Do you guys think a leadership change could turn things around? Obviously the new head would have to make some substantive changes to the site after taking over, but would Freytag stepping down restore public confidence or is the death spiral irreversible at this point?
I don't think that it is so much an issue of leadership, it's an issue of their vision. They had a good plan, it's just that their execution went downhill when they tried to make too many improvements all at once and were too aggressive at removing points from the system. Eric and the others have shown that they are serious about the site and have put time, effort, and money into it. So it isn't that they need to be removed, it's that they need to actually listen to the users complaints.
I think the current state of the site demonstrates that they did not have a good plan, even if they did have good intentions. My biggest concern during the good times was that the site was financially unsustainable, and as behind the scenes info like paying writers and even full time tech positions in pucapoints surfaced it's become increasingly obvious that's the case. They spent tens of thousands of dollars of other peoples' money on the Future Site overhaul, but didn't address issues like inflation and bounties until the site was dying and didn't really fix either. Not to mention driving off most of the power senders by banning pucapoint sales. I for one think the current leadership is too set on their idea of what they want the site to be to realize that it isn't working out and taking a radically different approach is the only way to turn things around. I've been hoping to get proven wrong for about a year now.
I think the current state of the site demonstrates that they did not have a good plan, even if they did have good intentions. My biggest concern during the good times was that the site was financially unsustainable, and as behind the scenes info like paying writers and even full time tech positions in pucapoints surfaced it's become increasingly obvious that's the case. They spent tens of thousands of dollars of other peoples' money on the Future Site overhaul, but didn't address issues like inflation and bounties until the site was dying and didn't really fix either. Not to mention driving off most of the power senders by banning pucapoint sales. I for one think the current leadership is too set on their idea of what they want the site to be to realize that it isn't working out and taking a radically different approach is the only way to turn things around. I've been hoping to get proven wrong for about a year now.
Well I didn't realize that they were paying their staff in PucaPoints rather than delicious Trident Layers gum.that makes more sense why they were trying so hard to "remove" points from the system, and using those points in less visible ways.
The number of points given as compensation for articles is rather insignificant. What should've been addressed much earlier is how every new member got 500 points for doing virtually absolutely nothing until the FS fallout which then opened the door to the general public about all the economical issues that pucatrade was failing to address.
Well I didn't realize that they were paying their staff in PucaPoints rather than delicious Trident Layers gum.that makes more sense why they were trying so hard to "remove" points from the system, and using those points in less visible ways.
as a former member of staff myself, I can confirm that we were paid in (small) amounts of pucapoints.
I feel it necessary to make clear though, that they have a very small team. the amounts given were insignificant, compared to the power of the dark side (oh wait, i mean the economy).
moreover, I can update my review on Pucatrade and whether I'd recommend them currently.
review: nope!
clarification: apart from a couple of friends, where we exchanged points/cards in person and merely mediated through the site, I haven't been sent anything of note (a single izzet charm doesn't really count) since April. that's 8 months of nothing.
shame really. as a result of the Death of Pucatrade, I haven't been able to trade into new modern decks (or offload my old ones) nearly as easily. for a time, it really was the best option out there. now it's just a burst bubble due to bounties and mega-traders. *sigh*.
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Modern: G Tron, Vannifar, Jund, Druid/Vizier combo, Humans, Eldrazi Stompy (Serum Powder), Amulet, Grishoalbrand, Breach Titan, Turns, Eternal Command, As Foretold Living End, Elves, Cheerios, RUG Scapeshift
Well on a whim I decided to jump onto their Discord server, to the trades channel. Started chatting a bit and ended up getting two people sending me stuff. More of a "welcome to the Discord channel, don't lose faith" gesture, but it was still a very nice gesture all the same. I'll be reciprocating as best I can, and it certainly makes me feel better about the site.
Well on a whim I decided to jump onto their Discord server, to the trades channel. Started chatting a bit and ended up getting two people sending me stuff. More of a "welcome to the Discord channel, don't lose faith" gesture, but it was still a very nice gesture all the same. I'll be reciprocating as best I can, and it certainly makes me feel better about the site.
In the spirit of bringing that same mentality to this site, I looked for users who list their Puca profile in their signatures and sent some stuff as I could, even out of country users which I would normally never send to (thanks PucaShield). If people here want to take that same community feel and bring it here then I would encourage you to link your profile and pay it forward.
Well on a whim I decided to jump onto their Discord server, to the trades channel. Started chatting a bit and ended up getting two people sending me stuff. More of a "welcome to the Discord channel, don't lose faith" gesture, but it was still a very nice gesture all the same. I'll be reciprocating as best I can, and it certainly makes me feel better about the site.
In the spirit of bringing that same mentality to this site, I looked for users who list their Puca profile in their signatures and sent some stuff as I could, even out of country users which I would normally never send to (thanks PucaShield). If people here want to take that same community feel and bring it here then I would encourage you to link your profile and pay it forward.
That is cool of you to do. As to not be overlooked, I added a link in my sig... haven't seen it in action, so I hope the link works good
EDIT: Took a few attempts to make it visible, but it finally worked out.
As much as I hate to push traffic away from this site, Discord really is the place to be. The trades channels very active and friendly. Time will tell how much action it nets you, but I'm currently above the zero action I was at. Also, now it is even more important to have a broad want list. It sucks because if you're like me and have a very small list of cards you actually need, you have to settle in order to get tradez.
I see that the lists of people who want a particular card/pack are sorted by gold then silver then other people who you can't even see but "part of the site".
And bounties are 15-30% in their usernames.
I'm never going to be able to cash out of this site without paying their premium extortion fee for a month, am I?
Just so I can have the privilege of paying 1,300 (plus bounty, I'm sure) for EM packs that are ~$7 at my LGS
Just joined discord too (a friend of mine is actively trading there). Though from what he tells me, it's mostly simultaneous sends. Tough for me, cause I've already sent out most of my good cards and just sitting on a lot of points.
Well on a whim I decided to jump onto their Discord server, to the trades channel. Started chatting a bit and ended up getting two people sending me stuff. More of a "welcome to the Discord channel, don't lose faith" gesture, but it was still a very nice gesture all the same. I'll be reciprocating as best I can, and it certainly makes me feel better about the site.
In the spirit of bringing that same mentality to this site, I looked for users who list their Puca profile in their signatures and sent some stuff as I could, even out of country users which I would normally never send to (thanks PucaShield). If people here want to take that same community feel and bring it here then I would encourage you to link your profile and pay it forward.
Good work, glad to hear some people are still trying to make it happen. I've almost completely lost faith in the site, but I still occasionally send out a small package here and there just to keep myself "active" as if it does any good. I have a huge want list (just started adding anything I think I might ever use) and still haven't received a trade in nearly 2 months. I did add a link to my profile here on MTGS just in case you or others feel like sending more though
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Any Puca trades you can send me would be greatly appreciated! Big want list and lots of points available.
How do you get to the discord server? I have about 40k points I'm trying to cash out on.
I got there from link in their articles.
Any chance you could explain this discord business as though I was your grandma and had no clue what it was? Is it a website? An app? I really don't get it lol
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Any Puca trades you can send me would be greatly appreciated! Big want list and lots of points available.
Any chance you could explain this discord business as though I was your grandma and had no clue what it was? Is it a website? An app? I really don't get it lol
It's a chat server (website and phone app). Looks like an entity sets something up with channels and you sign in through a particular network. Try this link. It's free to sign up. That link is the channel where we spam each other with links to our profile. It that doesn't work, at the bottom of every PucaTrade article will be a "discuss this article here (Discord logo)". Click on it, sign up, and it should direct you to the #articles channel. Look for #trades-paper channel. The consistent thing I've noticed is that like pongie noticed, a lot of people are trying to get fairly even reciprocal sends, and people there tend to want users to have an avatar for some reason. If you're just looking to cash out you may be disappointed, but if you're trying to get back to how PucaTrade used to be (#MakePucaGreatAgain), with some persistence you'll get some trades... probably. Hard to say as everyone will have a different experience. I'm getting some stuff in slowly, but I'm also trying to be pretty friendly and chatty there to build up my presence and image as well. No one is rushing in to zero me out, which I highly doubt will happen, but if I can at least start getting points fluctuations I'll be happy.
Edit: Had a Desertion off your list, so there's that.
The pyramid scheme nature of the site flooded the system with users and points. This is just your basic free market economy with the government learning, acting, and reacting in order to manage inflation and make a profit for themselves. If the site doesn't just go under, eventually an equilibrium of sorts will be reached.
Just joined discord too (a friend of mine is actively trading there). Though from what he tells me, it's mostly simultaneous sends. Tough for me, cause I've already sent out most of my good cards and just sitting on a lot of points.
So if the site devolves into just simultaneous sends like it's currently trending, what's the point in using it over something like these trade forums? Easier to even out trades that are slightly lopsided? (i.e. I'll give you my stuff and an extra 500 points for your stuff)
I'm seeing fewer and fewer reasons to continue using Puca. Thankfully, I worked out a large trade to turn the rest of my points into sealed commander decks, so I'm taking a break from Puca for a while. I hope it stabilizes and becomes decent again.
The pyramid scheme nature of the site flooded the system with users and points. This is just your basic free market economy with the government learning, acting, and reacting in order to manage inflation and make a profit for themselves. If the site doesn't just go under, eventually an equilibrium of sorts will be reached.
Pucatrade is not and was never a pyramid scheme. What it is is an unregulated, unbacked fiat currency. That works out great as long as confidence in the currency is high and people treat it as valuable (USD). The problem is that if external events and/or the actor minting the currency cause a loss of confidence it can lead to rapid devaluation or even a total market collapse (Zimbabwe, Pucatrade). Ironically the pucapoint black market sort of acted as a backing for pucapoints until the dev team cracked down on it because pucapoints could be turned into dollars much the way that dollars used to be redeemable for precious metals. If they were not dead set on getting their revenue exclusively from point sales and premium memberships the dev team could set up something like the Steam Market for blocks of points, taking a small cut from each transaction, and preserved confidence in the pucapoint much longer than it lasted.
So if the site devolves into just simultaneous sends like it's currently trending, what's the point in using it over something like these trade forums? Easier to even out trades that are slightly lopsided? (i.e. I'll give you my stuff and an extra 500 points for your stuff)
I'm seeing fewer and fewer reasons to continue using Puca. Thankfully, I worked out a large trade to turn the rest of my points into sealed commander decks, so I'm taking a break from Puca for a while. I hope it stabilizes and becomes decent again.
There isn't, just a bunch of people who can't seem to let go and use Deckbox instead which literally does all the heavy lifting required to perform reciprocal trades.
I have about a 105k points, entertaining offers to unload them for cards or other items. hit me up if you are interested. i actively play modo so thats a option also
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Awesome. Thanks for that. Nice to see EMA on that. Good way to cash out. (Assuming my wants don't sit there unanswered for yet another 2 months)
I think the current state of the site demonstrates that they did not have a good plan, even if they did have good intentions. My biggest concern during the good times was that the site was financially unsustainable, and as behind the scenes info like paying writers and even full time tech positions in pucapoints surfaced it's become increasingly obvious that's the case. They spent tens of thousands of dollars of other peoples' money on the Future Site overhaul, but didn't address issues like inflation and bounties until the site was dying and didn't really fix either. Not to mention driving off most of the power senders by banning pucapoint sales. I for one think the current leadership is too set on their idea of what they want the site to be to realize that it isn't working out and taking a radically different approach is the only way to turn things around. I've been hoping to get proven wrong for about a year now.
Well I didn't realize that they were paying their staff in PucaPoints rather than delicious Trident Layers gum.that makes more sense why they were trying so hard to "remove" points from the system, and using those points in less visible ways.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
as a former member of staff myself, I can confirm that we were paid in (small) amounts of pucapoints.
I feel it necessary to make clear though, that they have a very small team. the amounts given were insignificant, compared to the power of the dark side (oh wait, i mean the economy).
moreover, I can update my review on Pucatrade and whether I'd recommend them currently.
review: nope!
clarification: apart from a couple of friends, where we exchanged points/cards in person and merely mediated through the site, I haven't been sent anything of note (a single izzet charm doesn't really count) since April. that's 8 months of nothing.
shame really. as a result of the Death of Pucatrade, I haven't been able to trade into new modern decks (or offload my old ones) nearly as easily. for a time, it really was the best option out there. now it's just a burst bubble due to bounties and mega-traders. *sigh*.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
In the spirit of bringing that same mentality to this site, I looked for users who list their Puca profile in their signatures and sent some stuff as I could, even out of country users which I would normally never send to (thanks PucaShield). If people here want to take that same community feel and bring it here then I would encourage you to link your profile and pay it forward.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
That is cool of you to do. As to not be overlooked, I added a link in my sig... haven't seen it in action, so I hope the link works good
EDIT: Took a few attempts to make it visible, but it finally worked out.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
And bounties are 15-30% in their usernames.
I'm never going to be able to cash out of this site without paying their premium extortion fee for a month, am I?
Just so I can have the privilege of paying 1,300 (plus bounty, I'm sure) for EM packs that are ~$7 at my LGS
Progenitus
Karona, False God
Nahiri, the Lithomancer
Kytheon, Hero of Iroas
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Selvala, Explorer Returned
Atarka, World Render
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Iroas, God of Victory
Vorel of the Hull Clade
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
Zur the Enchanter
I got there from link in their articles.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Progenitus
Karona, False God
Nahiri, the Lithomancer
Kytheon, Hero of Iroas
Azami, Lady of Scrolls
Endrek Sahr, Master Breeder
Kiki-Jiki, Mirror Breaker
Freyalise, Llanowar's Fury
Ezuri, Renegade Leader
Bruna, Light of Alabaster
Rakdos, Lord of Riots
Selvala, Explorer Returned
Atarka, World Render
Teysa, Envoy of Ghosts
Skullbriar, the Walking Grave
Iroas, God of Victory
Vorel of the Hull Clade
Jhoira of the Ghitu
Shu Yun, the Silent Tempest
Zur the Enchanter
Good work, glad to hear some people are still trying to make it happen. I've almost completely lost faith in the site, but I still occasionally send out a small package here and there just to keep myself "active" as if it does any good. I have a huge want list (just started adding anything I think I might ever use) and still haven't received a trade in nearly 2 months. I did add a link to my profile here on MTGS just in case you or others feel like sending more though
https://pucatrade.com/profiles/show/23875
Any chance you could explain this discord business as though I was your grandma and had no clue what it was? Is it a website? An app? I really don't get it lol
https://pucatrade.com/profiles/show/23875
It's a chat server (website and phone app). Looks like an entity sets something up with channels and you sign in through a particular network. Try this link. It's free to sign up. That link is the channel where we spam each other with links to our profile. It that doesn't work, at the bottom of every PucaTrade article will be a "discuss this article here (Discord logo)". Click on it, sign up, and it should direct you to the #articles channel. Look for #trades-paper channel. The consistent thing I've noticed is that like pongie noticed, a lot of people are trying to get fairly even reciprocal sends, and people there tend to want users to have an avatar for some reason. If you're just looking to cash out you may be disappointed, but if you're trying to get back to how PucaTrade used to be (#MakePucaGreatAgain), with some persistence you'll get some trades... probably. Hard to say as everyone will have a different experience. I'm getting some stuff in slowly, but I'm also trying to be pretty friendly and chatty there to build up my presence and image as well. No one is rushing in to zero me out, which I highly doubt will happen, but if I can at least start getting points fluctuations I'll be happy.
Edit: Had a Desertion off your list, so there's that.
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
Misc. EDH Stuff: Commander Cube | Zombies (Horde)
Resources:Commander Rulings FAQ | Commander Deckbuilding Guide
Follow me on Twitter! @cryogen_mtg
This is what I'm seeing, as well.
I'm seeing fewer and fewer reasons to continue using Puca. Thankfully, I worked out a large trade to turn the rest of my points into sealed commander decks, so I'm taking a break from Puca for a while. I hope it stabilizes and becomes decent again.
http://forums.mtgsalvation.com/showthread.php?p=11439737#post11439737
Reality is only what man allows it to be. Few shape it so that many may accept it.
Pucatrade is not and was never a pyramid scheme. What it is is an unregulated, unbacked fiat currency. That works out great as long as confidence in the currency is high and people treat it as valuable (USD). The problem is that if external events and/or the actor minting the currency cause a loss of confidence it can lead to rapid devaluation or even a total market collapse (Zimbabwe, Pucatrade). Ironically the pucapoint black market sort of acted as a backing for pucapoints until the dev team cracked down on it because pucapoints could be turned into dollars much the way that dollars used to be redeemable for precious metals. If they were not dead set on getting their revenue exclusively from point sales and premium memberships the dev team could set up something like the Steam Market for blocks of points, taking a small cut from each transaction, and preserved confidence in the pucapoint much longer than it lasted.
There isn't, just a bunch of people who can't seem to let go and use Deckbox instead which literally does all the heavy lifting required to perform reciprocal trades.