PinPics Trade Requests. These requests dated back to February 6. I always try to reply to everyone who offers a pin if for no other reason than to thank them for considering me as a trading partner. But given the magnitude of e-mail messages staring back at me and the time that had transpired since some of these were sent left me wondering at what point do you not reply? Most of the requests I receive, if I do not respond immediately the first thing on the morning they arrive, I am told by the requestor that I am to late and they have traded with someone else. Although I understand completely that when someone is looking for a particular pin that I am probably not the only person they are asking to trade, it is somewhat dis-heartening to penalize a person for not living at their e-mail account. Given thetrack record I have had with interacting with the PinPics Trade Assistant, if I miss checking my e-mail for a couple of days I give up replying to items where time has elapsed since I received the request.

I would be curious to hear what others have to say regarding this.

Jeff

 

[TIGGERSMOM]

I know I am guilty of this in the past. I have tried to be better, but like Dom life has been hectic at my house.

I know I had to change my email address also, this may be the case for some. I had trouble with the email I was using just for pinpics and finally had to switch it my home email instead. In the process I lost all my TA requests, so if I am on your list - sorry.

I guess this should have a NYE resoultion for those of us guilty as charged.

I am sure the requests for Mickey President will continue for a long time. There are so many traders and only a 1000 of those so it is probably on the majorities wants list. I know when I search I usually look for my grails first. Some of my best trades have started with a lopsided pinpics offer - I don't understand some of the choices you are given. I have used this as a way to establish a dialogue and made great trades this way.

Hope you have better luck in the future.

 

[Luv2Roam]

For the most part, I reply to mine. I have a few this morning I haven't looked over yet.
I know of occasions I am actually considering the trade, hav eto rush off somewhere and don't see the e-mail until weeks and figure -- Oops too late now.

BUT what I amwondering about these TA requests -- How many are actually going out to VALID E-mail addresses? My guess is that MANY are returned to sender (Pinpics). But we just don't know that. We *assume* the e-mail has reached their intended destinations.

 

[eye R.N.]

So could someone please come up with a gracious way of saying No I won't trade my 1,000 LE pin for your rack pin.

I do respond to thoughtfull offers, but sometimes I am offended and hurt by what people are offering.

Maybe I should turn off the trade assistant.

Denise (now going back to try to respond nicely to all those e-mails)

 

[Brise Nannie]

Call me stupid but I for one have turned the TA off. I found I was guilty of sending out *unbalanced* trade offers so rather than offend anyone else I disabled it. As we all know it takes lots of time to set up our wants/trades list. Since I haven't mastered just how things work on the TA disabling the feature works for me. I do feel a polite *no thanks* is nice in response to trade offers. I surely wouldn't walk away from someone standing in front of me at a pin meet trying to make a trade without a reply to them. Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[KarenUK]

...is that not everybody knows what is and isn't a fair trade. I live in the UK and I love my pins although lack of opportunity means that my knowledge and collection is nothing compared with you guys.

I have recently set up my pins on pinpics and my (very) few traders, but have not even sugested any trades for fear of getting it wrong! Surely it is not unreasonable to just politely say 'no thanks' to a trade even if it is very unbalanced. It may have been offered in all sincerity but with just a lack of knowledge and experience. And I guess it would help the likes of me to learn more about the do's and don'ts of pin trading

Karen

 

[Mickey527]

I haven't turned off my trade assist but making trades through pin pics does take alot of work.
I do get alot of lopsided offers but I try and write back to every one and tell them that I don't need or want the pin they are offering but would be willing to look at their list and see if there is something else I need or want. Right now I have 6 letters that came today with pin pics names for me to check out and try and make trades.
I check out the list and then make counter offers. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

When there is a pin I want I check out the people trading that pin. I then look at their list of wants and make offers from that. I do have to say I don't get many replies back and it is frustrating. But the think that is the most frustrating is seeing people have the pin you want and they don't have their e-mail address public. I can't understand why they list their traders but don't want to trade. It is almost like torture to see someone has the pin your really want and you have something they want but you cant get together for the trade.
But you always have to take some bad with the good, so I don't want to see trade assist eliminated, as long as everyone understands that even with lopsided trades something can be worked out. Peggie

 

[Luv2Roam]

I try not to make lop sided offers, but sure I have.
What I have started doing is have one window open with the TA assistant.
I open another window to see what pin I want and info on it, (LE, rack, # of those trading vs wanting).
But even then it's hard to judge what little or high value someone has on their pin vs yours.
On a few offers I thought were too one-sided (and sometimes even in my favor) I have come back with counter offers after looking at their wants/trades. RARELY do even get a reply back on those.
Still gets me are the people who send me TA requests, I respond Yes, and never hear anything more. Why did they bother in the first place?

 

[JudithM]

I've been thinking about this thread since I read it last night ... I have not used trade assistant, but I can address the part about not replying. On my email I only receive emails in my inbox from addresses already in my email address book. Any other emails go to my junkbox. I check the junkbox daily in case there is someone I "know." However, if the subject line is not something easily or quickly recognizable, then to the trash can it goes . I know when I have sent emails to pinpics listers I try to put something in the subject line that gives them a clue like "possible Disney pin trade" or "pinpics traders" or something like these.

I try to reply to every email I receive regarding pin, trading, etc. A couple of times my pinpincs traders list is not fully up-to-date, & I apologize for that. Also, right after the first of the year, we had a family crisis, & I was in the middle of some possible trades. I explained to folks what was going on & said I would get back to them as soon as possible. People were VERY understanding. I appreciated that understanding & concern. Sometimes the other person & I exchange several emails before we work something out.

I keep a list of possible "not to trade with" people. I've picked up various names here & there including people who do not respond to me. It is a very selective list, but it is MY list.

If anyone sees a pin that I have listed on pinpics (judithm), please feel to contact me. I'm always open to suggestions! I know my wants list includes a lot of LE, but I try to be flexible! Thank you to all the wonderful folks out there whom I have had successful trades with !

 

[nigel-bigel]

Well, thanks for all of the feedback. My DH seems to think this shouldn't bother me as much as it does, and you seem to as well.

I understand about people being out of town or busy. I try to answer everything within 24 hours, but I can think of two instances where I was two weeks late because of travel and holidays. Jeff, I think you just send a short note of no, thanks, adding that you've been at the Olympics. Who knows, maybe some of those traders have Olympic pins as well!

As for lopsided trades that come your way, why can't you just respond, "Thanks for the offer, but I'll pass on this trade. I prefer to only trade my LEs for other LEs."? One of my very first requests I ever sent out was very lopsided (something like a 100 YOD pin for an Evil Career!) and the person who received my offer was kind enough to point out what I was doing wrong by saying pretty much what I wrote above. I really appreciated this guidance. So, I think that saying this will help a newbie, *and* also let a more experienced trader know that you think they are ridiculous for suggesting such a thing.

It hadn't occured to me that a lot of those e-ddresses might be wrong - that is interesting. But I know there are some who are valid because I notice them turning the TA on and off. There is a woman who seems to have everything I want, and want everything I have. She turns up in almost every request I make. I have been trading for about 5 or 6 months, and she has never once returned a single message. After I while I started deleting her requests before they were sent, and I noticed they didn't show up during the holidays, and then they were back after the new year. So, we know she is out there!

And now, who knows... I picture her sitting there surronded by a thousand pins sitting on her little pin throne waiting for lesser pinheads to submit their meager offers to her pin adorned feet. Since they are dismissed with not a word, only a wave of her hand, she will never be offered the Wet Paint that may cross my path. Further, even if she COMES TO ME she will never get it. And it could happen...

Quick story. Recently I had sent an offer to a trader in Japan for one of my most coveted pins, and s/he turned me down. But it allowed me to write back and offer two pins, and ask what s/he wanted for it. S/he(I still don't know if this is a man or a woman, and we've traded before) told me of her 3 HGs she had been looking for for about 1 year. I found and owned it within a week, and judging from their e-mail, they are estatic! I think they are more exited than I am.

It really doesn't take much to say no thanks. Just copy and paste and it'll go even faster.

I must say I don't feel better about the rudness of no-responders, but I do feel my anger has been difussed quite a bit. Thank you for letting me vent.

Nicole

 

[RamVA]

Oh, Nicole!

I have posted my opinion on this before, and my friends know how I feel, but I am particularly annoyed right now, because like you I sent out a ton of requests, and so many do not even bother to respond. (And of course, this is not the first time). I, like you, do not just check every box next to every pin, I study all the pins I am considering by going into the database, and looking at their LE/rack/cm status and the numbers of how many people have the pin how many want--this is called SUPPPLY and DEMAND and definitely is a factor in determining a pin's value as far as I'm concerned. After all this work and the time involved in this work, then I make an offer/trade request, trying my best to make sure that all requests that go out are as equitable in nature as possible.

Cynthia, I am like you; "yesses" get an immediate response; "nos" get an immediate response; trades I have to think about, or that I want to study their pins to make a counter-offer take more time. If I take a couple of days to figure out, I always apologize; sometimes, I send a message telling them I am giving their offer an extra day of consideration.

Jeff, if I am out of town, or life gets in the way, or I am sick, whatever, I still answer them; yes, if there is a pile, it may take some time; but I answer, apologize, and tell them why I was unable to answer.

And, I, like you, Nicole,feel like "come on, if your life is so "busy" that you can't be bothered
with the simple courtesly of a "no thanks", then you need to reevalute and turn of your TA. Even my 25 year old son said as we were debating this several months ago, (playing devil's
advocate, as some of my friends felt differently than me) "Please how lazy and how rude are you that you can't type 2 words, and hit "send"?

It pretty much is always the same people that repeatedly do not respond, and yes one woman in particular that I don't think has responded to me even once, after months of trading and many requests sent to her; and yes, we can delete those people, but their pins come up all the time when searching; so, why are they even there, if they don't want to trade (when
you offer a variety of their wants, and ask for comparable pins from their trades).

I am so frustrated I am about to e-mail these people with a "copy" of the disclaimer at the bottom of the trade request--"Please send a courtesy response even if you do not want to
trade"

Well, thanks for letting me vent; now you can tell your husband that there is someone out
there that is even more bothered by this than you are!!! And maybe we can trade--I'm gonna
go look at pinpics right now!!!

 

[nigel-bigel]

Ooooooohhhhh Ruthie, I love it!

Quote: "I am so frustrated I am about to e-mail these people with a "copy" of the disclaimer at the bottom of the trade request--"Please send a courtesy response even if you do not want to trade" "

I would love to do that. Do I have the nerve? hehehe...

Nicole

 

[Figgy]

Ok. I am not going into the whole TA thing because I think you guys have covered most of it anyway. Real quick though is that pinpics keeps an account of email addresses that are bad. Those bounce back to our system and the accounts not included in the TA again until they have been updated with a new email address. That is not to say that their accounts become in active and we haven't figured out how to remove them from the numbers in the members wanting members trading section yet... Also anyone who is not longer active in the database for whatever reason after 6 months they are not included in the TA either until they update their lists again. So people not getting the TA requests or being inactive is not really what is going on with this.

We are constantly trying to improve the TA. We are going to include a message box that you can put in your profile to go out with every TA offer that you make. (you will fillin what message you want). We are also going to include a second message box in the pending trade sections so that you can do a message for a specific trade request you are sending out. IE... "I will do a multiple pin trade for this pin" etc....

(I know you will be polite Ruthie) LOL

figgy

 

[cseca]

I work exactly like the other Cynthia (jojo_ct), but sometimes when I have to think about the offer I ended up waiting too long. Then I felt bad and figure that by now the requester probably already thought that I am refusing the offer anyways. I've done this several times, and if I did it to you recently I apologize.
However,
Personally if I send out requests through TA and do not hear anything by 24hrs I assume that the trade is dead. For some reason I thought everybody assumes the same thing...my bad...

just my 2 cents.

cynthia