I have asked at least a couple people about 
trades since I began. I remember one was early on 
(and I didn't know what I was talking about), and 
of course, it was a "miss". All I did was ask 
them "hey, do you want to trade "this" cel 
for "that" cel.. they said no, i moved on. 

I have had one successful trade though, and I 
asked the same way. I offered my gallery url, and 
as desperate as I was, said "let me know if ANY 
of these catch your eye".. one did, we swapped 
(mailed out on the same day), and both are happy 
campers *glomps shmecky*. 

I suppose that the only way a person has the 
RIGHT to be rude about trade inquiries is if they 
actually have written on their page that their 
cels are not up for trades/offers. 

Other than that - no harm in asking ^_^;

~Tara