Posted: Thu Apr 19, 2012 8:23 pm
No need to defend yourself, Alexis. You are providing a great, free service, and all you get is critics.
The Magic Librarities Forum
http://forum.magiclibrarities.net/forum/
http://forum.magiclibrarities.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=33&t=8329
Hi Worth.Worth wrote:I agree at least a little with that sentiment. Heck, even ONE other person who had access to "the keys to the kingdom" as it were, in case something happened to the other.
Lots of history here that would be a crying shame to lose for something as silly as not having someone else with access if something awful happened.
Hi Patrickpp wrote:No need to defend yourself, Alexis. You are providing a great, free service, and all you get is critics.
I didn't feel offensed at all by your post. You ask a simple question, I give a simple answer. And I forgot, my son also, in case of fatal issue will be the one dealing with situations, including this website.Worth wrote:That's good, that's all I meant Alexis.
No disrespect of course, just wanted to make sure if something unthinkable happened that all your hard work wouldn't be wasted.
No offense intended.
Hirandom wrote:It is always easy for the person in the tree
To tell the fellow on the ground
How to get away from the bear.
I was enlisted so I think you were the person in the tree more often than me Gary
I'll be sending something but would like to provide something more in the way of long term support and some kind of backup in case a disaster should happen.
I was alluding to a long term plan in my post. It makes no sense obviously for someone to pay to maintain the site by themselves (without any real incentives)and obviously after some time it becomes a burden and people get burned out and whatever... what's the upside being the Dragsamou?
The guy before him (right before he abandoned running the site and turned it over do to real life issues which the current Mod is facing himself) had an idea to produce a print or something and wanted John Avon to do the artwork and then the idea was for people to buy a limited print or card or whatever- This never panned out-
A few years later another site I follow (D&D rarities site) actually accomplished doing the same basic thing (produce a print which was bought by members...) and it actually worked and they're doing it again-
So, my input is that this is a non profit site and often times people are wondering where Dragsamou is or why nobody is doing anything or whatever... Am I wrong? So, it's kinda thankless on his end for the most part -till now as he's getting donations? How long does that last though? How often will people ship $$ into a vacuum or assume that they already did their part or whatever... what if the donations dried up? Then we move on to the next guy?
What I'm saying is that basically the last guy was right and had a legitimate idea that wasn't followed through upon. It is a viable way to generate some revenue (assuming of course the support exists). Being a rarities site basically the concept is to create a cool rarity- For the TSR crowd all it took was a print by popular TSR artists. I dunno if that would satisfy the WOTC crowd but it's possible?
I'd imagine that if this site has little-no upside asides the MTG prestige of running the site brings (whatever that might be) then we will be looking at a new Mod at some point when Drags bills mount and real life stuff is too much to deal with. That's logical I think? If this site had some project/s and some source of revenue to where it wasn't an all out time burden/labor of love deal it might be a positive stressor instead of probably e negative one for the person running it.
Alexis; No problem at all, I have about 15 kilos I'd be glad to give you.....dragsamou wrote:Hi
Will reply to your post, but tomorrow, I need to have a lil diner, have almost 15 kilos to get back , for the moment, you can slide me under the door. I didn't loose my wicked sense of humor on the road héhé
If those things happened to most other people they probably would have just walked away from something so relatively unimportant (don't get me wrong I love this site) as a website. But alas you have endured and are still here for all of us.dragsamou wrote:Situation has changed since I almost lost my life, did I ever ask something when I lost 4 members of my family or took care of my mother for a year when she was having leukemia...Answer is No
Hi Hankhammr7 wrote:As someone who was intimately involved in the original investigation into commercializing custom MTG artwork, I need to tell you it is not an easy way to make money, even as a long term plan. I know, because I did the costing exercises for Ralph, when we originally considered turning artwork into production (posters, cards, or whatever) and then delivering them to a worldwide clientele.
If you do the production cheap (and I am not even factoring in the cost of the artwork) you can't make money because fewer want something "cheap". If you do it nice the cost is higher, and you price out many potential purchasers. If you try to make it nice and limited edition you put an immediate ceiling on how much you can raise. And in every scenario you need to factor in global delivery costs.
You need only look at the poster and token efforts around the world. For every one that works out, there are numerous others that never break even, or don't break even for years. This is one reason why so many fantasy artists have so many limited edition items on their websites. They basically make the artwork for next to nothing (at least up front), but even when offered in small batches (supposedly to make them more desirable) they usually languish.
This isn't to say it can't be done. It is just to say that without a lot of planning, such an undertaking can easily become a money pit, which is the opposite of what is currently needed.
By all means people should donate money if they're able and willing. I'd be happy to Paypal some money when funds hit my acct. Times are tough though... I'm doing OK and I guess that's better than most people. I have priorities- honestly hobby sites are a low priority.1) The owner/operator of the site is Alexis.
2) He has kept the site free of annoying adds for years.
3) No one, not even himself, can count the time he has spent working on the site--a labor of love.
4) He has had a traumatic life situation.
5) He has turned to his friends and fellow collectors for some help to alleviate the present situation.
6) Advice is not help in the near term, no matter how good it is.
You wont have it figured out by then unless you meet some MTG philanthropist...I'm still working on that.
So I'll give my "advice" next year? Dragsamous issues will all go on Summer vacation and I'll give my advice then?Advice is not help in the near term, no matter how good it is.
Correct me if I'm wrong but this site was 2 other peoples "labor of love" before Drag and they got burned out/quit?No one, not even himself, can count the time he has spent working on the site--a labor of love.
Life goes on. He wants to keep running the site and keeping his ownership. He needs $$ and obviously been through a tough skid.He has had a traumatic life situation.
-please show me pieces of art that you commissioned and projects you've been apart of. You emailed some artist/s and printing companies? What else do you "know" about producing this stuff. I can email an artist and if he's hungry I'll get a deal. If he's busy he'll ask for 5-8-10K or ignore me or tell me to fuck off. Do you know what WOTC pays for artwork? Do you know what other companies pay for art? Do you know what artists need work?As someone who was intimately involved in the original investigation into commercializing custom MTG artwork, I need to tell you it is not an easy way to make money, even as a long term plan. I know, because I did the costing exercises for Ralph, when we originally considered turning artwork into production (posters, cards, or whatever) and then delivering them to a worldwide clientele.
This is true but then this is a COLLECTORS site. People here tend to own "rarity" items which means $$- limited editions and nice ones are indeed $$ but then that's the name of the game on this site, no? Shipping, everyone has to pay for their own shipping. Collectors are accustomed to it.If you do the production cheap (and I am not even factoring in the cost of the artwork) you can't make money because fewer want something "cheap". If you do it nice the cost is higher, and you price out many potential purchasers. If you try to make it nice and limited edition you put an immediate ceiling on how much you can raise. And in every scenario you need to factor in global delivery costs.
The reason they keep making them is cause they don't sell? "Fantasy artists" can have a very narrow profit margin and they're screwing around with unprofitable methods year after year?This is one reason why so many fantasy artists have so many limited edition items on their websites.
This is true. With mostly anything a project could fail. Such is life. I don't think there's a silver bullet "option" asides continued donations.such an undertaking can easily become a money pit