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Train enthusiasts at one time or another will search for a certain train which might prove quite elusive. While various Looking to Buy forum boards such as the one here at OGR, TCA, LCCA, etc. do exist, because of the limited number of visitors to those boards, such requests often remain unknown to people who might have the sought after item and be willing to part with it if they knew the request existed and the request remains unfulfilled for the person making it. 

So as a result, you continue searching for that item, hoping to locate it at York. But with the myriad of sellers there, trying to find a seller who has it is like trying to find the proverbial needle in a haystack.
So would it be feasible for York organizers to have a "live. real-time updated" website where upon registering at York an attendee could post their single most sought after want item (with full contact info) which sellers and dealers could freely access thereby providing a coordinated, real-time updated seek/fulfill search system for the York meet? Good idea or not, people?

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Folks already can use the forums here to post wants. There is nothing stopping folks from posting that they will have a desired item at table XYZ in the abc hall.

 

Believe it or not, there are still many people who aren't into smart phones, pda's, etc. Those folks would be put at a disadvantage. I don't think the Eastern Division would have any interest.

Yes, CW, posts can be and are made to this forum's WTB section, but how many train enthusiasts regularly visit, belong to or even know this forum and its WTB listing exists? As even Allan Miller has stated - active members of this board represent an atypical snapshot of model railroad enthusiasts. Those of us who on an ongoing basis participate in this forum can easily lose sight of the fact OGR and similar train forums are niche sites the vast majority of toy train owners are unaware of and even those who are aware of these boards likely never participate in them. So to speak, we who regularly participate on this board could be considered diehard enthusiasts of toy trains. I think if TCA's current membership list was crosschecked with a list of active participants on this forum you would see only a very low percentage of people on both lists.
So, my point is that a "live, real-time" centralized search system during the York shows could be very beneficial in linking those seeking to buy a hard to find item with someone who had that item and was willing to sell it but didn't know a buyer even existed.
 Originally Posted by C W Burfle:

Folks already can use the forums here to post wants. There is nothing stopping folks from posting that they will have a desired item at table XYZ in the abc hall.

 

Believe it or not, there are still many people who aren't into smart phones, pda's, etc. Those folks would be put at a disadvantage. I don't think the Eastern Division would have any interest.

 

Well, I have had items on the TCA "for sale" and "wanted" websites for YEARS, now, and never gotten a nibble.  I think a lot of members are not computer literate or, like me, forget to look for things on it.  With eBay to page through daily, there is a lot to look at and a lot of time squinting at a screen.  I don't see, as had been said above, that a lot of people can be in three rail trains and not belong to TCA, and be familiar with York, but a lot of people cannot make it to York (2800 mile drive from San Francisco).  Even if IT is at York, and in an unpacked box under a table, or was left in the trunk when sale items were carried in, TCA's attitude toward phones and electronic devices is going to make it difficult to search for it

electronically while there.

Newer attendees tend to forget that the appropriate model for the York meet is the age old bazaar, not the new age/technically dependent market places that have sprung up of late.

 

As it's  been said many times before: "York is where you discover all those things you never knew you wanted, or those things you never thought you'd see again." The TCA/ED meet neither works very well, has never really been intended for,  nor is very efficient (economical) for personal order fulfillment.

 

That does not even begin to address the probable disadvantage of the less technically savvy  & capable sellers vs. those with paid professional staff.

 

Last edited by Between A&B



quote:
I think if TCA's current membership list was crosschecked with a list of active participants on this forum you would see only a very low percentage of people on both lists.




 

I expect you are correct. But what makes you think TCA members who don't even bother to visit this board would be interested in your proposal? If they were interested, they could join the board, and leverage the buy-sell forums. 

 

 

I imagine that would look something like the floor of the NYC Stock Exchange as buyers and sellers scramble to locate wanted items.   Probably would be more effective to walk around the halls with a placard around their neck....and a lot more fun! 

 

As president of a rather large volunteer organization in my community I echo Paul's sentiment - draft a proposal to chair this effort and submit it for review if you feel that strongly about it.  The worse you can be told is "no". 

 

Just my 2 cents...

 

--Greg

 

the fun in toy trains is not the purchase, it is the

search. half the fun of finding your want list is doing the search.

I love looking, searching and seeing what everybody has for sale.

Also, having been to many, many shows over the years as an

exhibitor,(I have an O and O27 gauge board i run at shows),

its not about the trains. its about relationships, friendships, commaradery.

Take away the search process and the relationships and the hobby goes

nowhere.  As Lou Palumbo says in his article in Classic Toy Trains magazine

"Keep Searchin"!!!!

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