With all the discussion on trading yesterday, I wanted to do a quick post on how to identify good traders. Lots of people have been complaining about a rash of people who create a negative experience, and here is how I do my best to avoid it as much as possible.
Trader Star Rating (1-5 stars)
The trader rating is only helpful in a few ways, especially in the fact that it only speaks to the trades the person has offered and the ones they have accepted when offered. I rarely look at the rating the person has when making offers, as it doesnt really tell me much. That being said, I understand that there are likely a lot of people that look at it, but it just doesnt give enough to really make a determination. If a person has 3 stars, its likely that they made a bunch of offers on a card that a bunch of people didnt want to give up. It may also mean that their outgoing offers are usually pretty terrible. Neither of which applies to me making them an offer incoming.
Collection Score (0.00 – 100.0)
The higher a collection score is, the more likely I am to trade with that person. Although there are a lot of people who have high scores because of 2013 cards, its still worth using this rating as a guide to determine whether or not they even have good cards to trade in the first place. If you are new, high collection scores also may mean they have an abundance of duplicates that they might give away for little to nothing. Not always though – ask before you start going nuts.
Trade Count (Varies)
Having a high trade count only means the person is a very active trader. The ticker only increases when you make an offer and it is rated by the other trader, or you accept an incoming offer, so we can glean a few things from a high rating. First, they will look at or counter the offer, which is always an issue when making offers with newer traders who may not know how to use the system. Second, they will likely know what they want and what they dont want – which can also be a challenge. Lastly, they should have some cards that are worth trading for.
Putting the three of these together is how I can usually determine the best people to at least start working with. The best advice I can give is to ask questions and start relationships with the people you discover are good bunters. They can be harder and harder to find as the user base grows, but search “Toppsbunt” on twitter, and you will start to see the people who are most active. All those fans of the week people are also good representatives of the game and should be able to help point you in the right direction.
Last but not least – DONT GIVE UP. Patience is key. Dont let a few bad apples spoil the whole bunch.
Digital Card Central 
These days, I tend to use ratings the way you described. That said, I do give a little more credence to the number of stars — I am learning that under 3 stars probably is an indicator of a greedier trader and above 4 stars is probably someone who is usually more generous. Most people fall between 3 and 4 stars — it is hard to tell them apart.
I think I have used the ratings a little differently in the past. When I was a newbie, I looked for people with high volumes because I assumed they would be more likely to look at my offers. These days, I don’t pay as much attention to number of trades unless it is under 50 trades. If they are under 50, chances are that they don’t spend a ton of time on the app.
And I find that it is easier to trade with people who have a similar collection score. Usually within about 5-10 points on the low side and 5-10 points on the high side. For example, I am at about 85 now; I find it easiest to trade with people who have a score between 80-90+. Though even that has pitfalls because the score is based on collections of 2012-2013 cards… which are typically not relevant in trades.
Great post!
A low star rating can also be the result of the player declining a lot of ridiculous offers he got for his cards. The guy who offered the trade will rate 1 star because he thinks the other guy should have accepted his ridiculous lowball offer. To avoid that one should either counter and then cancel (a declined counter offer will result in the same outcome) or just ignore the ridiculous offer for 24 hours. Sometimes it also works to point the offerer at the ridiculousness of his offer so he can cancel on his own. The latter works most of the time but not always.