Trading: How to get what you want with what you don’t.

So you buy what you think is the perfect pair. You early await it’s arrival, checking the shipping status multiple times a day. It arrives, you put on, and…something’s not right. Either the color is off, the fit isn’t quite working out, or the size isn’t what you thought it would be. Either way, in most cases you are out some serious cash. So what is there to do? If it was a shirt or a pair of shoes, you could return them, but I can count on one hand the number of underwear manufacturers that allow returns. So what else can you do? Before you turn that $30 pair into a rag, try trading.

Yes, trading may feel kind of..gross. It’s something someone else has worn, yes. It’s still clean and is one of the best ways to get rid of pairs that you don’t want and get more pairs that you do want. Here are some simple trade tips I’ve learned over the years:

• Avoid internationals- As much as I want to include everyone in the world, international shipping is a pain in the butt. Having to figure out how to put foreign dresses into traditional shipping forms, not to mention the high cost. Most times first class shipping with tracking for a few pairs in a simple bubble mailer has cost me less than $10. Not a bad price to pay for clearing out your underwear drawer and getting some new pairs in return.
• Search high and low for your opposite- If your problem is sizing, find someone who has recently left the size you want and is now in the size you are trading away. Yes, this can be sorta difficult, but thanks to the internet and places like Twitter, it shouldn’t be too hard to find someone interested in your pairs with a few that might work for you.
• Trade with your trust- I would highly suggest that you deal only with someone that you know or trust. Having said that, even if the trade goes south and you get nothing in return, you only loose a few dollars in shipping and packaging materials, and a pair that you didn’t even want.

So, in the end, there are some concerns, and it may not be for everyone, but trading pairs can be a good way of recouping your underwear investment and helping your collection become only pairs that you love. I’m planning on doing another big cull soon, and most of those pair’s I’m going to try and trade away. I’m actually in the middle of a trade right now. I shipped my pairs out long ago, but I’m waiting for the other guy to do the same. Hopefully, he’ll get to it eventually. Even if he doesn’t, I’m still glad to get rid of those pairs.

Have you ever traded underwear? How did it go? Tell us about it below in the comments or let us know about it on twitter @unbblog. As always, you can find mine on twitter @underweardude. Happy trading!