Marcus Williams, a serious sports card collector from Chicago, meets his fellow collector Dave Patterson from Miami at a card show. They've been talking online for months about a potential trade but never had a safe way to execute it.
The Card Show Meeting
Dave Patterson: Marcus! Good to finally meet you in person. That Luka collection you've been building is impressive.
Marcus Williams: Dave! Likewise. Your Zion cards are exactly what I've been looking for to complete my set. But man, I've been nervous about doing this trade.
Dave Patterson: Three Luka Silver Prizm PSA 10s for three Zion Silver PSA 10s plus two grand cash? Yeah, that's not a trade you do casually with someone you've never met.
Marcus Williams: Exactly. I've heard too many horror stories. Guys getting sent fake cards, counterfeits that looked legit until they got them in hand. Or worse—sending cards and never receiving anything back.
Dave Patterson: The trust problem in this hobby is real. I've avoided trades like this for years because the risk just wasn't worth it.
The Trust Problem
Marcus Williams: Remember that Facebook group incident last month? Guy got burned for $8,000 on what was supposed to be a simple trade.
Dave Patterson: I saw that. The "PSA 10" turned out to be a fake slab. By the time he realized, the other person had ghosted.
Marcus Williams: And there's no recourse. It's not like you can call the police over a card trade gone wrong.
Dave Patterson: PayPal friends and family doesn't protect you. Even goods and services—try explaining to them why a piece of cardboard is worth $5,000.
Marcus Williams: So we're stuck. Either avoid the trades we want to make, or take substantial risk with strangers on the internet.
Dave Patterson: Actually... that's why I wanted to meet you. I found something that changes this completely.
Discovering the Solution
Marcus Williams: What do you mean?
Dave Patterson: There's a platform called Big0. They built a marketplace specifically for high-value card trades. Professional authentication, secure escrow, the whole thing.
Marcus Williams: I've heard pitches like that before. What makes this different?
Dave Patterson: Both parties ship their cards to a central verification hub. Professional authenticators verify everything—authenticity, condition, grade accuracy. Cash goes into escrow. Only after everything checks out does the trade complete.
Marcus Williams: So neither side can scam the other because a neutral third party is verifying everything?
Dave Patterson: Exactly. If my Zions aren't what I claimed, the trade doesn't happen and you get your Lukas back. If your cards aren't legit, same thing. Neither of us is taking a risk on trust.
How It Works
Marcus Williams: Walk me through the actual process.
Dave Patterson: We list what we want to trade—the platform supports complex multi-card trades with cash components, exactly like our deal. We agree on terms. Then we both ship to Big0's verification center.
Marcus Williams: What's the verification like?
Dave Patterson: Professional authenticators who know sports cards. They check the slabs, verify PSA certification numbers, examine the cards themselves. They're catching counterfeits that would fool most collectors.
Marcus Williams: And the cash component?
Dave Patterson: Held in escrow. It only transfers after both sides' cards are verified and the trade is confirmed. The whole system is built to make fraud impossible.
Marcus Williams: What about tracking? I want to know where my cards are every step of the way.
Dave Patterson: Complete chain of custody from shipment to delivery. Real-time messaging keeps both parties informed throughout. You can see exactly where your cards are at any moment.
Security and Trust
Marcus Williams: What's the security like? We're talking about thousands of dollars in cardboard.
Dave Patterson: Insured vault storage, climate-controlled, 24/7 monitoring. Bank-grade encryption for the platform itself. Two-factor authentication on accounts.
Marcus Williams: What if there's a dispute?
Dave Patterson: Binding arbitration through industry experts. People who actually understand sports card nuances, not random customer service reps.
Marcus Williams: Has anyone been scammed on the platform?
Dave Patterson: That's the thing—zero fraudulent transactions since launch. The verification process catches problems before they become disputes.
The Decision
Marcus Williams: Dave, this sounds almost too good to be true.
Dave Patterson: I felt the same way until I did my first trade through them. A smaller one, just to test it. Everything went exactly as promised. Cards verified, escrow worked perfectly, got my trade partner's cards in exactly the condition claimed.
Marcus Williams: How long did the whole process take?
Dave Patterson: About two weeks from shipping to receiving. Verification takes a few days—they're thorough. But honestly, that's fine. I'd rather wait and know everything is legitimate than rush and get burned.
Marcus Williams: The fees?
Dave Patterson: Reasonable for the service provided. When you're trading thousands of dollars in cards, paying something for guaranteed security and authentication is worth it. Way better than the alternative of getting scammed.
Making the Trade
Marcus Williams: You know what, Dave? Let's do this. Let's use Big0 for our trade.
Dave Patterson: I was hoping you'd say that. I've been wanting to make this deal for months, but I wasn't going to do it through Facebook messenger and crossed fingers.
Marcus Williams: Three Luka Silver Prizm PSA 10s for three Zion Silver PSA 10s plus $2,000. Finally happening.
Dave Patterson: Finally happening safely. That's the difference. We're not trusting each other—nothing personal—we're trusting a system that makes trust unnecessary.
Marcus Williams: That's exactly right. If the platform verifies everything, it doesn't matter that we're strangers. The system protects both of us.
Dave Patterson: Welcome to how card trading should have worked all along. I just wish this existed five years ago—I'd have a much bigger collection.
Marcus Williams: And a lot less stress. Let's set this up tonight. I'm actually excited about a trade instead of anxious for the first time in years.
Dave Patterson: Same here, Marcus. Same here.