No $ for you SoE.

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Siddar, Jul 3, 2013.

  1. Treesong Elder

    I saw the sale today and went full-whale on this. 10k SC x 5 accounts. Then again, I have not had such a frantic bout of MMO-playing since 5 years or so, so I think it is money well spent. EQ has gotten most of my money in the past 14 years anyway, so...... please don't be mad at me. :)
  2. Leerah Augur

    Big backpacks are not ON sale. They are FOR sale, but the largest bag 4 pack is the same price it was last time. The size of the backpacks has increased since the last time they were available in a multipack promotion.
  3. Tarvas Redwall of Coirnav, now Drinal

    /snicker

    Thank for the laugh ;)
    Sinestra likes this.
  4. Moklianne Augur

    When is EQplayers coming back?
  5. Toquillaw Augur

    Because it is more flexible. Because they can do sales at amounts other than 2x and 3x. Because they reserved the right to control their product and sales via the EULA. Because they are trying new marketing devices. Because unlike previous sales, there is also an exp bonus at the same time.

    I gave you the reasons earlier, but apparently not simply enough.
    Tegila likes this.
  6. Toquillaw Augur

    :confused:

    Good gravy, where to begin? YOU went off on this absurd and wild concept of 40% more SC is nowhere near 100% more SC. It was obviously ludicrous, since 40% discount is VERY MUCH like 100% more SC. Your argument is a solid and epic failure, based on simple math yet it is you who are claiming others are the failures. And, you keep going on and on.

    If you want 2000 points, normally it is $20. If you buy on a 2x weekend it is $10. If you bought yesterday, it was $12. $12 for 2000 points is very similar to $10 for 2000 points. Not enough to make a fuss about ... unless you fail at math.

    You don't need to buy now or later. Nobody here cares if you do. It makes no difference to us. None at all. But, don't go saying the playerbase is somehow offended by this promotion, when those of us with basic math skills are not. We recognize that SOE is backing off from the huge sales, and that is nromal and expected. Huge sales may have been part of the original introduction of the points and the store items, and to draw people in at the launch of FTP.

    But there was no guarantee that all future sale would be exactly the same.
  7. Kaenneth [You require Gold access to view this title]

    Usually, the 3x SC comes after a major screw-up on their part.

    The first one was right after the major data leak and month long downtime.
  8. Potawatomi Augur

    New SC item was in the market place today...cheese.
  9. Djinnkitty Augur

    The ironic thing is I was on the other side of the fence during the whole 'No more SC for subs' fiasco came up. That was a legitimate grievance, in my opinion, because it wasn't a change in price, it was pulling a product, without warning, that a fair number of people devoted the entirety of their SC purchases towards, while running advertisements for that product even after it was pulled. Bait-and-switch and very deceptive, unethical marketing, to say the least.

    This... this is just entitlement.
  10. Slasher Augur


    Where's my alpha invite to EQ Next I sent you the money order :)
  11. Nolrog Augur

    Not exactly. The WalMart cards, during double/triple SC promotions are $15, have 500 bonus SC, and when it's all doubled/tripled, they give 4000/6000. This time, the $1500 cards, still with 500 bonus SC, gave 3000. You're improperly counting the bonus 500 SC in one case (the WalMart cards give 3000 on a $15 card which is double), and not counting in the other.(during a normal double time, you'd get 4000 from that same card.)
  12. Tegila Augur

    dont tease us housing enthusiasts we WANT cheese!! :(
  13. Potawatomi Augur

    My heart goes out to you all.
  14. Qbert Gallifreyan

    Thanks for the reply, though I figured out why this was. I forgot about their Austin location, and since I live in Texas they are required to collect sales tax for internet sales due to a physical location in the state.
  15. Tulisin_Dragonflame Augur

    A sale is a sale is a sale, the best way to demonstrate to SOE that 40 % off SC isn't cheap enough to buy is to simply not buy it. If enough people don't buy it then their analytics will determine that other sales are more profitable. Keep in mind, however, that they're already going to adjust for the fact that the sale wasn't as steep as it could've otherwise been when gauging the popularity/profitability of the decision.


    Personally, I think 200%-300% return sales were a little outrageous to begin with and have set expectations too high for a product that they want to continue to grow (if EQN uses station cash). If I were them, I'd be doing exactly what we're seeing here, conditioning their customers to accept smaller sales as the norm for holidays and not hold out for >six months waiting for the one day to stock up at ridiculous rates.
    Tegila likes this.
  16. Zer033 New Member

    Few point I'd like to make:

    1) The price of SC is the best sale price they regularly do, not the price it normally is. As of now they regularly have done triple SC sales yearly so that in my opinion is the price of SC, no other reason to buy it at any other time than the christmas/black friday deals. They keep the normal price because some people overspend their points throughout the year or under buy points during the sale and need to re-buy before the next sale.

    2) Digital goods cost SOE nothing/near to nothing to make/produce/keep in stock. There is no reason for them to be stingy with SC prices, and they know this, that's why they have the regular triple SC sales and why they'll continue to do this. If they have a triple SC sale all that means is it is time to click a few buttons in their game/world builder program to create a bunch of more items for people to spend it on. They can easily meet demand with digital goods because no resources are being expended so they can track how much each item has sold and how much SC is in the marketplace per account and closely estimate how much more it will sale and if new items/upgrades to that item are needed to cover all the SC in people's banks.

    3) You are buying two products. They know they can price the digital item at anything they want so they can give you a triple SC deal then go and increase the actual digital good by 3x of what they normally would, you got no deal.

    In conclusion, SC, and any digital currency for digital items is a very controllable thing for the company using it. They can track it, track the items people are buying, the frequency, the ownership per account, and various other statistics that make it easy to get out of you what they want. The price of the digital currency is of little concern for the company because the currency isn't even what they're really selling you. It is easy to maintain stock and create new and exciting items for the players to spend their digital currency on. Finally consumers, like anything else spend the amount you think something is worth, be smart, don't just buy to buy.
  17. Toquillaw Augur

    And that is just fine. Nobody is forcing you to buy at a price you don't like. But, your requirement that others support you by not purchasing is wildly overreaching.

    It is so simple. Either something is worth it the day it is offered or it is not. If YOU want to wait for the huge payoff, should it occur in the future, then that is just fine. But for other people they may or may not have a lot of cash on the arbitrary day(s) when a triple discount comes by. Double is good enough, as is its very close relative, the 40% discount. I would rather have access to several 40% discount sales, than an annual weekend with triple bonus.

    We don't buy our points based on massive bulk, we buy in more of a trickle fashion.

    Smart consumers don't just wait and wait until a massive annual sale comes up on items they use daily. We take advantage of more frequent sales at a lesser discount, but which fits our cash flow more realistically.

    After all, we can take advantage of 40% discounts, double exp sales, AND triple point sales as our finances permit. It's all good.
    Geroblue likes this.
  18. Tulisin_Dragonflame Augur

    What you're overlooking is the same thing a lot of people overlook when they do this kind of analysis: there's value in having something now as opposed to later. If I get X "fun" (ephemeral benefit of buying marketplace stuff) out of having an item, I will likely get >X "fun" if I buy it now instead of waiting until Christmas, since I'll have another five months to enjoy it. This goes for marketplace purchases, but it goes for everything else too. For instance, if you want today's top-end raid stats it is much easier to wait two years and buy it in the bazaar than it is to raid the max tier today.

    If price was all that mattered, and not when you actually get stuff, it'd be a horrible travesty to buy station cash this year, even at triple value, instead of investing that money and allowing it to grow for 5+ years and then buying more station cash in 2018+.
  19. Jezzie Augur

    Well at first I thought with double SC I get 4000 for a $15 Walmart card (+500 SC). The deal this 4th of July offered me 3000 for $15 so that didn't seem virtually the same to me, not attractive enough to entice me.

    Then I read

    Sir/Madam what you say makes sense, however Planet Nibiru is supposed to smash into the Earth this year, next year, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018. I thought they can't all be wrong so I mortgaged the house and went hogwild on SC. Which reminds me, please lift the restriction in housing as I'd like to be able to place my palatial guild hall on my plot. tyvm.
  20. BoomWalker Augur

    Oh goodie...math battles...great...

    500 SC = $5.00

    40% discount...500 SC = $3.00

    2x SC...500 SC....can't be purchased...must purchase 1000...at $5.00

    The per SC price changes...but in this case the value is lowered....in the 2X and 3X offers...the price remains the same...the virtual currency amount is increased.

    So...if the above is valid...that the 2X and 3X SC offers are at the same price point but the virtual currency is increased it isn't a savings at all in real $$$...just in virtual currency. The per SC to real $$$ is lowered in 2X and 3C SC offers...but the price point is not...

    This offer was a cheaper option with real $$$ not an increase in virtual currency amount. The per SC value isn't as great as the 2X and 3X SC offers but it is an easier entry point for real $$$ strapped players.

    Look at it as a price per SC to see if there is value in it....10000 SC is $85 normally...

    10000 - $85 = 0.0085 per SC
    10000 - $51 = 0.0051 per SC
    20000 - $85 = 0.00425 per SC (2X offer)

    0.0051 is nowhere near 0.00425 per SC. That is a huge difference in value.

    If these numbers are throw away values to you...then just give people an extra $8.50 when the bill is $42.50. Since $42.50 + $8.50 = $51.00 right? It isn't that big a difference...just give that extra to the vendor your dealing with...what is the big deal? They are almost equal right????