You may have heard that the new Beckett.com launched this week. You might also have heard that early reviews have not been positive. In fact, a posting on their blog has generated 93 responses–which range from complaints, to thanks from other site operators for increasing their readership, and yes, a couple of complments mixed in.
Maybe I should have taken my duties as a beta tester a little more serious (that’s right–despite the fact that I’ve been negative in the past, I was approved as a beta tester). If I had taken the time, I could have told them that the site seemed slow–especially given that only beta testers were using it. I also could have probably told them that they were making what should be a fairly simple concept, and making it waaaaaaaay too difficult (I have to agree with the commenter that chastised them for launching something that basically REQUIRES users to watch tutorials to be able to use it–that’s just not good practice).
I don’t fault Beckett for trying to improve things–their previous site sucked. Unfortunately, it seems like they may have tried to take too big of a leap. And maybe too soon. And without looking before they leaped. And into the wind. Whatever you want to call it.
In the mean time, despite the mis-step, and all of the other problems I have with Beckett, I look forward to seeing where they go with the site, because I do think that it can be useful (for certain things). I’m just not sure I’m willing to continue to pay for an annual subscription right now to see that progress.
**UPDATE** Eric’s comment below reminded me that I did have one other point to make about the situation created by the new site–and that is to commend Eric for the job he’s doing in handling the response, specifically in the post I linked to above. I have a feeling that if 30+ people (probably even more off blog) started unloading on me in comments (even if some of them are warranted), I don’t know if I could keep things as calm and composed as he has–although it is a problem I hope to have on this site at some point.
Hi,
Nice blog by the way, there needs to be more football card blogs out there (well,come to think of it, maybe you don’t think that…).
The reviews have been good actually, despite the server meltdown that still has things backed up. What you are reading is the anger, borderline rage, of the message board dwellers.
We expected quite a backlash from the message board folks, they don’t like it and are quite vocal about it. It’s a shame they had to go through such a change, it really seemed to shake some of them up emotionally.
They think Beckett does not care, but it’s so far from the truth. We had to change the site. We wanted all of our customers to become involved in the discussions, and not just have the separate area where only a relative few “hung out.”
We all know how boards can be, with the post-count status thing making you “cooler” than someone else–or whatever that phenomena is, I personally don’t get it at all.
There is another issue, the message board people felt like they were the majority of the traffic on the Beckett Web site. They feel if they scream and make threats to leave long enough that it will force Beckett to go back to the old site. That will not happen though.
Regardless, we had reached the limit of what we could do on the old site, and a change had to be made. We needed a new site to expand. It’s a business, plain and simple. I hope the message board folks that are so angry will someday realize that and accept it, but if they do not there is nothing we could possibly do to change their minds…but we’d like to try. If only they would stop and see what the site can do, I think most of them would be pretty excited.
All we can do is help the people who come every day and do business. The site is not hard to understand at all, it’s just a different way of thinking–it’s not linear with links and folders.
It’s more dynamic and almost 3-D, for lack of a better way to describe it. We have provided tons of FAQ’s, not just videos, and plenty of live help. It’s remarkable how some take the time to adapt, and some just scream and curse. It would make an excellent psychological study.
We can’t force anyone to spend 5-10 minutes to grasp the basic functions, but those folks who did are overwhelmingly excited. This is a very powerful new site, with tons and tons of room for expansion. The site as it is today is literally the bare bones of what is coming.
I do think everyone will be calm in the next few days, once the server is running correctly. We expected a huge traffic spike, and boy did we get it! Too big, and it blew the server’s mind…so we are dealing with 300 mad people yelling, thousands of customers, and a hamster in a wheel running the site.
Needless to say, this has been a l-o-n-g week. 🙂 Still, we are very excited about the future.
If any of you would like to check out the new Beckett.com, do come over and see it– use the search bar — you can find anything with the search bar…even me. I will be glad to give anyone a personal tour if they want one, or answer any questions.
Good luck to you all,
Eric Jahnke
Marketing Copywriter/Online Producer
Beckett Media
If you want to be in the public eye, you’ve got to have thick skin and be able to take what comes at you. I’m surprised that Eric hasn’t been hammered harder, because in all honesty, they’ve earned it.
Any site that requires a tutorial on how to navigate it is a turd. Plain and simple. Beckett has gone feet first into the black hole with no parachute.
And it’s not just about the site – this has ticked people off to the point where they won’t buy the fishwrap or the OPG anymore. My local hobby shop has a sign up saying that this is the last Becektt they’ll carry in store. Still think the new site is a good idea?
Stay on Beckett if you like… just get used to the echo.
Beckett blows they killed the graded card registery who gives a shit about the boards. The registery was important to keep BGS afloat. you can kiss my 10 grand a year on grading fees goodbye!
In the past few days, I’ve been vocal on Eric’s blog about how big a mistake I think this “upgrade” to the Beckett site has been. I’ve spent some time looking around the site again.
It still stinks.
I found my way into the hockey boards, which now consist of all posts being thrown together rather than sorted by box breaks, traders, etc. This is the way of the future? The complaints have died off at Beckett, but I think it’s because the majority of people have gone elsewhere. It certainly doesn’t seem nearly as busy as I remember it.
The changes to the OPC are absurd. What exactly was wrong with having all the sets listed by year and manufacturer, and then clicking through to the card or subset you wanted? How is the new system better?
And frankly, the attitude of Beckett’s folks may be the most galling bit of this. I have read post after post of people who say they have watched tutorials and read FAQs and still have no idea how to navigate the new site. Are they all lying? Are they all idiots?
That seems to be Beckett’s stance, both through the forcing of this site down people’s throats and Eric’s tone in both his blog and his response here. And if this is just the beginning and it will get more navigable and manageable in the future, guess what? You launched too soon and drove off a big number of loyal customers.
I can only hope for Beckett’s sake (and indirectly, for Eric’s sake, as his job rides on it) there are a large number of people who have plenty of time to wade through the mess. I don’t, and it doesn’t seem like many others do, either.
I’d save the good luck for yourself, Eric — I think you may need it.
In no way am I a serious card collector. My wife and I have started buying cards and trying to organize them and loved what the old beckett could do. Honestly, the new site has me seriously confused. I have a subscription but cant see any prices. They just want me to sign up for more subscriptions. I’ve been through all the tutorials and FAQ’s for the last 4 days and nothing helps my problem. I really wanted to give Beckett a chance but unfortunately I am going to have to give up.
THE NEW BECKETT.COM BETA STINKS. I HAVE AN OPG SUBSCRIPTION, BUT I CAN’T FIND ANY PRICING. WITH THE OLD SITE I COULD FIND PRICING FOR ANY OF MY CARDS IN SECONDS. DOES ANYONE KNOW A BETTER SITE TO OBTAIN CARD PRICING ? I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT BECKETT THINKS THAT THIS NEW SITE IS AN IMPROVEMENT FROM THE OLD. I ALWAYS ENJOYED THE SIMPLICITY OF CARD PRICING THAT THE OLD SITE FEATURED. UNLESS SOMETHING CHANGES I WANT RENEW MY SUBSCRIPTION, I AM ALREADY ON THE VERGE OF GIVING UP. FRUSTRATED IN FLORIDA !