How long do you honor an email offer?

[Steelersfan]

So let me get this straight....you sent an offer. Then went back n forth negotiating. Then he decided he wants the original offer first sent, and you say no...

Sounds like once you start negotiating or sending counter proposals, the initial offer is off the table. He can re propose that trade, but its not your obligation to do it.

[bonscott]

Everyone is different. I always do trade discussion via email, back and forth. Once we seem to be close to an accord then I'll officially put in a proposal on the site or I'll tell the other guy to do it. Still, until that offer comes in and accepted nothing is in stone so further back and forth could occur. Never been a problem for a couple decades.

Are there times when I get close on an agreement only to have it fall apart after the official proposal? Sure. But it's a whole lot easier going back and forth via email or text then on the web site.

[TommyL31]

I had something very similar happen to me. We negotiated via email and had an agreed upon offer. I sent it and he didn't take it for several days and put his player on the block looking for a better one (mine was an overpay for someone I'm really high on), and got no better offers. That soured me so I revoked it (it had been in his inbox for 3 days with him logging in multiple times). He didn't respond to any of my emails and apparently started working on another deal contingent on getting my deal and came back 1 week later saying lets get our original deal done, I said no and you will need to pay more now. He complained and I haven't heard back. People are right, it's not a done deal till its accepted on the site, it can be bad trade etiquette and you can hurt future trades though if you do not honor your word, as I am hesitant to trade with him in the future from now on

So synopsis: agree upon a trade via email, other owner sends an email to the league that agreed player involved in deal is on the block after trade is agreed on, doesn't accept offer in inbox for several days, I revoke trade, and other owner comes back a week later wanting to do it since he has another offer contingent on completing ours. I say you need to pay more now and haven't heard back

I agree with your course of action here and have had similar things happen. It doesn't discourage me from negotiating via email though because I still think email (or text or phone conversation) are much quicker and more fluid form of discussion. I always start off with an offer on the system but if we need to negotiate about which players on my roster he likes and vice versa I'd rather just get an email that says something like "I'm willing to trade a RB for a WR but not a big fan of WR A. Have some interest in WRs B, C, D, and E though" That cuts to the chase of a deal framework much more quickly than him trying to come up with 4 distinct counters. If I offered the original deal I'm happy to make more offers after that but insight from the other owner about what they're interested in doing helps things.

People should generally honor their email offers only to the point where they email "I'd do this", the other owner puts that offer immediately in the system. That's mostly just being an honorable trading partner who guys want to work with. But owners on the other side also need to realize that offers are made at a given time and aren't good indefinitely.

Overall I'm a big fan of being fairly up front with other owners. Sometimes that means being careful about how you phrase things not say "I would give X for Y" but saying "Would you do X for Y?" I've even been up front to people when I'm looking for a better offer. Usually when you tell people you're in conversations with other owners but you like their offer one of a few things happens:
1. They get defensive and put a limit on their offer like say take it or leave it. It's off the table after today
2. They sit and wait
3. They add to their offer in an attempt to close the deal

I'm fine with absolutely any of those responses. Usually they just reflect on how bad the other owner wants the deal and how much leverage he thinks he has. All fair play in negotiations and add nuance and color to negotiating over email that you just don't get by 'formal' offers in the site.

[bonscott]

... I'd rather just get an email that says something like "I'm willing to trade a RB for a WR but not a big fan of WR A. Have some interest in WRs B, C, D, and E though" That cuts to the chase of a deal framework much more quickly than him trying to come up with 4 distinct counters. If I offered the original deal I'm happy to make more offers after that but insight from the other owner about what they're interested in doing helps things.

This. No way I want to keep going back and forth just on the web site with counter this, counter that. If someone *forced* me to do that and never talk trade via email then I simply won't trade with them because I'm not going to do that. If you tell me in email you prefer one of these 4 WRs then I can send over a new offer with one of them in it.

[maxhyde]

If it took him a week to respond, it's on him.

If he never agreed to an offer, it's on him.

If an offer was never sent by him, it's on him.

He should have moved faster.

Yeah, people reserve their right to change their mind. I play with an owner who when he puts an offer in the system he almost always sets it to expire at midnight of that day. Not only keeps him from leaving an offer out there through breaking injury or disciplinary news but also creates a burning platform effect that you either make a decision or the offer disappears.

I always set my offers to expire in a day or so too. I don't like having offers hanging out there too long. If that owner lets it expire and then offers it back it is my decision at that point.

[vlax525]

I had something very similar happen to me. We negotiated via email and had an agreed upon offer. I sent it and he didn't take it for several days and put his player on the block looking for a better one (mine was an overpay for someone I'm really high on), and got no better offers. That soured me so I revoked it (it had been in his inbox for 3 days with him logging in multiple times). He didn't respond to any of my emails and apparently started working on another deal contingent on getting my deal and came back 1 week later saying lets get our original deal done, I said no and you will need to pay more now. He complained and I haven't heard back. People are right, it's not a done deal till its accepted on the site, it can be bad trade etiquette and you can hurt future trades though if you do not honor your word, as I am hesitant to trade with him in the future from now on

So synopsis: agree upon a trade via email, other owner sends an email to the league that agreed player involved in deal is on the block after trade is agreed on, doesn't accept offer in inbox for several days, I revoke trade, and other owner comes back a week later wanting to do it since he has another offer contingent on completing ours. I say you need to pay more now and haven't heard back

I agree with your course of action here and have had similar things happen. It doesn't discourage me from negotiating via email though because I still think email (or text or phone conversation) are much quicker and more fluid form of discussion. I always start off with an offer on the system but if we need to negotiate about which players on my roster he likes and vice versa I'd rather just get an email that says something like "I'm willing to trade a RB for a WR but not a big fan of WR A. Have some interest in WRs B, C, D, and E though" That cuts to the chase of a deal framework much more quickly than him trying to come up with 4 distinct counters. If I offered the original deal I'm happy to make more offers after that but insight from the other owner about what they're interested in doing helps things.

People should generally honor their email offers only to the point where they email "I'd do this", the other owner puts that offer immediately in the system. That's mostly just being an honorable trading partner who guys want to work with. But owners on the other side also need to realize that offers are made at a given time and aren't good indefinitely.

Overall I'm a big fan of being fairly up front with other owners. Sometimes that means being careful about how you phrase things not say "I would give X for Y" but saying "Would you do X for Y?" I've even been up front to people when I'm looking for a better offer. Usually when you tell people you're in conversations with other owners but you like their offer one of a few things happens:
1. They get defensive and put a limit on their offer like say take it or leave it. It's off the table after today
2. They sit and wait
3. They add to their offer in an attempt to close the deal

I'm fine with absolutely any of those responses. Usually they just reflect on how bad the other owner wants the deal and how much leverage he thinks he has. All fair play in negotiations and add nuance and color to negotiating over email that you just don't get by 'formal' offers in the site.

I don't disagree with anything you say here. Maybe I've been playing for too long and see to many offers, maybe it's because I joined 3 new leagues the last 3 years (all startups) but when I do email negotiations and I get one that states specifically: "I will trade you player A for Player B" and when I offer it they say they are going to look for a better deal or do not accept it it rubs me the wrong way. In my older leagues I don't have any issue with this but it seems to be in newer leagues. Maybe because the player is super new and doesn't know values, maybe it's because of other reasons but either way it's just not the way I operate. And I'm not low balling, the recent trade I am referencing is giving Dez, 2017 1st for Allen Robinson where I have him as my #2 overall WR slightly behind OBJ. I was willing to overpay to get him. Either way If I tell someone I will do a trade via text or email I will do it, other people do not have the same principles which I have to come to terms with at some point