I love trading game show videos, folks...my friends know this is no secret! I have a solid group of traders that I work with a lot, but the best part about trading is meeting new people who have new stuff! A lot of people I trade with for the first time are unsure about how I conduct it. It's pretty simple and I'm very laid back about it, but there are a few things that have come over up the years that are worth addressing!
1) I don't trade for ca$h!! Most people are good about not asking me for cash, but every once in a while I'll get a request for it. Whether or not it's legal, it's not my thing. If you ask for that kinda trade, don't expect a reply.
2) I don't trade for blank tapes!! This is definitely a more noble request than trading for cash, but I don't have time to engage in these kind of trades. I'm busy as it is and if I traded with even a few people for blank tapes, I couldn't justify not performing this kind of trade with everyone. Again, I probably won't respond to requests for this kind of trade.
Now that those are out of the way, let's assume you've seen something on the list you want and that you have a collection of game show episodes of your own. What do you do?
Email me! I'd love to hear from you!!
What to tell me:
--Give me information about what shows you have. If you have a web page listing your shows, that's great! Send me the link and I'll check it out immediately. If you have a list saved on a word processor, that's cool too! I have Office '97 so I can read Word files or text files. Just attach the file(s) and I'll give 'em a look. If you don't have your list saved in an organized format, give me a breakdown of what shows you have; that way I can get more info. from you about shows I may be interested in.
--You don't have to worry about sending a want list immeidately; if we decide to trade, we can work that out then! :)
--Do NOT tell me that you have put a tape together for me before we have decided to trade. I know that sounds weird, but I get it a lot:
"I put a tape together of last week's Wheel of Fortune episodes...can I get the following 35 episodes from you?"
PLEASE wait until we've finalized a trade before you put together a random tape for me! :)
Every e-mail I get regarding a trade I make an attempt to reply to. If your list isn't really striking my fancy at the moment, I'll probably ask you to get back to me in a few weeks when you have a few more new shows. PLEASE don't take this personally. I'm a busy guy. Just because I won't trade with you once isn't a final blow! If you uncover some new stuff a bit later I DEFINITELY want to know about it!
If we decide to trade, it's because you definitely have some things I don't have, and that makes me excited! Here's the way I go about things.
--First off, send me a want list of shows you want from me. This should equal the quantity of shows (in hours and minutes, not number of episodes) I want from you. I'm not super picky about this, but I do try to keep trades equal just for fairness sake.
--Make sure to tell me before you mail out (as I will do the same) if any of the episodes I have chosen have quirks about them, not limited to:
*Unusually bad video or audio quality at any or all points
*If the episode is missing the opening or end credits
Most of the episodes in my list are noted as such; however, I'll occassionally uncover an episode with a problem I forgot to classify. In such a case I'll let you know about the problem and let you pick a different episode if you wish! And as always, if you have any questions about the specifics of a certain episode, LET ME KNOW! :)
--I can tape in SP (2 hour) or SLP (6 hour) format. I have nothing against LP, I just can't record in it! I definitely like to keep the tape formats equal among the trade; if I'm taping SP, you should tape SP, and vice versa.
--I use T-120 tapes. On rare occassions I'll use T-160s if you're dying to use T-160's, but I usually prefer to stick with T-120s.
--No matter what tape format I use, here's a given: I only use NEW tapes. It's just common courtesy to spend the $1.50 on a new blank tape. The quality will be better and the tape will hold up longer.
--Depending on how busy my schedule is at the time or how many trades I'm doing, I may not be able to put out the tape immediately. Obviously, I understand that whoever I'm trading with will be under the same circumstances. So I usually try to arrange it that I send out my tape around the same time as the other person sends his/hers. Again, I'm not super picky about that; an up to 2-week disparity in arrival time is fine with me. However, I may be a bit put off if you send me an email telling me how much you enjoyed spending six hours watching my tape...and then tell me you can't put mine out for 2 months. :)
--In terms of postage, I use priority mail always. I'd appreciate it if you did the same, but if you're watching your budget and you'd rather not, I'll understand.
That's about it! Make sure to send me an email confirming you received my tape and of course I love to hear any comments you have about your opinion of the shows!
Brad Francini
4/27/99