[djohn]

I've been a long term member (over 20 years I think) and I know I'll never get any more deals because I rocked the boat back in the early 2000's. I'm finished waiting 14 months for getting an error corrected on a label on a card I had graded. I already know why I'm in the doghouse as I complained (loudly) and my feeling is since the big bosses think they're God's gift to the card hobby and they won't worry about low lifes like me.

Brian

The grading portion of Beckett is completely separate from the magazine and online guide.  So you are probably not in any doghouse with the online side. 
On a different note it looks like you have me beat by a few months in terms of the age of your online profile.  Not too many of us from the 90s that are still active on here.

[bamyanks]

The grading portion of Beckett is completely separate from the magazine and online guide.  So you are probably not in any doghouse with the online side. 
On a different note it looks like you have me beat by a few months in terms of the age of your online profile.  Not too many of us from the 90s that are still active on here.

Gee, I wonder why???? And really, I don't expect any kind of replies to me except to quit whining. Everything that happened with the grading etc. has been festering for a long time.

[hittinaway]

I have been a member for a long time and while the last couple of years I have not been as vocal on the forums, it is mostly because I have been busy in other areas.  As for trading, I try to do some from time to time on here, but I am not sure I will continue my membership after it expires in June.  The main reason is because I pay for a Beckett Preferred membership and they got my magazine subscription and annual books wrong and after numerous emails and phone calls saying they would fix it nothing ever happened.  They claim when they talk with me that I am a valued member since I have had membership for over 20 years, but they don't really offer any special discount or service for being so valued in fact they messed up the service they did offer.  So unless they are going to make it right with a major discount on renewal this will be the last few months for me.

I rarely post and hardly ever go to the forums anymore but replying to djohn as this is pretty much me. My subscription ends in June and after almost 20 years will be leaving. The cost isn't worth it and I have been happily trading on another site for a few years so it will be nice to just focus on one organize rather than 2. I have had so many great trades and thankful for that but after June, I will be moving on.

[ricelynnevans75]

I think a big part of it is that the hobby, and technology, has changed dramatically in that timeframe.  I left here in about 2014 for the most part due to getting burnt out from the hobby as well as other things going on in life.

From when I was active on here primarily from 2009-2014, the place was hopping and there was always a trade to be done.  A few other boards/forums I was on were the same way.  I feel like a big part of trading when I first got on dealt with a lot of set, team, and player collectors and over time, that seemed to fade away and turn more into chasing the hot prospects and getting the hot card at the moment.  There was a period of time that I recall all it seemed some people wanted were autographed cards or colored refractors in return for whatever I was hoping to trade for.  I really have no idea what it was like around here after 2014 up until about a year and a half ago.

I don't remember when Beckett started charging for use of the ORG.  Maybe it always did?  I don't remember.  I do remember a fair amount of people being upset at having to pay for something on here and I can't imagine they were upset about having to pay for the price guide so I'm guessing it was the ORG.  The ORG is a great and useful tool but ultimately it's not really a necessity.  I'm sure that drove people away, especially those that were not on here every other day doing trades and whatnot.  

Additionally, as technology grew, so did access to other venues that included information, set checklists, prices/values, and the ability to buy/sell/trade without having to pay to do so.  That, and it seems as each and every day passes, people want their cards and deals done yesterday. My opinion is that there are less people today willing to sit down for a period of time, catalog their cards into the ORG, and go through the process of working out a trade through the trade system as there were 8 years ago.  People want to go online, find their card, and buy it.  Or hop onto some social media group and immediately work out a deal through their messenger system which is typically instantaneous.   

The majority of forums that I used to frequent seem to be very far down in posts from what they once were, this one especially.  It seems like people don't want to just talk about cards, whatever sport, or the hobby anymore.  Maybe forums are becoming a dinosaur in the hobby?  Again, I'd chalk that up to the technology and the instant interactions that people can have elsewhere.  

Anyway, just my rambling two cents.  I think the above are some factors and of course you've got to add on people just leaving the hobby altogether for whatever reason.  I am curious to know whatever became of radarblip aka Mel.  He was a great trader and all around great person.  I know he had some medical issues over the years.

[benner73]

I rarely post and hardly ever go to the forums anymore but replying to djohn as this is pretty much me. My subscription ends in June and after almost 20 years will be leaving. The cost isn't worth it and I have been happily trading on another site for a few years so it will be nice to just focus on one organize rather than 2. I have had so many great trades and thankful for that but after June, I will be moving on.

How are others cataloging/organizing cards on other sites?  I've only used Beckett and not aware of anything else available.

[sshissler]

I just renewed, been a member since '99. I was never super active on the message boards, but I do peruse them occasionally and make a few posts here and there, but not nearly as active as others. I have also completed a fair amount of trades. As for those who mentioned that the price is going up, I agree. The most important for me is the organize feature. I still get the magazine for baseball because I enjoy reading it. Sort of nostalgic, reminds me of my childhood.

I also had a bad experience on a recent renewal. I asked about grading vouchers because I had a decent size grading order I wanted to send off. The person I was speaking to said that they could absolutely send me some grading vouchers because I had been a member for over 20 years. He stated that he was contacting someone on the grading side of the business and that they would reach out to me. I reluctantly went ahead and renewed and of course never got a phone call or email about grading vouchers. I finally got a hold of one of the sales managers for the Southeast (I live in Florida). He let me know that they have not had grading vouchers for many years, so the sales person for online and magazine flat out lied to me.

I will probably keep my online subscription for baseball and football going forward, simply because I have over 44,000 cards entered in and don't want to lose that!

[jbissell]

sshissler's post is interesting. Im not a fan of the tactic of using telemarketing to retain customers. Im sure the telemarketers are highly incentivized based on how many people they get to renew, which can lead to some unscrupulous tactics such as offering things that no longer exist.

[magneto2]

I too am a long time member here and have watched my collection grow and grow. The last renewal I did in February is probably my last though. I got a call from someone at Beckett, Dee I think is her name. She wanted me to renew at a much higher price but upped the years so its kinda a wash. I renewed on my own at the 6 month or 3 month price I get the whole ORG and Price Guide for everything. One thing that really bothers me is the articles in Beckett Preferred are not available to read because they want a 1$ to read it when I have been a member of Beckett for years!

[zeprock]

One thing that really bothers me is the articles in Beckett Preferred are not available to read because they want a 1$ to read it when I have been a member of Beckett for years!

This annoys me too. If I'm paying for a yearly online subscription including the ORG and the OPG, then why can't I read the entire article? That's shady.

Dee Braun is the one who keeps contacting me too. Very polite but very persistent. Every time she calls the house, my wife tells her I only communicate through email and she apologizes and then emails me. And then the next time, she'll call the house again.

[phoenixrising34]

I think a big part of it is that the hobby, and technology, has changed dramatically in that timeframe.  I left here in about 2014 for the most part due to getting burnt out from the hobby as well as other things going on in life.

From when I was active on here primarily from 2009-2014, the place was hopping and there was always a trade to be done.  A few other boards/forums I was on were the same way.  I feel like a big part of trading when I first got on dealt with a lot of set, team, and player collectors and over time, that seemed to fade away and turn more into chasing the hot prospects and getting the hot card at the moment.  There was a period of time that I recall all it seemed some people wanted were autographed cards or colored refractors in return for whatever I was hoping to trade for.  I really have no idea what it was like around here after 2014 up until about a year and a half ago.

I don't remember when Beckett started charging for use of the ORG.  Maybe it always did?  I don't remember.  I do remember a fair amount of people being upset at having to pay for something on here and I can't imagine they were upset about having to pay for the price guide so I'm guessing it was the ORG.  The ORG is a great and useful tool but ultimately it's not really a necessity.  I'm sure that drove people away, especially those that were not on here every other day doing trades and whatnot.  

Additionally, as technology grew, so did access to other venues that included information, set checklists, prices/values, and the ability to buy/sell/trade without having to pay to do so.  That, and it seems as each and every day passes, people want their cards and deals done yesterday. My opinion is that there are less people today willing to sit down for a period of time, catalog their cards into the ORG, and go through the process of working out a trade through the trade system as there were 8 years ago.  People want to go online, find their card, and buy it.  Or hop onto some social media group and immediately work out a deal through their messenger system which is typically instantaneous.   

The majority of forums that I used to frequent seem to be very far down in posts from what they once were, this one especially.  It seems like people don't want to just talk about cards, whatever sport, or the hobby anymore.  Maybe forums are becoming a dinosaur in the hobby?  Again, I'd chalk that up to the technology and the instant interactions that people can have elsewhere.  

Anyway, just my rambling two cents.  I think the above are some factors and of course you've got to add on people just leaving the hobby altogether for whatever reason.  I am curious to know whatever became of radarblip aka Mel.  He was a great trader and all around great person.  I know he had some medical issues over the years.

I think this sums up a lot of it.  Add to that the site change that took place in what like 2010/2011, and a lot of the people that left due to that just never came back.  Some of them trickled back over time, but that seemed to me to be the death nail for the site being THE place to be to trade and talk cards. 

Side note, Mel was around maybe a year or so ago. I want to say he forgot his old login in and username was radarblip2 or something like that, but he was downsizing his collection a lot if I remember right.  And yes, Mel was definitely one of the great ones around here, had many trades with him.  I still talk with some of the old guard now and then, and definitely miss the days when a thread struggled to stay on page 1 even on a slow night.