I know what the league website says: Your trade deadline is several weeks away. There's plenty of time to get a deal done. What's the problem?
The problem is that the website is lying to you. I mean, not technically. What they call the trade deadline is probably some time next month in your league. But the implication that you have plenty of time to get the guys you want is a complete fabrication. If you've played fantasy football for any amount of time, you know that the real deadline is now, if it hasn't passed already.
In a perfect world, you'd make a trade offer, the other owner would immediately log in, accept the trade as is and everyone would be happy. And if that was the case, your deadline would truly be weeks away.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work like that. After a few minutes/hours/days, the other owner will probably look at your offer and enjoy rejecting it. Maybe they don't want to trade the player. Maybe they don't like what you're offering in return. Maybe they need to cover an upcoming bye before they can trade the guy you want. Whatever the reason, it will be a mystery to you. You'll just get a rejection notice and it's up to you to make sense of it. You can guess what the issue was and resend, you can send the same offer to a different owner for a different player or you can invoke sour grapes and stick with what you have. None of those scenarios are likely to get you what you want.
You can also attempt a real conversation with the owner and see if there's any interest. In that case, you might come to an agreement eventually. But how long will that take? Days? Definitely. Weeks? Probably. Do you now see your deadline slipping away? You could start negotiations weeks in advance and still run out of time to make something happen. And since the fantasy landscape changes with each passing week, your trade is always in jeopardy.
Practically speaking, your deadline to actually get a trade done is now. If you identify the players you want and make contact today, you have a shot of getting them. Otherwise, it gets harder every day.
So what can you do to put the odds in your favor? Here are a few suggestions:
Don't let a trade offer be the first contact. A message, email or (preferably) a phone call is the best way to reach out to a potential trade partner. If you let them know your intentions and encourage them to consider and counter, you'll meet less resistance.
Live communication is always better. It's harder to give an absolute no to your face or voice. But an unexpected trade offer on the league website? That's easy. Reject and keep scrolling. So start the dialogue off right, and things might not go wrong later.
Expect plenty of counters. Some owners counter because they want more for their player. Others counter because they think they're "supposed" to do it. Either way, you need to build that extra time into your negotiation window. You can hold something back in anticipation of a counter, but you can probably expect even more counters on top of that. Bend, but don't break. You know who you're willing to send packing; don't add so much to the deal that it's a net negative for you.
Identify when someone doesn't really want to trade. Some people just like the back-and-forth negotiations. Wheeling and dealing makes the game feel more realistic for them. But at the end of the day, you're the one spinning your wheels. There are no deals with these owners. They'll waste your valuable time if you let them.
If you suspect your trading partner isn't that serious, ask pointed questions: Are you interested in making a deal? Which player on my team would you want in trade? Can we make this happen by Friday? What makes this a fair trade for you?
If you can't get a straight answer after a good amount of time, accept that you might never get a deal done with this owner. And that leads us to the next part.
Have a backup plan, and contact them now. Trading is not monogamous. Feel free to reach out to other teams while you're "finalizing" a deal with someone else. You can always cut off negotiations elsewhere if both parties say yes, but if things fall through at the last minute you can keep going forward with another owner. As long as a team has someone you'd want, go ahead and reach out to them now. For all you know, that owner has their own short list of trading partners, and you're just one of the teams in the running. Nothing is final until it's final. Until then, it's kind of like online dating: Casual, full of liars and almost guaranteed to leave you disappointed. Play the field.
Now, none of this guarantees you'll get the player you want. But it will help you manage your time, and it's running short. Start negotiations now or you'll likely regret it later. Good luck this week.
How long do trades normally take in your league.? Any tips on how to get a deal done? Any disastrous trade stories? Share your thoughts below.