Since first writing this policy I have officially had my first (and hopefully last) dissatisfied trade partner. He neglected to read this policy and that caused some confusion. Because of this I ask that anyone who hasn't dealt with me before to please read through the policy below. Thank you. My Trade Policy I've read quite a few trade policies posted with people's lists. Most of them sound like they were written when the person was angry. They usually come off as jerks and I decide not to trade with them. What happened to these people? When did it stop being fun? Isn't this supposed to be about fellow music lovers just sharing some tunes? Where did it all go wrong? They remind me of the kids who collect baseball cards (mint condition only!) and encase them in plastic and store them in binders. They're more concerned with the act of collecting than they are with enjoying their collection. I handled, shuffled, traded and enjoyed my baseball cards within an inch of their lives. I still have 'em in a closet somewhere. Not worth much, though, because of the aforementioned handling, shuffling, and trading ("I'll give you 2 Manny Motas and a Dusty Baker for a Craig Nettles and a Roy White.) The point is I don't have a lot of strict rules and requirements for you to trade with me. All the titles on my list are good to excellent recordings of music you may not get to hear otherwise. If yours is the same we've got a deal. 'Nuff said. A few things you should know. Obvious - Nothing here is for sale. I'm trading free music for free music. Although, I did once send a guy some gumbo for an Uncle Tupelo CD. CDRs - This is my preferred trading format. I've got a lot of cassettes I've traded for and never get to listen to. Occasionally I'll trade or trade for non-copyrighted VHS tapes or photographs. Later I'll try to list what I have to offer. Please don't ask for gumbo. Making a roux is hard work. Shipping - I mail out your CDRs in secure padded envelopes. Discs only (in paper sleeves), no sense in us mailing each other jewel cases. I don't care how you mail your end as long as it gets here in one piece. Quality - I use name brand CDRs. I prefer you do the same. If you choose not to, but I'm still able to use your disc (listen to it, copy it for backup or future trades), I won't complain. I copy DAO. I prefer you do the same. I will not get mad at you if you don't, though. Source - A lot of people seem to be really picky about the source of the recording. I am not one of those people. I don't know a lot about the source of the recordings I have. I do know all of these recordings are of high enough quality to listen to and enjoy regularly. Beyond that, I can't give you a lot of info. Most are from trades. Some are from downloads. None are store-bought bootlegs. I wouldn't buy a bootleg in a store. I understand some people don't like to trade for mp3 based boots. That is their right. All boots with a wavy line ~ before the title are known to be from mp3s. Those with a pound sign # before the title are not from mp3s (or any other type of compressed file). Ratings - A lot of people rate the recordings on their list. I haven't done that. Ratings are subjective. I'm afraid I'll give something an A and some guy'll get pissed off because the recording in question is clearly an A-. I'll be glad to answer any sound quality questions you may have to the best of my ability. Quantity - If you are interested in a very large trade (say more than 10 or 12 discs) I've found it's easier on both of us if we break it up into 2 or more smaller trades. Less work and less risk. Guarantee - If you are not satisfied with the quality of a disc or if there was some error in recording it, I'll be glad to replace it. Artwork - I try to find or design artwork for as many titles as possible (time permitting). I've provided links to the artwork for each title, some on this site, some elsewhere. I have artwork for each title on my list that has an asterisk * at the end. Follow the links to find it. If there is no link or the link isn't working I can e-mail you a copy. I prefer you e-mail me any artwork you have or a link to it. If you are unable to print up artwork I can print it for you as part of the trade. I'll print you a high-quality copy on glossy paper for one CDR. If the artwork is more than a front cover booklet and back cover inlay then I may ask for more than one CDR. Credit - I've deisgned some of the artwork available here. Most of it I haven't. I'm working on giving credit to the designers. If you see artwork you designed here and would like credit, please let me know. If I've put a link to artwork posted on your site and you have a problem with that, let me know. Direct trade offers, inquiries, comments, suggestions (or if you'd just like to tell me I failed in my quest to not come off like a jerk) to: Nick |