Competition **Giveaway** How can we make the hobby better and attract new people post Covid boom?

[MattWasGF4L]

We need an easy app actually , now a days people use mobiles so if we can transform this forum into an app format it will be very handy and easy interface and can definately attract a lot of people , advancing with technology is important because it makes your communication easy and convenient.

I like typing on keyboards for long form though - not on a phone - I see your point though about everyone having a phone in their hand a lot during the day

 

[Billyhoyle]

the forum translates really well to mobile - just make sure ypour browser is using the mobile version and not desktop. You can even get it to send notificaations

 

[TAB1980]

Any new ideas?

 

[TAB1980]

I've already written a few essays so far....

I think there's a heap of stuff to work with from the ideas that have already been put forward.

 

[skip20]

Wasn't the idea of an official sanctioned OZCT group break previously raised and endorsed? Not necessarily my cup of tea, but seems to be lot sof group breaks going on and some fairly iffy types associated with it, probably something OZCt coudl build on given its; solid reputation and community of OGs.

Now that you're an admin KGF4L snap your fingers and make it happen! hah hah

 

[maccca32]

I primarily collect basketball cards but I am not currently buying new packs, so I am currently looking to find collectors in Australia to trade/sell to complete my existing collection.

I can manually go through the "Wanted" or "Selling, Trading & Auctions" threads but it is not the most efficient, although it is a hobby for all, the amount of time we want to spend varies. It is interesting some comments in thread mention interacting more with users, which might be true for some, but not for someone like me, who is time poor.

I am surprised the forum doesn't leverage existing trading card resources like Trading Card Database (tcdb.com).

I like @Billyhoyle sticky thread "Who do you collect" and propose the following changes.

Firstly, similar to eBay User or COMC user, have TCDB User option.

Example 1: Let's say I have a "Manu Ginobili" insert. Using above thread I find 3 users (two of which are inactive).

How do I know if they have the card already or if they even have anything I want to trade for? I click their TCDB link and then click "Trade Matching". It will show which cards we want from each other. If no match, I can then click "Match items on your For Sale/Trade...", if the card comes up, I can offer the card to them for sale on here.

Secondly, create similar threads as "Who do you collect" for Parallel and Base sets. An advantage is users wouldn't need to bump their threads if they are confident people know where to find them. I believe you wouldn't even need threads for Parallel and Base cards and can use the "Wanted" thread for Inserts.

Example 2: Let's say I have a "1993-94 Upper Deck Special Edition Electric Gold". Using my proposed "Parallel" thread, I find if any users are collecting it. If yes, I click their TCDB link and proceed the same as above in Example 1.

This would save me heaps of time and I would be more confident I am not missing anything. I could use that time saved more efficiently by updating these new threads. This should benefit, not only me, but everyone.

Note: Let me know if this should be in here instead.

 

[KnightsTragic]

I think I’m still technically a newbie - and I’ll play that card regardless

Trying to really get into it but after buying a bunch of stuff I’m now looking to sell some (in my view at least) pretty decent cards - but can’t even get a response to numerous posts attempting to sell.

I realise ‘value’ is in the eye of the beholder - so tricky to tell anyone “your prices are too high” - but is there some way of promoting more feedback so reasonable prices are given a chance to be offered, negotiated and accepted?

I don’t need to make huge profits - but I do need to sell for a reasonable price if I am to continue to invest in the hobby.

I realise this is just a ‘problem statement’ rather than a ‘proposed solution’ (and I am sorry for that) - but somehow creating more movement of cards for people in my position would really help promote the hobby.

Open to any and all constructive feedback.

Cheers all.

 

[MattWasGF4L]

I think I’m still technically a newbie - and I’ll play that card regardless

Trying to really get into it but after buying a bunch of stuff I’m now looking to sell some (in my view at least) pretty decent cards - but can’t even get a response to numerous posts attempting to sell.

I realise ‘value’ is in the eye of the beholder - so tricky to tell anyone “your prices are too high” - but is there some way of promoting more feedback so reasonable prices are given a chance to be offered, negotiated and accepted?

I don’t need to make huge profits - but I do need to sell for a reasonable price if I am to continue to invest in the hobby.

I realise this is just a ‘problem statement’ rather than a ‘proposed solution’ (and I am sorry for that) - but somehow creating more movement of cards for people in my position would really help promote the hobby.

Open to any and all constructive feedback.

Cheers all.

A lot of getting offers and sales is traffic here too - in my opinion there would be a lot more action if more people were online here like a number of years ago - trades too even - so the issue of attracting people back would solve the sales issue.


Also have to encourage the use of https://130point.com/cards/ to find and average recent sales to get fair values and remind people that the high BIN or Best offer listings on ebay does not mean that's what they sell for or are valued at.

 

[Andrew111]

I think the problem is not the site but the rules. If you have to include a price when you post people will just keep posting on facebook and ebay where they don't have to specify a price.

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

I think the thing is that this forum whilst it was good for buying selling was mostly a community that was an amazing place to talk about collections or just a chat about anything. I made a lot of great connections through here when I moved across from NZ and didn't know many people in general , let alone that there were so many other people that liked to collect pieces of cardboard here and how much different it was in NZ (at the time)
So there is definitely a lot of connection that seems to be missing from the cards and swung in terms of the dollar.

It's easier than ever to post higher quality images and even videos from a phone these days and yet the mailday section and live breaks sections is 1/4 (if not more) of what it used to be when we all struggled with scanners and low speed internet. Perhaps its we have become accustomed to the instant gratification of a facebook/instagram post that gets likes straight away that it 's more encouraging to post there? I do love seeing a well constructed mailday thread here the likes of @skip20 @GarnettFan4Life @Essellohbeebeewhy and others that you just dont see on the socials wihtout have 1000 hastags after one photo as well.

No solutions there but I think the hobby is sorting itself out on the way back to somewhere like this and weeding out the so called "investors"

 

[MattWasGF4L]

I think the problem is not the site but the rules. If you have to include a price when you post people will just keep posting on facebook and ebay where they don't have to specify a price.

If you don’t have to post a price how will you know that an offer you get is fair? By looking up comps - so if you have to look up anyway why not just put that price and say open to offers - seems easy to me

 

[KnightsTragic]

If you don’t have to post a price how will you know that an offer you get is fair? By looking up comps - so if you have to look up anyway why not just put that price and say open to offers - seems easy to me

I struggle to find direct comparison prices for my ‘relatively speaking’ good cards.

Take these 4 for example - I seriously want to sell them but can’t find a reliable price guide anywhere.

And PS - very happy to be proven wrong because if someone can help show me what these are truly worth I’d genuinely appreciate it.

 

[KnightsTragic]

I think the thing is that this forum whilst it was good for buying selling was mostly a community that was an amazing place to talk about collections or just a chat about anything. I made a lot of great connections through here when I moved across from NZ and didn't know many people in general , let alone that there were so many other people that liked to collect pieces of cardboard here and how much different it was in NZ (at the time)
So there is definitely a lot of connection that seems to be missing from the cards and swung in terms of the dollar.

It's easier than ever to post higher quality images and even videos from a phone these days and yet the mailday section and live breaks sections is 1/4 (if not more) of what it used to be when we all struggled with scanners and low speed internet. Perhaps its we have become accustomed to the instant gratification of a facebook/instagram post that gets likes straight away that it 's more encouraging to post there? I do love seeing a well constructed mailday thread here the likes of @skip20 @GarnettFan4Life @Essellohbeebeewhy and others that you just dont see on the socials wihtout have 1000 hastags after one photo as well.

No solutions there but I think the hobby is sorting itself out on the way back to somewhere like this and weeding out the so called "investors"

I love this idea of sharing and enjoyment as opposed to just being all about the $$.

For me the main attraction is the trip down memory lane with the legends from back in the day plus a tiny bit of ‘pulling a sweet card’.

Is it a core focus of this site (genuinely asking the admins) to buy / sell. Or should we be using this forum more to share the love of the game and be focusing efforts more on buying / selling elsewhere?

I really enjoy this site - and I love sharing my box openings. I just need to sell some cards along the way to continue to fund the hobby.

 

[MattWasGF4L]

I struggle to find direct comparison prices for my ‘relatively speaking’ good cards.

Take these 4 for example - I seriously want to sell them but can’t find a reliable price guide anywhere.

And PS - very happy to be proven wrong because if someone can help show me what these are truly worth I’d genuinely appreciate it.

Comps means just that - comparisons - where did you get your price idea from? A different year, same player but different set, same set but different player, a serial numbered card in a different year etc etc

Sometimes it’s easy when heaps have sold - other times we just do our best to have a guess and then get an idea of what we’d be comfortable of paying or accepting to sell

 

[Essellohbeebeewhy]

I'm with Kiwi. This is my place to connect as part of a community. Unfortunately most of the collectors now have forgotten why they got back into the hobby. nostalgia. greed took over. this place also takes effort, and some guys just arent into putting in effort unless it serves them. the sales and trades won't get people here. if you're looking on here you're in the wrong spot. community is what drives this site. if you build it they will come.

 

[KnightsTragic]

Comps means just that - comparisons - where did you get your price idea from? A different year, same player but different set, same set but different player, a serial numbered card in a different year etc etc

Sometimes it’s easy when heaps have sold - other times we just do our best to have a guess and then get an idea of what we’d be comfortable of paying or accepting to sell

I think I’m being too narrow in my price assessment.

Trying to find exact card and recent sales - not thinking laterally enough - so I appreciate your comments and will apply this type of thinking. Cheers

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

Something else that is possibly to blame is that with the boom in the hobby and also the multitude of social media pages and breakers appearing was there was a lot of division in the hobby.
along the lines of "You break with that guy" or 'You're on that page" ... "I only break with blah blah" "I only use this page" therefore we can't do a deal somewhere else or I'm not listing my cards on another page / site.

This was almost the only place to come for anything local at one point in time and aided that community vibe.
I mean we are all adults and should understand not everyone is get along all the time, but it feels at times being in the middle of a gang war

 

[MattWasGF4L]

Something else that is possibly to blame is that with the boom in the hobby and also the multitude of social media pages and breakers appearing was there was a lot of division in the hobby.
along the lines of "You break with that guy" or 'You're on that page" ... "I only break with blah blah" "I only use this page" therefore we can't do a deal somewhere else or I'm not listing my cards on another page / site.

This was almost the only place to come for anything local at one point in time and aided that community vibe.
I mean we are all adults and should understand not everyone is get along all the time, but it feels at times being in the middle of a gang war

I didn't even think of it from that angle - breaking certain places, only going in certain facebook groups - makes sense though, some people would do that.

 

[kiwi_in_melb]

I didn't even think of it from that angle - breaking certain places, only going in certain facebook groups - makes sense though, some people would do that.

Maybe even.. oh you're on OZCT you must be 100 years old aspect of it

 

[MattWasGF4L]

Maybe even.. oh you're on OZCT you must be 100 years old aspect of it

may be that! many forums have disappeared in the last few years - hobbykings, dascardboard and another I can't recall - SCF?? so it's world wide phenomenon of devices and tech. So I guess it's a testament to the admin and members that this place is still going and has a chance to grow again