Events & Collectibles General Discussion

[seliph]

I’d personally appreciate if contest prizes went back to „just“ trophies and maybe some tbt for the winners and the rare animated/non tradeable collectibles staying reserved for fairs/larger events and occasional raffles. I’d appreciate if regular tradable collectibles were only available during events for event currency, not given out in tiny quantities to a few select winners (especially when the „community“ is left in charge deciding who „deserves“ the win ), but this is just mirroring what mogyay, xara and Merielle have said. The re-release of frost egg, yule log and cool feather has significantly changed their value, but in turn made them more accessible for users.

Re: limited restocks, I’m so glad they have stopped (for now) because this way people from different time zones also get a chance at buying what they want with their hard earned event currency. Why go out of your way pouring dozens of hours into event participation but not being able to spend your event currency on something you’d like? That’s so unfair and such a waste of time? Even if this means things are not as rare.

Lastly, I understand that it’s not nice to feel left out when you see friends chipping in to help each other out. That being said, recently I feel like you just can’t win. People seem to take an issue with absolutely everything. If people share collectibles with friends or try to help a friend to get something they want, someone else will call it cliquy. If someone decides to keep their collectibles to themselves, they are accused of stopping collectibles from saturating the market. If someone decides to sell, they are blamed for asking for/accepting too much. Welcome to the internet I guess. For a long time I was under the impression it was different here on tbt, but more and more I realise that sadly that’s not the case. I’m getting tired of the pettiness and I feel like with every event it’s getting worse recently.

i hope you don't think any of these posts were directed at you/your friends! there's been some sneaky and underhanded tactics during events lately, including manipulating votes to make sure certain members outside of friend groups don't win, as mentioned by staff this christmas event. i'm pretty sure that's what people are alluding to, there's nothing wrong with friends innocently sharing collectibles and helping each other out and i hope no one is insinuating there is!

 

[rosetti]

there haven't been many new rare collectibles.

are you joking? there's new rare collectibles every event since 2016, because they don't come back anymore and it's a set amount in circulation until there's any raffles and even then it's by chance or luck. let's say you do an average of 2 tbt events a year (each with it's own SET of new collectibles, no circulations or rereleases), over the last 9+ years that adds up. maybe it's different when you're staff and can gift yourself whatever but it kinda rubs people the wrong way when these new imposter collectibles that are highly desirable but are super limited. it's like gifting urself a golden trophy - hopefully you can see it from our perspective how the whole thing feels a bit unfair currently

there's been times over the last few years where i have not been able to participate in events and have missed out on collectibles i really wanted and it SUCKS knowing they won't come back into circulation through events - the og feathers and pinwheel were available for multiple fairs so if you didn't get it the first time round there was only until the next fair! now the pressure from the last few years of no rereleases has reached a high point - as a community i think we're a bit tired of this

this is coming from a place of LOVE for the site - we massively appreciate all the events and work you guys put in, I don't mean to sound like a bum, it's just the circumstance and echoing everyone else's thoughts whilst it's relevant. ofc I'm not saying staff don't deserve whatever collectible they want, it's just the nature around rarity of collectibles in general. it's not that deep and i still love tbt LOL - just wanted to highlight it from our point of view, if i could gift myself collectibles i would too !

like the Mush Lamps!

i LOVE this collection however so many new designs were released during this time i chose other collecticles over them, as many others did. I would love to own them but, again, they're so hard to get! glad it's not just me who feels this lol

 

[.: Meri :.]

i LOVE this collection however so many new designs were released during this time i chose other collecticles over them, as many others did. I would love to own them but, again, they're so hard to get! glad it's not just me who feels this lol

Same!! Luckily I was able to grab three of them, but I've been looking for the Death Angel and Fly Agaris to complete my set for ages it feels like ;v; I thought I was being ~clever~ by grabbing a full set of the more-typically-desirable crystals, but they're actually not too hard to come by on the market.

 

[Kattea]

I love the recolored collectibles aesthetically, and I can appreciate how difficult it must be to manage a mini economy and keep everyone happy.

A few other users have already mentioned the re-release of snow bunny, yule log, frost egg, and cool feather during the 2021 holiday event. I think some of these as well as aurora egg were also re-released (although in a random fashion) during the 2021 winter writing contest. I really appreciated this, as I believe there were a few users looking for aurora egg for months at this time (kind of like star wand now) and I was happy to see my fellow members finally getting their dream collectibles.

I'm guessing that the concern about a wand re-release would be that users who just spent an arm and a leg for one would get screwed over. In the case of the aurora egg, I don't think this happened as the value stayed relatively the same. In the case of snow bunny and yule log however, I spent 8k and 11k on each of them respectively, only for them to get re-released shortly after and their value drop to 5-6k. Did that kind of bite? Of course. But again, it's so difficult to predict the impact of anything on the economy and the staff have no control over what we decide to buy and sell for. Speaking as someone who got the short end of it, I still think it was better for the community as a whole to have old/rare collectibles more accessible to everyone and I would love to see more occasional re-releases. You win some, you lose some (and I win big later so it's fine).

 

[LadyDestani]

Hi everyone! I hope no one minds if I step in, but I wanted to address your concerns as well. It truly saddens me to see how many people have been left feeling hurt, upset, or just uncomfortable following this recent event, which was the exact opposite of our intentions.

Please understand that we are very receptive and appreciative of your feedback. I want to assure you that it is being taken into consideration, however you shouldn't expect to see an immediate re-release. We have a very busy year planned for TBT's 20th birthday with lots of exciting things in store and we hope that once you look back on everything you will see that we are working towards a common goal. You, the community, are The Bell Tree and as such we never intend to create strife or hard feelings. We just ask for your patience as we are constantly working to evolve and make this place the best that it can be.

I realize that your current feelings will not just disappear, but I hope that we can all take some time to heal from this experience and look forward to what's to come.

 

[Jacob]

Hi everyone! I hope no one minds if I step in, but I wanted to address your concerns as well. It truly saddens me to see how many people have been left feeling hurt, upset, or just uncomfortable following this recent event, which was the exact opposite of our intentions.

Please understand that we are very receptive and appreciative of your feedback. I want to assure you that it is being taken into consideration, however you shouldn't expect to see an immediate re-release. We have a very busy year planned for TBT's 20th birthday with lots of exciting things in store and we hope that once you look back on everything you will see that we are working towards a common goal. You, the community, are The Bell Tree and as such we never intend to create strife or hard feelings. We just ask for your patience as we are are constantly working to evolve and make this place the best that it can be.

I realize that your current feelings will not just disappear, but I hope that we can all take some time to heal from this experience and look forward to what's to come.

Sending so much love your guys’ way. Sincerely I was not expecting to see so many replies to what I had originally posted. (And honestly, I thought I was voicing an unpopular hot take to an audience of like 4 people). Jeremy’s comment showing that our feedback is being heard was honestly more than adequate response for me. Was honestly just meant to be a constructive criticism!! Thank you for the thoughtful response!

 

[Ravenkitty22]

I’m a bit late and I understand that this has already been adressed, but I wanted to throw my two cents in. As a new-ish member who often either doesn’t have time to fully participate in events or doesn’t get enough votes to place, the collectible thing can definitely be a struggle. It’s so hard to get collectibles for certain lineups because I either wasn’t there for the event or don’t have the hundreds or thousands of tbt needed for them. That being said, I understand that in the end, these are just a bunch of pretty pixels, and it’s not like it’s impossible to sell/trade for them. And I appreciate all the hard work the staff put into making them. Everyone else has put their thoughts into words better than I can, but hopefully this adds a bit of perspective.

 

[nightglow]

Idk I thought raffles and the prizes being tradable were fair? It's rare winners get to pick what collectible they get from a raffle set, so it's nice to be able to trade to others. I don't want to see collectibles not being able to be traded.

I have to agree with other users about the imposters being prizes for submissions. That didn't go over so well and was sad.

And though I'm not a huge fan of the imposters so far, I am glad they exist and are rare. It does give something to work towards trade wise or hope for via raffle if they are something you want.

I don't agree on the tbt cap. Many who have a lot of tbt worked hard to get the sum they have ot they sold practically all they had in order to acquire stuff in the future. Instead I'd rather see opportunities for increased bell earnings during events or special times of the year even if there isn't an event happening.

 

[S.J.]

I know there's been a lot of talk about the imposter collectibles, re-releases, recent events, etc. Since it's ongoing, I'll add my brief but boring perspective.

There's no perfect formula to make collecting TBT collectibles ideal for everybody. We have some amazing (human, and one wizard) staff who work really, really hard not just in running events, and designing new collectibles, but also in the daily running and moderation of the forums, and considering how to manage things like the collectible market (on top of their own lives). I know that most of us (including those in this thread) are unbelievably grateful.

At the end of the day, these are some cute, fun internet pictures that are quite fun to collect! I don't want to take it too seriously. I personally like collecting them from the events themselves, rather than trading, but both certainly work! These are just my personal feelings, but, I don't mind the rarity of the imposter collectibles at all! I'm enjoying seeing them implemented in other people's lineups. I think they're great additions to the existing collectibles. I also don't mind the rarities of the existing collectibles. It definitely takes time to grow a significant collection, but it's definitely been fun for me doing that, through participating in events.

Overall, I just want to send my appreciation to the staff. I never joined TBT for the community, nor the events or collectibles! Now, the amazing community is certainly my favourite part of TBT, followed by the equally amazing events. I know the staff are dedicating time year-round not only to make TBT run smoothly, but to run so many events to keep the community active and engaged, and they are never disappointing. Thank you

 

[Gabby]

Maybe it's time to remove collectibles.

 

[-Lumi-]

I would like for staff to sell the mailboxes and envelopes again please and thank you

Purely for aesthetic purposes

I would like to have a pink mailbox

Edit: also can we have postcards thx

 

[Alolan_Apples]

One of the next collectibles I’m gonna get: The Astral Inner Planet Floating Gold #20, or the 20 collectible

 

[Gracelia]

I'm surprised to see that collectibles are still such a hot commodity! Brings back memories of the good ol' days with restock woes

 

[Lancelot]

I would like for staff to sell the mailboxes and envelopes again please and thank you

Purely for aesthetic purposes

I would like to have a pink mailbox

Edit: also can we have postcards thx

Omg postcards would be ingenious, especially with messages on from other members So cutr

 

[Alolan_Apples]

About the glow wands, the flower glow wand would be my favorite of the original glow wand collectibles, but when there exists the snowflake wand and pumpkin wand (as well as the planet wand), and I plan on only having a few rosters of the same category of collectibles, the flower wand is deprioritized in favor of some of the newer wands. If there’s any rarer collectibles I would seek, it’s the Disco Ball Egg and Eevee Egg that’s at the top of my list. But then I’ll need to come up with a third lineup of collectibles of the same categories, but most of them would be easy to get.

By the way, this thread is about to reach 20,000 posts. It got past the 10,000 mark all the way back in 2014, which shows how much the site has changed since the collectible craze started.

 

[nightglow]

Hmm although a reset isn't a bad idea tbh, I would miss the collectibles I really like that I worked towards. Most of my collectibles I earned tbt for by making topics and participating in threads and trading collectibles for other collectibles since my tastes often are different than the majority, it worked out. But then again, it would increase my chances of 3 by 3 set ups with collectibles I love such as the bees and ice cream swirl which I cannot do currently due to scenery being different dates.

Maybe there should be a limit on how many collectibles you can have on your account? Though that can slow down the economy and still lead to hoarding of bells.

Maybe a bell limit per account? Not being able to hold more than 10,000 bells. How that would kick in would be a challenge. A reset everyone would start at zero or 1000 and collectibles would have to be reduced if not wiped to encourage the marketplace. But a bell limit would encourage people to do give aways at minimum 1000 bells so the tbter can still earn bells for posts.

If a reset happens, would graphics of collectibles change? Would the number in the side bar change? I know a reset can help with nicer line ups in the long run due to more variety being available from the get go this time. Would people get really upset at a reset? What if they just finally won a collectible they have been wanting a long time? And what about collectibles that were tied to winning in an event or the anniversary of tbt? It gets a little complicated if the site itself isn't moving or changing dramatically.

And as stated in the past, I'm not a fan of real money for collectibles so I won't comment further on it beyond mentioning something I haven't before which is, I still think people would complain about collectible availability tbh. But I understand why the site may move that direction.

 

[Foreverfox]

I’m sorry, I want to make sure I read clearly…are we suggesting a collectible reset? That is a terrible and terribly unfair idea that I highly doubt any staff will go for, not to mention would probably cause an uprising. Honestly guys, it’s probably best to just let this die down until staff have a chance to read everything and address it.

 

[That Marshal Fangirl]

I genuinely don’t think any of the posts suggesting a collectible reset are serious lmao. But it does propose a good question: If you guys had to get rid of all your collectibles but choose one to keep, what would it be? I think I’d go with my Galaxy Easter Egg.

 

[nightglow]

I genuinely don’t think any of the posts suggesting a collectible reset are serious lmao. But it does propose a good question: If you guys had to get rid of all your collectibles but choose one to keep, what would it be? I think I’d go with my Galaxy Easter Egg.

I shutter at the idea of a collectible reset but I would choose the Aurora Egg I just got, that has a recent date btw, by trading my wand collectible from a raffle.
I find it unlikely I would acquire it again and it is an egg I really like.

 

[Firesquids]

I genuinely don’t think any of the posts suggesting a collectible reset are serious lmao. But it does propose a good question: If you guys had to get rid of all your collectibles but choose one to keep, what would it be? I think I’d go with my Galaxy Easter Egg.

My shooting star, it's the first collectible I ever won, and an absolute banger.