by jcrowley » Tue Apr 12, 2005 7:53 am
I'm a relatively new member to both COCA (I joined late last year) and slot/trade stimulator collecting in general (I currently own two slot machines and about four trade stimulators). I would strongly agree with the other people who have noted that this forum provides an excellent service (in my opinion, much better than the official COCA forum), and I hope that it remains active and gets the recognition it deserves.
As for the statement that COCA seems to be geared for the experienced collector, that's one of the reasons I joined! I'm definitely a novice, even though I bought several good books on slot and stimulators when I first "discovered" the hobby. I'm too far away to attend the big shows like Chicagoland, and even though I try to make the local shows, COCA has been a great source to learn more about the hobby from the experience of others. I look forward to the magazine (OK ... I've only received two so far, but the articles have been fascinating), and the other COCA members that I've had the pleasure of meeting have always been very willing to share their experiences with me. As far as I'm concerned, the annual dues is money well spent.
Dan Davids noted that more COCA members need to get off their butts and contribute. I agree with KaChing, in that I don't have any major stories (most of my puchases were either at local shows or through eBay -- speaking of which, I have always been extremely satisifed with the representations of the sellers and the items I have purchased!), but if COCA needs any help with their website, I'm willing to volunteer. I'm actually a web designer by profession, helping to maintain external and internal sites for a certain well-known telecommunications company. Regardless, I think that COCA is missing the boat by not publicizing the existence of this forum.