Shelflife

[chovner]

So whatever happened to ShelfLife? Saw they had their success on Dragon's Den, and that was it... I don't even see their site advertised on this site anymore.
Their site still shows as in BETA still.

Anyone got any news on that?

[wervenom]

Curious on that as well

[Cerebros]

So whatever happened to ShelfLife? Saw they had their success on Dragon's Den, and that was it... I don't even see their site advertised on this site anymore.
Their site still shows as in BETA still.

Anyone got any news on that?

Just because they agreed to a deal on Dragons Den, doesn't necessarily mean the deal went through.

To be completely honest, I didn't see the appeal of that website.

[Dragon Knight]

I saw them at 80s Toy Expo so I know they're still around.

[Megatron75]

I thought that it was a terrific idea. The only problem that I had with it, which has nothing to do with shelfLife itself, was that nothing I ever wanted was ever for sale. I would search for various items to buy and it would always say, "Whomp, whomp. There're no (fill in the blank)'s for sale". I seemed like some people were using it as a way of "managing" their collection. Despite the often outrageous pricing, eBay usually has multiples of whatever I'm looking for (for obvious reasons, of course).

[razin]

Many of us spent a lot of time curating catalogs, myself included, under the impression we would be rewarded with commission of sales for any items that were sold from catalogs that we curated.

I have 5 catalogs curated. I have never seen a cent/credits for any sales. Of course this could be attributed to a sale never actually occurring, however, we have no way to tell if a sale has occurred.

In regards to Dragon's Den, it was my understanding Shelflife actually declined the offer after the fact, or placed it on hold. Don't hold me to this but I am sure I read something of that nature awhile back.

[MULTIPLEX]

I created and curated 24 catalogs. I did not care for any commissions. I did it because I'm an IT nerd and I like web development and wanted to create some new catalogs that represent parts of my collection. I also loved learning about the various lines and all the figures out there I never heard of. A perfect example is when I built the e-HOBBY catalog. Wow, that was hard but so informative and interesting to me.

I like the idea of having an online check list of what I own and want but where this site lacks is there is no way to get any type of info back from this system like any sort of statistics about the nature of my collection, other than haves and wants. I would love to know how many G1s I own and how many I still need at a click of a button. Like a reports feature that I can print out or email.

The other issue is some of the catalogs were not being updated for ages so really I lost interest in updating mine too. I haven't seen this site move forward or new catalogs being added in a while. So why put all that hard work and time in if people don't seem to be using it.

If the owner is out there, give us an update please. This site had potential and I thought after this Dragon's Den thing, the site was going to be revamped.

[Megatron75]

I like the idea of having an online check list of what I own and want but where this site lacks is there is no way to get any type of info back from this system like any sort of statistics about the nature of my collection, other than haves and wants. I would love to know how many G1s I own and how many I still need at a click of a button. Like a reports feature that I can print out or email.

A "reports" feature would be a really cool idea and would certainly be useful to many collectors. I still think that the site has a tonne of potential. I just don't see it replacing eBay or even the boards for that matter but I'm sure that wasn't their intention. It has a lot of great information about parts needed to complete a figure, etc. Hopefully we see this live up to its potential after all the hard work that has clearly been put into it.

[wervenom]

The updating of catalogs is tough to a certain degree because there is information that curators can't control or create. We are dependent on the people who are there to create the titles if we have to add new waves for example. I did a massive realignment of the Rescue Bots catalogs over a month ago and submitted them for approval and I haven't heard anything back even after I emailed them for it to be finalized or feedback if changes were needed. I too didn't do it for compensation, I did it because I genuinely wanted to be a part of something I could help "build" to contribute to our respective hobby. As many have said the catalogs are so far out of date and with no momentum to drive it, we will never have a full accounting of our collections. I use another site to track what I have and Shelflife as a banner to help keep awareness of it but who knows that may change for me and many others I'm sure. As far as sales go I have only bought one thing, which was broken despite the owner saying it was flawless and every other item I asked to buy or if it was available. I have to this date never heard once back from them and the questions are still posted so buying or selling on Shelflife are major "not on your lifes" for me

[wedge1021]

Same story as MULTIPLEX and wervenom for me. I'm curator for lots of the more recent Star Wars figure lines, as well as all the SW Micro Machines. I put a lot of work into those initially, but fell behind a bit more recently. Now I see they haven't posted a new catalog since January, so I'm wondering if there's a point to me catching up at the moment. I've got one in the queue, but no response from them. It's too bad, I had fun doing the work, and enjoyed the site although there are a few navigation issues that could make it run a bit smoother.

[Sureshot22]

I was there from day 1 when James tossed the idea at a bunch of us at his condo. I curated many catelogs with some having hundreds of entries like my gundam catelogs. Yes we were told we would get some sort of commission which sounded good as a slight thank you for our hard work. I never saw a dime either. That wasn't a make or break just kind of a let down I guess. I only bought something 1 time and it never arrived and never got my money back. Glad it wasn't an expensive item.

I fell behind because of working a lot and having a baby at home so not much time. There was never anything I was looking for either and the stuff I had for sale I always got the stupid emails with everyone offering stupid prices like $1 for a mp.

Site has potential and I have nothing but love for James and his crew just some things need to be tweeked I guess to help everyone.

[neevnav]

I've bought from there and it went fine. I wish there were an option for others to help curate as I'd be happy to jump in on some catalogs that haven't been updated for a while.

[wervenom]

I wish there were an option for others to help curate as I'd be happy to jump in on some catalogs that haven't been updated for a while.

There is but the owners, mods and employees have not been very responsive over the last 3 months or so unfortunately

[Einstein]

I have curated a few catalogues as well and I was also told there would be money we'd see. I never saw any either.

I also don't like that anyone can add a picture to a catalogue and then you can't delete the shitty ones because they don't want you to.

I thought the initial idea would be awesome yet they didn't pursue any advertising or attempt to draw people to use the site, people kept using Ebay.

I haven't updated any of my catalogues in months and months, there's no point in me doing work and seeing no benefit to it.

[Shockwave 75]

I was their first contest winner! At the beginning it was like a random draw; at some point one of them would take a look at the site and whoever they saw was logged on and active won. It's because of Shelflife that I have the Surprise Headmasters Gift Set.

I didn't know anything about commissions or anything. I initially signed on to have an online accounting of my collection. I created and curate the She-Ra catalog because of the same reason, none existed and I wanted to account my collection.

I know people get busy, life happens, but I think that is one of the downfalls of this site. There are catalogs that haven't been updated in a egregiously long time. I'd be willing to do it, but they'd have to pay me! There's A LOT of work that needs to be done on the site and it would take up a lot of time to do it.

Also, when I "want" something and it asks how much I'd want to spend on it, I try to put a reasonable amount. But I get so tired of getting those emails "Shelflife users want to buy what you have" and when I open it I see stuff like "So-and-so wants to buy your MP Soundwave (for example) for $1.00."

I tried to sell stuff on the site but never got any bites. Well, I got one, but I had already found a buyer locally, so I let the person know.
I too have messaged people about the stuff they were selling but never got any replies.

I mostly like it for the sig banner because I like to show off my new acquisitions. Though I do kind wish it would rotate and randomly feature other things I have, not just the last one I added.

[brr-icy]

I did a bunch of curating too, but it's kind of gone dead.

[razin]

Word has it they are looking for funding again, since the Dragons Den thing never actually went through.

[chans formers]

I feel for some of you guys who put in so much time and effort curating.

as opposed to just questioning/pondering, has anyone who commented in here actually pm'd "faustx" (james) and inquired what the deal is?
I last seen him at tfcon this year and all looked normal....
hope he's ok and he's still got something in the works for shelflife....

[wervenom]

I feel for some of you guys who put in so much time and effort curating.

as opposed to just questioning/pondering, has anyone who commented in here actually pm'd "faustx" (james) and inquired what the deal is?
I last seen him at tfcon this year and all looked normal....
hope he's ok and he's still got something in the works for shelflife....

I've sent messages to him and Nick with no response unfortunately. It would appear they haven't answered anyone on the Facebook page either :confused:

[Hellboy]

I approached them about a Hot Toys catalogue before there was one and they asked me how I would approach it. I gave them a breakdown of the categories I would set it up as and never heard back. I found out later (months after my initial contact) that they gave it to someone else and at the time it still wasn't live. It left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth.

[Soundwaves]

I looked into shelflife.

Seemed like a lot of work for not a whole lot of satisfaction.

However, if it was more established and up to date, would definitely be a lot more intrigued.

I would never take the time to catalogue my collection "from scratch", and it's not even that big...but I would pay a small fee or watch innumerable adds to be able to catalogue and checklist it based on someone else's hard work.