How to trade like the American Pickers

My wife and I will sometimes watch a show on the History Channel called American Pickers. A “picker” is a term for someone who rummages through old barns and warehouses looking for collectibles and things that might be valuable. Two pickers – Mike and Frank – travel across America and find all sorts of treasures at bargain prices, and you wouldn’t believe the stuff they dig up. I don’t think I did the show justice, because the show really is more interesting then the previous three sentences makes it seem.

The pickers have a technique they call “bundling”, where they agree to buy 2-3 items if they can get them as a package deal and lower price. Packaging is common in fantasy baseball trading, but we don’t call it “bundling.” It’s more commonly refered to as a 2-for-1 trade.

But what are some of these secrets of a good 2-for-1 trade in fantasy baseball? Obviously, some of the basic rules of trading apply. Like you can’t expect to get the other team’s two best players for your scrub or it will get vetoed. I’ll let you click the previous links for the details and won’t cover them again here. What I do want to do is give you a few tips on how to trade like the American Pickers, a fantasy baseball 2-for-1.

1. If you need depth because your team has been ravaged by injuries then you might have to cough up a star player. If your only asset is a star player, then try and find a team that is interested and try to get two very solid players in return. Make sure you do the math and couple their stats to see if the two players create a legitimate boost to your team over the star plus replacement. (This explains coupling, a concept you absolutely want to master.) Obviously, the reverse can work if you are trying to hoard stars.
2. If you have your eye on a particular guy and have a player in surplus that’s roughly the same talent level you might want to essentially trade 1-for-1, but toss in a sweetener. This is great if you are addressing a specific need, know the guy you want, have a fair 1-for-1 deal in place, but the other owner is still on the fence. Toss in another player from his favorite team, just to sweeten the deal. With all things being Equal™, he might think the sweetener idea is Splenda™.
3. Take advantage of your league provider’s tools. ESPN, for example, has a Trading Block feature where each owner lists guys they are willing to move or that they are interested in. Use this. Offering deals for guys that other teams feel are expendable gives you more bargaining power and allows you to make more informed 2-for-1 offers.
4. Nash always jokes that his strategy is to wear them down. Don’t give up after the first offer. It’s like the girl you ask out in high school time and time again. She’ll go out with you eventually just because she admires your persistence. Of course, it could backfire and result in a restraining order being placed against you. Keep making offers to other owners. If one 2-for-1 doesn’t work then try different combinations.

So bundle players like the American Pickers, and hopefully you’ll be able to swing a couple 2-for-1 trades this season that will help your fantasy baseball team.