Advice on making a trade thread?

[SmoochsPLH]

I'll lock this when I get a few answers and may even delete it later cause I feel like I'm probably fretting over nothing. I also apologize if this isn't the right thread for this? I'm really not sure where it should go? I feel like I post threads like this too often...

Okie doke so I finally finished filling out my catalog, diys, and wishlist on villagerdb! Which means I am now able to make a trade thread for stuff on my wishlist. The thing is...I've never made one before and I'm stupidly nervous about it so I wanted to get some advice before I do so I don't goof up.

You see I'm a very scatterbrained and easily overwhelmed person. I'm worried that I'll get too many request or something else will go wrong. I'm thinking this is all just general anxiety which I myself find pretty dumb, but I feel making an advice thread for this would be best.

Soooo how do I go about this? I know I can take one person at a time and all, but would it be rude of me to lock the thread when I get a certain amount of request as to not get too overwhelmed and catch up with what I have? Then unlock it again of course. And how do I get items out to folks so fast? I see some people get them out to people the same day and I'm not sure if they're time traveling or what because I don't time travel and would have to wait a day on orderables. I don't wanna make anyone wait too long.

I feel like I may be better off just posting my wishlist and catalog in the free equal trading thread, but I feel like that's what making your own thread is kind of for. Maybe I should just look for my wishlist items in other people's threads in nook's cranny? I'm really sorry if I'm being silly and fretting over this too much. And if you reply this too thread thank you so much for trying to give me ease of mind. c:>

 

[Serabee]

Oh, I can actually help here! (in fact... are you a time travelling me? this feels like me when I started on this forum ) But I remember being super overwhelmed when I made my first trade thread. I mentioned in the first post, "I may stop trading at some point since I'm autistic and easily overwhelmed, please don't be offended if I want to wait to make a trade!" and then, sure enough, I made like three or four trades in a row and was like... I'm done. I had two or more people who posted right after and I just could. not. handle. it. So, I said, "I'm so sorry, but I'm just mentally worn out right now- could we trade tomorrow or another time?" and, sure enough, both people were super polite and understanding and 100% fine with it. It seems you're just new to trading, not the forum itself, so you should know the people here are generally awesome. I've literally never met anyone who wasn't extremely accommodating and accepting on here.

So, my recommendation would be to say something in the first post like, "I may get overwhelmed at some point and, if so, I'll lock the thread!" I... think we can later unlock threads, yah? I haven't tried it yet. If so, then say, "When I'm ready to trade again, I'll unlock the thread!" or, if you can't unlock threads, you CAN edit titles- so you could just put OPEN or CLOSED in the title!

Personally, these days I only make trade threads sporadically when I need items (like earlier I needed some South Poles and clothing) and then close them when I've got all the items I need. I find it easier then maintaining one "master" trade thread, but that's just me!

 

[SmoochsPLH]

Oh, I can actually help here! (in fact... are you a time travelling me? this feels like me when I started on this forum ) But I remember being super overwhelmed when I made my first trade thread. I mentioned in the first post, "I may stop trading at some point since I'm autistic and easily overwhelmed, please don't be offended if I want to wait to make a trade!" and then, sure enough, I made like three or four trades in a row and was like... I'm done. I had two or more people who posted right after and I just could. not. handle. it. So, I said, "I'm so sorry, but I'm just mentally worn out right now- could we trade tomorrow or another time?" and, sure enough, both people were super polite and understanding and 100% fine with it. It seems you're just new to trading, not the forum itself, so you should know the people here are generally awesome. I've literally never met anyone who wasn't extremely accommodating and accepting on here.

So, my recommendation would be to say something in the first post like, "I may get overwhelmed at some point and, if so, I'll lock the thread!" I... think we can later unlock threads, yah? I haven't tried it yet. If so, then say, "When I'm ready to trade again, I'll unlock the thread!" or, if you can't unlock threads, you CAN edit titles- so you could just put OPEN or CLOSED in the title!

Personally, these days I only make trade threads sporadically when I need items (like earlier I needed some South Poles and clothing) and then close them when I've got all the items I need. I find it easier then maintaining one "master" trade thread, but that's just me!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only who's felt like this, it's comforting to know I'm not just being silly (also I'm autistic too, maybe I am you lol). But really thank you this helps alot. I think I'll wait a bit to see what anyone else might have to say (and for when it's not so late for me, probably be better to post that during the day) and then post the trading thread. :3

 

[Khaelis]

Use spoiler tags, they make your thread so much more organized. Keep lists in those, important details outside of spoiler tags. Kinda something like this:

[Blah, blah, important text related to spoiler tag content, blah blah]

Spoiler: Item List

- Item 1, Price
- Item 2, Price
- Item 3, Price
ETC
ETC

[More important stuff, etc]

- insert spoiler here -


Additionally, set 'work hours' for yourself. If that's just on the weekend from 3PM to 5PM, then that's your time. Never over do it. Not only will you overwhelm yourself, you'll burn yourself out as well.

 

[Minou]

Hi there! first of all, you're definitely not being silly. It can indeed be overwhelming to be the one in charge of a trading thread simply like you said by the amount of replies you can receive at the same time, and feeling the pressure to answer to everybody at the same time, which is impossible. While I'm not autistic, I do feel this pressure as well when receiving a big amount of replies, because I always feel bad making people wait. But like @Serabee had pointed out, a vast majority of the people in the forum are very kind and patient. A lot of them also have experience in trading, so they usually are understanding, knowing the issue at hand.

It is good to put a mention on top of your thread that this is your first trading thread, and give them a sort of warning on how you will deal with the situation when receiving a lot of replies like @Serabee had suggested

I think locking the thread after a certain amount of replies is a good idea because it gives you better control of the situation. you can set yourself a certain number of replies before locking, then as you have more experience and have a better sense of the time it takes to deal with everybody, you can judge whether you can set that amount higher or not. ive already seen people do that in trading threads or threads in which they host for example a celeste or catalog event in situations when there is a big amount of replies. Just post a comment before locking that "you will lock now to finish with these trades first, before unlocking again when done". because some people dont read carefully the top thread so wouldnt have read your warning, so its good to repeat that again in the latest comment so theyre not confused why the thread is locked.

you can always also decide to play it safer, and simply watch for threads that have items you want from your wishlist instead. but that could take more time, depending how many items you want in your wishlist.

 

[Xara]

you’re not being silly at all! while i’m not autistic, i do have pretty bad anxiety and so i definitely understand how trading can be stressful! like others have mentioned, you absolutely can lock your thread whenever you’d like and unlock it whenever! nobody will be upset with you for feeling overwhelmed or needing a break. if you’re worried about upsetting or offending anyone, my only piece of advice really is to be open and honest with people; let people know what you plan to do in case you become overwhelmed (ex. lock the thread) and if you’ve already arranged some trades, let them know what’s happening and ask to trade later. everyone here is incredibly kind and understanding and as long as you keep people informed of what’s happening, nobody will be mad at you or upset! trading with others can be exhausting and your feelings are 100% valid.

another option is; instead of making one main thread, similar to what @Serabee suggested, you could always make smaller threads overtime! so rather than making one thread for all the items you want, you could split your wishlist items into categories (ex. priority items, clothing only, furniture only) and make a thread for each category whenever you feel up to trading! that way, you won’t have too, too much to keep track of and it might help to make any offers feel less overwhelming!

and again, you could always just keep an eye on other peoples’ threads; like already mentioned, this route might take a bit longer but if you’re not in any rush and you’d be more comfortable this way, that’s perfectly okay, too!

good luck

 

[SmoochsPLH]

Thank you everyone for your advice and kind words. It really helped my nerves a lot and I really appreciate it. <3

After thinking on it, I think the best thing for me to do is just check for my wishlist items in nook's cranny from time to time (and also of course give folks what I can). I feel I'm far too scatterbrained to really keep up with a whole trade thread and feel it would be much easier to just find my stuff when I can.

Who knows maybe one day I'll be able to make a trade thread, but I don't think today's that day. As long as I can get what I need and help people where I can I'm happy. :3

I'd also like to give a small shoutout to Minou who was very kind and gave me quite a few items off of my wishlist! ☺ Thank you again!