6) This is a big one. There are more things you can do to be a go-to-guy. First, you should always have cash or store credit in the store you're trading. Most stores I know give store credit as their FNM prize. Don't spend it right away when you win it. If you have store credit, you can go buy cards for people. It's important that you let your trade partner know what you're doing before you go buy the card(s) first, though. Don't be afraid to let them know how much it costs, either. And make sure the deal is going through before you make the purchase.

Another thing I have done is a three-way trade on the spot. Basically, I see two people trading that can't complete a trade because Trader 1 doesn't see anything they want in Trader 2's binder. Trader 2 really wants a certain card from Trader 1. However, I notice something I want in Trader 2's binder. So, I step in and hand my binder to Trader 1 while offering a three-way trade and pointing out the card I want from Trader 2. Because my binders are fairly stocked, Trader 1 usually finds something and then everyone gets what they want. It's difficult to make any value this way, but that's not the point here. The point is that everyone wins in this situation, and you don't have to go on a fetch quest later when it turns out that Trader 2 REALLY wanted that card(s). You also avoid looking like a shifty middleman, since everything is out in the open.

Speaking of shifty middlemen, my store has several of these characters. They were doing some lopsided trading for a while, but eventually people stopped trading with them. Luckily, our store is big (FNMs are usually over 50 people), so trading just continued on. With me still in there. You could say I won the trading battle. Why? Because I wasn't a jerk. I'm friends with everybody, even the sharks. The sharks just don't understand why I'm still able to trade with everyone. I tell them it's because most of my trades aren't for value, but I make up for this with a high volume of trades every night.

The other reason I am still able to trade with everyone is because I use trading as an excuse just to talk with people. I don't spend much time during a trade even talking about the trade. I usually treat the trade as a conversation starter, and then it becomes secondary. Even after the trade is done I will continue to converse, and maybe even start another trade while the conversation goes on. Trading is just second nature to me now. I've missed out on some deals because I look through binders so quickly while I'm busy listening or talking (I missed a foil Tombstalker once), but there are many deals I wouldn't be making now if I wasn't so sociable.

Too many people are treating trading like it's their job now. Maybe it is. But you don't have to be so intense. Just have a good time. Even when there's money flying around. You'll have more money land in your lap if you just relax.

In the spring of 99 I wrote a response to an article on the dojo called "The Ebay Effect" talking about how eBay had gotten absolutely flooded with cards since every Peter, Paul and Mary could be a dealer. In 1998 auction #'s were 6 digits long and there were less than 500 total MTG auctions going at any one time. In six months (between the time Urza's Saga and Urza's Legacy was released) there were over 50 pages (2500+) auctions. Now it's basically bottomless.

I used to get angry that people were in my niche, but now I think the opposite. I think every player should have an ebay account since it's the easiest way to manage your collection.

There is nothing wrong with trading, but having an easy source of liquidity helps solidify values in your head better than just knowing dealer prices and buy lists.

Nowadays, so many people come up with fixed ideas about prices, worried no to lose money in the trade, sometimes even checking prices with their iPhone while trading. Well to all those guys: You'd be better off selling your cards online or to a dealer, and having a good time playing Magic instead.

I've stopped trading cards in Real Life except with my local playgroup where we know each other and no one's trying to "own you". If it comes down to hard negotiation talks, everyone being alert to not being ripped off (i.e. a general mistrust in your trading partner), there's not much of the social / community / we-share-a-passion-for-the-same-game aspect left. So I might as well sell the cards online.

Online Poker has changed drastically as it's heavily "shark-infested" now and the usual guy who would play his 10 bucks every other evening because he enjoys the game and didn't mind loosing as long as he had a good time and could chat with other players, has long been driven away as sharks can't afford to chat during a game, playing 8+ tables at the same time.

We should be very cautious to not let this happen to Magic. After all, Magic is about the fun playing.