An Oldy But Goodie

My boy Paz shot me over an email today, he said 'Hey, you should go over how you pull off a trade with these guys on your blog'. Paz plays with me in every league, so he's got some experience with my style. 'You know, the whole posting, emailing, relentless offers, etc. It kills me, I totally know from your posts your about to snake someone into a big deal. Share that knowledge!'. This coming from an opponent mind you. Anyway, I informed him that I had already done that two weeks ago, BUT, for all the new readers as well as the originals that need some brushing up, here it is again. This time I've added in a few message board posts from my league to give you ideas.

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It’s fairly easy to eye out the players on your own squad that are ripe to sell high, and equally easy to eye out players on other teams that you’re looking to either buy low, or just need to add to your squad. However actual execution is a whole other level of play. Readers have been asking me lately, how do I convince people to make a deal with me that when that deal is lopsided in my favor? This is an important question indeed! Let’s run through the five steps of proper Thievin.

1. Effort
First things first, If you’re just shooting out an offer to an opponent with no communication, then it’s most likely you’ll receive a rejection. Particularly if you’re lookin to thieve. Why? Because the guy you just shot a trade offer to is going to think as he opens the email ‘Oh god, here comes and offer, this dood is trying to screw me’. 90% of the people who play any fantasy sport have this approach, zero trust. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest one is EGO. They don’t want to be the guy who made the stupid deal and gets heckled for the rest of the season. Put some effort into your offers. Find those categories your target is down in, whether he is losing them in H2H matches or just has a low score in roto. Use the comments section of a trade offer to TELL the target exactly what he is gaining by making this trade with you.

Here's an example of getting people riled up. Posted this just before I landed Gerald Wallace for Mike Miller. The idea here was to motivate through insult:

Idiot Complaceny
Posted by: Gabadoo's All-Starz

Message ID: 350 Dec 2 6:52pm | Reply | Post | < Previous | Next >

It makes no sense to me whatsoever how you people can just sit back and watch your team go down the drain. This game is about numbers and it is MORE THAN OBVIOUS what you are lacking and how it can be fixed. Trading ain't rocket science, it's merely an agreement where you get what you need and I get what I need.

If you're content with the notion that it's possible to win simply by drafting, then you are a moron, best of luck to ya. But if you want to actually PLAY fantasy sports, as opposed to watching it, hit me up and let's make a deal.


2. Massage the Numbers
Sure, you TELL the target that this deal is good for them, but you also need to SHOW your target this deal is good for them. How do you do that? You use whatever numbers you can possibly get to back your case. Say, for instance, the target is in need of treys and steals. Look at the players you are offering versus the one you get back, how can we force these numbers to show that he is indeed making a benefit of treys and steals? Maybe we add up the total for each guy this year, and use those figures. Maybe we add up the averages and use those numbers. Maybe we use their 2008 numbers. Whatever it takes, whichever is the most convincing, go with it. Two tips here: if you are offering a 2-1, be sure to add up the stats for both of your guys vs. their one guy. Many people won’t realize they will be benching one player, so won’t notice the difference. Also, if a player has been injured, and hasn’t played much or missed time, their average numbers can be wildly skewed in your favor. If a guy missed the whole season up to now, and has played two games, scoring 25 and 30 points in those games, well then tell your target he averages 27.5 points a game!

Posted this about an hour before I landed a deal sending Courtney Lee for John Salmons:

HI! NEED THREE's, WILL DEAL STEALS!!
Posted by: Gabadoo's All-Starz

Message ID: 355 Dec 11 8:59pm | Reply | Post | < Previous | Next >

Looking for a three point shooter (1.5+ treys/gm), preferably one with a FG% north of 44%, and one that chips in a good 3+ assists, averages around 15+ points a game.

I can offer a guy that averages 2+ steals per game. In fact, he's currently tied for 5th in the league overall for steals. He won't hurt you in any of the other categories either.

Hit me up if you have someone in mind.

3. Create a Sense of Competition
People look for confirmation from other people. They are more inclined to want a player they believe other people want. So, after you make your offer, pop onto your message board and post ‘Trade Offers’ then proceed to tell people that you’ve fielded a couple of offers for such and such player and you’re deciding between a few. This will give your target a sense of urgency and fear that he is losing out on a deal someone else might get.

Put this post up to drum up interest for Thompson. Within the hour my offer of Thompson for Butler was accepted:

On the Block: Jason Thompson
Posted by: Gabadoo's All-Starz

Message ID: 355 Dec 3 4:17pm | Reply | Post | < Previous | Next >

Some of you had never heard of Jason Thompson before this season, this post is not intended for you. To everyone else, as you might've gathered I'm intent on moving Thompson, preferably for steals. I've got some offers that I'm working through, I'll try and decide in the next couple days. Meanwhile if you are interested, shoot me an email sooooooooon!

4. Let Them Think They Won
People prefer to be the one making the offer that finally gets accepted, versus accepting someone else’s offer. It’s a control and ego thing. While it may not always be possible, if you get into a series of counter proposals, don’t be afraid to take one they send you. First off it insures that a deal gets done before they leave in frustration, and secondly they’ll be more likely to have a good feeling about the trade.

5. Promotion Promotion Promotion
Once you ink the deal, get on that message board immediately and put up a glorious post. Title it, NICE TRADE, and say what a pleasure it was to ink a deal with so and so, and that you look forward to future deals, and that you really think the deal will be a big benefit to both teams. You know what this does? It let’s everyone know that you trade, and that it’s OK to trade with you. Moreover they’ll be a little jealous because they weren’t involved in this fun aspect of fantasy sports, so they’ll instantly start trying to make a deal. Guess who they’re gonna go to for that deal?

Here's an example after I dealt Arenas:

HOUSTON WE HAVE A TRADE!
Posted by: Gabadoo's All-Starz

Message ID: 312 Nov 30 10:11pm | Reply | Post | < Previous | Next >

Nice deal Mikey, enjoy Agent Zero aka Hibachi, he's an exciting player.


Take the time to do it right, be patient for the right deal to show itself, and execute!


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These were just some examples, limited to the posts I could still access. As you might have noticed, we play with a very active message board. Currently at 403 posts. That's all me, I work to keep the dialogue going, and probably account for over 25% of the posts. I want everyone to know who I am, and to know that if they wanna deal, they need to come to me first.

Have a Merry Christmas everyone. I'll have the IPhone on me all night so feel free to drop a line as usual.