How a trade works

Trade by post, step by step

1. 1

   Offer sent

   Build a multi-card offer from another collector's binder and your own. Add a message and send it.

2. 2

   Negotiating

   Either side can counter. Every version is kept, so you can see exactly what changed and when.

3. 3

   Accepted — inspection needed

   Once both sides agree on the card list, the trade moves into the required inspection stage.

4. 4

   Inspection arranged

   Agree a date and time for a private one-to-one video inspection.

5. 5

   Inspection completed

   Show the front, back, surface and edges of every card, discuss defects, then each trader records that they inspected and accepted the cards.

6. 6

   Final confirmation pending

   An immutable summary is produced: exact cards, photographs, conditions, values and inspection acknowledgements.

7. 7

   Confirmed

   Both traders confirm independently. Only then are postal addresses released to each other.

8. 8

   Awaiting postage

   Each trader arranges and pays for their own tracked postage and uploads proof of postage.

9. 9

   Posted by both traders

   Tracking numbers are logged on both sides so delivery can be followed.

10. 10

    Delivered

    Mark your parcel received when it arrives and confirm the cards match.

11. 11

    Completed

    Award commendations, or raise a problem privately if something is wrong.

Meet & Trade, step by step

Meet & Trade is for a trade you have already negotiated here. It is a different way of finishing that trade, not a new one: the same trade, the same agreed cards, handed over in person instead of posted.

1. 1

   Agree the cards online first

   Find a collector through Binder to Binder, send an offer and negotiate until you both agree the card list. Private messaging opens as soon as an offer exists, so you can talk it through.

2. 2

   Choose Meet & Trade instead of posting

   On the trade page, propose a public place, a date and a time. The other collector has to accept it. Either of you changing the cards clears that agreement, so you always meet on the same terms.

3. 3

   Meet, then tap 'We're here'

   One of you shows the arrival code, the other scans or types it. The code is short-lived, works once and only your two accounts can use it. It carries on the same trade you already negotiated; it never starts a new one.

4. 4

   Inspect the cards you already agreed

   There are no cards to pick again. The agreed list is shown to both of you. Check the real cards, then each record that you've inspected them.

5. 5

   Both confirm, and that trade completes

   Once you have both confirmed the exchange, the original trade completes in person. The cards move between binders with their permanent B2B numbers and history. No addresses are shared and nothing is posted.

6. 6

   Either of you can walk away

   Right up until the final confirmations, either collector can call it off. Nothing changes hands and no numbers are issued.

Trade in person, step by step

This one is for collectors who are already stood next to each other with nothing agreed yet. You can still sort out where and when to meet however you like; the short code simply connects your two phones to the same trade. You choose the cards afterwards, and nothing is agreed until you both confirm. If you found each other here and have already agreed a card list, use Meet & Trade above instead, so that trade is the one that completes.

1. 1

   Agree to meet

   Sort out where and when with the other collector. Nothing needs to exist in the app yet, so there are no cards to pick and nothing to commit to before you meet.

2. 2

   One of you opens an in-person trade

   Whoever goes first taps 'Trade in person', then 'Show my code'. That opens an empty trade with nothing in it yet and shows a QR code plus a short code. The code works once and expires after about 12 minutes.

3. 3

   The other one scans or types that code

   Scanning the code agrees to nothing. It simply puts both phones on the same trade screen. No address, email or payment detail is shared.

4. 4

   Now you build the trade

   Each of you adds the cards you're handing over, straight from your own binder. You can only add your own cards, and either of you can add or remove while you talk it through. Both lists update live.

5. 5

   Check the real cards in your hands

   Look over the fronts, backs, edges and surfaces of the cards you're being given. When you're happy, tap 'I've checked them'. That records your inspection but does not complete the trade.

6. 6

   Both confirm, then swap

   Each of you taps 'Confirm the swap'. The trade only completes when both of you have confirmed, and only then do the cards move between binders with their permanent B2B numbers and history.

7. 7

   Change your mind at any point

   If either of you adds or removes a card, both confirmations reset and you start the checking step again. Either of you can call the trade off until it completes, and nothing changes hands.