I’ve never heard of Ocoto, but just looking it up, it looks like it’s a bot; I didn’t realise that non-newbies could trade with them! This is exciting, thank you!!
I keep a written list of all of my prints in a special book, so that I can keep track of which ones I’m currently trading for/currently offering, etc. I then prioritize 2-3 sets, which I focus on collecting with my Free Packs until they’ve finished; I make daily trades with NeonBot to get Commons from a 4th set; and I then have standing deals with a couple of people I know off-line where we help each other out, even if it means really uneven trades–so I don’t think I’ve ever opened a pack of Radiolaria Index, for example–I’ve gotten all of that from trades
Back when I first started, I used to make a point of keeping a list of everybody whom I’d traded with, and then I would write up lists of everything they needed, and everything I needed, and then compare them with what we had, in order to maximise the number of prints I could get in the fewest number of trades just using those people, as I’d had experience with them & could expect a prompt reply & maybe a friendly message (I’d also prioritize people who responded to me in writing as well when I was new, because it made me smile). Nowadays I trade so often with so many people that I don’t really do that anymore–I really wish that there was a “Friends” system in place, to make it easier!
In the meantime, I now tend to go through each set, and click on the highest-rarity print I need from it which I have a duplicate of matching rarity for. I then make notes (in a million open tabs) of all the people who have a duplicate of that particular print, have at least an A- trader’s rating, and have as many or fewer prints than I do in that set. Then I draft out offers to everybody, and then compare/contrast all the possible offers I’ve got lined up, and send off the best one!
…I usually spend about 2 hours or so every night NeonMobbing, from midnight until 2am. Insomnia ain’t fun…
(Of course, I also then generally try to give away as many Common/Uncommon duplicates as I’ve got from sets which I’ve completed, as I figure it’s something nice to do for people. I shall have to check out Ocoto though, so see how it works! )