Hey all,
Know I am new here and really don't know any of you or the history of this site from a bar-of-soap. In saying that I hope you don't mind me chucking my 2c worth in, this is not coming at all from a collectors point of view, more a marketing/forum point from my years of experience.
The new media addition from
@graham and team fantastic step forward. Being able to click on someone's name/profile and being able to scroll their albums which could potentially contain all their PC, for Sale etc is a fantastic step forward.
Yes - getting members in-and-around these forums are important to keep things going the most important step is we as members continue to post. As many of you have right identified there are other popular forums that are no longer around. But what that means is when new people are getting into the game (just as I was a couple weeks ago) they will come for information and a community that is still there... a.k.a OZCT.
Your posts here have been a tremendous help to me already, and will no doubt be helpful to others moving forward.
Wiki/Information pages:
Having a wiki addon (or using the node pages option) to create informational pages such as information on the companies (Panini etc) linking to pages relating the type of boxes - the retail breakdown that is usually available on the companies websites etc could help NEWBIES in particular work out what type of box, packs etc they need to be keeping an eye out for if they are looking for certain cards, parallel, autos etc.
(My background is Sports journalism so could be wrong with this side of things, But...) Contacting the press/media desk for the companies, especially from an OZCT.com.au e-mail account and outlining your outstanding commitment to the industry could see you placed on the media release lists, which means you get all these details - release dates etc sent straight to you.
OZCT Box Breaks
Okay I know this idea may be a bit contentious so please bare with me and hear me out. From my understanding there was something either previously operated or floated.
Many new members began flooding here during the pandemic, it was something we could all do from home, the box breaking brought a whole new audience to the whole trading community - yes many of us have PC's etc but many saw the box breaks as a cheap way to 'buy in' with the chance to 'hit that card'.
Reading through a lot of comments through here it seems there is this 'Tribal' type of escapade that happens - an Us vs. Them - collectors vs. Rip & Flip. We (as a community) have to accept that, just in life, people do things for various reasons. No one knows anyone elses story etc. Does it really matter why they are here talking or buying card packs/boxes? We should be more acceptive and accommodating for Rip & Flippers - after all it could be these people that help boost your PC as they aren't looking to keep any of their cards.
Which leads me to OZCT Box Breaks - as stated above there are many new people taking up the game due to box breaks. Instead of being 'anti' anything we should instead try to figure out a way to bring some sort of solid experience here. I mean the box breakers are going to go somewhere aren't they? Why not give them a reason to do ALL of their dealings on here?
I put my hand up and admit I got back into trading cards due to a mate starting a box breaking group. The issue (and this is no slight on him or how they operate) is it started at $24.50 (inc. postage), moved to $34.70, and now prices start at $45 - they have been operating in just two months their prices have doubled and to be fair it can be quite difficult to follow.
Adding to the issue is they are 'all over the place' when it comes to when the breaks happen. I get it a break fills you break it. But they are running different mini's etc all the time to fill spot but there just seems to be an overall lack of organisation - in my opinion.
The idea for the OZCT Box Breaks could be simply along the lines of:
Build partnerships with Australian suppliers etc and establish the ability to obtain boxes for the breaks at a discounted rate (preferably without entering into an 'Exclusivity' relationship allowing OZCT to take advantage of sales etc from other businesses or outlets.
With a schedule of:
Tuesday - NBA
Thursday - NFL
Sunday - Others
These don't need to be any massive unboxings etc and could be at entry level prices. E.G A Box of 2021 Panini Select Football (6-Pack) Blaster Box currently on-sale at EJCards for $79 - $15 inc. postage a team (or something). With the aim of having a Monthly Mega Box Break where bigger card boxes are purchased but to take part in that you need to have taken part in one of the regular ones during the month.
Even if the breaks sell their spots earlier they are still opened on their scheduled days. As the breaks become more popular it is going to create more competition to secure a spot ASAP rather than hold out + all the talk/ discussion etc in the build up + during the breaks etc
Collectors could buy in (securing their PC team) in the hope of snatching "that" card for their collection. While the Rip & Flippers will be hoping for the same thing, but obviously encouraged to do their 'flipping' here on the OZCT site.
Buy bringing something like this - and welcoming the Rip & Flippers - it could also boost additional sales of sealed packs/boxes some have throughout the buy/sell/trade section of the site.
Stick to Forums
While many are ditching forums and heading to social media as correctly pointed out not everyone has social media, plus a group/page on there can be deleted once an admin gets sick of it - and while the same is technically the truth here at OZCT the waybackmachine webarchive still has a lot of these pages cached which means the information we share today is still available in years to come.
Whereas at Meta and other social media sites while they retain copies of everything for legal reasons, once a page is gone - removed - deleted all of the content is there. Although in saying that OZCT Facebook page promoting stuff over here on the forums, and fixing up the login capabilities here of being able to login using Social Media platforms would assist easily on-board potential forum members from those platforms.
Merchandise
Hats, Stickers, Bumper Stickers, there are plenty of ideas for merchandise around. Plus many of companies that offer fantastic promotional materials, I know of some that will offer some freebies in return for a review, but you have people here who have already openly said they'd wear something and proudly show off merchandise. With meet and greet, card shows + markets and shopping in general imagine bumping into someone wearing an OZCT shirt or hat.
To offset the original run of merchandise, and the costs involved, you could talk to a few places work out pricing and offer pre-order here so those can place an order and your merchandise is off to its start.
Conclusion
Basically just my 2c - those who have Account Upgrades activated on their profile could be offered 'free postage' on their Box Breaks and receive a 10% discount on OZCT merch or something along those lines to help encourage people to take up the various upgrade options on this website.
Overall just ideas to bring more people here, more people interacting, and laying the foundations to truly being Australia's Premier Trading Card Community.
