Page 3 of 12 FirstFirst 12345678 ... LastLast
Results 21 to 30 of 113

Thread: Secret Sightings Section idea

  1. #21
    Join Date
    24th May 2007
    Location
    Brisbane
    Posts
    38,239

    Default

    I think some people are miss-interpreting this idea. It is NOT a complete restriction of the sightings section. The sightings section would remain public, forever.
    This proposal is to create a sub-section off the sightings section, to temporarily house a single figure that is, or assessed to be, limited and in high demand. After the demand has ended, or the item is no longer limited, the topic could then be moved into the regular section for guests to then find the locations of the excess/unwanted items.
    Then the people (like Lint and Robzy) can start posting their sensitive sightings again, and junior members & guests can still see and/or use the regular sightings section as they normally would.
    It isn't restricting or preventing people - it sounds like it would actually increase usage of the sightings section, based on the comments of people who won't post sightings because of how public and open the regular section is.

    Quote Originally Posted by Cat View Post
    How did people know they were out Wednesday? Sure, some undoubtedly rang. But some of this info wasn't really told to everyone from what I hear.

    It was all shared on here though: exactly when they'd be out, and when the store had received them.

    TC wasn't in the catalogue either.
    That could be possible (especially since we are the most active toy-collector fansite in this country according to ratings sites), because we've had two news topics for the MP toys, plus 5 active states sightings topics, two review topics and even a discussion topic. The global fansites just have a handful of sightings posts, and a couple news postings that link back to our site.
    I still think most of the limited stock ended up going to members here though, as sightings and acquisitions postings account for most (and in some places, all) of the quantity quoted in each TRU store.
    Since we haven't seen OP & TC appearing on ebay (just one appearing at a fair, which could have been imported from America), it's fair to say that our constant sightings inundation has helped our members get first crack at most of the figures.
    If we saw a heap of them appearing on ebay, then this selective concept would be more vital to the members here. At this stage, it is just a discussion... so don't anyone panic just yet, or get worked up over the comments being thrown around.

    Sure I want to help everyone get one. But there's guys I know here who missed out. They're active participating members. I'd rather my info help them first.
    This is the other side of the coin... I don't want members being deterred from posting sightings (like Robzy mentioned) on the assumption that their efforts are being used by people who don't even contribute here (or don't intend to, as a returning of the favour), over those who do.
    If more people started feeling this way, members looking for certain items might not know about a specific location, and miss them before some parent or kid grabs it.
    (again, that might sound elitist, but if a kid or parent is buying it at random, they'd be better off with any other random mass-released figure (nor would they care about what they are missing), and leave the rarer figure for a collector who will keep it and look after it)

    They'd still know an item was out, as it'd be in the headers or what-have-you.

    They just wouldn't see exact details.
    That would be the idea, if this ever happened. The single item (not everything) would still be news, still be tweeted, still be on the header, still have a toy review topic, still be talked about on the global fansites, and even still be reported by members in the regular sightings section (it wouldn't be prohibited)... we would just have a rarely used subsection that would have the bulk of the locations by the more active members (Rank 5 and above) and any reservations or hidden items in the store, who are doing all the leg-work going around to all these stores, noting the details (prices and quantities) and taking the time to log in here and dictate it for the rest of us.
    We as a community that aims to help out each other, should be rewarding this time and effort, and those who are doing all this work, or else, what's the point having a handful of members doing all the work for everyone else including non-members.

    Edit: Har. I see there's mention of it being for those above rank 5, so I wouldn't be able to see it. So as someone who would be left out, I still don't have a problem with it. All my prior statements still stand.
    That was just someone's assumption.
    If this ever happened, it would include Rank 5, as that is the status of someone who is proactive here, and interacts frequently enough to benefit and earn access to information that some people already don't feel comfortable posting in the public sightings section.

    And FYI - Rank 5 isn't hard to obtain either, as people who have at least 100 posts within their first 4-6 months earn it (most active members rack up 100 posts in a month, because it is easy to do if you are a dedicated or enthusiastic collector). Since scalpers could earn Rank 3 by posting up an introduction (it's an easy requirement for that rank), it wouldn't be much of a restriction to have it easy to access within a day of joining here.
    (Rank 2 and 4 are not local fan rankings, so are leap-frogged by actual local fans - Rank 1 (registered or inactive), 3 (proven fan) and 5 (active fan) are all that applies here)

    Quote Originally Posted by jazzcomp View Post
    Agree with this - helping out mates
    Is this for all states?
    To expand on the first paragraph above, the proposed attached sub-section to the public sightings section would require Rank 5 or higher to access it, and would just have a single topic in it for the specific figure that is limited. Anyone from anywhere could post in it, to keep it small and clean, either with a sighting or with a reservation/hidden location, or even if they bought a spare to share with the first nearest person (if they wanted).
    After the demand has died down, or the item is refreshed enough to not be fought over, it could then be moved into the public sightings section.

    Quote Originally Posted by Aqua Prime View Post
    I think the problem is easy. Close the sightings thread and leave it open to members only. That will minimise scalpers. It won't stop them entirely, but it at least gives the members a fighting chance.
    Nope, won't do that. We have enough restricted sections for members only, and 99% of the toys released here aren't limited enough to warrant having a closed/elitist/xenophobic look to our community.
    The majority of the people wanting the rarer figures are active members or higher, so this could help the majority of people get that toy, or even report a sighting of that toy (as some refuse to risk a public posting). It also acts as an incentive to gain an active interactive status here by newer fans, or those who didn't previously have an intention to contribute here.

    Quote Originally Posted by GoktimusPrime View Post
    Suggestion: How about if anyone finds a hard-to-find toy, reserve them all and then post the sighting location and reservation name.
    That would be difficult to do in most cases or stores... especially in large quantities.
    A better way around that might be for me to approach the head-office of stores like TRU, to see if there can't be some sort of pre-ordering arrangement done for registered (and maybe active) members of our community, which would guarantee sales for them, and provides the figures to those here who want them.
    It might also prompt them to bring in more stock, to prevent the need for a restricted sub-section in the first place. (which some people don't like)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lint View Post
    I don't agree with this at all

    I joined this forum because a google search led me to the sightings thread which led me to an acquisition win.

    At first when I was very active in retail toy hunting I felt that the sightings thread should be restricted to members only but I now realise that it is arguably one of the biggest reasons why people would join this forum in the first place.
    If someone new comes along and plans to be an interactive member to give back to the community they have benefited from as a guest or newbie, they won't be discriminated against, because they will still have access to 99% of the sightings as a guest or basic member (rank 4 or less), and will know broad details of what, where, when and how much.
    None of that will be secret... and as mentioned above, there would still be sightings posted in the regular/public section, by those who are lower ranks, and even those of higher ranks that choose to (because it won't be prohibited).
    This is just an idea to improve the chances of obtaining something that is so limited, it shouldn't go to people who are just reselling it (which does still occur here, just not as much as in America), or to those who don't even know that it is a rare/premium figure (kids or parents who aren't even collectors, but are just buying a random toy).

    If I didn't care about what others here think, or how it would affect them, I wouldn't have put this up for comments & discussion first to fine-tune the idea. I'd just implement something and ignore the complaints.

    I honestly am beginning to think scalpers don't thrive in Australia anyway given the following factors:
    -US prices are far better than AU ones, importing is cheaper than retail
    -If scalpers are purely motivated by profit, it is a lot of effort to put in (keeping updated with exclusives, prices and sightings) for a, comparatively, little gain.
    -We beat them to it, every single time. Either by forming syndicates or simply by pure dedication to the hunt. We are our own worst enemy and are growing in number.
    That's true, we don't have a significant scalper problem in this country (you can't find BotShot chase figures in American stores, but aren't a problem here)... but we've had enough of a greed element with the odd past figure being snapped up and ebayed for a massive markup, to warrant looking into a way of making it harder for those people who have no interest in ever joining here or contributing back to this community.
    You joined because of what we offered, and then gave back... I'm only suggesting that we target the people who don't have that same ethical standard.

    If understand that many of us are frustrated by recent events but if you are truly concerned that you or other members will miss out on a toy then DON'T POST IN THE SIGHTINGS THREAD. I'm sure many of us do this already, myself included.
    So instead of trying to create a system that encourages members to post all of their sightings (with a temporary two-tier system), it is being suggested by at least a couple senior members (who don't post sightings of rarer items), that we just don't post them at all. That's more of a problem, because no one sees your info. At least this proposal lets people know about what you've seen, and it's the majority of the traffic here too.

    That's more discriminating than the temporary hiding of a particular figure's postings, which you're against... and goes against the point of having a community or sightings section.

    But to restrict sightings from the public? That is elitism of the highest level. You are basically saying that you deserve these products more than other members (and non-members) and you want to be able to obtain a toy by refreshing a page on webpage that most other people can't see and then make a phone call.
    So instead of most of the people seeing your sightings in a temporary hidden sub-section, no one sees it (since you and others don't risk posting in the public section). That's a lot more elitist than this proposal, that eventually aims to have the info available to everyone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Robzy View Post
    To be clear, I think the proposition (which isn't a new one) is for ultra rare and low production items only. I'm pretty sure the intention would still be to have general access sightings threads for 99% of the TFs sold.
    Exactly. The ultimate goal is to not need the temporary sub-section at all (by trying to open up dialogue with the Stores to gain pre-orders or encourage an increase in stock numbers to cover the demand), but failing that, we need to prevent people here from not wanting to post sightings... and need to prioritise getting toys to people who will keep them and look after them.

  2. #22
    Join Date
    27th Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney NSW
    Posts
    37,637

    Default

    fwiw I think it's a good idea.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lint View Post
    Only thing I can say to that is, don't feed the scalpers?
    ^Agree 100% w/ this!
    If a toy isn't at or below RRP, I ain't buyin' it!

  3. #23
    Join Date
    16th Jul 2008
    Location
    Melb
    Posts
    3,961

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by griffin View Post
    So instead of trying to create a system that encourages members to post all of their sightings (with a temporary two-tier system), it is being suggested by at least a couple senior members (who don't post sightings of rarer items), that we just don't post them at all. That's more of a problem, because no one sees your info. At least this proposal lets people know about what you've seen, and it's the majority of the traffic here too.

    That's more discriminating than the temporary hiding of a particular figure's postings, which you're against... and goes against the point of having a community or sightings section.

    So instead of most of the people seeing your sightings in a temporary hidden sub-section, no one sees it (since you and others don't risk posting in the public section). That's a lot more elitist than this proposal, that eventually aims to have the info available to everyone.
    I'm not proposing that everybody does not post sightings of rarer items. Only that if they are uncomfortable doing so, they simply not do it. I have posted sightings of MP-10 and Thundercracker. I may have delayed one post owing to lack of reception and the fact that I wanted to give other toy hunters the opportunity to find toys on their own before feeding them to the pack.

    Whether you post a sighting or not on a public forum is a personal choice. Nobody is obligated to do it. It is not elitist at all.

    Creating a sub-section where only a selected class of people can see and post sightings is.

    So lets run through a little example scenario to see if I understand the process correctly:

    1. Low-rank (or any) member excitedly posts up sighting of an MP-10 on the public sightings thread.
    2. Moderator moves (or deletes) this post to the secret thread regarding MP-10
    3. Low-rank member wonders where their sighting went. Is either told or informed that they are not permitted to post their sighting
    4. Low-rank member goes wtf because their contribution to the community has been absconded for the elite.
    5. Am I, as a Deluxe member, then obligated to only post sightings of MP-10 in the private sightings thread until otherwise instructed? Sounds very controlling.

    Why are we so against a parent or otherwise buying a superb toy like MP-10 at random for a kid or even themselves? It's unlikely to happen anyway because of the cost, but even if it did wouldn't this awesome toy have a better chance of endearing a child/person to the Transformers franchise than one of the arguably less-good regular release figures?

    I think the public sightings thread already gives us a distinct and adequate advantage over the regular shopper. How many parents do you think have wasted their time in the toy aisle looking for a toy that has been bought out by ourselves during a catalogue sale? You're now proposing to give us another leg-up over our own kind in order to satisfy the desires of a few and deny a handful of scalpers a profit?

  4. #24
    Join Date
    31st Jul 2012
    Location
    Melbourne CBD
    Posts
    1,889

    Default

    I'm a serious collector as well and i'm not rank 6, if this comes into effect, i wouldnt know when MP's hit shelfs and where to look.

  5. #25
    Join Date
    27th Jan 2008
    Location
    La Face Cachée de la Lune
    Posts
    6,821

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by UltraMarginal View Post
    I think, as a community, we have to realise that there are a lot of Transformers collectors who are very serious about collecting who just aren't aware of the forum
    Then... how does it affect them what we do with the sightings section? Personally I don't care either way - from my perspective, Australia hasn't has anything that's worth buying at retail in years, and the chances of it having something I think is worth buying that will actually sell out are minuscule. But I do think that for things that are perceived by some as good, why not make it private, as long as it's a 'private'-level member who was the one making the sighting?

  6. #26
    Megatron Guest

    Default

    Yeah... (if it comes into effect) I would have to try extra hard to try to gain a Rank 6... and I absolutely love collecting exclusives and limited editions.

  7. #27
    Join Date
    8th Jun 2012
    Location
    Melbourne
    Posts
    5,306

    Default

    We also have to remember, as many said before, that we are not the only TF fans in Australia. There may be other communities that we don't know about, as well as those who aren't the talkative type.
    Those such as Kazza and MegatronSG1 may miss out too, if they were looking for said toy. It's a debatable topic which may never come to light.
    I, however, in my personal opinion, agree to keep some sort of private thread/section for those who are very enthusiastic and passionate about obtaining a particular toy, or just collecting in general. I really want to get my hands on MP-10, as it is virtually the toy I wanted when I was a kid.
    I hope this comes to pass, although I hope for there to be some sort of thing for lower than rank 5 members, as it would be unfair to do otherwise, if this was to pass.
    This is a good start though, as we are starting to stand up to scalpers in the name of our community. Thanks for reading my wall of text and understanding my opinion on this idea.

  8. #28
    Join Date
    5th Jul 2010
    Location
    Mornington Peninsula
    Posts
    2,900

    Default

    I like this idea. For those like myself not rank 6, do your best to be a contributing part of the community and im sure it with come soon enough
    Follow me on twitter:
    @Kal_ElofKrypton
    @Soundwaves_cast

  9. #29
    Join Date
    28th Dec 2007
    Location
    Sydney
    Posts
    663

    Default

    Hmm..wow this is an interesting debate, there are valid points on both sides of the fence. It's like we're having the Marvel Comics version of "Civil War" here . Shall we draft the Transformers Registration Act? Lighten up, I'm just kidding!

    I honestly don't know where my stance is or if there is a better, equitable solution.

    My reflex action was hell yes!!! to the idea Griffin proposed. Then on reflection on his argument and Lint's I'm a bit uneasy of the idea.

    From my personal experience, I was getting frustrated with trying to find MP Thundercracker and then Optimus Prime. I became convinced there were scalpers amongst us or out there depriving me of my joy. I didn't have any Masterpieces so this was a good entry point for me. I liked the revised moulds and the price point. However, I have persisted as I really wanted these guys (and I'm so glad I have them now ).

    I got these figures off my own bat, and not off anyone else's lead. However, in the past I have got a desired figure from a posting sighting (and given thanks for that sighting!)

    And to pay it forward, I've posted sightings regularly as well, particularly during the work week at Kmart, Target and TRU stores for the benefit of others.

    • I posted sightings of a full set of FOC Bruticus figures at Kmart, Bam! Gone next day.
    • I posted a sighting of 4 MP Thundercrackers at TRU after grabbing mine, Bam! Goneskies.


    Knowing how hard it was to get these guys and my opinion there were scalpers buying up (e.g. that report about someone buying 6 MP OPs etc), I still posted my findings so to help out the forumites.

    Did someone here benefit from my postings? (a shout out be nice ), was it a random stranger, or a scalper? Maybe? I don't know, but I have no control over that, I just put it out there.

    I'm not sure I agree 100% with a sealed sightings section albeit temporary for a high demand figure. On the flipside, I don't like it if people here have been to a store and keep the info to themselves but utilise our intelligence info and then cry foul about being restricted to the sightings section.

    As much as we can say we are not being elitist, the behaviour of a sealed section, or reserving multiples for the benefit of others here is being elitist not matter how well-intentioned. Who am I to deprive someone else of one who I don't even know?

    Yes, this may be the most prominent Transformers collector forum locally. But there are other local action figure collectors forums out there also posting transformers sightings. What's to say we ain't competing with these collectors?

    Additionally, I know of people who collect action figures but don't belong or participate in any online forums. They are happy to collect what they want and aren't that into the whole pop culture aspect. Does it make them less worthy of having fair chance at one?

    This issue seems to more prolific with the high priced adult collectors figures like Masterpiece where it seems to be a scalper issue.

    However, I heard the same thing when FOC figures came out. Yeah I couldn't see them in stores but maybe this was a Hasbro or retailer issue. When the few that did appear went quickly, could this be a case of a short packed shipment? I managed to get a Shockwave figure after enough visits.

    But even before they started appearing in more supply in stores I could get one for a $25 plus shipping from a reputable local ebay dealer way before retail.

    I can't see why you would even bother trying to buy multiples to try and make a profit. The expense going from TRU to TRU would eat up any profit margin.

    I just think the MP figures are considered high-end Collector's items in the eyes of TRU and a big shipment of these isn't worth the risk. They are not as recognisable as the movie or maybe the cartoon merchandise.

    I compare the issue of hard to purchase Masterpiece Transformers like the limited Nike re-releases of Air Jordans. These are released at select Footlockers stores and unless you line up at 3am the day before, you got buckley's chance of getting one.

    I find it hard to believe they can only ship out 20 pairs of shoes NATIONALLY. May be it's the same with Masterpiece figures and TRU?

  10. #30
    Join Date
    15th Apr 2010
    Location
    Western Sydney
    Posts
    5,893

    Default

    If you find a toy that is short packed, who do you want it to go to? A friend, another forum member, scalper or someone unknown to you?

    Hmm, why is there a coincidence of toys getting sold out when a sighting is found? Like you, I'd acknowledge & thank the source if I got the info from them.
    But it seems like it's not members who are benefiting from the info shared. But if you don't care about who gets the toy, why share the sighting at all? Unsolicited help? I actually ask for help.

    It should be preference of the poster who he/she wants to share the info with. PM is there.

    The info is still shared albeit a lot later.
    Last edited by jazzcomp; 2nd November 2012 at 05:32 AM.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •