Cardz Review in 2016 - can YOU help?

[Pavle]

Hi guys.

I would like to start by apologizing to everyone.

As a person who created this lovely site back in 2014, I honestly think I neglected it for the past 6 months. In total I published over 80 articles in 2014, where in last few months I barely published 1.

I know that website lacked content and I want to apologize for my inactivity. Also I want to thank for awesome contributors who invested their time to keep this website alive. Special thanks go to Carlos and Emiliano. Thanks to each and every contributor and forum member as well.

People have been emailing me and asking what is going on.

In one of the topics I explained that I was going through a difficult life change and that is the only reason I am silent. I do not think it is relevant what I was up to, but most important thing is that after speaking with my great friend and possibly best person on the web @dantzig I decided it's time to bring more cool stuff and improve the website. Doing something I love will keep me from thinking about bad things that happened and are happening. Do not worry though, I am fine.

So, I am willing to bring more content, more innovation and better features.

But I need your help guys. I can't do this all alone. I am more than happy to dedicate myself to dealing with technical stuff, but it would be great if we had more collectors who would like to publish news and articles on the main blog as well as the forum.

So are you guys willing to suggest some ideas for improvement? Would any of you like to join our contributors team and help us write news, articles and interviews, perhaps guides?

2016 will be a big year. Euro 2016 is getting closer. We will have a insane boost in visits, and I want us to be prepared to welcome new collectors in best possible way, with great reading material and help on the forums.

Lets all be honest. This hobby is not having its best years. And the only way to prevent hobby from drowning is by having awesome community.

Feel free to post here your ideas on how to organize ourselves and how to improve this website and community.

 

[Caniggia]

Hi Pavle,

of course you don't have to explain your own business (or problems), but first of all I would like to thank you for cardzreview. I had possibility to meet nice persons, even I'm not going to do a list here. Cardzreview is a great opportunity to save our passion and share it and has to go on for next years!

Seems I'm more lucky because I live close to Modena, when is possible I'm happy to help other collectors as I have already done. Ok, not all collectors are same, and sometime is not so good at the end, but if and when I can I will go on trying to help. Is not just a matter of being nice, I hope to be helped when some special album or extra stickers will be printed in other countries

You wrote about Euro2016 but we have also Copa America Centenario.. some rumours says first could be printed only in Europe (except big countries like Brasil) and second only in America ... can you imagine how important will be forum like our?

Beside that, we have for sure to increase articles and we need help from all friends around the world. Not only album reviews, other kind of articles could be interesting as we already done (main sellers on internet, for example), also interviews could be great, in next days will be on line mine with mighty Gianni Bellini. I hope this is just the beginnig

Another interesting articles could be history of sticker albums in some particular countries, for example ex-Jugoslavia has a fantastic story and still now with album printed in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia. The same could be for South America, starting from Navarrete.

So there is a lot of job in front of us, friends from any part of the world.. joyn us!

Emiliano

p.s. and with Cardreview maybe also my english is improving.. maybe

 

[dantzig]

@Pavle Glad our conversation worked well Also, I hope it's the last time you apologize for putting your personal life above an hobby that we all love, but it's nothing more than that, an hobby... You couldn't conciliate both at some time, so you had to make choices and yet, you still took care of background problems, shared articles and important posts on social media and were always there for the more serious problems.

About the new stuff... For now I'm a bit out of ideas... I can say that I'll do again the Adrenalyn part for Euro 2016, we already have a good template (FIFA 365)... We survived very well when the surge of new information appeared, so with so many regular members already here, I'm sure we can take it all... The swap section is still rough, but I always say we should give priority to a well-rooted community, with lots of info to share and of course, lots of mutual help.

I'll just add some things about people willing to be in our contributors team: even though we welcome everyone who has the same passion for this hobby as we do, you need to know we want working people, with the desire to help and not expecting rewards or so... Also, good english skills are required, Pavle and I will help you revising what you write, but we won't accept texts where we have to correct every single sentence, either by poor english or by laziness... Help us share the best information with the best communication.

@Caniggia your english is good, we all understand, but sometimes, you sure slack a bit But your Panini stories, expos and news makes up 10x... Every forum should have a Caniggia

 

[LFC1892]

Pavle, you have a lovely site with many good contributors, thank you for it.

As a fairly new member I can only say it's a top community here. Life can be busy and people don't contribute as much but at the end of the day we all share the love of the hobby.

I don't mind helping out with the blog but I think we have to assign the articles because many would want to do the EURO 2016 for example. Panini will probably only issue Regular & Nordic versions so having more than 2 article on the collection can be a tad boring unless different writers cover different products, ie blister packs, mini tins, booster boxes, magazine freebies.
That way the product info will be shared among a few members and not just one, call it shared responsibility among us if you like.

Maybe a collector from Germany can do the German Topps MA, Italian will do Calciatore & Spanish will do Cracks.
That way we all get the info first hand from collectors of that country who know the product rather than someone in USA for example.

Sticker specialists do sticker articles while Card lovers do the cards. Again, expertise on particulars gives a better version.

 

[dantzig]

Pavle, you have a lovely site with many good contributors, thank you for it.

As a fairly new member I can only say it's a top community here. Life can be busy and people don't contribute as much but at the end of the day we all share the love of the hobby.

I don't mind helping out with the blog but I think we have to assign the articles because many would want to do the EURO 2016 for example. Panini will probably only issue Regular & Nordic versions so having more than 2 article on the collection can be a tad boring unless different writers cover different products, ie blister packs, mini tins, booster boxes, magazine freebies.
That way the product info will be shared among a few members and not just one, call it shared responsibility among us if you like.

Maybe a collector from Germany can do the German Topps MA, Italian will do Calciatore & Spanish will do Cracks.
That way we all get the info first hand from collectors of that country who know the product rather than someone in USA for example.

Sticker specialists do sticker articles while Card lovers do the cards. Again, expertise on particulars gives a better version.

Don't worry Arthur, we do have our assignments and expertises... I can cover the international card collections, probably I am the one in the contributor team who knows more (which isn't all that great), therefore Euro 2016 Adrenalyn XL will be done in one article, both International and Nordic versions (like what I did with FIFA 365)... Of course, I'll probably can't get my hands on the cards right away and I can obvisouly accept help for assessing the quality and even photos (so we don't need to ask permission for sellers who mostly want to take advantage on advertising their cards).

For the sticker version, I'll say Pavle is the best man for the task, because Serbia will certainly be one of the first to receive the collection and he can get it right away... Maybe Emiliano can do it too, he does have his connections with Panini Modena and therefore, good info... Both can do it together easily, that's for sure.

Emiliano can obviously cover the italian parts, also stories and interviews (there's one on the way very interesting)... And then we have the new guy in the team, Helios, that has done the recent articles and can also cover a lot of tasks, obviously stuff from Germany he can get it right away... Plus more people who can share something new from time to time.

In the end, we know +/- what we can do better and help each other if a certain task is too much for just one person... But for what we would like to offer, it's still short... For example, it would be great to have an UK guy to help, not only because we don't have any, but also because it's good to not waste to much time revising an article

Like I wrote once to you Arthur, you're always welcome to help us... For example, you shared info and pictures from Prizm World Cup and you probably are interested in the upcoming Euro version... I can also cover it, no problem, but I'm not a Prizm expert, far from it... So help is always welcome, as long it's serious and willing to contribute to our growing community.

 

[LFC1892]

Sweet as a nut Carlos, you lads are well prepared.

I'll gladly do the Euro 2016 Prizm. I'm saving for it so I can buy multiple boxes.

If no one steps up to do the UK stuff am more than happy to do those as well.
We do have the MA EXTRA coming out in March for both the Prem & Bundesliga. I collect both.

 

[Makhno]

I wish I could help on giving informations on some extra stickers stuff if some brands decide to release here stickers gifts (co-branded with Panini or not) as it always happened when a competition took place in France.

I was also thinking to write an article about the Vache Qui Rit brand and its football stickers gift across the ages ()

 

[Pavle]

It would be a good idea if guys interested in helping out could pm me or @dantzig so that we can add you to contributors team, where we can plan what to create next in special section of the forum visible only to contributors.

But if you have any ideas what to write, what features to add, how to organize a forum, or you want to write a short guide for forum or blog, just post here your ideas, it would be great if all of us could brainstorm a bit.

 

[Ceesmk]

Hi guys!

It could be very nice to help you; I have already my own blog about this hobby or I think it's better to say "my passion" (in french, I can write very quickly in this language because I already published lots of works, reviews of books and papers during my life) and I could propose some reviews of old albums (I've got about 570 different). Nevertheless, you have to wait a little, because I have to finish my 1st PhD this year (and a 2nd next year...). After that and (when I will find a definitive job^^) I hope I will have more time, because I have to pay attention when I try to write in English or in an other foreign language!

 

[fenerbahCHE]

Several people here know my principal interest, which is gum card/sticker collecting, but through this forum i was able to connect to many people . In my gum collecting i am very lonely, even though Turkey had been probably 2nd producer in the world after US in terms of quantity, producers and creativity, there are almost no collectors. The only one or two collectors are weirdos that you cannot communicate. But here i find many that i can share, exchange, whatever.

I might be just several months (!) above the average age here, so i didnt know sticker albums from my childhood. First time i saw was during a stay in Bolivia as i have told the story, and it grew slowly. Thanks to many conversations i started learning. Now i know for example : Serbia has a sticker album tradition, Poland is into cards, Spain has the only panini product that comes with a piece of gum, Greece has the nicest exchange partners and the best pirate albums and i am from Afghanistan..!

As i tried to explain Pavle in private conversations i generally dont get into WC , Euro or CL collections as too much mass marketing gets to me, but i am fully interested in local products. And Panini is about to come up with a small bomb in Turkey, (at least for me) but i am strictly told not to say anything about it for a few more days in a recent notice!

If it wasnt for this forum i wouldnt collect the fifa 365 albums.

In terms of contribution i have a small idea about an article of mini football gum sticker albums, but i have to say that its very tough to live in two countries.

Thanks to Pavle for creating this and pretty much introducing me to the world of stickers, dantzig for maintaining the quality, and caniggia for his endless energy. .Also members from Finland, Israel, Costa Rica…for being who they are.

As a final word : This summer you might hear some moustached guy and a local Italian who is into argentinian calcio having wine by a 79’ vw combi camper in Bologna.

It could turn into a sticker reunion…

 

[Makhno]

Panini is about to come up with a small bomb in Turkey, (at least for me) but i am strictly told not to say anything about it for a few more days in a recent notice

Excellent teaser !

 

[Caniggia]

I think could be fantastic if we can find some contributors also in South America, first of all for albums about next Copa America (Navarrete and Panini). I did it last time about Navarrete and I can do it again, of course, is a pleasure, but waiting for the arrival of album from South America we are late ... not a big problem, but late

I can work for review about Euro2016, because problaby (as for Fifa365), I could have album a little bit in advance. I'm talking about sticker version.

Maybe could be a good idea to split articles in main site in two/three sections:

hot reviews - about new album and new releases and eventual interviews about new releases, etc
share the passion - about old albums, focus on internet seller or other websites and interviews to main collectors or similars, etc

this is for "big" articles, rest can stay in the forum, like for example my photo report by comics expo or others

@dantzig my english will never improve!

 

[Pavle]

What I would like to see more are some DIY collectors guides.
Recently we had a member @redwhite giving great advice on how to get rid of smoke from stickers/cards for example.
It would be a good idea if more experienced lads can write few mini-guides for forum, so that we can pin them to be guides for new collectors.
If a guide gets lengthier we can add it to the main blog.
Quick tips like how to store, how to make contacts, how to repair something etc.
If anyone has some neat tricks feel free to create a topic for specific problem and write few words on how to solve it.

Once again, anyone willing to contribute either here, or on forum, send me or @dantzig a pm so that we can give you directions and boost your account to contributor so that you can access that section as well.