New Collector Etiquette

[fcgamer | 4,732]

So what sort of behavior would people like to see from new collectors? 

[Ankos | 449]

Nothing that different from what I expect out of everyone else. Read whatever rules/info page whatever website they're on has and try not to start problems

I'd also recommend trying to post interesting things, but that isn't really an etiquette thing, but rather something they should do if they want anyone to read their posts. I'm not going to hold it against them if they don't do that, but I'm not going to read posts I find uninteresting

[Mega Tank | 967]

Quoted from another thread, but...

2 hours ago, fcgamer said:

I don't allow this crap to happen. If a seller or agent or whoever does this to me, I call them out, then escalate to the point that they back down and send the item, or fear that their reputation will be in shambles.

There's honestly no need for this kind of bullshit, full stop. @Linkfollowed through with a deal, despite realizing too late that he sold it too cheap, I'd do the same without thinking twice, and have sold stuff too cheap occasionally in similar situations.

 

 

I would strongly advise against this. New collectors shouldn't get so wound up about getting burned no matter how bad it may have been. You never know what that seller/resell/store might have down the road and burning them to the ground over one transaction is simply not worth it. People/places that have bad service are eventually going to close down.

I had a very bad experience at two stores in the past, one more recently than the other. One store had damaged the NES pins and refused to refund me. I took store credit and got some items I still have to this day.

Another store had a crappy attitude when I asked about their higher end items I was genuinely interested in purchasing. Although their items were marked up beyond the going rate I was not going to negotiate with the level of service displayed by the owner. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe they were annoyed they had to talk to a customer since their employee couldn't provide pricing information. All I know is one day they might have something I'd want to overpay for and if I had "left their reputation in shambles" I know I'd never get the chance to buy something again.

[fcgamer | 4,732]

7 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

Quoted from another thread, but...

I would strongly advise against this. New collectors shouldn't get so wound up about getting burned no matter how bad it may have been. You never know what that seller/resell/store might have down the road and burning them to the ground over one transaction is simply not worth it. People/places that have bad service are eventually going to close down.

I had a very bad experience at two stores in the past, one more recently than the other. One store had damaged the NES pins and refused to refund me. I took store credit and got some items I still have to this day.

Another store had a crappy attitude when I asked about their higher end items I was genuinely interested in purchasing. Although their items were marked up beyond the going rate I was not going to negotiate with the level of service displayed by the owner. Maybe it was a bad day, maybe they were annoyed they had to talk to a customer since their employee couldn't provide pricing information. All I know is one day they might have something I'd want to overpay for and if I had "left their reputation in shambles" I know I'd never get the chance to buy something again.

Generally the people that act in the above manner do not plan on sticking around, or are not actively involved in the community. If it is a teenager or younger person, it is a different story; however, if an adult starts trying to pull said shady shit, they should be outed, period.

Edit: Also, @Mega Tank no idea what folks down your way are smoking, but if we had issues previously but you would into my shop with cash and my guys are on the register, I'm more than happy to sell you whatever. Money is money, business is business. 

Edited March 31 by fcgamer

[Mega Tank | 967]

8 minutes ago, fcgamer said:

Generally the people that act in the above manner do not plan on sticking around, or are not actively involved in the community. If it is a teenager or younger person, it is a different story; however, if an adult starts trying to pull said shady shit, they should be outed, period.

Edit: Also, @Mega Tank no idea what folks down your way are smoking, but if we had issues previously but you would into my shop with cash and my guys are on the register, I'm more than happy to sell you whatever. Money is money, business is business. 

I would take my business elsewhere.

We have good stores and bad stores. Locally, there's not much as far as good stores are concerned. In this particular incident the employee had no idea on prices. After a a few items they brought out the owner. The owner was watching something on their tablet in the backroom and was upset and came out to "help". If you come out and are that upset to try to make a 4 figure sale, I'll just walk.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,552]

"Hey, can we just be nice to the new people?  Seems like a simple request "

"I had to be a prick, they made me!"

[fcgamer | 4,732]

22 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

"Hey, can we just be nice to the new people?  Seems like a simple request "

"I had to be a prick, they made me!"

So if everyone already knows the new person, yet they just hadn't signed up here yet, does that make them new or not new? So many questions.

[fcgamer | 4,732]

31 minutes ago, Mega Tank said:

I would take my business elsewhere.

We have good stores and bad stores. Locally, there's not much as far as good stores are concerned. In this particular incident the employee had no idea on prices. After a a few items they brought out the owner. The owner was watching something on their tablet in the backroom and was upset and came out to "help". If you come out and are that upset to try to make a 4 figure sale, I'll just walk.

Yeah, everyone has their own way of conducting business, as well as expectations. I'm not going to refuse business just because I have some personal dispute against someone, as long as the money is legit. I always felt this sort of attitude was ignorant and short-sighted, as generally these kinds of disputes are just petty beefs, often due to unrelated things. You might feel differently with how you react, and that is within your right.

[fox | 1,668]

All these threads about new peeps and I keep seeing the same dozen or two cats posting in every thread  

[Hammerfestus | 3,865]

Don’t be a dick.  That much.  That’s about it.  
 

 

[inasuma | 1,203]

acceptance of collector preferences. The toxicity around sealed games is still potent in some communities (thankfully it’s pretty tame here). The reality is finding a sealed game is difficult. Are there scams / fakes? Yes. I don’t think that negates how desirable authentic copies of old sealed games are.

[GPX | 1,370]

My general advice for new members is to show a bit of passion. Members will likely respond if you have the right passion in gaming/collecting. We’ve been through a lot of pain by dodgy resellers and scalpers, so if we feel you’re one of those types, we’re less likely to want to communicate with you.

Also, don’t be put off by some negative attitudes, it’s part of the online environment. By the same token, if you give positive vibes, you’re more likely to get responders.

 

[RegularGuyGamer | 2,014]

How bout they sober up before making a new thread. 

[SilverspoonGaming | 332]

We definitely need to be welcoming to new collectors for the site/hobby to grow.  With that said, everyone has to kinda prove themselves to not be a scammer or a dumb ass youtuber advertising their videos.  Its hard to fit in anywhere these days, so we need different kinds of personalities for noobs to latch onto.  Maybe we should somehow advertise, or point new ppl in the direction of the clubs directory so they can see if theres a specific part of the hobby that they are really passionate about and maybe they will stay around longer.

[AirVillain | 490]

20 hours ago, fcgamer said:

So what sort of behavior would people like to see from new collectors? 

Stop it with the reproduction labels... PLEASE.

[spacepup | 2,405]

I expect the same behavior from new collectors / new members as I do from existing collectors / existing members.  I don't have any special or extra 'requirements' / etiquette expectations just because someone is new to something or new to a group.

[Tabonga | 2,324]

49 minutes ago, spacepup said:

I expect the same behavior from new collectors / new members as I do from existing collectors / existing members.  I don't have any special or extra 'requirements' / etiquette expectations just because someone is new to something or new to a group.

Does that mean we still have to keep our secret midnight greeting rituals secret?

 

[RH | 4,924]

15 hours ago, Hammerfestus said:

Don’t be a dick.  That much.  That’s about it.  
 

 

Well I guess that means me and @Richardhead aren’t welcome here!

[DefaultGen | 5,414]

Buy games. Put games on shelf.

[SNESNESCUBE64 | 545]

Just dont to behind people's back and be a genuinely plesant person in whatever community you join.

[Reed Rothchild | 9,552]

On 4/1/2024 at 2:43 PM, DefaultGen said:

Buy games. Put games on shelf.

Needs more drama and hurt feelings

[DefaultGen | 5,414]

55 minutes ago, Reed Rothchild said:

Needs more drama and hurt feelings

The games are graded.

[final fight cd | 187]

1.) do the opposite of what the average r/gamecollecting regular does. 

[Tanooki | 4,940]

I don't want to be that gatekeeper guy, but I think any new people coming in, I just wish they'd use a bit of common sense and curb the age(dozen year old now) FOMO boner as it hurts everyone beyond their walls.

- Research your game/system prices and trends on price.
- Don't just click the first nice looking price/BIN on ebay (etc) overpaying as it sets scalper precedent
- Be respectful of others in your local area, don't just scoop everything then 180 it up back online/local peddlers spaces for fat profit using shady stories or your own children to get better deals(we have a dick using a 5 year old son here in the area to do this.)
- WIthin a common circle, be better on prices between friends of a facebook etc group, you're not eating paypal or ebay fees (or worse, mercari now which is higher.)
- If you're running a local business, find a happy middle ground, you're not getting a million online(ebay) viewers an hour to your shop, nor does your midwest/southern shop have the same median income as the coast -- if I can go online to buy it for less shipped -- you failed.

It's not so much new people stepping into it, general across the board.  If you're scum, you don't deserve business.  And if it's personal, keep your head out of your ass and not making it worse for others buying/trading smartly.