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Trading cards vs. Button exchange? (Updated OP)
cafeganesha
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
It has been decided that we will do buttons for Prime and trading cards for East. I'm editing the OP so there's no confusion for those new to this thread. Now the current issue at hand is deciding who will be in charge of starting and maintaining the official Buttoneers thread, since redhalo would like to hand it off to someone else this year.
Here's my old post:
Here's my old post:
Has it been completely decided forever and ever that PAX Prime will do buttons and East will do cards? I'm really, really hoping that maybe we can exchange cards for Prime this year instead of buttons if possible.
Here are my arguments in favor of cards:
1. As the number of PAX attendees grows exponentially, it becomes really expensive to have custom buttons made if you want to have enough to trade with absolutely everybody. I'm sure that you could get a lot more cards made for the same price, and then would be able to trade with many more people. Those who have a very small budget could still participate by printing out their own cards at home.
2. Buttons get really, really heavy. Both years I've attended, I've spent the entire weekend with extremely sore shoulders from constantly carrying around so much metal. Cards would be far easier and less painful to carry around.
3. Although it was really fun to be try to spot button traders by their bag/lanyard/etc being covered with 5000 buttons, after PAX (at least for me?) nearly all of them ended up just being shut away in containers for the rest of time. Cards could be slotted into those clear card holder pages for binders, and act as a way to trade contact info.
4. At PAX 09 there was a huge number of vendors handing out buttons, much more than I remember at PAX 08. I don't know if the vendors had caught wind of the button exchange and were just trying to get in on the fun, but I actually found it a little hard to spot button traders last year since so many non-button-traders were covered in vendor buttons.
Any thoughts on this? I apologize if this has already been debated a million times, but I feel I must plead my case, at least for the welfare of my lean wallet and sore shoulders!
Here are my arguments in favor of cards:
1. As the number of PAX attendees grows exponentially, it becomes really expensive to have custom buttons made if you want to have enough to trade with absolutely everybody. I'm sure that you could get a lot more cards made for the same price, and then would be able to trade with many more people. Those who have a very small budget could still participate by printing out their own cards at home.
2. Buttons get really, really heavy. Both years I've attended, I've spent the entire weekend with extremely sore shoulders from constantly carrying around so much metal. Cards would be far easier and less painful to carry around.
3. Although it was really fun to be try to spot button traders by their bag/lanyard/etc being covered with 5000 buttons, after PAX (at least for me?) nearly all of them ended up just being shut away in containers for the rest of time. Cards could be slotted into those clear card holder pages for binders, and act as a way to trade contact info.
4. At PAX 09 there was a huge number of vendors handing out buttons, much more than I remember at PAX 08. I don't know if the vendors had caught wind of the button exchange and were just trying to get in on the fun, but I actually found it a little hard to spot button traders last year since so many non-button-traders were covered in vendor buttons.
Any thoughts on this? I apologize if this has already been debated a million times, but I feel I must plead my case, at least for the welfare of my lean wallet and sore shoulders!
@cafeganesha on PAX Twitter
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Also, if you think it was hard finding people with buttons last year. Finding people with trading cards was next to impossible. As it is, I need to send Peasant Dave a stack of my cards in exchange for a stack of random cards that get sent to him, because I only ended up with about 10.
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Plus, Paul and Storm recognized my Twitter avatar on the back of mine and wrote "I know you from teh Twitterz," on it.
But yeah, buttons are definitely the Prime thing. You will have a harder time avoiding buttons then finding them. They're everywhere.
I'm still going to bring my leftover PAX East cards, just because even after leaving a giant stack with Dave at the end of PAX East, I still have quite a lot left over. Plus, they were a great icebreaker and way to exchange Twitter/Gamertag info.
I like that there are two different things like this and not just the same at both PAXes.
Hopefully someone can talk to redhalo cause people are foaming at the mouth for a button topic haha.
I wish I could line my cape with buttons but then the cape wouldn't function properly when its super weighted down.
Another possible alternative, just throwing it out: stickers? I think they're a little cheaper, but they're also not reusable, and they need to be stuck to the right surface or they'll fall off. Not perfect, but I thought I'd suggest it. *shrug*
Woahhhhh that's a great idea. Maybe I'll wear my cape one day just to showcase my buttons!
If i have the money im going to get like 3.5" buttons made :P
We will be doing buttons again at Prime. Trading cards will remain an East thing, this is mostly "by popular demand".
That said...
Trading cards were substantially cheaper, smaller, and lighter. Finding people was harder than buttons, but many traders did just as good as buttoneers in the past. The largest obstacle was the time/skill it takes to create a card vs a button.
PAX East Trading Card Organizer | Twitter | Google+
We will be doing buttons again at Prime. Trading cards will remain an East thing, this is mostly "by popular demand".
That said...
Trading cards were substantially cheaper, smaller, and lighter. Finding people was harder than buttons, but many traders did just as good as buttoneers in the past. The largest obstacle was the time/skill it takes to create a card vs a button.
PAX East Trading Card Organizer | Twitter | Google+
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I'll definitely do cards next year... if I can make it out to East again!
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I don't mean for this to sound rude, but stickers are a very bad idea. We would get banned from the convention center and probably most of the hotels from people sticking them everywhere.
I had the exact same initial response. Stickers would not go over well...not only would people stick them on things they shouldn't, they tend to unstick from clothing, they'd get on the floor and it would be badness.
As mentioned prior, buttons can be cumbersome but it's something that's going to last you as a memory for a *lot* longer than stickers plus, they're just fun to have!
It has never been restricted to avatars. The general idea though was to make one button that represents you, and has your forum name on it, so that when you make the actual swap, people can put a face to the name. Since it is easy to remember peoples avatars, that is a commonly used picture, but it's not necessarily the requirement. Also, some people decide to make some "bonus" buttons which could be absolutely anything, and sometimes they require some sort of pre requisite to obtain.
I just sent him a message on twitter, since it seems he still uses it. Someone with an Xbox or Facebook want to try the other links on his contact page?
Gotcha. Is there a dedicated meetup for these things? What times?
Usually, there is one final meetup at the end of PAX right outside the doors of the convention center. Otherwise, there's the Pre-PAX dinner, the Pub Crawl (among others) and of course, the floors of PAX!!
edit: JonXP and associated crew, I know you had future plans for buttoneering. You know you have first shot at this, if you like.
Hrm... I wonder which neurotic buttoneer blasted your phone?
If no one picks up the reigns I will likely be able to do it, but my free time is limited.
PAX East Trading Card Organizer | Twitter | Google+
Hopefully he just has his Twitter tied into his mobile?
That too, but I did get a couple of sms's.
I have an idea! Choose prime now, then impulse choose east when it comes around! But if you really have to choose only one, I'd choose Prime...