I thought I would copy this message here as I found it rather interesting... it is an excerpt from a convo on starsidergalaxy.com
http://www.starsidergalaxy.com/forum/index.php?topic=17329.msg302514#msg302514
I dont think they will ever make the free packs tradeable, and the main reason is you get 5 free packs per month per account. That is 75 cards per month per account. The Non-TCGers could care less about these cards and would just give their entire deck of thousands of cards away just for one loot card. (This already happens now with the people who buy TCG packs trying to get loot...immediately after you see a persistent trade posted on the TCG...60 something non-loot cards just for one loot card, and the occasional ridiculous request for multiple rare loot cards for simple non-loot cards.)
TCG players like me sometimes eat up these opportunities of really great and rare TCG non-loot cards. Some TCG players like myself are willing to trade these rare loot cards for really rare TCG cards.
The fact is that most people are not aware of just how easy it is to get what you want from the TCG at very minimal costs...in fact sometimes never a single extra RL dollar is spent. I'll give a perfect example.
Look here and you see some TCG loot for real IG credits. The Mustafar ad there shows being worth 2 million credits. A lot of people have this...some dont. If you do not I suggest doing an official forums search for money making strategies cause you can easily make a few million per week off just selling resources.
So you start off with one Mustafar Travel ad that you bought for 2 mil (I happened to get one out of one of the TCG packs I bought and opened but obviously the person selling this has a tradeable version as well and that you can purchase without real money using in-game credits for 2 mil).
I posted a persistent trade on the TCG trading the Mustafar Travel Ad for something somewhat unique yet not quite rare. I think it was the Nightsister Vendor to be honest. (If you look in that same thread the seller tags the NS vendor at being worth 15 mil so I instantly made 13 mil profit). Now I traded the NS Vendor for something silly like regular non-loot TCG cards and a few of those xp buff TCG loot cards. I then traded the xp buff loot cards for a Wookiee Ceremonial pipe and the same Mustafar Travel Ad I started with. So Now I have what I started with...plus a Wookiee Pipe. Those I traded for a greeter which I then traded for a pair of greeters which I then traded for a jetpack blueprint and the leia statuette. The jetpack blueprint someone really wanted so they traded me that and the leia statue for an armored bantha mount. Now I had something worth some solid amount. I was able to wait...and finally traded the Armored Bantha Mount and an extra grevious gutsack xp buff TCG card I had for the Koros Airspeeder. Another steal if you ask me. The vehicles are worth a lot as is are structures. I traded the airspeeder for TCG Event passes...which hardcore TCG sharks like me use to compete in tournaments, but dont always want to spend the cash to buy the event passes. Traded the speeder for 50 event passes (RL equivilancy of $50) and traded that for a TCG barn which I then traded to someone in-game for a rare mutated Co-Henpa Mount.
So...if you play your cards right (pun intended) and you keep an eye on the shifting TCG market...you can occasionally get a good deal and get the exact cards you want.
UNOPENED TCG packs...are the BEST barganing chip to get the exact loot you want. When you do buy a TCG loot card with in-game credits from the official forums filter your persistent trades on the TCG for people who want that card...it shows you what you can and cant trade for. See another loot card...search filter just that card to see what people are willing to trade to get that. Eventually you will find one or two people who will trade say...1 unopened Galactic Hunters pack for a....Battle Droid Greeter for example (RL equivalany of $2.99). Now you have some room to trade as that unopened pack might have the boba fett statue (Very rare card) or something else in it. People honestly like to open the TCG packs...they get excited off the chance game...but some complain when they get nothing.
(If you camp the TCG forums you will hear plenty of stories of people who spent HUNDREDS of real life dollars and complain to not get ANY loot cards....but they didnt learn after the first few tries. If they would have just bought 10 card packs for $30 bucks they could have probably traded for the EXACT loot they wanted. I dont think too many TCG cards go for more than 50 event passes which translates to $50 so those who spend hundreds and never get that sith speeder or sith temple that they want...reap what they sow.)
At the end of the day...bank off of others and their deeds and whether you like the TCG or not...whenever they have these free scenarios in-game...complete them and get the cards. Recently they gave away a Hoth Travel Ad, and before that they gave away a Jawa Greeter...these loot cards are worth tons to the people who didnt bother playing those TCG scenarios. Ever since the Lifeday TCG scenario being too hard to get the in-game Rock Garden Loot card they have made every new TCG scenario a pushover.
If you ever need help beating this please send me a PM and I will do my best to help you beat them...because you are just robbing yourself of free cards that you could potentially be using to trade and get the TCG cards that you want.
Playing in the Free Monthly Sprint tournaments is also a good idea. If you played in every single sprint tournament in a month and lost every match you would still get a promo card which believe it or not...people will trade actual TCG loot for. If you get good enough at the tournament to actually put some real points on the board you win more promo cards, and if you are really great you get a TCG Choose a Loot card which pretty much lets you choose whichever TCG Loot card you want.
Realisticly will any of us ever get that good? Highly unlikely as the people who win literally spend the majority of their time in the TCG...alll......day.....long.
So you see....SOE has their customers and they are loyal, and if they want a specific card for a new deck to try and win a tournament...they will pay for it. Some people dont like waiting...if you are smart and can wait on the good trades like me you could easily be basking in TCG glory.
I bought cards in the beginning. Now I only buy 10 packs per month. But Right now I have a Diner...sold a diner for 260 million, and traded two TCG barns. I have the rare Boba Fett Statue and I have another Armored Bantha Mount. I have claimed a podracer, and I have 4 pages of UNCLAIMED TCG loot cards (Ask Jeevik). I dont claim these and I hold onto them for the right opportune time to trade.
You learn the game of trading and you get not only the exact TCG loot cards you want but you get the exact TCG playing cards you want.