Just a heads up, so the conversion process will be easier on all of us ...
OK, I know this is going to cause more confusion than it's probably worth, and is going to require a lot more work than I really feel like doing, but it's gotta be done....... This past week-end, I took some tentative steps, and started laying out the groundwork for our new web-site. Why? Well, as those of you whom I've spoken to at toy & train shows know, there's a lot going on here, too much to go into in great detail. The nub of the thing is this: I don't know how many of you out there have been with me long enough to remember the very first web-site. Personally, I liked that one much more than the current one, even though many of you have told me you think this one looks better. Fact of the matter is, the old one had a few features that the general public never sees, and those features are missing in this one, and I feel it's time to bring them back. First, and foremost, the little movie clips on the figures rotating, so you can see a 360 degree view, will be returning! Lots of work for me, but I feel it's a wise investment, as not only is it informative, but it makes things a little more fun. The other function that's not available with the current website, is eBay sharing....the first website enabled me to send things back & forth between the website & eBay, which made my life easier, as I didn't have to create two entirely different listings, and keep an eye on inventory. It's a little thing, but one that's been gnawing at me, because I get far too many messages from people asking why don't I make something, yet it's been available on the website for five years.....seems like the eBay and the website people operate in two different universes, hopefully, this will be a way to help merge two parallel worlds. A FORUM! May or may not happen, but it's a neat feature that's just not available in any way, shape, or form, on the current site. Now, you can reach out & contact other customers, swap ideas, stories, etc....again, not hugely important, but seems like it might make the Barclay world a little more fun.... The other driving reason for the switch, is I can do all these wonderful things for roughly a third of the cost I'm currently paying. The current website was more of a quickie thing to get us through a Christmas season, as the first web host (Prostores) decided they couldn't be bothered with the little guys anymore, and pulled the plug on us one late August. Since they were an eBay company, their sites were all written in their own language/codec, which couldn't just be transferred to another host...... Which left yours truly, scrambling around, creating a whole new site from scratch....don't get me wrong, it's functioned well, and more than did it's job, but somehow, it never quite felt "right".....What was a quickie thing that was supposed to have been improved, became more of a permanent thing, and before it gets even more difficult to put right, I figured now's the time, since we're headed into the slower season. I'm looking to replace this site by early June, so if you have us bookmarked and we don't pop up, don't worry! You'll just have to enter the same web address in your address bar, and re-bookmark us. Also, if suddenly a bunch of your favorite items disappear, don't worry! I'll be taking new & better pictures of things, and the new site will come up to speed slowly, so hopefully everything that's really important, will be up in time for Christmas. So there you have it, hope everybody likes the new look when it comes around!