TL;DR

  • Trade cards with other users right inside EchoMTG.
  • Make a proposal, the other person can accept, decline, or counter.
  • Mark when you ship and when you get the cards. The trade closes itself when both sides receive.
  • Bigger trades have more rules to keep you safe.
  • After a trade, leave a rating — sentiment + a few stars on communication, speed, and accuracy. Trust is public.
  • Want lists + matchmaking find people who have what you want and want what you have.
  • EchoMTG is not your bank or your shipper. We track the deal; you and the other person handle the rest.

How a trade works

Make the proposal. Go to someone's trade page. Click cards you want. Click cards you'll give. Hit Submit Trade Proposal. The other person gets a notice.

Browsing another user's trade list

They respond. They can accept, decline, or counter. A counter means "I'll trade, but with different cards." Counters open a window where they tweak the trade and send it back.

Both ship. Once accepted, both of you mail your cards. Click Mark Shipped and add a tracking number when needed.

Both confirm. When you get the package, click Mark Received. After both sides confirm, the trade is done.

Following along

Every trade has its own page. You see the cards, the total value, and a full history. Every step is logged: who shipped, who got their package, when each thing happened.

Your Trade Proposals tab

The My Apps and Trade List tabs in the side menu show a number when you have unread trade alerts. Mark all read clears them all at once.

Trade safety: the five tiers

Trades are sorted by total dollar value. Bigger trades carry more rules:

  • New Trader ($0–$25) — Welcome. Try a small trade first to learn the flow. No tracking number required. Just sleeve your card and put it in an envelope.
  • Standard ($25–$50) — Same as New Trader, just labeled differently. Quick swaps for everyday cards.
  • Heads-Up ($50–$200) — A tracking number is required when you ship. Use insured mail.
  • Photo Evidence ($200–$500) — Take pictures of the cards and the package before you ship. Take pictures when you open it. This protects both sides.
  • Custodial Recommended ($500+) — Think about using PSA Vault or eBay Vault. They hold cards safely while a trade happens. EchoMTG points you to those services. We don't replace them.

These dollar amounts can be changed later. The rules pull from one place, so we can fine-tune as we learn.

The Trade Terms box

Every time you start or accept a trade, you check a box. The box says you understand:

  • EchoMTG is not in charge of the cards or the money.
  • We don't ship anything for you.
  • If something goes wrong, you and the other person work it out.

A small first-trade — the New Trader tier shows a friendly welcome message and the Trade Terms checkbox

We save the time, your IP address, and which version of the rules you agreed to. This keeps everyone honest. If a problem comes up later, we have a record.

If something goes wrong

Two ways to flag a problem:

  • Dispute — Something is off. Maybe the cards came damaged. The trade is paused. Both of you get notice. An admin can step in.
  • Report a violation — The other person didn't hold up their end. They never shipped, sent the wrong cards, or lied about condition. You name them, pick a reason, and tell us what happened. An admin reviews it.

A reported user doesn't get punished right away. We look at the evidence first. If it's a real issue, their trader account is suspended and/or penalized.

Trader Ratings — building reputation

When a trade completes, both sides can leave feedback. We use an eBay-style shape that's familiar and quick:

  • Sentiment — positive, neutral, or negative. The single signal that drives a trader's overall trust badge.
  • Three stars — communication, speed, accuracy. Each rated 1–5. Cards arrive matching the agreed condition? Five for accuracy. They responded to messages quickly? Five for communication. Mailed the day you accepted? Five for speed.
  • Optional comment — say something useful in your own words.

Trader Feedback section on a trader's profile — sentiment + the three sub-axes + comments

The summary lives at the top of every trader's profile as a small badge: 👍 96% (12) style. Click into the profile and you see the full breakdown — average across each axis, every comment, every trade it came from.

A few rules to keep ratings honest:

  • You can only rate a trade that's completed — both sides marked received. Pending or cancelled trades don't count.
  • You can only rate the other person, not yourself.
  • One rating per trade per side. No double-dipping.
  • Once you submit, the rating is part of the public record. Build your reputation on real history.

Want Lists & Matchmaking

You don't need to manually browse every trader to find your cards. Add cards to your want list (foil aware — say whether you want regular, foil, or either) and EchoMTG watches the rest of the network for you:

  • Cards you want, available now. When someone tradable lists a card on your want list, you get a heads-up — the card, who has it, and a link straight to their trade page.
  • Cards you have, wanted now. The reverse direction. Other traders are hunting cards on your tradable list — you're surfaced to them automatically.

The Trade Discovery hero on your dashboard shows both directions at a glance. No more scrolling through random profiles hoping to spot a match.

Polish that's worth knowing

  • Foil overlay — cards shown as foil get a 45° blue/pink/blue gradient at 15% opacity. You can spot foils across the whole proposal at a glance.
  • Subscriber badge — paid plan members get a blue verified-burst on their avatar across every trade page. Quick visual signal of who's invested in the platform.
  • Floating proposal builder — you can pop out the trade you're building into a draggable, resizable window. It survives navigation — switch tabs, go check a card detail, come back, your proposal is right where you left it.
  • Per-counterparty drafts — start a trade with one person, switch to a different trade with someone else, come back later. Each draft is keyed to the counterparty so they don't collide.

FAQ

Q: Does it cost anything to trade?
A: No. Trading on EchoMTG is free. You only pay shipping costs to send your cards.

Q: Who decides what each card is worth?
A: The app uses TCGplayer market prices to suggest a value. You can negotiate the actual swap with the other person; counter offers are how.

Q: Can I trade money instead of cards?
A: Not right now. Trades are card-for-card today. We may add a "cash on the side" option later — but EchoMTG won't move money for you, even then. You'd settle that part with the other person yourself.

Q: What if the other person never ships?
A: Wait a reasonable time. Then click Report a Violation on the trade. Pick "failed to ship," explain what happened, and submit. An admin will look at it.

Q: What if I change my mind after I accept?
A: Click Cancel. The trade is paused, and the other person gets a notice asking them to confirm. Cancellation needs both of you to agree, so neither person can back out alone.

Q: Why do you save my IP address?
A: When you check the Trade Terms box, we save the time, the version of the rules, and your IP. It's evidence that you actually agreed. If a real dispute comes up, we have a record. We don't share your IP with the other trader.

Q: Can I undo an archived trade?
A: Archive is just a way to hide a finished trade from your list. It doesn't delete anything. The trade history stays in the system.

Q: Why are there tiers at all?
A: A $5 trade and a $5,000 trade are very different. Cheap trades should be quick. Expensive ones need extra safety. The tiers add the right amount of friction for the trade size — no more, no less.

Q: Can I edit a rating after I leave it?
A: Not yet — once you submit, it's locked. We may add a short edit window later. For now, take a beat before you click submit.

Q: What happens to a bad rating?
A: It stays on the public record. If you genuinely think a rating is wrong (factually incorrect, or the trader retaliated for an honest report), email support and an admin will review.

Q: I'm new. Where should I start?
A: Try a New Trader–size trade ($25 or less) with someone you trust. Get used to the flow before doing anything big. Your first few ratings carry extra weight — be patient about getting them.

Q: I have a feature request or bug to report.
A: Drop it on our public tracker at github.com/EchoMTG/community, or email support. We're listening.

Trading on EchoMTG should feel natural and fair. We built this for the community, and we'll keep tuning it as you use it. Happy trading.