Im writing this in a state of remorse, as I did something so stupid yesterday that it makes me cringe just thinking about it. If something of this nature hasnt happened to you yet, it will – we all have this experience more than once. Its unfortunate, because there is very little any of us can do to fix it.

In the frenzy surrounding the Patch cards yesterday, I started offering trades here and there to see if there was someone who was going to let one go for a reasonable price. I had a standard offer I was making, that included some cards from the “not for sale” part of the card sheet. In the course of making my offers, I accidentally added a Cutch sig to one of the trades without noticing it was there. The guy accepted before I could cancel my offer.

You just feel dejected, angry and mad at the world when something like this happens, mainly because you know its your own stupidity that brought this upon yourself. Ive done it in the past when I have accidentally accepted bad trades by accident as well, but this is easily the worst its ever been.

Now, I have been in this game long enough to know that its hard to stay upset for very long, as these things tend to come in cycles. Last week I had one of my best trading weeks in Bunt, and this week was easily the worst. Everyone needs to understand that there will be more sigs, there will be more inserts, and there will likely be a trade or two that goes your way when another one kicks you in the pants.

Here are some tips that I need to ensure practice more frequently:

• SCRUTINIZE EVERY TRADE BEFORE OFFERING/ACCEPTING – Bunt gives you a message before you make a binding decision for a reason. There are now reports that scammers are taking advantage of people not paying attention by hiding expensive cards in big offers for commons. Do yourself a favor and look before you leap.
• SLOW DOWN – the app has taken to jumping between areas of the sheet as it loads, and you could inadvertently add the wrong card if you dont let the load finish.
• LOOK AT THE PERSON YOU ARE TRADING WITH – If they have a huge collection score and a ton of trades, but are offering something that doesnt seem right, pay closer attention. Something may be off.
• TAKE IT ONE OFFER AT A TIME – I know people who get like 80 offers and try to juggle them all at once. Dont do that, its how you can easily get messed up. Keep your trade box clean and organized, and dont let offers sit that you have no intentions of accepting or countering.