Are trade negotiations confidential? (1 Viewer)

[Avery]

I apologize if this is the wrong forum, but I believe that this is a general situation that may apply to many.

I believe is tact and “good relations” when I deal with other members of my leagues. I try to reply to all offers politely (i.e. “Thanks for the offer, but I don’t like player X because of Y, but how do you feel about player Z?”), I deal with problems with owners privately instead of “call outs” on league message boards, and keep any trash talking to good natured ribbing. Not only to I feel it’s good form for respectable competition, but in a league with continuity of ownership, it (hopefully!) keeps me from alienating a potential future trade partner.

As part of keeping this respectable attitude, I also have felt that it goes without saying that all trade negotiations should be kept confidential between the bargaining parties.

It has just come to my attention; as one owner mentioned off the cuff, “I hear you offered owner X, player Y for Z.”; that two owners who I have been having parallel trade negotiations have been discussing my exclusive offers with each other. This league contains a core of active members who seem to share this civil and courteous gamesmanship attitude.

Do I have a basis to be ticked off that they have been discussing my offers or am I just off base thinking that trade negotiations are confidential?

 

[reg]

Am I out of line to be ticked off that they have been discussing my offers or am I just off base thinking that trade negotiations are confidential?

Yes to both.Frequently people will shop around.

"So and so is offering me this, would you be interested in a similar or better deal?"

 

[Sopranos]

It happens..I have ran into it a few times and have done it myself on AIM..With Email AIM and cell phones alot of things are talked about now. I try to avoid it myself but others will do it. I dont like it and i would like it to be private but its much harder than it was years ago. League message board is a no no for talking about someones potential deal. Other owners have relationships we dont know about so its hard to say. In general i wouldnt be all that happy about it but atleast you know what to expect in the future

 

[Avery]

Am I out of line to be ticked off that they have been discussing my offers or am I just off base thinking that trade negotiations are confidential?

Yes to both.Frequently people will shop around.

"So and so is offering me this, would you be interested in a similar or better deal?"

Oops, both options I gave amount to the same thing, "Am I wrong, or am I wrong?"

Thanks for the opinion, though.

 

[Sopranos]

Am I out of line to be ticked off that they have been discussing my offers or am I just off base thinking that trade negotiations are confidential?

Yes to both.Frequently people will shop around.

"So and so is offering me this, would you be interested in a similar or better deal?"

I agree, i shop around also BUT i wont tell another team that player X and Z are involved. I will just say i need more or i need player X or his offer is better

 

[JAA]

I think its a fine line. You want leverage against other offers, but you dont want to give out all the information. First, its bad business to discuss who and what directly, and it doesnt give the other owners a warm feeling about your intentions if you are spilling all parts of your other offers.

I find it fair to say stuff like "The current price for player A is a RB2 or a WR1. I currently am deciding between 2 WR1 offers for him. Let me know if you are interested"

 

[-OZ-]

As a general rule, yes. Discussions should remain between the two owners.

But, if the owner is becoming beligerant, I have no quelm with discussing the actions with others. If you need an opinion, there's a few people I'll ask, even in the same league. If you're simply making a point "I can't believe I was offered such crap for LT" type, again - no problems.

But I do draw the line at posting or sending a mass email to the league. Without permission that is.

Also, if you make an offer, and the other side insults in the response, posting to get a consensus isn't a horrible idea.

I posted an offer I made awhile back for the 1.01 rookie pick to the board, partly because I wanted that owner to understand it was a good offer, partly because I was 99% certain he'd trade the pick and wanted to ensure he got legit offers. Turns out he gave the pick for what most considered less value anyway. But he liked it better, so time will tell.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

It has just come to my attention; as one owner mentioned off the cuff, “I hear you offered owner X, player Y for Z.”; that two owners who I have been having parallel trade negotiations have been discussing my exclusive offers with each other.

This is absolutely not a problem at all. I like being in leagues where people actually put this kind of effort into trades.

 

[crnerblitz]

I really dont mind other owners discussing a trade offer from a third team. Heck if its SOP for NFL,MLB, and NBA general managers then why should us fantasy players expect anything else? Its not as if were doing all we can to improve our clubs too.

Kevin McBride

 

[Beaumont]

How can you maximize player value if you cant tell teams A and B that they are both trying to trade for your player ...

A bidding war cant happen if they dont know they are bidding against each other ...

 

[thayman]

I don't go into specifics.....But I will say "Chris you need to give me more, Bill is has a better offer on the table." Nothing wrong with that IMO. Let's you get the best deal.

 

[Wadsworth]

Real teams discuss other offers. Free agents certainly discuss other offers they've gotten from other teams. I don't have any problem with it.

I've also found that the more cloak and dagger styled trades become the more often some owners start to get worried about cheating.

 

[GregR_2]

I wouldn't say they are confidential. And I wouldn't have a problem with someone naming the players I'd offered when he's in negotiations.

I disagree with the stance of using someone else's specific offer as leverage and refusing to say what it is. I think with a lot of people it will hurt you more than it will help you. You are essentially telling him the market price for your players is more, but not willing to give him the information that would let him actually verify that you're being honest in saying that. To me, someone who is going to play that card is as likely to be lying as not.

However, I think there are things that are still bad form about revealing trade offers. Like posting on a league message board, "I can't believe he turned this down", or "I can't believe he asked me for this" is probably stepping over the unwritten line for me. Those are unecessary and seem more intended to cast someone in a bad light.

But I don't have a problem with legitimate discussion in negotiations, or in even just casual talk about what the value of players/picks are in a given league.

 

[videoguy505]

I'm in a league with a couple of less-than-hardcore owners, who don't understand how to make a trade--they just click the "reject" button in the email they get without bothering to negotiate or counter-offer. Can't tell you how many times I've offered a WR2 for someone and got rejected when I was open to negotiating a WR1 swap, only to see them trade the guy I was interested in for a WR2 in the same tier with more name recognition than my offer. Sometimes I wish they were more open about offers they're receiving when I'm trying to work a trade.

 

[Wadsworth]

I wouldn't say they are confidential. And I wouldn't have a problem with someone naming the players I'd offered when he's in negotiations.

I disagree with the stance of using someone else's specific offer as leverage and refusing to say what it is. I think with a lot of people it will hurt you more than it will help you. You are essentially telling him the market price for your players is more, but not willing to give him the information that would let him actually verify that you're being honest in saying that. To me, someone who is going to play that card is as likely to be lying as not.

However, I think there are things that are still bad form about revealing trade offers. Like posting on a league message board, "I can't believe he turned this down", or "I can't believe he asked me for this" is probably stepping over the unwritten line for me. Those are unecessary and seem more intended to cast someone in a bad light.

But I don't have a problem with legitimate discussion in negotiations, or in even just casual talk about what the value of players/picks are in a given league.

It can backfire. I've been in talks with Owner A for example, that tries to leverage more value for his player by telling me that Owner B offered player X for him already. I've then gone to Owner B because I'd rather get player X and didn't realize Owner B would move his player. Trading can be such a minefield.

 

[GroveDiesel]

I wouldn't say they are confidential. And I wouldn't have a problem with someone naming the players I'd offered when he's in negotiations.

I disagree with the stance of using someone else's specific offer as leverage and refusing to say what it is. I think with a lot of people it will hurt you more than it will help you. You are essentially telling him the market price for your players is more, but not willing to give him the information that would let him actually verify that you're being honest in saying that. To me, someone who is going to play that card is as likely to be lying as not.

However, I think there are things that are still bad form about revealing trade offers. Like posting on a league message board, "I can't believe he turned this down", or "I can't believe he asked me for this" is probably stepping over the unwritten line for me. Those are unecessary and seem more intended to cast someone in a bad light.

But I don't have a problem with legitimate discussion in negotiations, or in even just casual talk about what the value of players/picks are in a given league.

I agree with this. The only reason to be upset is because you think that you may have to give up more or possibly lose out on the trade altogether if someone else knows what you are offering. So the only reason you're upset is because the other guy is maximizing his deal to your detriment. And I have no problem with that. Sometimes it works in your favor because someone may think that they're not getting a great deal from you but then finds that nobody else will match what you're offering.Now, if I get an offer I'm not going to send a league-wide email saying "Robert just offered me Tory Holt and Kevin Jones for Edge, can anyone beat that?" But if I have two guys giving me offers for Edge I have no problem letting them know what they're up against so that I can maximize my end of the trade. I'm not sure what the objection to that is.

I've even seen trades where somebody did that and then the two other guys ended up making a trade instead. So it certainly can backfire as well.

 

[noneother]

Hell yes. Do it all the time. Never know what you might miss. But you could open the door for another team to undercut your negotiations.

 

[Bankerguy]

If someone asks me to keep trade discussions confidential..... I will keep my word. I don't want to burn bridges with future trading partners. However, if there is no discusion about discussions being confidential then...... it's open season and you use the info to your advantage.

 

[GroveDiesel]

If someone asks me to keep trade discussions confidential..... I will keep my word. I don't want to burn bridges with future trading partners. However, if there is no discusion about discussions being confidential then...... it's open season and you use the info to your advantage.

I agree. I would never betray someone if they have asked me to keep it quiet. If someone let me know upfront that they want our negotiations kept confidential though, I'll definitely drive a harder bargain with them. Like I said, the only true reason I could see for someone to want to keep things confidential is because they are trying to get a better deal than what they would get with other people involved. So if they don't want me to talk to someone else about their offer, their initial offer better be enough that I don't even care to talk to anyone else. Otherwise I'll continue to negotiate with them but put that person as a lower priority in trade negotiations.

 

[Warhogs]

I always try to shop for the best deal with my players and I am always up front when negotiating saying that another team has offered me a better deal and I might get as specific as a younger QB or a better RB type discussion. I will not get name specific but will not suggest names of players or what teams. I really believe that most of the time in any league other owners will have a good idea on who you are negotiating with anyway and may have a rough idea of what the deal being discussed may be. I too would have an issue with someone giving specifics on player names and teams negotiations are happening with.

If I was ticked off I would contact the other owner and tell him/her that I expected any negotiations to be held confidential. I would make sure to mention in any future dealings that negotions should be confidential and to what level I felt they needed to be confidential. If that did not happen I would not deal with that team after that.

 

[ILoveMyLions]

In my league we share team's offers all the time. To be honest, it's good to get a general consensus of value for the whole league. It's also fun to laugh at some of the bad offers out there. If you don't want to get embarassed, then don't make bad offers. Simple as that. Also, it helps promote trading as bidding wars can ensue and that makes it more interesting.