[xstreaminsanity]

It's not that we're really surprised by it, I for one am not and was terrified when it was announced. What surprises me is some of the preferences of other collectors.

Here's my analogy...

A lot of people watch TV. TV has different services and packages:

Digital Box (the most basic, BASIC)
Basic Cable/Satellite (a step up, SILVER)
HD Cable/Satellite (a step up, GOLD)
DVR from Cable/Satellite (a step up, PLATINUM)
HD DVR Cable/Satellite (a step up, TITANIUM)
HD DVR Cable/Satellite with movie/sport packages (a step up, DIAMOND)

Comparing that to collecting site options:

Lists/Open Forums (BASIC)
Collection Management System [Organize] <100 cards (SILVER)
Collection Management System [Organize] unlimited (GOLD)
1/2/3 OPG Subscription (PLATINUM)
Total Access OPG Subscription (TITANIUM)
THERE IS NO DIAMOND PACKAGE.

That's my view of it. Now, a lot of people will be ok with Basic because of financial reasons and maybe they have a lot of free time. But I don't have the time to update lists after trades are done especially if it's one of those rare times when I get like 20 trades done in a month. Also, I have to scroll through the lists because I have a lot of cards and find the cards I need to update and make sure I update it properly.

I agree the charges pushed a lot of people away and some may never come back. But I personally think that very serious and very active collectors should not disqualify Beckett as the best possible option for the collection keeping purposes. Are we saying people should only be here and not anywhere else, not even close. But the ability to quickly look up something based on attributes, names, years, etc. is so much better than searching a list. Just today I posted on someone's thread the Pistons RC I had of certain players and did it in 3 minutes when doing it by a list would have taken me 20+ minutes. Now, I'm definitely savvy enough to where I could use Excel and do the same thing probably, but adding in new cards would take a lot longer. I buy a box of a new product, want to put all base up for trade, now I have to type all of that into my lists rather than clicking a couple of check boxes. To me, this site is just so much easier to use and the organize fee is insignificant enough to be overlooked. But I am not trying to debate what is best for who, I'm just stating my opinion. I know others have their own preferences (even though I think they're missing out).