Trading Guide

How trading works on HoloLedger

Trading is card-for-card — no proxy currency, no forced pricing. Here's the actual process, from proposing a trade through to both of you confirming receipt.

Find cards to trade for Your trades

The trading process

Build the trade
In a conversation with another collector, propose which of your cards you're offering and which of theirs you'd like. Only cards either of you has explicitly marked as available for trade can be included — this happens inside Messages, not as a separate form.
Agree the exchange
The other collector can accept, decline, or counter with a different combination of cards. Every counter is its own record — nothing overwrites what was proposed before it — and only the latest proposal can be accepted. Trading a mix — several cards on either side — is fine.
Start Trade Protection
Once a trade is agreed, either of you can start Trade Protection. You'll each confirm you're taking part, and once you've both confirmed, your shipping addresses are shared with each other.
Send your cards
Dispatch your side and mark it as sent. You can add a carrier and tracking reference if you're using one — this is entered by you directly; HoloLedger doesn't independently check it against the courier.
Confirm receipt
When your cards arrive, confirm receipt. The trade is complete once both of you have confirmed — at that point you can each leave the other a review.

Before you trade

A few habits that make trading go smoothly.

Look closely at the photos and condition of what’s being offered — see our Condition Guide for what each condition tier actually means.
Check the other collector’s profile — how long they’ve been on HoloLedger and any reviews from completed orders or trades.
Make sure you’re both agreed on the exact cards, including variant and condition, before you accept.
Keep the conversation on HoloLedger rather than moving to another app — it’s your record of what was actually agreed.
Use the protected process in full rather than arranging shipping outside it.

What Trade Protection does

Once you’ve started Trade Protection on an agreed trade, HoloLedger:

collects a shipping address from each of you, shown only to the other participant once you’ve both confirmed
lets each of you record your own dispatch, with an optional carrier and tracking reference
lets each of you confirm you’ve received the other’s cards
marks the trade complete once you’ve both confirmed receipt

That gives both sides a documented, structured record of what was agreed and dispatched.

What Trade Protection doesn't cover

No money changes hands, and there's no compensation or arbitration.

Trade Protection isn’t insurance and doesn’t guarantee the exchange completes safely. If a card is lost, damaged, or never sent, HoloLedger doesn’t compensate either participant, doesn’t verify the authenticity or condition of traded cards, and currently has no dispute-resolution process for a trade gone wrong — unlike a marketplace purchase, there’s no evidence-submission flow or resolution outcome to fall back on.

If a trade does go wrong, you can report the other collector — see Safety — which can lead to enforcement against a bad actor, but it won’t recover your card or compensate you. If you’d rather have a structured refund path, a marketplace purchase carries Buyer Protection instead.

The full formal terms are in our Trade Protection Policy.