Container swap survey from Railbricks

[UrbanErwin]

Hello,

I came across this and saw it wasn't posted her yet so it might be interesting.

http://railbricks.com/blog/railbricks-container-swap-announcement/

Coming Soon: The RAILBRICKS Container Swap!

Have you ever wanted to show your involvement in the LEGO Train community, but didn't know how? Do want to share your LUG/LTC with the rest of the world?

Soon, you'll have the chance!

A bit of history; A few years back, the LEGO Train community (via LUGNET and other media sites) organized a swap. At every LEGO Convention, LUGs would bring a small amount of stack containers that they would hand out to the other LUGs in attendance, as well as hand a few out to the individuals who attended. However; because there were not many conventions where multiple groups would attend, the containers could only travel short distances to close LUGs.

This time around, we want to change that. We believe it is possible for a container from PennLUG (Pennsylvania) to show up on at a show in BayLUG (California) or even at a show in a different continent. But this doesn't have to be just LUG-sponsored containers! Any individual can take part too!

Before we can get this up and running, we need your opinion! PLEASE, take the 30 seconds to fill out this survey : www.surveymonkey.com/s/YQZBCWH Even if you aren't planning on participating, PLEASE fill it out. If we do not receive enough responses to the survey, we will assume that there are not enough people that want to take part.

Help spread the word! The more people who take the survey, the more likely it is that it will succeed! Don't forget to join the discussion on the forums!

-RAILBRICKS Team

To me it looks like a great Idea to revive this concept.

Note: I'm not a member of the railbricks staff, I just like the Idea.

Edited September 22, 2013 by UrbanErwin

[JopieK]

I like the idea too!!! Especially since it is more open than it used to be.

Here is the direct link to the survey

[UrbanErwin]

All,

Based on the answers to our survey results about a container swap, I've put together a set of proposed rules for everyone to take a look at. I'd like to open this up for discussion, as there are some costs involved, mainly with shipping containers back and forth.

Please take a look at the proposed rules and discuss any changes or suggestions that you might have. Depending on the responses, we may be able to begin the swap process this month, or we all may decide to wait for the new year to begin.

Your feedback is important!

-Elroy

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RAILBRICKS Container Swap Guidelines

Sign-Up!

To participate in the RAILBRICKS container swap, sign up by emailing (address to be determined) with your name, your club's name, your email address, and the mailing address that containers should be sent to.

Sign-ups will take place from/to (dates to be determined).

A list of the people and groups signed up for the swap will be posted on the RAILBRICKS website as registrations are received. Note that your contact information will not be publicly posted.

Build!

As part of the swap, you will be responsible for providing one container to each person or group that signs up, other than yourself. For example, if 30 groups sign up, you must provide 29 containers for the swap.

Containers must be 6 studs wide, 16 studs long, 5 bricks and 2 plates tall, with a set of 4 feet made of 2 x 2 corner plates attached to the bottom, and a set of 1 x 4 tiles on top to allow for stacking.

Working container doors are optional, but encouraged! Just be sure that all elements fall within the 6 x 16 stud footprint.

Send!

Starting (date to be determined), send your finished containers to the address that will be provided. All containers will come to a central location for sorting and re-distribution.

Receive!

Once all containers are received, sorted, and boxed at the central shipping location, packages will be sent back out to each group using the shipping information provided when you signed up. Once received, open the box and enjoy!

Notes on shipping: A basic container weighs approximately 3.8 ounces. To estimate your shipping cost, multiply the weight of a single container by the number of containers that need to be built. Use this weight to determine your estimated shipping cost. You will need to pay this shipping cost both ways. Every effort will be made to keep shipping costs as low as possible.

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http://railbricks.com/forums/events/container-swap/proposed-container-swap-rules/

[skriblez]

Sounds fun :)

[tmctiger]

http://railbricks.co...ner-swap-rules/

Sorry guys, but I don't get it ...

So basically you are building containers and ship them to others to receive their built containers - what's the sense behind this ... other then generating a lot of mail traffic an costs?

Honestly, this is a serious question, I really don't understand what this is all about ?!?

BR

[TaltosVT]

Sorry guys, but I don't get it ...

So basically you are building containers and ship them to others to receive their built containers - what's the sense behind this ... other then generating a lot of mail traffic an costs?

Honestly, this is a serious question, I really don't understand what this is all about ?!?

BR

The containers are a way to share your club, event, layout, etc. with others. If you take a look at the photo on the current RAILBRICKS home page (http://railbricks.com/), you can see an example of the older style of containers that used to be traded. Clubs added their logos, images and so on. Think of it as the train version of trading cards.

While we're setting this swap up to be via mail, swaps have occurred in the past at various events. Our goal is to revive the tradition.

If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to ask on the RAILBRICKS forums. I'll also keep an eye on this thread and answer when I can.

-Elroy

[peterab]

Sorry guys, but I don't get it ...

So basically you are building containers and ship them to others to receive their built containers -

The containers have the train club logo on them which you are unlikely to be able to get any other way. I agree shipping the whole container is pointless, I think it reflects the fact that the majority of clubs that interact are in the US so for them it isn't a huge issue. I'd suggest they'd encourage more international participation by being a bit more thoughtful about the way shipping cost affect everyone else.

Edited November 9, 2013 by peterab

[TaltosVT]

The containers have the train club logo on them which you are unlikely to be able to get any other way. I agree shipping the whole container is pointless, I think it reflects the fact that the majority of clubs that interact are in the US so for them it isn't a huge issue. I'd suggest they'd encourage more international participation by being a bit more thoughtful about the way shipping cost affect everyone else.

The decision to try the swap via mail was based on the results of our survey. As I stated in my post on the RAILBRICKS sites, the costs involved are one of the reasons that we're looking for feedback on the guidelines. One thought that I had would be to have "drop-points" in various countries, which would then forward to the central point. For instance, clubs in Australia could ship to a central person in Australia, then that person could forward a single larger package to the U.S. where the swap packages would be made up, then sent back out in a reverse process.

Another reason for an initial swap via mail is that not everyone can make it to an event. For instance, it's not likely that I'll be able to make it to a FreeLUG event any time soon, but by swapping via mail, my club could receive a French container, and theirs could recieve ours in return.

We're definately open to suggestions on how we could keep the shipping costs down. We'd like as many people and groups as possible to be able to participate.

For the sake of disclosure, RAILBRICKS would likely cover the costs if we had the money. Realistically though, the only income we make is from the few sales of the printed version of the magazine, and that money barely covers the costs of our server upkeep.

-Elroy

[peterab]

The decision to try the swap via mail was based on the results of our survey. As I stated in my post on the RAILBRICKS sites, the costs involved are one of the reasons that we're looking for feedback on the guidelines. One thought that I had would be to have "drop-points" in various countries, which would then forward to the central point. For instance, clubs in Australia could ship to a central person in Australia, then that person could forward a single larger package to the U.S. where the swap packages would be made up, then sent back out in a reverse process.

The drop point is a good idea, but the central problem still remains shipping whole containers. It makes no sense to in essence ship identical whole container bodies back and forth when the shipping costs are the most likely make or break factor for European and Australian participants. I've previously made the suggestion to ship just the club logo panel to ensure the minimum cost, both weight and volume add cost. Since Australian and Europeans seem to be in the minority, and this issue mostly impacts them, a purely democratic approach may not lead to the most inclusive outcome. Combined with drop points, shipping cost for just logo panels would be minimal. Even if this was allowed as an option (ie choose to swap a whole container or just two logos), it would help us out.

Another reason for an initial swap via mail is that not everyone can make it to an event. For instance, it's not likely that I'll be able to make it to a FreeLUG event any time soon, but by swapping via mail, my club could receive a French container, and theirs could recieve ours in return.

I'm pretty sure mail is the best option to optimise the greatest participation, I'm not certain anyone gets to all the major Australian conventions in the same year, and only a few people from Australia attend overseas conventions, and the cost of excess baggage is even greater than postage.

[TaltosVT]

It makes no sense to in essence ship identical whole container bodies back and forth when the shipping costs are the most likely make or break factor for European and Australian participants. I've previously made the suggestion to ship just the club logo panel to ensure the minimum cost, both weight and volume add cost. Since Australian and Europeans seem to be in the minority, and this issue mostly impacts them, a purely democratic approach may not lead to the most inclusive outcome.

The containers may not all be identical. I'd actually be surprised if they were. Part of the idea behind a club/event/personalized container is that it is unique to that group. The colors, patterns, etc. may vary from group to group.

The idea to swap just logos was included in our survey. I just went back to check the results. The logo only option was favored by 26% of the folks who responded, while 54% favored the larger sized containers.

I don't have demographic information from the survey, so I can't say for sure if more folks from the U.S. answered than from Europe and Australia. The magazine readership tends to be pretty well spread across the globe. I agree that shipping full-sized containers is not the best solution for everyone. I doubt that any single solution of any sort is best for everyone. My personal hope is that this first swap is just the start, and that other swaps will take place at events, betweens clubs, or even one-on-one between people.

If it would helps folks decide if they would like to participate or not, I can look into various shipping rates and post them.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. It really is appreciated, and will help us plan future fun things for the train community.

-Elroy

[Rob Klingberg]

I'd like to have a way for those of us who are not in clubs to participate. In anticipation of this event, I designed what I believe to be a very custom and cool container that represents my company (www.brickstuff.com). Because I am only one person, I invested to make a total of 5 containers. I would be interested in sending these 5 out and getting 5 in return. I don't want to make 30 containers, but a swap 5-for-5 is interesting to me. Thoughts?

[peterab]

The containers may not all be identical. I'd actually be surprised if they were. Part of the idea behind a club/event/personalized container is that it is unique to that group. The colors, patterns, etc. may vary from group to group.

A simple photo would be enough to replicate the sort of design variations likely in a container.

The idea to swap just logos was included in our survey. I just went back to check the results. The logo only option was favored by 26% of the folks who responded, while 54% favored the larger sized containers.

That doesn't surprise me in the least, given most of those that wanted to swap containers could safely assume they were all pretty close.

I don't have demographic information from the survey, so I can't say for sure if more folks from the U.S. answered than from Europe and Australia. The magazine readership tends to be pretty well spread across the globe. I agree that shipping full-sized containers is not the best solution for everyone. I doubt that any single solution of any sort is best for everyone. My personal hope is that this first swap is just the start, and that other swaps will take place at events, betweens clubs, or even one-on-one between people.

If you look at the club list on the website I'm pretty sure you will notice most clubs are in the US, and since clubs are more likely to participate than individuals I'd suggest that will be true of the container swap. If not it might end up that Europe is the epicentre, in which case having the central location there would seem to be smart. It would be more equitable for everyone to commit to pay to ship all their containers to all participants (not just to and from a central location), this would be far more equitable cost sharing, and would lead to pressure for optimal distribution co-operation too, since everybody's costs would come down. Best is a misleading term since not everybody is trying to optimise for the same things.

If it would helps folks decide if they would like to participate or not, I can look into various shipping rates and post them.

I'd dearly like to be involved, but it really depends on how the shipping costs are divided up. If I were to swap a container with an individual, I'd expect to pay to ship my container to the other participant, and have them do the same in return.

[tmctiger]

The containers are a way to share your club, event, layout, etc. with others. If you take a look at the photo on the current RAILBRICKS home page (http://railbricks.com/), you can see an example of the older style of containers that used to be traded. Clubs added their logos, images and so on. Think of it as the train version of trading cards.

While we're setting this swap up to be via mail, swaps have occurred in the past at various events. Our goal is to revive the tradition.

If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to ask on the RAILBRICKS forums. I'll also keep an eye on this thread and answer when I can.

-Elroy

Hi Elroy,

ah thx for clarification. Now I get the concept behind it. This was new for me ...

[TaltosVT]

I'd like to have a way for those of us who are not in clubs to participate. In anticipation of this event, I designed what I believe to be a very custom and cool container that represents my company (www.brickstuff.com). Because I am only one person, I invested to make a total of 5 containers. I would be interested in sending these 5 out and getting 5 in return. I don't want to make 30 containers, but a swap 5-for-5 is interesting to me. Thoughts?

I responed to this question over on the RAILBRICKS forum as well. I like the idea of maybe limiting the number of containers that each participant has to build. Originally the idea was that each participant would receive one of each container, but if we limit the swap to just a few containers, each participant would be able to spend less in parts and shipping. They could build 5 containers, then receive 5 in return. The 5 they receive may be different than the 5 that someone else receives, which would set up a possible future trade if someone really wanted a container that someone else had.

What do folks think of that idea? What would be an optimal number of containers?

-Elroy

[Hrw-Amen]

I think the main problem will be the overall cost. If I am reading it right I could potentially as an individual, not part of a club, sign up for this; but I may end up having to ship out say 100 containers. This would cost a fortune in parts and postage. There should be various limits at least for people on their own who cannot afford the cost that maybe a group could. I like the idea of maybe just making five, or ten or whatever you can afford and swapping them for a similar number, but I don't think I could sign up to swapping an unknown number of containers. If everyone on Eurobricks that has a train signed up you could be in for a mortgage sized bill for parts let along shipping! You would need a whole container in the real world to transfer them in!

[zephyr1934]

There is no reason why the current railbricks container swap has to be the last container swap, or that other swaps have to follow the exact same format. I think the current format is following a 10+ yr old format where lego train clubs would swap containers. Works well for things like a big NMRA show, but not so good if you only want to swap 5 containers.

All one would have to do is put together simple instructions for building a container unique to one's layout (even if you are a single person operation) and the artwork to be printed, and viola, free container swap on line. Come up with a nice standard and others will certainly follow suit.