[swjrp10]

god xstream, you and your long posts jk bro, very good points! Frankly, since I despise panini with every fiber of my body (I'm in my second war with them this year over some no-name rookie autos that I want replaced) that I refuse to buy their products anymore. It's just not worth the headache.

Couple that with the NBA lock-out (don't get me started there), and I just have little, if any, actual care/respect for the NBA currently. Heck, i'm a Celtics/Andrei Kirilenko collcetor, and I don't think I've bought a single basketball card in over a year.

IDK, maybe I'm just a mean old man, but that's just how I feel.

[tradebark]

My thoughts:

1. The organizer should not be required to make trades. This isn't the case in ANY other trading card website that I use, and it is what holds me back from trading here. Before Beckett.com's renovation with the new forum and everything, it was a very popular site and had a lot of active traders (myself included!).

2. The hobby is dying, for several reasons. As people mentioned the increasing cost of getting into the hobby closes it off to most people. Who wants to spend $200 on a pack of cards? Back in the 90's that would have been considered insane. Unfortunately, that's what we have now. Another reason is that too many people are in it to profit, and the high end collectors who turn cards into a stock-market like situation by manipulating auctions to inflate prices.. ick. It's a huge turn off to anyone who might be interested in this hobby.

3. The league itself hasn't been terribly exciting the past few years, but this season and the ones to come are very promising. We have the most parity in the league that we've seen in a long time, so that's good! The upcoming rookie class also looks more promising than what we've seen lately.

4. Image posting etc is buggy on the forum as well, which doesn't help matters. That should be a fairly easy fix for the web designers at Beckett.

[jacobystealshome]

My thoughts:

1. The organizer should not be required to make trades. This isn't the case in ANY other trading card website that I use, and it is what holds me back from trading here. Before Beckett.com's renovation with the new forum and everything, it was a very popular site and had a lot of active traders (myself included!).

i never traded before they made org a requirement. i love it, and it makes trading MUCH safer and easier (and once they get the changes made, it will be incredible). there is a record of the transaction. and it's free, as long as you keep it under 100 cards and/or pay for an opg. i wont trade anywhere else

4. Image posting etc is buggy on the forum as well, which doesn't help matters. That should be a fairly easy fix for the web designers at Beckett.

forums are a third party product, not beckett's. plus, who wants thumbnails? just use photobucket, or imageshack or webshots



but again, these are issues that affect all the boards, not just basketball. the basketball forum isnt lagging behind the rest because of 1 and 4

[xstreaminsanity]

My thoughts:

1. The organizer should not be required to make trades. This isn't the case in ANY other trading card website that I use, and it is what holds me back from trading here. Before Beckett.com's renovation with the new forum and everything, it was a very popular site and had a lot of active traders (myself included!).

Using the Organize is extremely beneficial for everyone involved. For one, if you have your wants listed, you will know if you need anything from the other trader (though I wish it was like the old site where your wants "floated" to the top). The same goes for the other trader. Also, it allows you to keep track of inventory a LOT easier. For instance, if you finish a trade with someone and you only have one of a card that was in that trade, it is then not available (shows as card removed or something) in another possible trade. This way you don't risk two people thinking they're getting the card. Also, as jacoby says, there's a transaction of it and the tools are great. I do know of another site that has a trading system where it keeps records and such and you can type in your cards, but that is horrible if you ask me. I don't want someone typing in "95-96 Hoops Hunter" for the card, I want the entire description so I know exactly what I'm expecting. You also have the added total of value of the cards, an easy way to keep track of how many of each card in the trade, etc. Believe me, I think if you looked into it, there's a TON of benefits. I know many people that love the system the way it is but are excited for when they fix all of the bugs.

2. The hobby is dying, for several reasons. As people mentioned the increasing cost of getting into the hobby closes it off to most people. Who wants to spend $200 on a pack of cards? Back in the 90's that would have been considered insane. Unfortunately, that's what we have now. Another reason is that too many people are in it to profit, and the high end collectors who turn cards into a stock-market like situation by manipulating auctions to inflate prices.. ick. It's a huge turn off to anyone who might be interested in this hobby.

I wouldn't say the hobby is dying. It's suffering, horribly, but it's not dying. For one, people are always coming into this hobby, it just isn't as fast as it used to be. And that's because of many reasons, but I think cost is the biggest reason. But even if there was a point where cards weren't made for say 2 years (heaven forbid) it wouldn't be across all sports. Some people would then concentrate on a different sport and then whichever sport(s) weren't making cards will try to get back into it. And if I had the money, I know if any card maker went down, I'd definitely try to get in the business. But I know right now I couldn't compete with the big boys.

3. The league itself hasn't been terribly exciting the past few years, but this season and the ones to come are very promising. We have the most parity in the league that we've seen in a long time, so that's good! The upcoming rookie class also looks more promising than what we've seen lately.

I'll agree that it hasn't been as exciting and there is a show of promise for years to come. And I believe you're right when you say it's because of the Parity. It's no longer just Cleveland, San Antonio, Los Angeles Lakers that are competing anymore, but you now have San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Miami, Dallas, Los Angeles (both of them), and even a small market team in Memphis. It's great. I just think it sucks that the NFL has Sunday Nights and Monday Nights only to concentrate on their games primarily, and there isn't a special Basketball night for people to concentrate on. Even College Football has Saturday primarily. So without that exposure, the game has lost appeal.

4. Image posting etc is buggy on the forum as well, which doesn't help matters. That should be a fairly easy fix for the web designers at Beckett.

Image posting is extremely easy on here. You can either upload the picture to a image sharing site (such as photobucket, imageshack, or flickr) or on the actual item itself here in Beckett (going to the item page and uploading the front and back image, preferably) and then post the IMG code. Here's a link that might help you with that.

Also, don't forget, this is a very open community, you can ask anyone anything you want and will more often than not get an honest answer. We all want to help each other to make this site the best place for sports card collectors. And you can PM us mods anytime you have a question as well.

---

god xstream, you and your long posts jk bro, very good points! Frankly, since I despise panini with every fiber of my body (I'm in my second war with them this year over some no-name rookie autos that I want replaced) that I refuse to buy their products anymore. It's just not worth the headache.

Couple that with the NBA lock-out (don't get me started there), and I just have little, if any, actual care/respect for the NBA currently. Heck, i'm a Celtics/Andrei Kirilenko collcetor, and I don't think I've bought a single basketball card in over a year.

IDK, maybe I'm just a mean old man, but that's just how I feel.

I know. I'm kind of glad that your beef with Panini is more about it's redemption process (each company's redemption process pretty much sucks) rather than saying that their product is pure donkey doo. I agree, except for their high end products, Panini isn't really equivalent to UD or Topps, but I'll give them time to grow (go look at the first few years of UD and Topps, they were innovative, but still ugly, lol).

[swjrp10]

I know. I'm kind of glad that your beef with Panini is more about it's redemption process (each company's redemption process pretty much sucks) rather than saying that their product is pure donkey doo. I agree, except for their high end products, Panini isn't really equivalent to UD or Topps, but I'll give them time to grow (go look at the first few years of UD and Topps, they were innovative, but still ugly, lol).

I won't give them time to grow! If they are so poor with customer service now, how will they be when they're big shots? And since it seems that they canned the only person who actually cared in their customer service department, IDK what to think anymore!

[bbills1999]

I was at work today and Had the Idea If you Buy the Monthly Online Subscription they should also send you the Magazine(or give you a Coupon to pick it up) for free for that month (assuming they still release them monthly)

Or maybe have a way to read the Articles featured in the Magazine online.

[xstreaminsanity]

I was at work today and Had the Idea If you Buy the Monthly Online Subscription they should also send you the Magazine(or give you a Coupon to pick it up) for free for that month (assuming they still release them monthly)

Or maybe have a way to read the Articles featured in the Magazine online.

Dude, welcome to the show. I stated that idea with the release back in 2008. Wow you're slow. Just messing.

[tradebark]

Using the Organize is extremely beneficial for everyone involved. For one, if you have your wants listed, you will know if you need anything from the other trader (though I wish it was like the old site where your wants "floated" to the top). The same goes for the other trader. Also, it allows you to keep track of inventory a LOT easier. For instance, if you finish a trade with someone and you only have one of a card that was in that trade, it is then not available (shows as card removed or something) in another possible trade. This way you don't risk two people thinking they're getting the card. Also, as jacoby says, there's a transaction of it and the tools are great. I do know of another site that has a trading system where it keeps records and such and you can type in your cards, but that is horrible if you ask me. I don't want someone typing in "95-96 Hoops Hunter" for the card, I want the entire description so I know exactly what I'm expecting. You also have the added total of value of the cards, an easy way to keep track of how many of each card in the trade, etc. Believe me, I think if you looked into it, there's a TON of benefits. I know many people that love the system the way it is but are excited for when they fix all of the bugs.

I think you misinterpreted my post a bit.. I don't have a problem with the organizer existing, or people using it. I don't like being *required* to use it, and especially not if it requires a subscription to maximize its utility.

I think that features should exist to facilitate things, not be a barrier that gets in the way for those who don't want to use it.

I wouldn't say the hobby is dying. It's suffering, horribly, but it's not dying. For one, people are always coming into this hobby, it just isn't as fast as it used to be. And that's because of many reasons, but I think cost is the biggest reason. But even if there was a point where cards weren't made for say 2 years (heaven forbid) it wouldn't be across all sports. Some people would then concentrate on a different sport and then whichever sport(s) weren't making cards will try to get back into it. And if I had the money, I know if any card maker went down, I'd definitely try to get in the business. But I know right now I couldn't compete with the big boys.

It's dying. Local cardshops are almost all gone compared to what was around just 10 years ago. As someone who went to them for several years and got to know the owners, it's impossible to deny that it's no longer a sustainable business. There are less than 10 (realistically, less than 5) online stores that people go to, and they try to sell at "wholesale" prices.

Logically, it's only a matter of time before Panini, Topps, and Upper Deck figure out that it makes more sense for them to cut out the middle man and just sell the product to customers themselves. The original reason for local card shops no longer needs to exist since most people shop online. There is nothing that blowout, DACW, etc. can do that a company like Upper Deck can't do themselves.

Also, the biggest collectors are people who are old(er) and have money. Not too many teenagers, and even fewer younger than that. The cost of entering the hobby has skyrocketed compared to what it used to be, and that only means two things: one, people are less likely to stick around because it's hard to afford, and two, new people are less likely to get started, because the money commitment is daunting.

Don't get me wrong, I love the hobby for reasons I can't understand, but I am not kidding myself when I know that it makes less and less sense to continue on.

Image posting is extremely easy on here. You can either upload the picture to a image sharing site (such as photobucket, imageshack, or flickr) or on the actual item itself here in Beckett (going to the item page and uploading the front and back image, preferably) and then post the IMG code. Here's a link that might help you with that.

Yeah, I'm familiar with the third party image hosting sites, and I have posted images that way plenty of times.. It's just that beckett's forum code is buggy when it comes to images being directly uploaded here, and that should be fixed.

[arod0770710]

Dude, welcome to the show. I stated that idea with the release back in 2008. Wow you're slow. Just messing.

I think they should at least provide you with the list of the "HOT PLAYERS" like they do on the magazine...it sucks to pay for the OPG on all sports and still have to go and check out at the store and either buy or try and memorize which players are selling hot...in my opinion.

[xstreaminsanity]

I think you misinterpreted my post a bit.. I don't have a problem with the organizer existing, or people using it. I don't like being *required* to use it, and especially not if it requires a subscription to maximize its utility.

I think that features should exist to facilitate things, not be a barrier that gets in the way for those who don't want to use it.

No, it's not that I missed your post's point, but thought that maybe if you better understood how it all can work in your benefit (not that you already don't, just in case you didn't) you'd see it in a better light. It provides so many benefits to the collectors that some, myself included, think it should be necessary.

It's dying. Local cardshops are almost all gone compared to what was around just 10 years ago. As someone who went to them for several years and got to know the owners, it's impossible to deny that it's no longer a sustainable business. There are less than 10 (realistically, less than 5) online stores that people go to, and they try to sell at "wholesale" prices.

Logically, it's only a matter of time before Panini, Topps, and Upper Deck figure out that it makes more sense for them to cut out the middle man and just sell the product to customers themselves. The original reason for local card shops no longer needs to exist since most people shop online. There is nothing that blowout, DACW, etc. can do that a company like Upper Deck can't do themselves.

Also, the biggest collectors are people who are old(er) and have money. Not too many teenagers, and even fewer younger than that. The cost of entering the hobby has skyrocketed compared to what it used to be, and that only means two things: one, people are less likely to stick around because it's hard to afford, and two, new people are less likely to get started, because the money commitment is daunting.

Don't get me wrong, I love the hobby for reasons I can't understand, but I am not kidding myself when I know that it makes less and less sense to continue on.

I think the hobby is more evolving than it is dying. Whether it be collectors being able to communicate and interact with more collectors across the globe, or being able to pick up a product from a location online because your local LCS doesn't have it, the hobby is evolving. Yes, there are a lot fewer collectors today than there were years ago, but I don't blame it as much on the online retailers or even the manufacturers as I do the money grubbers who are in it more to make money than for the joy of the hobby. Yes, Manufacturers are looking at profit more than anything also, and their products definitely need to come down in price, but when you have people buying up cases of a product so they can bust it and try to sell an MJ, LeBron, Kobe, etc. autograph for $1,000+, it kills it for the other collectors. Those money grubbers are a big reason why product prices have gone up. The companies know people will pay for them, regardless of who it is. The company doesn't care of the purchaser's intention, only that they bought cases of cards.

Yeah, I'm familiar with the third party image hosting sites, and I have posted images that way plenty of times.. It's just that beckett's forum code is buggy when it comes to images being directly uploaded here, and that should be fixed.

Yeah, that I'll agree with. However, it being a third party forum, I'm not sure how much digging they'd have to do to fix it. Also, I like seeing the pictures in the forum posts more than a link to open to another window. But that's just me.

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I think they should at least provide you with the list of the "HOT PLAYERS" like they do on the magazine...it sucks to pay for the OPG on all sports and still have to go and check out at the store and either buy or try and memorize which players are selling hot...in my opinion.

Agreed.