#ReaperCon Swap Meet discussion thread!

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

somber kettle
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Hey Everyone!

Some members @fierce barn and @west ether have shown interest in possibly working on a Swap Meet type of event for ReaperCon, right now there is no plan to do something like this for ReaperCon2024 (*Unless things go well and we can solidfy info and guidlines!)

That's where you come in - We need a discussion on what are the best practices, spaces, times, etiqutte ETC for these types of events at shows. So please discuss below and i'll update this post with ideas gather, as well on the forums!

west ether
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@somber kettle are there any rules prohibiting direct cash purchases during a get-together such as this? Would Reaper sponsorship of a swap meet require that this be trades-only? Trying to understand what is allowed if Reaper is fully sponsoring it versus Reaper only making space available.

somber kettle
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For me personally, Trade only seems like the spirit of this

keen cobalt
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If you need any help coordinating for future cons (or even this con... though I know there is no plan), I'd be more than willing to help!

fair geyser
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Rule 1: No freaks.

tender forum
somber kettle
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Okay posted on the forums

west ether
somber kettle
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im leaning towards trade only! - but will look for insight from others!

west ether
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For a first start, I suggest:

  • A single, assigned place to meet with empty tables
  • A few swap meet sessions (maybe two or three during the Con) lasting 1.5-2 hours only
  • First come, first serve access to tables though your stuff needs to fit in 4'x4' area on a table (or you can only take up half a table)
  • Recommend (but not require) that participants announce in advance what they may be looking for and what they will be bringing and make a way for people to post this information
  • Have a volunteer to watch the sessions
  • Announce the swap meet from the stage and have it be advertised in advance so people can bring things with them
  • No hazardous chemicals (super glue, plastic glue, paints would be okay)
  • Minis, models, hobby supplies, and games are all welcome
  • No limit to manufacturer
fierce barn
west ether
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I think it's fine to open it up. People will be limited on what they actually bring so that will self-select what is actually there in terms of bulk and weight.

mellow fiber
# somber kettle im leaning towards trade only! - but will look for insight from others!

As someone who works in finances/fraud prevention, cash only would be my recommendation in terms of this. Anything electronic can get messy in terms of "they said/they said", but exchanging of physical items (ie., cash for minis, trade for trade) is immediately verifiable. All parties agree to proper compensation at the end of the transaction. Just my two cents ✌️ I hope this helps.

viral skiff
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Agreed. Cash only would be ideal. In a perfect world we would just want reaper/the hotel to provide the room and tables. We would take values of the quantity of tables, divide those up amongst the people who want to sell, give them 30 mins to set up beforehand. Have it open an hour, then give them 30 mins to break down.

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We don’t want vendors setting up tables in there, as that what the vendor area is for.

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We’ve done a flea market/ baazar set up each year at BGG, and it works super well, as we set up the tables and cow trails to go one way.

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I ripped this one off, but as an example:

west ether
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If there will be cash sales, it definitely makes a lot of sense to do traffic control and have set-up times. If we can do trades only, then that changes the dynamic as most of the people who will be trading will already be in the room with their stuff set up. In the latter case, then people may not want to stray too far from their wares while they peruse for trades. This would require a different set up. Of course, we may not be talking about a lot of people: those who is willing to cart their undesired stuff all the way to to Con.

viral skiff
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Yeah. Good point. And we need to re-emphasize if they are sellers/traders: Reaper, nor the hotel takes any liability for assets of any kind.

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Depending on the size of the room: set up a trade only area vs a sellers area.

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And for the first year, manage the natural data points of what is more prone to happen.

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Do we get more sellers vs traders, etc

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How many hybrids

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Also - if this happens we can utilize forums/discord to do virtual trades for people traveling. So they don’t lug around 400lbs of metal that doesn’t get traded, they can just bring pre-Agreed trades.

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(Sorry - still at work, so typing on phone and multi-tasking means I’m a mish mosh of ideas).

covert cloud
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Sounds like a good idea- but I don't have stuff to trae.

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Do what you're going to do.

gilded portal
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I was part of the staff at our annual convention MillenniumCon. We held a Flea Market on the last day of the event (Sunday morning) every year. This was a highly anticipated event for the attendees and gave a reason for everyone to stay an extra night at the convention.

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Attendees pay $15 per table max 2. The night before, we would setup all the tables for the Flea Market in a specified room(s) and assign the tables to seller's. We had a specific "rope drop" time and sellers were given 1 hour to setup their tables before rope drop. We had to post a couple of guys at the doors because some buyers would try to get early deals.

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The Flea Market would last maybe 2-3 hours. We allowed cash and trades. Card swipe apps were allowed but it was the seller's responsibility. Price was negotiated between buyer-seller.

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It was always successful and popular. And it became a big draw to the entire convention. Some people would attend only to participate in the Flea Market.

mellow fiber
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That honestly sounds awesome

spiral slate
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Okay, now seriously, I would be in and I like what's been said. I would also suggest that, if they want, "sellers" can offer to take ReaperBucks. Again SELLER makes that determination. But no credit or debit cards would be advisable. And the $15 a table is cool with me.

viral skiff
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I mean, also, if the seller wants to take cards/venmo/paypal, that’s on them. I personally think it would be prohibitive, but whatever.

viral skiff
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I think having a monetary cost per table wouldn’t be horrible, plus it “pays” for the room.

fierce barn
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I am really only interested in paying for the table if it goes to a good cause....like truck nuts or beard oil for Jon. Thoughts?

viral skiff
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Or towards the fast pitch team

fierce barn
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Much better idea! 🥎

main river
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There's some good ideas here, especially for future expansion if this goes well. We ought to keep it simple the first time, though.

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Also, NO SELLING.

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At all.

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The vendors are required to pay a fee to be there to sell their stuff, I can't imagine they'd be happy to hear that there's a group of other people selling stuff for free.

viral skiff
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There is a big difference between a whole weekend and a hour

main river
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Maybe, but the principle is still the same.

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Also, there might be a big difference to you and I, but a vendor might see it differently.

viral skiff
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With hundreds of conventions globally doing the exact same thing, I seriously doubt it. If anything, I would see retailers using it as an outlet for cheap stock to resell

main river
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If enough vendors get bent out of shape, they can 'vote with their wallets' and not vend at Reapercon anymore. That hurts Reaper, and they probably won't appreciate it.

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At any rate, this is all academic until Reaper decides if they will allow sales at the event or not.

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If they choose to do so, great.

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I still think keeping it simple the first year to see how it goes makes a lot of sense, though.

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And, IMO, simple = trades only.

viral skiff
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Sure trades at the event. If you want to sell, wait until after the event on your time. Noted.

gilded portal
# main river The vendors are required to pay a fee to be there to sell their stuff, I can't i...

You make a valid point. MillenniumCon had a vendor hall too. Of the vendors I spoke to however, they were surprisingly okay with the Flea Market. Vendors usually bring inventory that they feel is very likely to sell. They hate having to haul inventory back from the convention. And they carry new or current products often straight from the distributor. The Flea Market wouldn't have any of that. Most of the stuff at the Flea Market will be from sellers who ran out of space at their house/garage/apartment. It will include older products and out-of-production. Kinda like a used book store.

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My guess is that as long as the vendors in the vendor hall are meeting their sales goals, they are okay with the flea market.

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If you want to hear from the vendors themselves, you can talk to Black Site Studios, Warlord Games, Discover Games, Conflict Horizon. They are regular vendors for MillenniumCon and ReaperCon.

sudden heron
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Hello all. I know I'm usually a lurker mostly. But... I've run and assisted run several cons and I thought I'd throw my .02$ in here. We have had both way you've talked about here. A limited time and pretty much trade only ( money can be used, but trade was highly encouraged) and then a table or two where you could trade the entire time. The vendors weren't as bothered by the limited time and trade one, but the trade the whole time and selling.... that was a whole other thing and the vendors were very upset!!! Most said that if the people trading wanted to be there and sell the whole time then they needed to be in the vendor room like they were. And many asked if it was going to happen like that again because they wouldn't be attending again or would just go the "trade" route so they didn't have to buy tables or deal with tax etc. It ended up being a giant mess and we did lose a couple of vendors.
So, please keep that in mind so, you don't suffer the fate of that con, which ended up dying because of it.
I know it's different here, but I wanted to share my experiences with you so you can hopefully avoid our issues.
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions, please ask.

west ether
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It sounds like trades-only is a good way to start. I recommend that we advertise the possibility of the swap meet broadly to ReaperCon attendees and have some way for people to show interest in participating. This way we can gauge the size of the area needed. Once we have that information then we can find a location and times that fit (e.g., in the area where Bones Mash-up is held).

copper topaz
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Oh, this sounds cool! I've got tons of stuff from prior Bones iterations that I'd be happy to trade away for things I'd rather paint!

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There are always so many empty tables in the middle of the hall. I'm all for restricting this to trade-for-trade (even if it means, go buy me this from the Reaper store over there and you can have these 5 others 😉 )

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I'm even down for publishing a haves / wants list of miniatures (and a few paints, I'd LOVE to get my hands on that Neutral Bone triad!!) I mean, prior to the event so pre-trades could be set up, even?

copper topaz
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I'll keep it updated and reshare per any activity. I used to be HEAVILY involved in the old DDM miniatures game that WotC did back in the early 2000's and there were boards entirely dedicated to arranging trades of those figures. 🙂

copper topaz
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Just some thoughts. Having a thread for people to post similar spreadsheets and pre-arrange trades could limit the potential risk of upsetting vendors as the event itself could more easily be time-constrained, could be done in the middle of the conference room area on a big round table or two so it wouldn't be confused w/ a vendor event, and could even help drive sales in cases where someone wants things but does not have trades in return (trades for vendor GCs or items vendors have on-hand and whatnot).

mellow fiber
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I'm also biased b/c I have a ton of lead minis I want to sell but don't really want to trade anything for

copper topaz
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That makes sense, too. I guess if the thing happened at the VERY end of the con, after everyone’s packed up, there’d be a lot less room for complaint regarding it taking away biz from the sponsors.

copper topaz
mellow fiber
copper topaz
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I'm guessing not on the cards anymore? So you want people to dig thru the boxes? 😉 That really is flea market style! Not that I have anything against it, I worked at them every weekend as a kid w/ my grandparents.

spiral slate
vivid mortar
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Having been the staff member for such an event in the past before. A few notes.

I would avoid money exchange as part of it if only because you have a vendors hall. If someone wants to Have a garage sale type booth they should purchase a table and go through the right channels.(I have seen this be a big argument by vendors about trade rooms)

A set window for trades is great Idea we have done this in the past for some events I have worked and it always went over well.

copper topaz
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I remember a couple of conventions where someone did exactly this. I think they might have even been stamping?!

somber kettle
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I think I will also go meet with the Vendors at the show and get thier feedback in person as well.

spiral slate
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Excellent idea. And I hope you'll share with the community.

west ether
somber kettle
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With only 23 days left, I don't feel comfortable doing something without first consulting with everyone and having a good understanding.
Just don't want it to ruffle feathers or go sideways without being prepared. - I'm already doing a lot, just being cognitive of spreading to thin is all.

copper topaz
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Would there be any concern with doing trades at the event if we pre-arrange the trades and don't centralize it as a singular event? No cash involved, just minis for minis?

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I'd be happy to decrease my pile of things that I'm not as likely to paint with a smaller set of things that I do want to paint, but will respect whatever you say.

somber kettle
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I dont think so, since it wont be in any oficial copacity. just a few people trading here and there. is fine! - but turning it into a big event with times, and space ETC will take some work.

west ether
somber kettle
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You can create a new post in #1006687012344037526 - I think. 🙂

west ether
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I look forward to hearing the vendor feedback. Here's hoping for a formal swap meet at RepaerCon '25!

covert cloud
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I'd just be happy to see the return of the metal table (not gonna happen, but still) The Rifleman 'mech I got from the final one is a tournament champ.

keen cobalt
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I have a ton of metal minis that I'd be willing to part with

copper topaz
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Get on over to the other thread and post your haves / wants, let's get some arrangements made! 🙂

copper topaz
spiral slate
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MAybe... I have a few (a lot) from 4 and maybe 5 I have little interest

placid pendant
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@viral skiff @mellow fiber

placid pendant
mellow fiber
placid pendant
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Same. We know an individual participant’s bad behavior is not representative of Reaper.

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They should not be held accountable for what jerks do.

sudden heron
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Since I didn't get to go to the con. I wanted to see how the swap went?

west ether
# sudden heron Since I didn't get to go to the con. I wanted to see how the swap went?

There was no big swap meet. Instead people were able to organize their own trades by posting in a different post. I had had a successful trade because of it so I appreciated the opportunity to post here. As we get closer to the next ReaperCon, I am sure that this topic will be revisited and we can work with ReaperJon to see it there's a way forward to organize a more formal swap meet.

viral skiff
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There were some folks openly selling minis at their tables, so I don't think have a Swap Meet is out of scope, for sure.

placid pendant
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The sellers I saw were cash-only, which I didn’t have, and nothing amazingly irresistible to me.

vivid wadi
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Hey, just stumbled on this thread. I'm not sure if I missed it, if it's already been suggested but a no ship math trade may be a good way to get something going. Ahead of the con, everyone lists what they would like to trade, and once submissions close, what they'd be willing to take in return for each item and then an algorithm if run to maximise the number of trades. All of this gets resolved before the event and then day of, everyone just runs around doing their trades! I've done this in the past four boardgame conventions. More details: https://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/ppus2/how_to_trade_your_games_math_trading_a_guide/

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main river
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I think now would be a good time to reopen the discussion on this.

copper topaz
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Agree 💯

viral skiff
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If I can get off my tookus this year, I REALLY need to clean out "The Garage of Misbegotten Games".

copper topaz
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I can do an assessment of my stuff, it's mostly bones 1-3, tho

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Would give me an excuse to get EVERYTHING in the minis DB, tho!

mellow fiber
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So so excited to see this thread running again!!

hollow aspen
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I have a Bones1 OOP minis Nethyrmaul and Kaladrax, as well a bunch of other larger ones that are still available. Also have a bunch of Warmachine

mellow fiber
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I have SO many zombie/undead minis. Granted a lot of them are from Zombicide, but many of them aren't. I'm just going to look for pinups, animals, funny minis, terrain, or anything that looks cool

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Do we know if there will be tables set up for the swap? So people can walk around and show what they have to trade

main river
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That's the idea I had in my head when I first conceived the plan for this. We need input from Reaper, though.

delicate blaze
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Table space is also something of a premium to have anything semi-permanent.

viral skiff
west ether
somber kettle
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I was not able to talk to the vendors. - I think individual exchanges are best?
We can drive people to forum posts/discord posts with their wares for trade etc. -

hollow aspen
main river
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Might have to keep the trading posts here. There has been a 'no trade/sales posts' rule on the forum since just about forever. Unless we're going to revisit those rules and change/remove/clarify them. @somber kettle

viral skiff
viral skiff
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Unless there is a strong message set forth of caveat emptor for anyone engaging in trade.

mellow fiber
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Maybe there's a space we can post photos and no comments? Then as items are traded, we can update the "listing" (otherwise pics could get lost in the thread)

main river
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No worries, @viral skiff . I'm kinda surprised there isn't any such rule here, too (unless I've just missed it somewhere).

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Like you said, A huge caveat emptor would go a long way, I think.

delicate blaze
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Technically, I've always assumed the "no solicitations" rule broadly covers buying/selling as well, and enforce the same on Reddit/Facebook social media.

west ether
viral skiff
west ether
# viral skiff I think that would work(IMO), as LONG as there was crystal clear verbage that th...

It's a good path forward for Reaper to protect themselves. I suggest that @viral skiff, @main river, @delicate blaze, and/or others draft up a caveat emptor message and that we get @somber kettle to approve it. Then we can put it in a 2025 ReaperCon Swaps/Trades Forum post. We may be able to find a way for people to acknowledge they read the message and understand its implications before they can reply to that post (perhaps using a mechanism similar to the one when selecting 'Channels & Roles').

mellow fiber
viral skiff
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I'm off work. I'll draft something up now for review.

viral skiff
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Please take a look and tell me what is missing, what needs updated, etc.

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While driving to the Pharmacy, I thought of "Graveyard Bazaar", and we are all digging up bones out of our graveyards to trade. 🙂

mellow fiber
main river
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So, do you play a lawyer on TV? 😛

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I just looked it over, and it seems reasonable to me.

mellow fiber
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Oh wow, this looks awesome. I'd maybe add somewhere that "upon the completion of a trade, the individual will have acknowledged the quality of their received item beforehand. Any discrepancies will be between the individuals trading; individuals trading will not include anyone who works for, represents, and/or is affiliated with ReaperCon and/or Reaper Miniatures unless they have explicitly stated this is of their own personal accord and does not reflect upon Reaper."

Thoughts? Not sure if that's too much

viral skiff
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I think in this scenario overkill doesn't exist - We want to safeguard as much as possible up front for any contingencies.

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I'll add this in later this evening

viral skiff
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Added - I took the liberty to swap some verbage around. Let me know if that alters intent

mellow fiber
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That sounds even better! Love it.

viral skiff
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Great! as long as everyone is cool with it say by this weekend, It's ready for @west ether to implement.

west ether
viral skiff
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I think he may have glanced. Give him until tomorrow or so if he has any qualms.

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I think the next thing is - do you guys want to have this running on Discord AND the forums? Or just have it running on the forums? Or just Discord?

west ether
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I will really only participate here on Discord but as long as the two posts refer to each location our bases should be covered.

viral skiff
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you could try it both places if @main river wants to run it from the forums concurrently. I mean, as much as I don't use the forums, there are folks that use it exclusively.

somber kettle
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Showing it to the rest of the team to get the thumbs up! but looking it over if seems like the best way forward!

main river
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Any word on that (hopefully) thumbs up?

mellow fiber
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I forget, did we set a time that most people will be meeting? And/or will there be a separate thread for people to only post what they are offering & requesting (to kind of mimic FB Marketplace and people to message each other directly)

viral skiff
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No - I imagine if/when we get approvals, we can work on a schedule time/date for the actual event, plus people can arrange for early trades if both parties are amenable (At least that's my take).

mellow fiber
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I like that - I'm a visual person, so I think seeing the minis in person will be nice

viral skiff
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I mean, If you trade them, you'll see them in person anyway

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I've been lazy in doing a inventory of what I want in trade vs what I want to get rid of

west ether
empty heart
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Is this the discord being used for the out of print paint order from the spreadsheet or is it a different? I don’t use discord very much so trying to learn,

viral skiff
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@empty heart Yes. I’m the guy who made the video. 🙂

empty heart
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Great thank you. I’ve updated the google sheet with my interests

copper topaz
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So I traded with a couple of people last year, just arranging the trades and I think it went well, I hope those with whom I traded feel the same.

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Meetings were ad-hoc versus using a dedicated space.

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I guess "no sales" also equates to "no trading for Reaper (or other vendor) GCs"?

keen cobalt
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As one of the aforementioned traders, I agree. It was honestly pretty smooth

copper topaz
west ether
main river
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So, is the swap meet DOA?

west ether
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@somber kettle?

somber kettle
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Check back tomorrow after lunch! I might have something.

west ether
somber kettle
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We just got out of our weekly meeting!

I think the consensus is that it is all good to go i think. The people running the Graveyward thought it would be fun to put this next to where the graveywards will be.

But since this isnt going to be a scheduled event or anything i think thats not really a thing. Since I think the idea is that people will post stuff here or the Forums and then setup trades on their own?

west ether
somber kettle
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I am making the forum post now. and will link to both in both set of instructions.

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Everything look good on it?

If so I will post on the ReaperCon TTE page. with links to both?

west ether
viral skiff
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If we want to use the rule document from earlier and if I need to edit it - let me know. 🙂

hollow aspen
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one thing that is not clear from the rules in the other thread: cash trades allowed? or only stuff for stuff?

somber kettle
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Trade for Trade. - I think the money aspect gets messy, and might upset vendors to some degree.

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or atleast i believe that is what we discussed before.

west ether
hollow aspen
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yes, that's my understanding but unless someone read this thread it might be unclear, but I see it has been updated

somber kettle
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lol Fang had that locked and loaded. assumeing it was already in a spreadsheet or something?

hollow aspen
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pretty close. I have so much stuff that needs a new home because I'll never get around to it. new, cooler, stuff just keeps arriving, pushing the old cool stuff further down the queue