Great trades with Amy Shulk and dhawkman...doesn't matter..I've done TONS of trades since 2008 and STILL only have 2 stars..they never add them!!
To make this clear, "
they never add them" should be "
the members I trade with never request them."
For example, I just tallied up the star requests for the 4th quarter ending 12/31/14 and nobody posted for us to give a star to you (kcharlton). If people don't post in this thread to request stars, I can't add them. In the 3rd quarter (July, August September), there was 1 request for a star for kcharlton on 9/19, and that star was added. In the 2nd quarter (April, May, June) there were no requests. In the 1st quarter (January, February, March), there was 1 request on 3/1 and 1 request on 3/2 and those stars were added.
Note - during 2014, you posted for us to
give stars 3 times: 9/19, 3/2 and 3/1.
Summary for 2014: You asked for us to give stars to others 3 times. You received stars from others 3 times.
You are a very active trader. Here are some suggestions---
---Look at what works for other active traders with stars. Do they regularly request for us to give stars first, and then receive them in return? If any of those traders are your SA friends, you could communicate with them and ask for tips.
---You could also try this in the future - fix things at the source and be proactive by communicating with your traders:
When you trade, you could give the trader a link to this thread and ask them to request a star for you (similar to what people do on eBay).
For example, you could add a note and make it

standout

at the end of your trade forum post, and at the end of your trade PMs. Something like:

If you are happy with this trade, don't forget to go to the POST HERE TO REQUEST STARS thread (give link) and request a *star* for me. I will be requesting a *star* for you.

Thanks!
The Great Traders list is a guide, initiated by members, and since you are a very active trader, I don't think people are deterred from trading with you. You do have a big star, and each big star represents 10 good trades. It would be nice if people you trade with post so you can have more stars and it does look like a reciprocal thing, based on your give/receives for 2014.
Question: You say that you have 2 stars. You have 1 big and 6 small stars, which equals 16 small stars. Where do you see 2 stars?
Question added at 3:30 PM.