The Bench - what can we do to ramp up the activity?

[katester44]

Just throwing this out there to the membership - what can the site do to entice more activity out of everyone?

Do we need better threads?
Do we need better ideas for the chat room (which by the way is open 24/7, not just on trade nights)?
Do we need more contests?

Or am I just overthinking the lack of activity and everything should ramp back up once summer hits full swing?

 

[MrThrift]

I know the hobby is booming, but I just think more people probably use Facebook and social media groups to do trades and stuff. I don't use those platforms and love seeking out trades on here, but those other outlets are probably easier for a lot of people.

 

[pinetarboys]

I know the hobby is booming, but I just think more people probably use Facebook and social media groups to do trades and stuff. I don't use those platforms and love seeking out trades on here, but those other outlets are probably easier for a lot of people.

I couldn’t agree more, I have local collector friends that use social media sites for trading or selling…I personally don’t use social media sites…so I have to find websites like the Bench to seek out trading partners…

I would think the winter would bring more trading activity in my opinion…I trade more during the winter months than summer months cause I’m outside more…just my opinion though…

I think a auction platform on the Bench would bring more activity possibly?!?

Thanks Josh

 

[Chavezforprez]

I couldn’t agree more, I have local collector friends that use social media sites for trading or selling…I personally don’t use social media sites…so I have to find websites like the Bench to seek out trading partners…

I would think the winter would bring more trading activity in my opinion…I trade more during the winter months than summer months cause I’m outside more…just my opinion though…

I think a auction platform on the Bench would bring more activity possibly?!?

Thanks Josh

I like the auction idea.

Billy

 

[KCLJ520]

The Bench is the BEST! It would be nice to see more members getting into it, personally I like the idea of an auction, more contests, etc.

Also, maybe incentives for the most active traders, etc?

I do think that we all realize that life is busy, but we also need to realize that less than 2 years ago, the Bench was just days away from going offline, and Mike brought it back! I think we need to each make an effort to be active, reply to threads, chat, trade, etc. WE are what makes the Bench special, the membership! I have been here 11 years and come back almost every day, usually multiple times. Right now, there are 29 members showing as being online, lets get some dialogue going!!

Blessings,

Kevin

 

[David K.]

First would be to fix the problems on the Bench. The trade of the month was last updated on May of 2021. Molitor04x won for the month of January 2022 and Graper135 won for the month of Feb 2022. Needs to be updated and current. Also the cost of Topps and now Bowman has hurt the hobby....buying retail on line now seems to be the way to go and saving collectors tIme and money! Small steps is the way to get more collectors involved. Best regards, David

 

[anglinomics]

When The Bench lost months of data, a backup would have been nice. I agree with David K., the trader of the month and all the other records that need updating should get some attention. I have posted on this a few times, but nothing. Those people are the backbone of this sight. They should not be slighted. Blame still goes back to Peter. Negligence of the site caused the loss of many of the honored members. They have either went to another site or stopped collecting all together.

I have heard a few times that The Benchies Awards should be brought back. Staff is needed to do some of those things. I haven't seen a call for new moderators posted.

 

[shig]

Baseball seems to always be hoppin. I figured I was just into the wrong sport and most people here just happen to be into baseball.

 

[KCLJ520]

Baseball seems to always be hoppin. I figured I was just into the wrong sport and most people here just happen to be into baseball.

@shig
You are right, I think baseball is always the hottest commodity, at least that has been my experience at shops, conventions, shows, online, etc....I feel like everything baseball is typically going higher (other than Michael Jordan stuff right now, my gosh...)

For me right now its time....during the school year, I dont have nearly the time I have over the summer, I am in the midst of my summer program right now, which ends June 10th. So I have so much more time now that our classes are out and I am working with individual students, and can post a lot more, which is nice!

 

[horfin]

I’ve tried Facebook trading and no one gets back to me….been a waste of time. Just an FYI. Bench is 10x more active than Beckett.
I’m glad I found the bench. I would love more trades. I’ve considered trading others favor to get more trades.

 

[shig]

I’ve tried Facebook trading and no one gets back to me….been a waste of time. Just an FYI. Bench is 10x more active than Beckett.
I’m glad I found the bench. I would love more trades. I’ve considered trading others favor to get more trades.

If the Beckett software for organizing could be combined with the sense of community here and then add on top of that the find a trader syustem that another site has (dont wanna promote other sites) then,m holy crap... this place would be amazing. It's really the only site I trade on at all now. Definitely the only one I';m at all active on the forums at.

 

[bfd13]

I think part of the problem is, it's getting more difficult to find trade partners. Some collectors are narrowing their wants where it is difficult to find anything they need. And the cost of postage is making people only want to do PWE or larger trades. For smaller quantity collectors, it is a challenge. Maybe we can have people post their wants more often, so we know what to be looking for.

 

[Tony Kozelichki]

I'm as guilty as anyone when it comes to limiting my wants and cards available to trade; however, for me it is getting difficult to find traders with older cards of any sport, with most only seeking new stuff and hot rookies, neither of which I buy nor collect. Much like playing the stock market, the current collecting trend is eerily reminiscent of the garbage days of the late 80's through the 90's.

 

[ricky_mn]

Ya I avoid newer baseball players and just stuck with older Hof and golden age players and it seems like no one post there looking for hall of famers it's always the hottest youngest players

 

[gordo47]

I would love to see more vintage collectors but don't really have any suggestions. Is there such a thing as advertising online somewhere?

 

[roro17]

For buying/selling/trading goes, we need more people to stop asking to buy, trade and sell by book value. This forum gets a lot of making fun of on other boards because of that. That doesn't exist anymore in the market. It's previous online sales

 

[David K.]

For buying/selling/trading goes, we need more people to stop asking to buy, trade and sell by book value. This forum gets a lot of making fun of on other boards because of that. That doesn't exist anymore in the market. It's previous online sales

I agree! Book value is a guide...not the bible. Best regards, David

 

[torcato]

I have to be honest, this used to be my go to site, but I rarely log on anymore. Back in the day, there were more true set/team collectors on this board and those are few and far between now. As mentioned already in this thread, there could be multitudes of reasons for this, including narrowing one’s card focus, cost of postage, cost of opening cards, other interests, etc, etc.

It takes two to tango as well as to make a trade. We might have something another wants, but they have nothing we need, and vice versa. That seems to be a common issue. I‘m sure it’s not the easiest to maintain, but having a readily available want/tradelist handy would definitely make trades easier for both parties.

For me personally, it’s the constant the lack of follow through on threads where I see others reply but no follow up by the initial poster. It just seems to be too difficult to make a trade, esp when many are insistent on BV. If it’s not a high valued card and both sides are happy with what they are getting, what is the big deal?

Finally, this site is called thebenchtrading and I’ve always used it as such. It’s not the bench FS, or Bench auction, and the like. Just my two cents.

 

[horfin]

What if there was a sticky that only moderators could edit at the top of each forum which listed the user their trade list link and their wantlist link. And a brief description of their wants?


Like:
Horfin trade/wants (baseball Bowmans best, Topps chrome purple/ bowman chrome mini diamonds)

Shig. Link (Football: Broncos)

Kind of like the one and done. The problem with the one and done is that it never gets updated….or it feels that way and you get lost in the 100+ pages.

If there was a sticky at top and no one could reply then it’d be easy to follow. And you could do private conversations which fixes (at least for me) the lack of follow through I like the private conversation because I don’t lose them

The main problem is it reduces the appearance of activity because it would be promoting private conversation.

Just a thought.

 

[Chavezforprez]

I just posted a contest to get a little life to the boards this evening. The group of cards I listed don't amount to a whole lot, but they are cards I don't currently have a place in my collection for, but maybe someone else does.

Thanks,
Billy