My logic for avoiding 'amateur' status - no donations needed

Site Discussion Team Discussion
21

My only comment is… would they really pay that kinda money for a banner on a fan site page? :eek: If they have shown interest and you really think they will bite then go ahead by all means!

We pay $107.40 a year for the site (I know cos I have the site Hostmonster package), so if you can get $200-$300 alone out of the companies, that will likely see us through the next 2 years or so at least for hosting. However I feel MannyF should receive some of it to reimburse him for what he’s paid out thus far…

I take it we are also still auctioning off the Mumm-Ra statue too? Hopefully that will help with site costs as well!

22

I really don’t know what these guys would spend, but part of my pitch will be the following:

  1. We’re the #1 ThunderCats site on the net (fan or otherwise)

  2. We’re one of the top google search returns (1st page) for ‘ThunderCats’

  3. We’re the top google search return for ‘ThunderCats statue’

  4. We have over 1,200 forum members and over 2,000 hardcore fans on our facebook page that we can deliver personal e-mails and messages to

  5. We’ll gladly work with our advertisers on further developing the section of our website that highlights their products

A condition here is that we have final rights to determine what goes up on any part of our site and we won’t vouch or endorse products simply as a result of securing advertising (ie we maintain our independence at all times and represent the fans first and foremost)

It’s entirely possible that nobody will go for any of our ad options, if they decline I’ll ask people to make an offer and I’ll bring that back here to the team to make a final decision.

Merged Post:
In hindsight I think points four and five shouldn’t be discussed, I want to focus on the idea of the banner ad and possibly on story placement on the front page.

What would you guys think about the following idea:

If one of the statue companies opts to be the exclusive advertiser on the site, would we give their news releases ‘top slot’ on the front page? Sort of how redflagdeals.com lists their new and favourite deals? ie their stories would stay at the top of the front page for some period of time rather than be bumped the next time a new story comes up for us.

It may help selling the value of being the exclusive advertiser…

What do you guys think of that idea?

23

Chris here…

Quick response as not at home…

Personally I like the idea of having several advertisers paying a smaller amount to be on the front page alongside others - for example I think it would be in our interests to work with all three statue companies, Bandai, and anyone else connected with TCats… :slight_smile:

I’d also raise the question, would it damage our relationship with any of the other statue companies if it looked like we were giving advertising preference to any of the others? :slight_smile: Would it be better to give them the option of each having equal “site space”, as it were, so no one feels elbowed out the way for someone else? :slight_smile:

My knee-jerk reaction is that the news feed should remain independant of advertising - BUT, I’m completely flexible on that point! :slight_smile:

These are just random thoughts on a library computer with a ticking clock (4 mins to go, yikes!) - just thought I’d throw these out there till I can get back online properly! :slight_smile:

Mark, your work here is EXCELLENT and I salute you, sir! :slight_smile:

Take care… :slight_smile:

24

Well guys there is a forum member who would be interested in donating to the site. His name is Wayne Daniells (LiarDice Films). I guess he is pretty thankful because Ive been helping him with information on the toys, and perhaps feels thankful for me selling him a few pieces at affordable prices unlike other members he’s encountered. Anyways he is asking us if there is a link other than the Amazon associates link that he can donate to. I’d like some feeback on this. My first thought is to provide him with a link so he can donate.

I think this, IMO, reinforces the idea of us having a donation button

25

Chris here…

Hey Manny, first of all that’s awesome that this guy is willing to help out the site and I think we would be insane to turn him down on this offer! :slight_smile:

As to the donation button, whilst I’m certain my buddy Mark will disagree - I agree with you, if someone feels philanthropic towards us, having a simple donation button that they can click makes them much more likely to do so than if they have to go through the process of e-mailing someone to ask (or whatever). It’s not begging and IMO there’s nothing amateurish about it, it’s giving people an easy means of showing support for the site if they like what we’re doing and feel so inclined. :slight_smile:

…But, I suspect that this is a dead issue as there isn’t enough consensus of the team, the folks who feel most strongly are those who are opposed to having a donate button which means it likely won’t happen. If Mark can use his negotiating skills to score this site some advertising revenue then that works as an alternative. :slight_smile:

Take care… :slight_smile:

26

Ah LiarDice Films… dunno if the other ‘members’ comment was aimed at me or not since i’ve been in talks with him via pm about my collection and possibly letting a few pieces go (mainly characters I have more than one of)

He was getting a bit arsey because I didn’t decide in an instant to let my German Bengali go to him for £120 without giving it some thought first. I get the impression he thinks fellow collectors should let their items go as cheap as possible because ‘he’s a fellow ThundercatsLair board member’ and a fellow ‘LJN Thundercats collector’

I clearly stated I am not in need of a fast sale as I’m not cash strapped and I’ll take his offer into consideration (but at the same time see if there is any other interest)

Sorry but if I can get a better deal for it or any other of my collection i’m selling, with someone else, then I will! I’m taking a dislike to the guy after just a few pm exchanges :mad:

I am even more against the donate button now than I was before! I can just imagine folks coming and saying “well you should do this or that, or change this or that”…then when asked why we should listen…“well we are ThundercatsLair members who donated to this site!”

From my experience with LiarDice Films, I now know the type who will donate to the site and want something in return :mad: Opening a can of worms methinks…:frowning:

27

His emails can get a little bit annoying but overall I think he is an ok guy. I also got the impression that he thinks pieces should be sold cheap because theyre going to a fellow collector. I had to explain to him that many people who collect T-Cats have put a great deal of money into their collection and many do not want to let them go at a loss or at very very minimAl profit.

I sold him a couple of pieces and basically sold them to him at a break even point. Most of my collection has been sold off and Ive put the proceeds towards precious metals and gold coins. Truthfully I got burnt out on collecting too much too quick and it is a transition in my life that was long overdue. Dont get me wrong i still love Thundercats as much as ever but the lack of space and finances made the decision much easier on me.

I cant comlain because since Ive sold most of the collection those same proceeds have netted me over 31% gain in value. Hopefully with a bit more increase I can use those proceeds for a downpayment on a house

Anyways sorry for the change of topic. Wayne (LiarDice Films) is a cool guy, his emails just get a bit annoying at times.

28

I usually like to keep my pm exchanges private (especially business deals) but I’m gonna just post our exchanges here, so the whole team can decide for themselves either way… I’ve quoted all pm’s exchanged from when he decided to get arsey with me.

[QUOTE=Blackiecats]
Hi,

Nope I haven’t sold anything yet. I plan on taking some close up pics of the best pieces so folks know exactly what condition they are in…

Hopefully i’ll take them in the next few days. Panthro I’ll likely keep as it’s the only carded Panthro I have. I’d probably let him go if/when I get a Rainbow Toys carded Panthro perhaps…

Neil
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LiarDice Films]
No probs Neil, i get the impression you dont really even want to part with your Cats. Manny Collectibles has been filling me in on the current reasonable prices for different figs. He kindly just sold me a lovely graded 8 back Panthro without catalog. Well im a genuine collector after TC’s for the display and not the profit, so if you decide on prices at anytime you can always PM me

Best

Wayne
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Blackiecats]
lol I never said I planned to sell my whole collection. I stated I was down sizing it I also stated I’m in no big rush to sell the pieces I’m happy to let go.

The german Bengali will very likely be sold as I’m content with the Rainbow Toys version I have and decided I do not need both. So that’s a given.

So to reiterate, I never planned to sell off my whole collection. I’ll only sell mainly just characters I have multiples of like Bengali, Tygra, Lion-O…

I will get back to you with close up pics of Bengali before I take any offers on him.

Neil
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LiarDice Films]
Ok neil,

Well i was only ever after a list of items you wished to part with. Hoped that i could find a fair deal in the forums with true and fair collectors, after watching people on ebay and websites mark up extortionately un realistic prices on items because they know collectors new and old might really want a piece for their collection. I was offered a Lion O 8 back energizer battery MOC for 1200USD! when i told him that item was worth 500USD max he told me that he would wait for the movie and see. money money money. Toys of our era have now become Picasso’s!
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Blackiecats]
Unfortunately that’s how it goes sometimes. I usually just sell my stuff on ebay auction format, letting collectors decide how much it’s worth. It’s usually the fairest way in my opinion.

Neil
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LiarDice Films]
It’s interesting to know that you wouldn’t sell them to true collectors and fans, when it was yourself who said that you didn’t need the money anyway. A very different ethos to other collectors I’ve spoken to. Quite enlightening
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=Blackiecats]
What makes a true collector or fan?

Look, I am not in need of quick cash, otherwise a chunk would have been sold off by now But I’m not gonna let my collection pieces go for the first offers that come along. The world of collecting works where both buyer and seller are happy with the deal. I’d sooner throw my items out there for all to place an offer whether that be private or ebay sale, giving all fellow collectors a chance. That’s how the world of collectibles works.

I’m glad you managed to find good deals here. Hopefully you will continue to do so

However being a member here and stating your a ‘true’ collector doesn’t mean folks should be obliged to sell to you in a heartbeat.
[/QUOTE]

[QUOTE=LiarDice Films]
Never a truer word said, I’d define people as profiteers and collectible fans. You know me from Adam. Just been very interesting talking to you compared to other forum ‘leaders’. I hope you get what you hoped for your collection
[/QUOTE]

and that’s it, since I’m done replying to this guy :rolleyes: Make of all that what you will! lol

29

Chris here…

I’ve got to say, as you’d expect, I disagree - I think there will always be people like this guy who try and use something as leverage, whether that be donating $5.00 to a website or being their best friend’s sister’s distant cousin’s next door neighbour… :slight_smile:

If we were discussing the concept of doing a He-Man.Org and actively soliciting donations (i.e, posting up a message on the front page of the site, and PM-ing every member, saying “Please give us $10 each”), that’s totally different and I’ve always said I would be against us doing that - one reason being that I think that would give people leverage to try and emotionally blackmail us to make changes to the site (or whatever) based on them having done what we asked and donated money. I also think it can create an internal hierarchy between forum members (“I’m a true fan because I donated to the site!”). Quite honestly, I’ve no idea how Val Staples had managed to get away with it! (Actually, he’s managed to get away with it by being a complete asshole, but we’ll draw a veil over that! :wink: ) However, I have to say that sticking a discrete “donate” button in one corner of a website isn’t doing that… :slight_smile:

Anyway, as I say I think the donation issue is dead because there are two people, Mark & Neil, who are more strongly opposed to the idea than its’ most vocal proponents are in favour of it, so (with no offence intended to Mark and Neil, whose views I definitely respect) I think those of us who are in favour of a donate button are just beating a dead horse and would be better off pursuing Mark’s advertising idea as an alternative. :slight_smile:

EDIT: I will say as well that that guy is being VERY rude to you, Neil - he actually needs to be careful talking to a member of the TCL team like that as whilst we don’t ban people out of spite I for one certainly do expect to be spoken to in a civil manner. :mad:

Take care… :slight_smile:

30

I must agree with Chris that the reply was not very civil. He’s been asking me for advice on pricing etc and I did tell him what my limits are when it comes to buying, however it seems that he is now taking those quotes as gospel.

I dont think he understands well how the market works and that ultimately people are not selling because someone is a fan or collector but because there is an incentive to do so. So far Im happy with the deals Ive made with him but he shouldnt feel as though people should let go of items on a whim.

31

I’m not too bothered about his responses as I’ve dealt with many people like this over the last 9 years…part of the territory of making deals with collectibles…

if his name hadn’t come up in this thread I wouldn’t have burdened you guys with this! :smiley:

Just thought it best to back up my opinion of him, by showing you what was said over the last week or so via pm.

32

Chris here…

A new development on this: http://www.thundercatslair.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4533 . Although obviously this guy’s suspected motives and his rude PM’s to Neil have been well documented in this thread, it will be interesting to see if any other TCL forum members chime in… :slight_smile:

Although I’m happy to go with the consensus, for myself I’d like to leave this thread untouched by any of this site’s team just for a minute and see, even if just out of curiosity, what sort of reaction this thread gets (if any). :slight_smile:

Take care… :slight_smile:

33

This Wayne guy is starting to portray a creepiness character. I told the guy its been looked at so Im wondering now how other forum members will view it. Im almost tempted to delete the thread

:mad:

34

Chris here…

I agree it’s kind-of creepy but for myself I’d still like to see how the thread plays out before nuking it - if no one replies to it after a week or so then it’s safe to say that at least the vast majority of our forum members wouldn’t be interested in donating to the site, and so therefore that serves as an indicator as to whether or not a donate button would be worth having. :slight_smile:

If his thread said that it was something that we were discussing, then I’d have already deleted it because I don’t want that sort of thing being bandied about on the public forums… :slight_smile:

Take care… :slight_smile: