IDEA - Collector interest database

Patrick, Thanks for the info! I'll check it out. It sounds like you're already mostly there. I'm still learning about the various resources available and seemed to notice a lack of a collector profile site/database, but it was likely due to my lack of knowledge of what's available. If I'm looking for stuff, I look first on eBay and VCM, then Google. I was trying to make a list for myself of who had what types of collections, so I would have a reference. Once I take a short tour, I'll give you some feedback, (constructive, not destructive!). Ashley -----Original Message----- From: cctalk-bounces(a)classiccmp.org [mailto:cctalk-bounces@classiccmp.org]On Behalf Of Patrick Rigney Sent: Wednesday, May 12, 2004 11:18 PM To: 'General Discussion: On-Topic and Off-Topic Posts' Subject: RE: IDEA - Collector interest database To elaborate on what Sellam said about the Vintage Computer Marketplace, even the current version can do this, and although the current incarnation of that process is a bit more manual than we'd ultimately like it to be, it's far less manual than sending email to a bunch of lists or webmasters of various sites and waiting for replies. Specifically, on the current version of the site, you will find in the left navigation a "Wanted" link... This page presents a list of what all current VCM members have in their wish lists, and who is looking for them. You can contact them by clicking on their name. If you, for example, have a PDP-11 you wish to sell, you can readily find who would be interested in buying. If there is recent history for that item, it also displays the high, low, and average price for it over the last 12 months, so you can get some datapoints on value. If you happen have one of those items in your collection, it will alert you to that fact (so you don't have to remember). Also, wherever you see someone's user name (handle as we call it), you can click to see their profile, and you'll see the listing of what's in their collection. If an item is for sale, there's a link to the listing. Check out mine (incomplete, but most of the important stuff is there, and yes, it's extremely modest by most of your standards, I'm sure)... http://marketplace.vintage.org/showuser.cfm?handle=patrick You'll also see my personal wish list there, if you're interested. :-) We chose not to put a site-wide search of people's collections in the first revision because of privacy/abuse concerns. We were concerned that VCM members would get sheafs of email offering to take that <insert-system-name-here> off their hands for <insert-stupidly-low-price>. Ironically, even without that search capability, this is happening anyway. People email sellers based on listings they post for sale/auction. But in the last few months, what we've heard so far is that (1) people really want to search collections across the entire membership base, and (2) some people want their collections to be private. The former is coming, and we already support the latter. So, we're getting there, and we're listening. A lot of people have had great feedback, and a lot of that feedback has been incorporated into the site already. Please keep it coming, but here's a hint: feedback (politely worded) from registered members who have actually used the site (beyond just registering and skimming a few pages), carries more weight. Ashley: Try us out. It's free. It's painless. It's run by fellow collectors. Patrick :-)