Hello everyone,

As a newbie here who just made his first trades, I was wondering what general criteria people consider when negotiating a fair trade. The Steam list price seems to be a good point of reference, but what about other criteria, such as current sale prices (using a site like IsThereAnyDeal), if a game has been bundled before (and if so at what tier), genre/desirability, reviews (positive/negative), Steam "extras" (Trading Cards, Achievements, etc.), or something else? Is there one criterion that stands out above the others for you?

As an example, would trading "Broken Sword 5: The Serpeant's Curse" (http://store.steampowered.com/app/262940) for "Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards: Reloaded" (http://store.steampowered.com/app/231910/) plus "Rex Nebular and the Cosmic Gender Bender" (http://store.steampowered.com/app/328430/) be a fair trade? I'd love to hear from adventure gamers (or anyone else) with thoughts on why this would or wouldn't be a fair trade!

8 years ago*

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What is the single most important criteria when considering a fair trade?

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Steam list price
Current sale prices
Bundled status
Genre/Desirability
Reviews
Steam "extras"
Other

I'd say first most important part about trade is desirability - who cares if you have AAA game when nobody wants is (Batman: Arkham Knights comes to mind - such poor port lots of Nvidia codes went down with price rather highly due to lack of demand).
After that, there comes sale prices - if it was sold on Steam with -75%, people won't really want to pay more than 50% of normal price.
And then comes bundled status, as that means game was sold with even bigger discount on one hand, while also was bought in large supply on the other hand.

As for the games asked: I really have no idea, as I have no knowledge about them.

8 years ago
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I agree with you about desirability being among the most important factors. Thanks for sharing your input!

8 years ago
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+1

8 years ago
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Actually, I played in Batman: Arkham Knight and it was surprisingly good after all those negative reviews.

8 years ago
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Playing it now-a-days, totally lags when I go out to the city.

I don't have the best PC, but it's first game that drops so bad and even freezes.

8 years ago
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I think (not sure; no source at hand) that Larry and Rex have been bundled in low ($1) tiers, Broken Sword 5 only in higher ($4+) tiers, so BS5 should have more "value".

8 years ago
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Thanks, that's what I'm thinking too. So maybe adding another lower tier game or two would even it out?

8 years ago
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Maybe. Depends on the games and the "desirability" factor (yours/trading partner).

8 years ago
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Even if what you would consider fair, it's not always what the other side considers fair,.as in they want more then then the "actual value", also both games you have might not be high on the desirability list, and yes they been in a $1 bundle.

8 years ago
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Actually, I'm trading Broken Sword 5 and concerned that I'm not getting enough trade value by receiving the other two games. My trading partner based in China claims he is buying the keys from friends on a local game forum. He has high rep, but as a newb, I'm not sure what to make of it. I had agreed to the above deal, but after looking into the bundle data more, I began to see that I might not be getting enough value from Broken Sword 5. Should I press him to trade another game (or two, depending on the game)?

8 years ago
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I'd say you could atleast get 1 more game out of it, however you said you already kinda agreed to the deal (i believe a deal is a deal) but you can always try, the only worst thing he could say is no (and even if he then declines a trade there are plenty of others).
Also if he is getting keys through someone else, he must also be damn sure they are working.

You can also get Rex Nebular very cheaply on Tremorgames btw (it's a website you can do tasks from short to long in exchange for coins, it's where most of my games came from, Larry is sold out but if it comes in another bundle they might have it again) and then you could trade Broken Sword for something else.
You can always add me if you have questions about it.

8 years ago*
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I ended up trading Broken Sword 5 for Tales from the Borderlands (DRM-free Telltalegames.com key), and traded Worms Clan Wars for Larry and Rex. I'm happier with this trade now. :)

8 years ago
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Nice trade.

8 years ago
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i think 'bundle status' and sale price are kinda one and the same... what is the lowest price the game has been sold at - how long ago - whats the current sale price - how many copies are out in the market - how desirable is it.

thats pretty much the way i think things through.

8 years ago
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When trading bundle games I usually consider both bundle price and desirability (if the game wasn't bundled many times and isn't available in the bundle atm sometimes that means a bigger price). You should remember that you never have to accept an offer you are not sure about or you don't think it is fair - you can make a counter offer but of course it is always up to the person you are trading with if they'll accept it and see it as a fair offer. You can use IsThereAnyDeal to check if the game was bundled, which tier etc.

8 years ago
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The minimum value of a game is determined by the cheapest way it was possible to legitimately obtain it (in the same way as the one you're trading, e.g. on Steam), whether it's judged by sale price or bundling. The maximum value is determined by the cheapest way it is possible to obtain it at the time of trading.
A fair trade will always set a price in-between these two values. Desirability on the buyer's part (and greed on the seller's part) pulls you higher, while ease-of-stock (large supply) lowers the price, for instance when traders stockpile bundle games to resell later, their prices inevitably remain low.

8 years ago
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Excellent points!

8 years ago
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It's quite simply a supply & demand kind of deal. If a game has been bundled once, in a high tier, but no-one wants it, then it's worth less than a game that has been bundled multiple times, in low tiers, but that people want. Games that were bundled long ago will be worth more, as there is less supply of those than games that were bundled yesterday (demand will also be lower for the recent bundle, as those who wanted the game could easily have picked it up), and if it was in some obscure bundle, like the 5 games for $5 bundle, then that means that supply will be lower than if it was from a super popular one.

A fair trade is in the end a trade that left both parties happy. Both parts got what they thought was a fair price for the game.

8 years ago
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