Future of the bench awards?

[PRosefan1]

One of my favorite things about the bench is the Benchies. And I have two questions.

1. Are the 2012 benchies ever going to be awarded?

2. Will there be a 2013 contest this year?

I really look forward to this each year. I think participation would increase if the mods sent out an email to all active members when it comes time to sign-up. I know that a few years I have almost missed the sign-up. Dave

 

[Meliah]

Dave, I believe Steph sent out notifications to the winners back in March.

Most likely give The Benchies at least one more year, though participation has gone down each year. We don't send out mass emails though because that usually generates complaints to our host who could shut us down because of that. Any other ideas to increase the number of entries though would be great

 

[PRosefan1]

Dave, I believe Steph sent out notifications to the winners back in March.

Most likely give The Benchies at least one more year, though participation has gone down each year. We don't send out mass emails though because that usually generates complaints to our host who could shut us down because of that. Any other ideas to increase the number of entries though would be great

I dont really remember getting anything but I may have. Just kind of figured something would be done by now if it was going to be done at all. It may not be a big deal to some but I tried for several years to win and finally won for "Best football card" so I was pretty excited. If they are not going to be awarded for 2012 just say so. I will let it go. I dont want to sound like a butthead, but its hard for me to figure out what could possibly take so many months to get this put to bed. Thank you for your time. Dave

As far as getting more involved, I barely knew it was happening and feel that quite a few people didnt know it was happening until it was to late.

 

[Meliah]

We don't currently have a person who does programming for us so any type of additions to the site can be difficult. A lot of the Mods have had life changing things happen to them this last year so some Bench plans did not happen or have been delayed as well.

 

[mm1sub]

That is one of the things I miss most about the old site. We used to have trophies for people who were the Benchie of the year and supercollectors but I have not seen them lately. Is there any chance those will come back?

 

[Meliah]

That is one of the things I miss most about the old site. We used to have trophies for people who were the Benchie of the year and supercollectors but I have not seen them lately. Is there any chance those will come back?

They are still there but now you can find them under a member's profile in the "Awards" area. Was one of the changes when we updated the VBulletin software.

 

[PRosefan1]

Thank you for the information. Dave

 

[mrmopar]

This might come across a bit petty, but i stopped paying attention to the Benchies because the voting became predictable (and because I disagreed with a lot of the winners). Partially because i think a lot of good cards/collections were overlooked for what i'll call the shiny penny effect. For example, a really hard-worked and complete collection of a lesser favorite player might typically lose to a flashier more popular player with a bit more of the new shiny stuff, but far less complete and certainly not as hard-earned.

The bench has a certain majority type of collector and there is nothing wrong with that but it shined brightly in the benchies and I guess that just turned me off.

I entered one card in one category in the first or 2nd year and lost in the first round I think. I would have liked to run my player collection, but the organization that was required just wasn't (and still isn't) there for me.

 

[David K.]

This might come across a bit petty, but i stopped paying attention to the Benchies because the voting became predictable (and because I disagreed with a lot of the winners). Partially because i think a lot of good cards/collections were overlooked for what i'll call the shiny penny effect. For example, a really hard-worked and complete collection of a lesser favorite player might typically lose to a flashier more popular player with a bit more of the new shiny stuff, but far less complete and certainly not as hard-earned.

The bench has a certain majority type of collector and there is nothing wrong with that but it shined brightly in the benchies and I guess that just turned me off.

I entered one card in one category in the first or 2nd year and lost in the first round I think. I would have liked to run my player collection, but the organization that was required just wasn't (and still isn't) there for me.

Don't agree.......I losted twice with my Griffey Jr. auto rainbows to small set collectors by large margins! I also voted for the underdogs. The only way to change something is work at it and education other collectors....not be dropping out. Best regards, David

 

[jimmyhazard]

one question...what's a "benchie" ?

 

[PRosefan1]

one question...what's a "benchie" ?

Its a contest the site runs that has catagories that a member can enter. Best baseball card, Best football card, Best vintage card etc... Then we get to vote on our favorite cards or sets or themes for each round until there is a final winner in each catagory.

Meliah, At one time I felt that the contest was usually won by the person that was more well known to the crowd. I didnt allow that to deter me from entering every year. Every time I lost, I felt that my card was better then the one I was up against. (Kinda like a parent thinks their child is the best looking kid on earth) I disagree with almost half of the winning cards, and think the other half should have won by more.

And for the record, I almost always vote for the player collection that is the most complete. But I also take into consideration other things like number oddball stuff Posters, coins, pennants, pins, old newspaper ads, pop cans, lottery tickets, you name it. I also do consider #of cards available of a player. A guy who has 50/51 cards of a player may not as impressive to me as a guy who has 2500/3000 with tons of oddball stuff.

I am a big fan of the benchies and wish the tags were still shown under a persons name badge.

I say organize your Choi and ***** league collection and give it a whirl. Dave

 

[dadandsoncards]

I was very busy last year and wanted to enter one of my vintage cards, but time just got away from me. This year I had planned on entering one, so hoping it will still be a go.

 

[Meliah]

Its a contest the site runs that has catagories that a member can enter. Best baseball card, Best football card, Best vintage card etc... Then we get to vote on our favorite cards or sets or themes for each round until there is a final winner in each catagory.

Meliah, At one time I felt that the contest was usually won by the person that was more well known to the crowd. I didnt allow that to deter me from entering every year. Every time I lost, I felt that my card was better then the one I was up against. (Kinda like a parent thinks their child is the best looking kid on earth) I disagree with almost half of the winning cards, and think the other half should have won by more.

And for the record, I almost always vote for the player collection that is the most complete. But I also take into consideration other things like number oddball stuff Posters, coins, pennants, pins, old newspaper ads, pop cans, lottery tickets, you name it. I also do consider #of cards available of a player. A guy who has 50/51 cards of a player may not as impressive to me as a guy who has 2500/3000 with tons of oddball stuff.

I am a big fan of the benchies and wish the tags were still shown under a persons name badge.

I say organize your Choi and ***** league collection and give it a whirl. Dave

Sad to say but the Choi and ***** League collections are dismantled, had to sell most off due to some tough times around here.

 

[mrmopar]

I was not stating a case for anyone to agree/disagree and there is nothing to change here. I simply stated that the concept had become lost on me. The same goes for the Supercollector votes. I saw a few collections I thought were worthy and they were denied, yet there were "super collections" that were less than super in my eye. It almost felt a little like the HOF voting feels to me these days...a little too elitist considering what we have for a foundation to compare to. Today, if you weren't as good as Hank Aaron, you're not even worthy of a discussion for consideration, but there was plenty of room for a variety of questionables before. Why raise the bar now, right?

I would not want to change anyone's mind about how they vote on these contests, but a core group of this site (at least those that participate) have collecting tastes that generally differ from mine, so I was disappointed in the results frequently. Like PRosefan1 stated, I often felt the best entry didn't advance, but that was only my opinion. I actually went back and checked out a few categories for 2012 after posting and was more pleased with what i saw there than the year before, so maybe there is hope for me to return in the future.

The only way to change something is work at it and education other collectors....not be dropping out. Best regards, David

 

[mrmopar]

Sorry to hear that Matt. Hopefully the rough patch has gotten smoother. There will almost always be another opportunity to build or rebuild a collection if one desires to do so.

Sad to say but the Choi and ***** League collections are dismantled, had to sell most off due to some tough times around here.

 

[Meliah]

Sorry to hear that Matt. Hopefully the rough patch has gotten smoother. There will almost always be another opportunity to build or rebuild a collection if one desires to do so.

Thank you Still a bit bumpy but better overall so I can't complain. Just waiting for son #2 to show up and then I'm sure I'll be too tired to care about the other stressful stuff!

 

[mrmopar]

Time flies...mine are now 9 and 11 (in a month). they were not even 1 & 2.5 when I joined The Bench!

 

[chaplain11]

I know I am a late comer to the conversation but I loved the Benchies. I also love the "*** month pickup" threads. It is fun to see what others have put together, the varied collecting interests, and the passion people put in to their collection.

Some times with the Benchies two cards are paired up that are in the same category but not in the same scope. For example, best card my have a 1909 Eddie Plank PSA 6 and a 2011 Bryce Harper chrome refractor autographed printing plate white whale rookie card #1/1. You can't go wrong with either but some collectors (voters) have more of an affinity to one card or the other. I don't think it is anything personal; the votes are opinions based on collector tastes. I have won a few but I have lost way more. My wins were the result more so of the limited entrants than my cards be that great.

If you are going to do the Benchies we should start promoting it a month or two in advance. Have a note on the home page, do a poll to gague interest, post a thread in general talk and site news, etc. That is one of those things that just adds to the site. And, if possible, it would be nice to close out the 2012. There are still several categories that are open.

Dewayne

 

[scottzoe]

I too enjoy the bench awards, I missed them last year, but love looking at everybody's collections. Hopefully we will have it this year, because I plan on winning a category or two!


Scott

 

[David K.]

We'll see what happens. Hoping for the best. Best regards, David