[kerryandbeth]

I was on Beckett for years before I even looked at the Forums, let alone post. Then somebody (maybe Floydtown) suggested that collectors should not trade with those who do not post any threads or comments...well, that sounded bogus to me, but I gave in and started looking/posting/commenting to show that I am legit.

You only need to see that there are currently two posts that have over 2,000 views but less than 50 posts each to be aware that there is maybe a disconnect between collectors who want to find information and collectors who want to create information and make the hobby better. How do we fix that?!

[1god4me]

Another thing is there is an increasing incentive to just buy the card that you want instead of risking it on a box. Especially with a lot of the no names Topps is putting in products now and with the secondary market price drops recently (ebay, Comc, etc.), the best route has become to collect your player by buying singles. Boxes were popular until it became normal to find no name hits in every box.

[altz11]

Another thing I have noticed is that there are a TON of people who come here and read the forums, but never post anything. Easy way to see this is that this thread has been viewed over 100 times since you posted yet there have been less then 10 replies.

BINGO!!!

There are far more "lurkers" than contributors.

I've been saying this for years and I'm still a firm believer that Beckett's forums are too segregated, there are just too many categories. Why does there have to be a "vintage baseball" forum as well as a regular "baseball" forum? Same with basketball, football and hockey... JUST THROW THEM IN ONE FORUM BABY!!

There's also a "Tennis" forum in which the last thread created by a non-beckett employee was in December of 2009!!!! And the last response to that thread was by the same person who created it, and that was over a year ago. No reason that forum needs to clutter up the entire page, just throw tennis in with all other sports.

I believe that all (or at least most) sports forums should be incorporated so that more people will have a chance at seeing everyone else's posts and theoretically/hopefully this would increase the dialogue between members. Just because I don't collect wrestling cards (or tennis cards) for that matter doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy hearing how someone found 100 mint Hulk Hogan rc's or seeing someones Anna Kournikova collection .

just one guy's opinion anyway.

[zeprock]

Another thing I have noticed is that there are a TON of people who come here and read the forums, but never post anything. Easy way to see this is that this thread has been viewed over 100 times since you posted yet there have been less then 10 replies.

Part of that number might be due to the fact that we all come back to read the latest post on the topic. The view goes up one time each time one of us does that. If ten of us revisit the post to read the latest comment, then that's 10 more views right there. If ten of us revisit to read all ten comments as they are posted, then that's 100 views. I know I've visited this particular topic each time I've seen a new post on it so at least 13 of these views are mine.

Oh, and I wouldn't mind seeing someone else's Anna Kournikova or Maria Sharapova collection either.

[pjrussell529]

I still bust boxes but don't post them because it seems like less and less views and comments. It gets boring when there is no conversation going on within a post. I've posted several things in the last few months with either 0 or 1 comment so I just lost interest. I used to get on the forums on almost a daily basis but now it's maybe once a week or longer. Granted I'm busy trying to get stuff organized before the end of the year so I haven't had time but I also haven't had as much interest.

I've always enjoyed the Beckett forums because there are some really great people on here(many of which have left) compared to some of the other ones. Certain forums(most know which ones) have too many trolls and a-holes for my liking. Putting people down or answering sarcastically, questions that casual or new collectors really want info on. It turns people off from this fun hobby.

Now I mostly just talk shop with friends or some of the Youtubers that are pretty cool, which there are quite a few. I really hope the Beckett forums do not die off because it can be really fun.

[djohn]

Certain forums(most know which ones) have too many trolls and a-holes for my liking. Putting people down or answering sarcastically, questions that casual or new collectors really want info on. It turns people off from this fun hobby.

I couldn't agree more with this, as for the most part the people that used to do that here are now gone. Nothing was worse than seeing sarcastic comments that were hard to tell if they were truly sarcasm or straight out random bashings. I would rather have the slower forum than go back to that craziness.

[franciscomarina]

I do have to agree. I understand that there hasn't been many post of boxes and it will pick up after black Friday, but I haven't seen new posts of mail day. Also, there is less comments posted on the forum. I still have done a few trades, but there is less post of people looking to trade. I do hope that it picks up after black Friday.

[tdog4468]

It's hard to take the time to list, scan, and post a low end box break with little to no trade value out of what you hit. A number of us have been on the boards for a few years and have a good feeling for what others are looking for, so why post 10 $1.00 inserts that everyone else also has 10 of and no one wants in a trade? If you see now most of the posts are only when someone hits something worth talking about, or if they take a bloodbath on a product and want to do a public service announcement about how bad the break was. How many trade posts are still active? I have to go back 20 pages to find one relevant trade post for what I'm actively looking to collect, that I posted two months ago. Its either that or I span the post everyday until everyone is sick of seeing it and the 20 replies are all of me spamming my post. There has got to be a middle ground.

[DrMitchJ]

I've been busting retail and getting killed. Not gonna waste my time and the board's time photographing and posting garbage. I do however have a couple of new card aquisitions that I'll be showing soon.

[rjcj2017]

For me, honestly it's the fact that what was once free (the ORG) is now something you have to pay for.

So I would bust a box, and either show off what I pulled or offer it for trade, but I haven't made more than a couple of trades in the last year or so.

I still "lurk" but there just isn't a lot going on right now to comment on.

In fact, until the new post today, my bump-up of my Bryant auto pull from last summer (!) was the newest "box break" post for like a week.