Subj: General articles, "To Trade or Not to Trade" Making trades is hard, and there are some difficult questions you need to ask yourself. * Why am I trading? --Are you doing it because you want/need the cards or are you doing it because someone really wants to trade. Remember the episode of the cartoon where Ash trades away Butterfree? He didn't really want to trade, but he did anyway. * Do I understand that I can't trade back? -- I don't usually make trades with kids because most of them think that if they don't like the trade in a day or two they can just trade me back. Ash was lucky he got his Butterfree back... you probably won't be able to trade back your cards. * Will my parents approve of this trade? -- I don't know who paid for your cards. But, you need to remember that your parents aren't going to like it if later they get called by the other kids parents. Most parents get really tweeked off by this kindof thing. Make sure your parents approve before you start trading valuable cards. * Do I understand how much the card I am trading are worth? --I have seen many people who trade cards and then later find out that they were worth a lot more than they got out of the trade. It makes them mad. * Does the person I am trading with understand the value of the cards they are trading to me? -- If you enter into a trade, knowing you are ripping someone off, then you are a big stupid-head and I hope nobody ever trades with you again. I hate it when people cheat others. Ask yourself these valuable questions... If your trading partner and you both understand the value of the cards that you are trading, your parents agree, you understand that you aren't getting them back, and you are trading becasue you want to, then yes, I think that you're making a good trade. Please feel free to comment on this article. ThePokemonLady@aol.com