Region-Based Sightings as an alternative to Line-Based Sightings

[jaydisc]

Just a thought...

When I come back from a hunt, it's a bit difficult and annoying to extrapolate what different figures I saw from each of the 5-10 stores I went to and then to have to separate out which line they belong to. As a poster, I would find it much easier to post something like:

Melbourne Sightings:
TRU Bumfolk: Lots of Animated Deluxes, Movie Premium Deluxes and lots of Ultras, Mudflap/Inferno and Deep Space SS and Blades/Drop Shot.
Myer Bumfolk: Universe Prime & Combiners
Kmart Bumfolk: Activators, Cyber Slammers and Bumber Battlers galore
Target East Bumfolk: 4 x MP4s

This is much easier, more concise and less error prone than the following four posts:

Animated Sightings:
TRU Bumfolk: Lots of Animated Deluxes
Kmart Bumfolk: Activators and Bumber Battlers galore

Universe Sightings
TRU Bumfolk: Blades/Drop Shot.
Myer Bumfolk: Universe Prime & Combiners

Movie Sightings
TRU Bumfolk: Movie Premium Deluxes and lots of Ultras, Mudflap/Inferno and Deep Space SS
Kmart Bumfolk: Cyber Slammers

Masterpiece Sightings
Target East Bumfolk: 4 x MP4s

Also, as a reader, Sightings to me always seemed more about location. I'd much prefer to have to skim past local sightings of figures from lines I'm not interested in, than to know about sightings from areas that I have no ability to acquire from.

There is a case where an out-of-state sighting is of national interest and that's a first-of-its-kind sighting, and Griffin seems to like posting about those in Australian News, which any of us can do if we sight something first. We wouldn't have to go look through the other state's sightings threads, just AU news.

What does everyone think?

What do the Melbourne folk think?

Is it OK if I trial a Melbourne Sightings thread for a month or so?

[TheDirtyDigger]

I've thought about state/city sightings threads before as, in theory, the sightings would be more streamlined.


YOU STOLE MY IDEA!!!!!!:mad:



:D

[MV75]

Whatever.

But still be careful and aware of why we don't like to specifically post exact locations in the public domain. ;) And yes, that reason is scalpers. We still want fellow members and the public alike to be able to still have a chance of getting the rarer toys.

[Paulbot]

My objection would be about making it easier for scalpers.

I don't see any problem with the current system, and think having to go through a bunch of posts to find the rare Masterpiece (for example) sighting would be more frustrating than going to the Masterpiece sightings thread.

[Sky Shadow]

But still be careful and aware of why we don't like to specifically post exact locations in the public domain. ;) And yes, that reason is scalpers.

Are scalpers really a problem? Transformers are barely worth the price they're sold for on the shelves these days, no one's going to make a profit from resale (particularly after postage on eBay or whatever.) And why do some people put their sightings in invisible text? It's not like scalpers don't know how to highlight words with their mouse. The whole thing seems odd to me.

[TheDirtyDigger]

Depends on the Tf's in question and the time they are released. Ultimate BB's were scalped at more than 200% of retail price last Christmas.

[Pulse]

I write sightings in code (which can be translated only by my locals :D) so this doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me :)

[sanbot]

I write sightings in code (which can be translated only by my locals :D) so this doesn't make a whole lot of difference to me :)

"sightings in code" heehee

sorry i had to laugh at that :p

It doesn't make too much of a difference to me. I don't mind trawling through various posts to find whats out there.

On another note, if keeping the exact locations secret really is effective in keeping scalpers at bay then I'm all for it especially since I only get to look for TF's on weekends.

[dirge]

I write sightings in code (which can be translated only by...

...everyone, actually :rolleyes:

No offense man, but your codes are ridiculously easy to decipher.

Anyway, I do think jaydisc has a point. Perhaps the sightings could switch over to something akin to this:

+ New Sightings (ie first sighting of a toy, or a wave hitting a certain chain for the first time)
+ NSW / ACT
+ WA
+ VIC
+ SA
+ QLD
+ NT / TAS

Exact details of how we divide the regions isn't so relevant yet, but the idea makes sense to me. The "PM for exact location" some members use will still apply within regional threads, where needed.

This way we have a clearing house of what has actually been sighted in general terms _and_ an up to date guide of what's where, as is relevent to specific areas.

The WA users need not bother wading through Pulse's poor attempts to conceal his trip to Stanhope Gardens, nor read through Iceburn's 4am trip to Burwood East, nor Goktimus laughing at the insane prices Sydney's Kinokuniya are asking this week. Instead they read about Morley, Carousel, etc.

[Pulse]

How about I just say "spotted at a Big W/K-Mart/Target etc. near me" or stop posting sightings altogether? Sounds like a good idea...

[dirge]

Or you could use the tried and tested "Spotted in western Sydney. PM for exact location". It seems to work for everyone else.

[jaydisc]

Awesome. Well it sounds like it's OK if I give it a try then. I'll do so after my hunt tomorrow.

[sanbot]

How about I just say "spotted at a Big W/K-Mart/Target etc. near me" or stop posting sightings altogether? Sounds like a good idea...

I gotta admit, I'm a "fan" of your "code" :o

So despite what others might say, its good value entertainment to me on a quiet workday arvo.

[Pulse]

No worries Shazam :). Just because others might want me to "become more normal", I will do no such thing! :D I'm an individual, Damn it! :D It's the same way I refuse to change my location to somewhere real - it's cos Pulse does things his own way... :D

[JuzMel]

How about I just say "spotted at a Big W/K-Mart/Target etc. near me" or stop posting sightings altogether? Sounds like a good idea...
:D :D :D how like me, I always like to say things like spotted at "My local store, the one I usually frequent"... So you've gotta dig deeper to know which one I'm talking about. Just like I got chided for saying Kmart 24/7 assuming there was only one in VIC and then Icy was like there's 2-3 24/7 Kmarts... heehee

Anyway NO to the public domain because YES there are scalpers. Maybe trial it somewhere else. ;) PM for exact location can be a pain sometime cause you need to wait for person to reply.

[roller]

first you all change your avatars and stuff

now you wanna frick around with the laserbeak sighting sections

When does it stop!!!!! Why do you young people have to change things!! Just to make it modern isnt it!

Just make the sightings thread, 'members only' if you want to deter scalpers

[GoktimusPrime]

I like mel's idea. People who know her would know what stores she's talking about, and if you're not sure you can PM her.

[iceburn]

Anyway NO to the public domain because YES there are scalpers. Maybe trial it somewhere else. ;) PM for exact location can be a pain sometime cause you need to wait for person to reply.

well, one has the choice to call the person that has sighted something too...

[jacksplatt11]

well, one has the choice to call the person that has sighted something too...

Only if you already have their number

[TheDirtyDigger]

Just make the sightings thread, 'members only' if you want to deter scalpers

I think that's an excellent idea.

[jaydisc]

None of my original suggestion was meant to suggest changes in how we report which stores the sightings are from or how some of us like to refer to them. As with everything, to each their own.

I'm not suggesting changing any of that, rather just the way we group the sightings.

[JuzMel]

well, one has the choice to call the person that has sighted something too...
EXACTLY! Just like how I sent a mass SMS to all the melbournians during the Myer one day sale about the stock of combiners and 25th annim prime... heehee... my poor phone must have gone bonkers that night. :D

Jacksplatt - As for that maybe Griff can create a section for DMs to leave their contact numbers down?

[Golden Phoenix]

first you all change your avatars and stuff

now you wanna frick around with the laserbeak sighting sections

When does it stop!!!!! Why do you young people have to change things!! Just to make it modern isnt it!

We do it just to get a reaction from you

Just make the sightings thread, 'members only' if you want to deter scalpers
Probably a good idea

[k.wong23]

Sounds like a good idea, by all means go ahead and trial. It is a bit cluttered atm isn't it :)

[GoktimusPrime]

The problem with making it "members only" is that it won't necessarily deter scalpers. There are scalpers who register on the board and either never or very seldomly post but probably lurk a lot on the sightings thread for their scalping practices. And there are plenty of registered users who post infrequently who aren't scalpers, so it would be unfair to deregister less active users.

[dirge]

Can we bring this back to discussing jaydisc's original discussion? Pulse can choose to pretend to be clever however he wants, but that's not what this is about.

[TheDirtyDigger]

The only real way to assess the value and effectiveness of region based sightings is if we run with a trial.

[dirge]

I've launched a Victorian (http://www.otca.com.au/boards/showthread.php?t=2891) trial.

For the moment, I'd ask that Victorians don't vacate the older sightings threads en-masse - to really gauge what works best we need at least a few people using both methods. I'll let that run for a while and we'll see how things go.

I'm particularly interested in the thoughts of jaydisc, TheDirtyDigger & Paulbot on how the trial goes (as advocate, the one who suggested a trial and our Mexican staff member).

[griffin]

Just been quiet on this topic, as I wanted to see what others had to say before I gave my opinion.
This was how the sightings section was done on our first board home, but when we moved to our second location, dirge actually convinced me not to do it that way, but is now supporting it (shrug)...
Maybe having more members and more sightings now would make it easier to have state-based sightings?
See how the trial goes I guess.
My opinion though, is that the state based sightings only cover the main lines (Animated, Movie, Universe), and people still post sub-lines (like Masterpiece, Titanium, Alts, etc) in their own topics, so that they don't get lost for people looking out for them. We would also need to post more often in the AUS news section, when new items are being found in Australia, so that people don't have to constantly be looking in the sightings section for an upcoming item, or miss it if they weren't watching out for it.

[dirge]

This was how the sightings section was done on our first board home, but when we moved to our second location, dirge actually convinced me not to do it that way, but is now supporting it (shrug)...


Two things have changed:

1) We have a much larger community now. Back then we had... 1 or two in SA, maybe 3 in WA and maybe 4 in Brisbane. Which made regional sightings kinda difficult.

2) HasTak have their hands in so many buckets. Universe, Movie, Alt/Bt, Reissues, Animated... there are so many threads runnign concurrently.

TBH it's mainly the first - we could easily run threads in Canberra, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane & Gold Coast now. A few years ago anything outside of Sydney/Melbourne would have been too quiet. At one stage we had a single active user from South Australia. Now they're organising their own meets down there :)

But yeah, I started a trial so we can figure out what'll work best :)

[Lint]

I reckon its great! funnels all you victorian nutjobs and your noise into a single thread :p

[Golden Phoenix]

I reckon its great! funnels all you victorian nutjobs and your noise into a single thread :p

Well the neighbours were complaining and called the cops. <_<

[Lint]

Look forward to joining your party in about 9.5 hrs :D

[dirge]

The Victorian thread seems to be going quite well... I'd be interested to know what you Mexicans think of the idea - and whether you believe the region based thread is worth keeping/expanding.

Thoughts?

[Golden Phoenix]

The Victorian thread seems to be going quite well... I'd be interested to know what you Mexicans think of the idea - and whether you believe the region based thread is worth keeping/expanding.

Thoughts?

I think it is alright. You can just scan through the topic to find the location your looking for, without having places from other states there. Also makes it easier because everything gets listed, whether it be Universe or Animated or anything else

[STL]

I enjoy it. In the past, I was too lazy to post in each of the separate threads unless something really rare or special pops up. Now, I can give a quick and more efficient rundown of places I visit.

[TheDirtyDigger]

Seems more streamlined and efficient in practice.

[jaydisc]

Yeah, I'm a big fan too. Although I spend so much time on this board, I check out the non-VIC ones anyway.

[Oilspill]

Honestly, I think it will make it more difficult to work out when something is released in Australia if we have state specific threads.

I'm interested in Animated and Universe, so if I see that new waves have been spotted in Vic or NSW or wherever at a K-mart, for example, then I can go check my K-marts more regularly with a good chance of it turning up soon.

Unless people update the general Australia wide thread as well as their local one, then people will miss news. And we know people won't remember to update both.. in fact this already happened with Jetfire/Jetstorm.

Just my 2 cents.

[dirge]

Yeah the idea would be to still have a general thread, Oilspill. For "new" or significant sightings - for the reasons you've stated (:

[Paulbot]

Yeah the idea would be to still have a general thread, Oilspill. For "new" or significant sightings - for the reasons you've stated (:

I think we could even call it the "First Sightings Thread - Post here if you've seen something in store for the first time, from any series"