Last week I wrote a quick note about why SCA exists, and explained a little about what kind of site I see SCA becoming for the hobby. This week I'd like to take a minute to explain to folks, especially folks who are just visiting, why I think you should choose SCA as at least one of the trading sites you regularly frequent, and why you might want to consider SCA becoming your primary trade site.
The primary thing that will set SCA apart is the fact that our entire team (and I think I can speak for the entire team here), from the owner of the site to every moderator who volunteers their time here, is made up of actual collectors who genuinely care about the hobby. We're all folks who spend time looking at cards almost every single day and a lot of us spend a great deal of time on this site every single day looking at each other's collections, looking through lists and photos, just enjoying each other and the hobby.
The next thing, which is pretty much just piggy-backing off the first point, is that this site is built by collectors, for collectors...for y'all! What this means is that every single suggestion that's posted on this site will at least be read and thought about. Whether it's implemented or not, or even maybe not right away, you can rest assured that no suggestion on this site will go unread or ignored. This site only exists for its members so if we're not going to listen to your input, why are we even here?
Also, and something some of you may have quickly noticed, is that nothing that happens on this site is hidden. Everything here is open and transparent. You can see every member's past transactions and all their past ratings. Even if a moderator has to step in and cancel, or request updates on, a transaction, that will all be shown in the transaction thread too. Basically, you'll be able to find out anything you need to about a member's transaction history.
To add to that, you'll notice that we don't have any restrictions for new members. Sure, they're good to help weed out bad members but I've seen way too many instances of members doing multiple small deals, just to bypass restrictions, then ripping folks off anyways. So, instead, we recommend members do their own due diligence and determine whether a purchase/trade is a good deal or not. Ask your trade partner for references or, if it makes you comfortable and they're new, ask them if they would send first. It's not a requirement, but you can certainly request it. Some folks, especially if they're new, probably won't mind doing this on a few transactions. If they won't, just find that trade elsewhere. Simply put, my thinking is that we don't need to punish new members with a restriction when they haven't even done anything wrong yet. That's just one more barrier possibly preventing someone from becoming a member here. That said, we do have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to not fulfilling your end of any deal and will quickly place the "Must Send First" or "No Transactions" tags on accounts for members who fail to deliver their end of the deal.
Another thing I'd like to remind y'all is that we all care about the hobby, as a whole, and not just this site. What this means is that I encourage all of you to get out there are join those other sites too if that's what you need to do to add more cards to your collection. If you see a card that a fellow SCA member needs, but it's on another site from a member who isn't yet on SCA, let them know about it! Heck, I don't even care if you post those other site's links in the open forums here if it'll help out one of our members. We won't allow blatant spam, or referring folks to other sites, but if it's for the betterment of their collection, by all means, get them that link!
One more thing I think you'll find unique to SCA is the fact that we write/code our own features. As far as I'm aware, there isn't another sports card forum out there that does this. What this means for you is that you can rest assured knowing that SCA is always updating our server to keep up with the latest software technologies. It also means our site can change quickly as members change, the hobby changes, or software is updated. I also take pride in being able to very quickly fix bugs or issues that come up with our custom features. Some sites won't, or can't, do this because it's either too expensive or too time-consuming. Here on SCA, though, we will always be running the latest server software, the latest forum software, and all of our custom features will be updated accordingly, very quickly after new versions of these are released.
So, that's it. I guess it was a much longer write-up than I originally thought, but there are my top reasons on why you should choose SCA as at least one of the sports card sites that you regularly frequent. If you like these reasons, and choose to be a regular part of SCA, please invite a friend, or find other ways you can help make SCA better!
As always, if you notice anything wrong, or want to suggest something that can make SCA better, feel free to shot me a DM any time!
The primary thing that will set SCA apart is the fact that our entire team (and I think I can speak for the entire team here), from the owner of the site to every moderator who volunteers their time here, is made up of actual collectors who genuinely care about the hobby. We're all folks who spend time looking at cards almost every single day and a lot of us spend a great deal of time on this site every single day looking at each other's collections, looking through lists and photos, just enjoying each other and the hobby.
The next thing, which is pretty much just piggy-backing off the first point, is that this site is built by collectors, for collectors...for y'all! What this means is that every single suggestion that's posted on this site will at least be read and thought about. Whether it's implemented or not, or even maybe not right away, you can rest assured that no suggestion on this site will go unread or ignored. This site only exists for its members so if we're not going to listen to your input, why are we even here?
Also, and something some of you may have quickly noticed, is that nothing that happens on this site is hidden. Everything here is open and transparent. You can see every member's past transactions and all their past ratings. Even if a moderator has to step in and cancel, or request updates on, a transaction, that will all be shown in the transaction thread too. Basically, you'll be able to find out anything you need to about a member's transaction history.
To add to that, you'll notice that we don't have any restrictions for new members. Sure, they're good to help weed out bad members but I've seen way too many instances of members doing multiple small deals, just to bypass restrictions, then ripping folks off anyways. So, instead, we recommend members do their own due diligence and determine whether a purchase/trade is a good deal or not. Ask your trade partner for references or, if it makes you comfortable and they're new, ask them if they would send first. It's not a requirement, but you can certainly request it. Some folks, especially if they're new, probably won't mind doing this on a few transactions. If they won't, just find that trade elsewhere. Simply put, my thinking is that we don't need to punish new members with a restriction when they haven't even done anything wrong yet. That's just one more barrier possibly preventing someone from becoming a member here. That said, we do have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to not fulfilling your end of any deal and will quickly place the "Must Send First" or "No Transactions" tags on accounts for members who fail to deliver their end of the deal.
Another thing I'd like to remind y'all is that we all care about the hobby, as a whole, and not just this site. What this means is that I encourage all of you to get out there are join those other sites too if that's what you need to do to add more cards to your collection. If you see a card that a fellow SCA member needs, but it's on another site from a member who isn't yet on SCA, let them know about it! Heck, I don't even care if you post those other site's links in the open forums here if it'll help out one of our members. We won't allow blatant spam, or referring folks to other sites, but if it's for the betterment of their collection, by all means, get them that link!
One more thing I think you'll find unique to SCA is the fact that we write/code our own features. As far as I'm aware, there isn't another sports card forum out there that does this. What this means for you is that you can rest assured knowing that SCA is always updating our server to keep up with the latest software technologies. It also means our site can change quickly as members change, the hobby changes, or software is updated. I also take pride in being able to very quickly fix bugs or issues that come up with our custom features. Some sites won't, or can't, do this because it's either too expensive or too time-consuming. Here on SCA, though, we will always be running the latest server software, the latest forum software, and all of our custom features will be updated accordingly, very quickly after new versions of these are released.
So, that's it. I guess it was a much longer write-up than I originally thought, but there are my top reasons on why you should choose SCA as at least one of the sports card sites that you regularly frequent. If you like these reasons, and choose to be a regular part of SCA, please invite a friend, or find other ways you can help make SCA better!
As always, if you notice anything wrong, or want to suggest something that can make SCA better, feel free to shot me a DM any time!
