AYRT I agree about the short time frame being a big part as to why people scramble to buy. And I just don't think that should be a thing. Why can't they have all of the gem things available all the time? Or at least predictably? If I have a gen one who looks great as a wildclaw, I'm going to save the 2k gems for the scroll. The only thing that changes by making it unpredictable is that it makes me much more frustrated about the situation. Like I'm sure they would still sell lots of corsair apparel if they released it for a week leading up to talk like a pirate day every year. The only thing that would really change is that the prices on the AH likely wouldn't get as high. And as those gems go from user to user instead of to the site, it doesn't benefit them that much.
The only reason I can see to have it be with no warning and for such short time spans is that they want people to buy gems with RL money, and that makes me think less of the site. Unless someone else can come up with a better reason for why they release things randomly with no warning and with short sale durations.
AYRT I have spent $200 on gems on the site. (I did it when I was new and really happy with the site and wanted to support it. I have not since because of frustrations like these. I now prefer to spend my "fun" money in ways that are more fun for me.) I don't have issues with them wanting money. I do have issues with this way of going about it. The short notice and unpredictable schedule just comes across to me as unprofessional and frustrating. There are short term money grabs which help out quickly, but can hurt overall, and there are long-term plans to make money which are healthier for continuing viability. I think this is very much the former, when in my opinion it would be better to have the latter.
What's an example of a long-term money-making plan aside from 'keep gem items available all the time'? Genuinely curious, because the fact that they changed to the cycle out system says to me that keeping gem items available all the time wasn't making as much money.
AYRT In my opinion, it is better to have a lot of little things that people can justify spending money on then to have a lot of big things. People are more likely to go "I can justify spending $5 to get this thing I want now" than to say "I want something worth $20, so I'll buy it now". And the little purchases can add up. As I said above, I'd be much more willing to buy scrolls if I thought I was getting my money's worth for them. After the new excitement of the game wore off, I don't think it is really worth the money. Especially for non-progen dragons.
There are also other little things people can spend money on that aren't concrete purchases like genes and scrolls. I paid $2 a month to ImageShack for a long time to have a premium account because $2 is nothing really, and it got me ad free viewing. How many people might be willing to pay $2/month to get ad-free viewing? Or other little perks like that which don't really directly affect gameplay?
And they honestly can't compare the "cycle out" system to the not cycle out system for making money because the site changed in that time. Who knows if all of the people who raced to buy WC scrolls when they were released would have bought them anyway but couldn't because they weren't available? There were a lot of people who joined the site after the scrolls were initially cycled out. So it isn't a fair comparison. Perhaps they got some people who bought scrolls to hoard them for later, but I can't think it was that many more to make up for the frustration and lack of good will in others.
I'm not in the business or computer worlds at all, so I'm sure I'm missing lots of things, but I know as a customer, FR is becoming more frustrating than fun to me. And I was very invested in the site before, so I'm guessing I can't be the only one who feels this way. Maybe FR doesn't care about keeping around older players. Maybe they are content with just continually opening windows to get new players. Perhaps this strategy is exactly what they want. I just very much dislike it and can't see it boding well for long-term success. Perhaps I am wrong. As I said, this isn't really my thing, and I am only speaking as a customer.
Like anon above said, the sense of urgency is important to get people spending... so besides perhaps offering better support for people who buy usermade accents/skins, I'm not sure what FR could do. I mean, if they could afford to keep pulling new content for both treasure and gems quickly enough to get people's attention, I'm sure they would be doing that already...
AYRT I wouldn't even mind the cycling thing so much if it were more predictable. But this never knowing when (or if) something is coming back is frustrating. And it makes me less inclined to buy gems. Perhaps that is just me, though.
A set schedule would be nice. I don't like feeling that if I miss out on things (or can't stock up on stuff I know I'd use a lot) that I might never see it at MP prices again even when it's marked as cycling. It's one thing to have that with retired items, since we've been told those will never come back. But it's a lot harder to rationalize with things we've been told will be coming back.
And then there are those items that have been marked as cycling but they've never once cycled back in, like those witch sets with the cobwebs.
When those first came out I thought they'd be an annual thing with the way they were announced, but they only showed up that one time.
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anonrising2016-07-10 03:31 pm
Re: CYCLED ITEMS
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 07:38 am (UTC)(link)I agree about the short time frame being a big part as to why people scramble to buy. And I just don't think that should be a thing. Why can't they have all of the gem things available all the time? Or at least predictably? If I have a gen one who looks great as a wildclaw, I'm going to save the 2k gems for the scroll. The only thing that changes by making it unpredictable is that it makes me much more frustrated about the situation. Like I'm sure they would still sell lots of corsair apparel if they released it for a week leading up to talk like a pirate day every year. The only thing that would really change is that the prices on the AH likely wouldn't get as high. And as those gems go from user to user instead of to the site, it doesn't benefit them that much.
The only reason I can see to have it be with no warning and for such short time spans is that they want people to buy gems with RL money, and that makes me think less of the site. Unless someone else can come up with a better reason for why they release things randomly with no warning and with short sale durations.
DA
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 03:34 pm (UTC)(link)but what's wrong with that? the site needs to make money somehow. this is a business. of course Undel and co want to make as much money as possible
Re: DA
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 04:43 pm (UTC)(link)I have spent $200 on gems on the site. (I did it when I was new and really happy with the site and wanted to support it. I have not since because of frustrations like these. I now prefer to spend my "fun" money in ways that are more fun for me.) I don't have issues with them wanting money. I do have issues with this way of going about it. The short notice and unpredictable schedule just comes across to me as unprofessional and frustrating. There are short term money grabs which help out quickly, but can hurt overall, and there are long-term plans to make money which are healthier for continuing viability. I think this is very much the former, when in my opinion it would be better to have the latter.
Re: DA
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 08:48 pm (UTC)(link)Re: DA
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 09:09 pm (UTC)(link)In my opinion, it is better to have a lot of little things that people can justify spending money on then to have a lot of big things. People are more likely to go "I can justify spending $5 to get this thing I want now" than to say "I want something worth $20, so I'll buy it now". And the little purchases can add up. As I said above, I'd be much more willing to buy scrolls if I thought I was getting my money's worth for them. After the new excitement of the game wore off, I don't think it is really worth the money. Especially for non-progen dragons.
There are also other little things people can spend money on that aren't concrete purchases like genes and scrolls. I paid $2 a month to ImageShack for a long time to have a premium account because $2 is nothing really, and it got me ad free viewing. How many people might be willing to pay $2/month to get ad-free viewing? Or other little perks like that which don't really directly affect gameplay?
And they honestly can't compare the "cycle out" system to the not cycle out system for making money because the site changed in that time. Who knows if all of the people who raced to buy WC scrolls when they were released would have bought them anyway but couldn't because they weren't available? There were a lot of people who joined the site after the scrolls were initially cycled out. So it isn't a fair comparison. Perhaps they got some people who bought scrolls to hoard them for later, but I can't think it was that many more to make up for the frustration and lack of good will in others.
I'm not in the business or computer worlds at all, so I'm sure I'm missing lots of things, but I know as a customer, FR is becoming more frustrating than fun to me. And I was very invested in the site before, so I'm guessing I can't be the only one who feels this way. Maybe FR doesn't care about keeping around older players. Maybe they are content with just continually opening windows to get new players. Perhaps this strategy is exactly what they want. I just very much dislike it and can't see it boding well for long-term success. Perhaps I am wrong. As I said, this isn't really my thing, and I am only speaking as a customer.
Re: DA
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)Re: DA
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 09:11 pm (UTC)(link)I wouldn't even mind the cycling thing so much if it were more predictable. But this never knowing when (or if) something is coming back is frustrating. And it makes me less inclined to buy gems. Perhaps that is just me, though.
+1
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 09:21 pm (UTC)(link)And then there are those items that have been marked as cycling but they've never once cycled back in, like those witch sets with the cobwebs.
When those first came out I thought they'd be an annual thing with the way they were announced, but they only showed up that one time.
Re: +1
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 10:32 pm (UTC)(link)Re: +1
(Anonymous) 2016-08-14 10:51 pm (UTC)(link)I knew it was only available during NotN, but you're right it was introduced in 2015. For some reason I thought it had been around longer.