I have been a gold member for about 3 weeks now. I have been trying to promote on Facebook among Magic trade communities, but I have been getting a lot of negative responses. Some say cards get "lost" in the mail & don't show up. Others complain about top-loaders & PWE. Other call it a scam or say "you cannot post for other sites." Sure, I have gotten kick-backs (300 credits per sign-up through the link they gave me).
I do not understand the hate. Is it jealousy (if I don't do it, then you can't do it...) that I am getting kick-backs to promote PucaTrade? What is the root issue with promoting a site like PucaTrade? So far, in this discussion,there has been mostly positive responses to PucaTrade.
I have been a gold member for about 3 weeks now. I have been trying to promote on Facebook among Magic trade communities, but I have been getting a lot of negative responses. Some say cards get "lost" in the mail & don't show up. Others complain about top-loaders & PWE. Other call it a scam or say "you cannot post for other sites." Sure, I have gotten kick-backs (300 credits per sign-up through the link they gave me).
I think those are all valid concerns. I don't know good the admins are at handling disputes because, so far, I've only had one (was a card condition issue) and the guy agreed to work it out with me by refunding me some points. It does seem like it would be easy for people on there to just claim that cards were never received but again, I don't know how on-top of things admins are. I've been trying to keep the value of cards I send fairly low.
The biggest issue I have with the site (so far) is that a lot of people on there don't seem to be very motivated to actually ship your cards. I had to wait over a week for packages from two different people to arrive and I have about three others who are approaching a week now without their cards showing up. Everyone wants to hold back on shipping to wait and see if you get more points first so they can send you more cards at once.
I have been a gold member for about 3 weeks now. I have been trying to promote on Facebook among Magic trade communities, but I have been getting a lot of negative responses. Some say cards get "lost" in the mail & don't show up. Others complain about top-loaders & PWE. Other call it a scam or say "you cannot post for other sites." Sure, I have gotten kick-backs (300 credits per sign-up through the link they gave me).
I do not understand the hate. Is it jealousy (if I don't do it, then you can't do it...) that I am getting kick-backs to promote PucaTrade? What is the root issue with promoting a site like PucaTrade? So far, in this discussion,there has been mostly positive responses to PucaTrade.
Jealousy isn't a factor. Honestly, it never is. The problem is that it looks like a pyramid scheme and unless people know people they trust who have had good results with it, they will be skeptical. I have gotten people to sign up but never push the sign up credit. It sounds like a scam when I do.
I have been a gold member for about 3 weeks now. I have been trying to promote on Facebook among Magic trade communities, but I have been getting a lot of negative responses. Some say cards get "lost" in the mail & don't show up. Others complain about top-loaders & PWE. Other call it a scam or say "you cannot post for other sites." Sure, I have gotten kick-backs (300 credits per sign-up through the link they gave me).
I do not understand the hate. Is it jealousy (if I don't do it, then you can't do it...) that I am getting kick-backs to promote PucaTrade? What is the root issue with promoting a site like PucaTrade? So far, in this discussion,there has been mostly positive responses to PucaTrade.
Jealousy isn't a factor. Honestly, it never is. The problem is that it looks like a pyramid scheme and unless people know people they trust who have had good results with it, they will be skeptical. I have gotten people to sign up but never push the sign up credit. It sounds like a scam when I do.
It seams that many are quick to jump the gun and assume it is a pyramid scheme without fully exploring or researching the site. A lot of businesses have kick-backs for referrals, such as in real estate. I know someone who wants to buy a home, so I give another fiends business card to them. My friend buys through them & I get 25% of the commission. That does not make it a pyramid scheme. It's not like anyone promoting PT w/ a gift link is Bernie Madoff.
Any words of wisdom to soothe the naysayers? I was actually compared to a car salesman today by a hater. All this does is make PT look bad & makes others wary of signing up through the link I provide.
Guess it would look more acceptable if the link just had the numbers after the link connected to my account w/o the words "invite" or "gift" in the link (example: /invite/gift/5223 - which is after the .com - it would be less fishy if it looked like ...trade.com/5223).
Don't try selling the product? I don't. I just tell people it's where I trade and explain how it works.
This is what I cut n' paste to each group (I have purposely left off the digits @ the end so not to actually have the "promotion" from me):
For those who want trade their unwanted cards (yes, even commons & uncommons), try out Pucatrade. I just signed up & already have 8 cards heading my way. It's a haggle-free way of trading. The site keeps everything fair. Also, you can just mail the cards in a plane white envelope w/ just 1 stamp. Also, you can choose to trade world-wide, or keep it state side only. Here's the link. Let me know if you sign up. <<Link Removed>> Soliciting to promote another site or drive traffic is against the rules ~Duxx
This is the only place I am being candid. I may be getting referral points, but there is a greater cause: the more traders there are there, the greater amount of cards in circulation.
If posting that in groups I was aloud to join is unwarranted, then why even have a referral link in the first place?
What you are doing stoogeslap is in effect negatively referring the site to people. You are spamming hey check this site out it's awesome and I get points when you sign up. You are like the pushy salesman at the car dealership. I don't want to deal with that guy. I would rather deal with the salesman who comes up to me and mentions, hey if you have any questions I will be over here, but feel free to look around.
Well, there is not simple way to promote PT. Do you really think I can make a post and just say "Hey, I can sure use some cards, and I get a referral from you joining up. So sign up through my link so I can get something..." No, nothing works like that. I tell the site as it is in a few sentences, and give a link. And you know what, people click fully aware of what it is & join that community. It costs them nuthin'. And I get a small kick back for expanding their universe.
I do think there's a bit of jealousy since it is something I have been promoting before others put effort into it. I have seen a smidgen of attempts, but there is no follow up after a single post. What I am doing is legitimate, not at all sneaky (the darn link has the words invite and gift in it).
From the looks of it, Puca Trade highly recommends tracking but doesn't require it, with the caveat that you want to have tracking to show that the cards you mailed actually showed up in the case of a dispute. Basically, you can ship without tracking but you risk the cards not getting there or the person getting the cards claiming they didn't, either way without proof on your end, you would be out of luck and wouldn't get your points. Its the same way with ebay and just about any trading site out there I imagine.
When you post a referral link here you are soliciting. It's against the rules.
Solicitation is annoying. It's advertisment. It's no different than a telemarketer, a pop-up ad or someone showing up on your doorstep to sell you something. Solicitation is against the rules so that the community is not bogged down by profiteering and advertisement.
You provoked jealousy, Yes. Not because you were quicker than anyone else to post your referral. You were not the first person to think of spamming a referral link to get free cardboard. You provoked jealousy because you posted your referral link while others abided by the rules. You broke the rules and were given an opportunity that no one who follows the rules was allowed to have.
The jealousy was well founded as long as you were allowed to continue. I think you will find now that your link is removed the jealousy has just faded to ire.
I think those are all valid concerns. I don't know good the admins are at handling disputes because, so far, I've only had one (was a card condition issue) and the guy agreed to work it out with me by refunding me some points. It does seem like it would be easy for people on there to just claim that cards were never received but again, I don't know how on-top of things admins are. I've been trying to keep the value of cards I send fairly low.
The biggest issue I have with the site (so far) is that a lot of people on there don't seem to be very motivated to actually ship your cards. I had to wait over a week for packages from two different people to arrive and I have about three others who are approaching a week now without their cards showing up. Everyone wants to hold back on shipping to wait and see if you get more points first so they can send you more cards at once.
I find people are highly motivated to send - they don't get any points if they don't ship! Now if I had a bunch of cheap cards on my Want list and very few points to actually spend, I could see someone holding out hope. But with so many possible senders, their chances of snagging extra cards for the same Send are very low.
Generally I expect to wait about 1 week to receive a card. For example, the guy confirms a trade on Monday night. Tuesday afternoon he packages the cards and puts them in the mailbox. They get picked up by the postman on Wednesday, and spend 2 days traveling from Florida to Wisconsin. I get them in the mail Friday or Saturday. If I want a card for FNM, I really need to have a week's notice.
And I haven't had issues with anyone claiming un-received cards. There is little benefit for them, as they quickly would get locked out for being a repeat offender. I've sent and received over $1400 in cards over more than 1 year without any issues.
I'm really liking this website. In just 2 weeks since posting here, I've accumulated almost 120 points between completed and current trades. My one question is: has anyone had trouble with getting the points from inviting friends? I invited my brother, and he says that he confirmed his account, but I have yet to receive the points for it.
I'm really liking this website. In just 2 weeks since posting here, I've accumulated almost 120 points between completed and current trades. My one question is: has anyone had trouble with getting the points from inviting friends? I invited my brother, and he says that he confirmed his account, but I have yet to receive the points for it.
He probably didn't go through the link you sent him. If he goes to the site and joins without your referral (easy enough to do) there won't be a connection. The system auto-credits you so it's not really something they can forget to do.
As Aranthar pointed out, Puca Trade is pretty good way to collect and trade cards.
Aranthar, thank you for the screenshot, that is what people need to see to get an idea how this works.
I literally just joined last week, and with the free 500 points they give, you can definitely test it and get a feel of how it work. The 500 points they give you helps settle you in!
There is nothing like sending a bunch of 10 to 20 cent cards to one guy and getting some sort of credit, versus trying to get a fraction of that amount form your lgs.
The big thing that really helps in getting the most out of Puca is how organized you are. I have a spread sheet with all of my orders and Puca Price, and I compare to the "60%" trade in I could get from most LGS (some will give less or won't even accept commons!) and I also factor in the shipping, penny sleeves and top loader to see whether it is worth me to send the item out versus taking to the LGS.
Finally, with spreading the word, by posting "join the fun teehee and click this link teehee" any person with very little common sense is going to mentally flag you as spam.
If you are hell bent on getting those 100 to 300 points ($1 to $3) it is better to actually give the link to persons once you have talked a bit to them!.
I love how quickly I pick up cards on this site. Several cards I've had on my want list here on Salvation since early in the year and on pucatrades I got them in an hour. I'm seriously wanting to get a premium account for a month to try to get some foils but I just don't think I have enough point flow coming in to be able to pick up enough of the foils I need.
I am still having trouble with extremely slow shippers and people not awarding me my points in a timely fashion, however. I had one guy wait 11 days to even ship my card then it took another 4 to get it. I've had several others wait a week before shipping and I have about three or four pending trades that should have arrived days ago (one should have arrived over a week ago but the guy has been jerking me around).
I'm also having trouble finding anyone worth shipping to now. I limit my dealings to the US and but I have a rather large list of cards. I keep finding someone who wants (or can only afford) a single $1.50-$2.50 card, or when I do actually find someone who needs more than $5 worth of cards, someone else commits to send them before I can click.
Yeah, the site says people should ship within 48 hours and one guys username is even something like "Ship with 72 hours Chris" or something. That is an issue I run into once in a while, but a PM usually gets the gears going.
The premium service will help with the rush to cheap cards. It should give you email notifications when someone posts your haves on their want list. It does dry up though... there are a lot of people with non-staples and a lot less people looking for non-staples.
I love how quickly I pick up cards on this site. Several cards I've had on my want list here on Salvation since early in the year and on pucatrades I got them in an hour. I'm seriously wanting to get a premium account for a month to try to get some foils but I just don't think I have enough point flow coming in to be able to pick up enough of the foils I need.
I am still having trouble with extremely slow shippers and people not awarding me my points in a timely fashion, however. I had one guy wait 11 days to even ship my card then it took another 4 to get it. I've had several others wait a week before shipping and I have about three or four pending trades that should have arrived days ago (one should have arrived over a week ago but the guy has been jerking me around).
I'm also having trouble finding anyone worth shipping to now. I limit my dealings to the US and but I have a rather large list of cards. I keep finding someone who wants (or can only afford) a single $1.50-$2.50 card, or when I do actually find someone who needs more than $5 worth of cards, someone else commits to send them before I can click.
If someone is an egregious offender, be sure to open a case. It will get the admins to poke him, and either he will have to start doing better, or he'll get flagged as a difficult trader and maybe even be removed.
After sending out an extra Aven Mindcensor and a Sliver Queen (that was going unused) that I had, I was holding out hope for one or two pieces of sweet Beta stuff I wanted for my Cube. After several weeks of no bites, I gave up on that plan. I don't believe that there are enough people using the site that (a) have these old cards and (b) are willing to trade them without knowing exactly what they'll be getting in return. Once I set my sights lower, I filled out some Cube needs in less than a day. In case you're curious:
I probably came out a little bit on the short end since I traded down a pricey casual card and a tournament staple for lesser cards (some of which have at least one reprint), but the time aspect of getting all of these random things sent to me while in the comfort of my home is worth a fair amount to me. Considering I will actually play with these cards, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. Oh, and I also got a Bloodsoaked Champion just using my free signup points!
Well, the guy who has been keeping me waiting for almost two weeks says my card never arrived, but he gave me the points anyway because he didn't have his current home address listed when I sent the card to him. I have a few more people I'm going to have to prod tonight, both about shipping and about giving points, if I don't get them today.
In general I've been trying to avoid picking up any standard cards on there because their prices (especially Khans stuff) are still quite skewed. I have picked up a couple of fetches, though. Mostly, I've picked up some fun bulk rares and some EDH stuff for future deck builds. I'm trying to restock on stuff like Grave Titan, Solemn, Return To Dust, Command Tower, Sol Ring, Swords to Plowshares and the like while they're cheap.
I joined Puca and I like it. I am a long time net trader who started trading on user.net groups. As someone who is busy with work and family, I really don't have time haggling. I don't live in the States, and I usually send about $8 - $15 worth of with $1.00 stamp and hope for the best. So far, all has worked out fine so far. Bigger trades I will do registered mail. I see a lot of potential for Puca. I am enjoying the free version now, if they make it slightly cheaper and more options I would be willing to pay for the premium version.
The site seems to be down at the moment. This raises a good point about how you should be careful to not ever get too much value tied up in the site. Unlike with normal trading, if something ever happens to the site then you're out a ton of money.
I do not understand the hate. Is it jealousy (if I don't do it, then you can't do it...) that I am getting kick-backs to promote PucaTrade? What is the root issue with promoting a site like PucaTrade? So far, in this discussion,there has been mostly positive responses to PucaTrade.
I think those are all valid concerns. I don't know good the admins are at handling disputes because, so far, I've only had one (was a card condition issue) and the guy agreed to work it out with me by refunding me some points. It does seem like it would be easy for people on there to just claim that cards were never received but again, I don't know how on-top of things admins are. I've been trying to keep the value of cards I send fairly low.
The biggest issue I have with the site (so far) is that a lot of people on there don't seem to be very motivated to actually ship your cards. I had to wait over a week for packages from two different people to arrive and I have about three others who are approaching a week now without their cards showing up. Everyone wants to hold back on shipping to wait and see if you get more points first so they can send you more cards at once.
Trades
Pucatrade with me!
(Signature courtesy of Argetlam of Hakai Studios
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
It seams that many are quick to jump the gun and assume it is a pyramid scheme without fully exploring or researching the site. A lot of businesses have kick-backs for referrals, such as in real estate. I know someone who wants to buy a home, so I give another fiends business card to them. My friend buys through them & I get 25% of the commission. That does not make it a pyramid scheme. It's not like anyone promoting PT w/ a gift link is Bernie Madoff.
Any words of wisdom to soothe the naysayers? I was actually compared to a car salesman today by a hater. All this does is make PT look bad & makes others wary of signing up through the link I provide.
Guess it would look more acceptable if the link just had the numbers after the link connected to my account w/o the words "invite" or "gift" in the link (example: /invite/gift/5223 - which is after the .com - it would be less fishy if it looked like ...trade.com/5223).
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
This is what I cut n' paste to each group (I have purposely left off the digits @ the end so not to actually have the "promotion" from me):
For those who want trade their unwanted cards (yes, even commons & uncommons), try out Pucatrade. I just signed up & already have 8 cards heading my way. It's a haggle-free way of trading. The site keeps everything fair. Also, you can just mail the cards in a plane white envelope w/ just 1 stamp. Also, you can choose to trade world-wide, or keep it state side only. Here's the link. Let me know if you sign up. <<Link Removed>> Soliciting to promote another site or drive traffic is against the rules ~Duxx
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
If posting that in groups I was aloud to join is unwarranted, then why even have a referral link in the first place?
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
I do think there's a bit of jealousy since it is something I have been promoting before others put effort into it. I have seen a smidgen of attempts, but there is no follow up after a single post. What I am doing is legitimate, not at all sneaky (the darn link has the words invite and gift in it).
No harm, no foul.
Solicitation is annoying. It's advertisment. It's no different than a telemarketer, a pop-up ad or someone showing up on your doorstep to sell you something. Solicitation is against the rules so that the community is not bogged down by profiteering and advertisement.
You provoked jealousy, Yes. Not because you were quicker than anyone else to post your referral. You were not the first person to think of spamming a referral link to get free cardboard. You provoked jealousy because you posted your referral link while others abided by the rules. You broke the rules and were given an opportunity that no one who follows the rules was allowed to have.
The jealousy was well founded as long as you were allowed to continue. I think you will find now that your link is removed the jealousy has just faded to ire.
I find people are highly motivated to send - they don't get any points if they don't ship! Now if I had a bunch of cheap cards on my Want list and very few points to actually spend, I could see someone holding out hope. But with so many possible senders, their chances of snagging extra cards for the same Send are very low.
Generally I expect to wait about 1 week to receive a card. For example, the guy confirms a trade on Monday night. Tuesday afternoon he packages the cards and puts them in the mailbox. They get picked up by the postman on Wednesday, and spend 2 days traveling from Florida to Wisconsin. I get them in the mail Friday or Saturday. If I want a card for FNM, I really need to have a week's notice.
And I haven't had issues with anyone claiming un-received cards. There is little benefit for them, as they quickly would get locked out for being a repeat offender. I've sent and received over $1400 in cards over more than 1 year without any issues.
Here's the tail of my "received" record.
Check out Odds//Ends - My articles on Quirky Cards and Oddball Builds
Long-time PucaTrade member and sometime author. Send me cards!
Currently playing Knight of the Reliquary - Retreat to Coralhelm Combo
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
Aranthar, thank you for the screenshot, that is what people need to see to get an idea how this works.
I literally just joined last week, and with the free 500 points they give, you can definitely test it and get a feel of how it work. The 500 points they give you helps settle you in!
There is nothing like sending a bunch of 10 to 20 cent cards to one guy and getting some sort of credit, versus trying to get a fraction of that amount form your lgs.
The big thing that really helps in getting the most out of Puca is how organized you are. I have a spread sheet with all of my orders and Puca Price, and I compare to the "60%" trade in I could get from most LGS (some will give less or won't even accept commons!) and I also factor in the shipping, penny sleeves and top loader to see whether it is worth me to send the item out versus taking to the LGS.
Finally, with spreading the word, by posting "join the fun teehee and click this link teehee" any person with very little common sense is going to mentally flag you as spam.
If you are hell bent on getting those 100 to 300 points ($1 to $3) it is better to actually give the link to persons once you have talked a bit to them!.
Cube on Cubetutor
Come trade with Puca Trade!, the best place to get those hard to get cards no one else will trade!
I am still having trouble with extremely slow shippers and people not awarding me my points in a timely fashion, however. I had one guy wait 11 days to even ship my card then it took another 4 to get it. I've had several others wait a week before shipping and I have about three or four pending trades that should have arrived days ago (one should have arrived over a week ago but the guy has been jerking me around).
I'm also having trouble finding anyone worth shipping to now. I limit my dealings to the US and but I have a rather large list of cards. I keep finding someone who wants (or can only afford) a single $1.50-$2.50 card, or when I do actually find someone who needs more than $5 worth of cards, someone else commits to send them before I can click.
Trades
Pucatrade with me!
(Signature courtesy of Argetlam of Hakai Studios
The premium service will help with the rush to cheap cards. It should give you email notifications when someone posts your haves on their want list. It does dry up though... there are a lot of people with non-staples and a lot less people looking for non-staples.
WUBRGPauper Battle BoxWUBRG ... and why I am not a fan of Wayne Reynolds' Illustrations.
If someone is an egregious offender, be sure to open a case. It will get the admins to poke him, and either he will have to start doing better, or he'll get flagged as a difficult trader and maybe even be removed.
Check out Odds//Ends - My articles on Quirky Cards and Oddball Builds
Long-time PucaTrade member and sometime author. Send me cards!
Currently playing Knight of the Reliquary - Retreat to Coralhelm Combo
Rofellos, Llanowar Emissary
Pernicious Deed (Apoc.)
Thundermaw Hellkite
Reanimate (Tempest)
Solemn Simulacrum (Mirrodin)
And some newer stuff:
Young Pyromancer
Monastery Swiftspear
Arc Lightning (KTK)
I probably came out a little bit on the short end since I traded down a pricey casual card and a tournament staple for lesser cards (some of which have at least one reprint), but the time aspect of getting all of these random things sent to me while in the comfort of my home is worth a fair amount to me. Considering I will actually play with these cards, I'm pretty happy with how it's turned out. Oh, and I also got a Bloodsoaked Champion just using my free signup points!
In general I've been trying to avoid picking up any standard cards on there because their prices (especially Khans stuff) are still quite skewed. I have picked up a couple of fetches, though. Mostly, I've picked up some fun bulk rares and some EDH stuff for future deck builds. I'm trying to restock on stuff like Grave Titan, Solemn, Return To Dust, Command Tower, Sol Ring, Swords to Plowshares and the like while they're cheap.
Trades
Pucatrade with me!
(Signature courtesy of Argetlam of Hakai Studios
Trades
Pucatrade with me!
(Signature courtesy of Argetlam of Hakai Studios