New Marketplace Items: Bovochs and Bristlebane!

Discussion in 'News and Announcements' started by Dexella, Mar 29, 2013.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ShyMidnight Active Member

    Catching up on all the drama. It certainly has been entertaining. ;)

    Everyone has the right to choose what luxuries they want to enjoy in life. For example, we took out daughter out to dinner to celebrate her 4.0 GPA for this college quarter (she's freaky smart and I'm bragging), and I got her some League of Legends points so she'd play games with her boyf, and I said yes to my hubby's new convertible (even though we don't need a third car - but it was a steal and we're having a great time with it) etc

    I understand why some people want to be cool with the new pink mount, and I get why some of us choose to say nuh uh.

    I'm originally from Africa, and there we haggle. So when I saw the price I thought, I'd haggle for that. I was Game On, and I gave it my best shot. And I lost. We can't win 'em all. I am not gonna Cry or Ragequit because I didn't win. It's not right to hurt the feelings of the artists, because they came up with a really fun concept, and they should be proud of that.

    Tomorrow's another day, and all's fair in love and war. There's nothing wrong with fighting for what you believe in!!!

    SM
  2. Morg Well-Known Member

    It was a 1/2 win for the CURRENT players and a 1/2 Lose for FUTURE players.

    1. AoD originally called an ADD ON PACK, changed by SOE to EXPANSION for $40.00 because customers raised heck about paying 40 bucks for an add on pack, and told the customer base they can't separate the items out and sell them piecemeal.

    2. xp / debt reducer with repair potions currently for sale at 50 sc ( all 3 items are in one potion ) are expanding into Their NEW pricing of debt reducer for 150 sc, repair potion for 150 sc. So, 1/2 the value for triple the cost. Is SOE considering these items now PREMIUM as well? According to Holly, no, they just weren't being "utilized" like SOE wanted them to be. Go read the test forums.

    3. Recolor of a mount, no new stats,just a butt ugly color of pink 2.5 times the cost.

    This is the problem I have with their new pricing and the excuses they give, mainly just the excuses.

    Most of us are adults here, if you ( SOE ) were to tell us, we are going to be charging more for SC items to keep up with costs associated with development of EQII ( sorry, i could care less about eqnext and really dislike the thought of my money going to fund that game instead of funding the game I do play ), then I think we wouldn't be as angry as we are and have been and i'm sure Will Be in the future at these types of antics.

    What Dexella's post said to me, is we charged more because we can and some were silly enough to pay 2.5 x the cost of a recolor, so now we know there are those out there that will pay ANYTHING WE WANT THEM TO.

    No, I don't expect anything for free, no this isn't about entitlement or greed. It's about the company we pay to play their game actually being honest with their customer base.

    If SOE would have said at the beginning of the deal that the pink meatbeast would be 5000sc, I am sure there would be those who would have went out and bought the Extra SC cards to buy the dang thing. SOE would have made even more sc sales and no one would be complaining.

    TLDR: There is a right way and a wrong way to promote sales and selling Premium Items. SOE did it the WRONG way.
  3. Sandyfoot Well-Known Member


    Once the black Holstein were placed on the Marketplace for "standard" price, the creature itself was no longer rare. If this pink cow could leap, maybe I might have considered a purchase because a leaper would be quite a prize. If it had slightly better stats than her black Holstein kin, or some kind of fluff ability (such as ability to be used in leaper appearance slot) and stood apart as something truly unique, I might have considered purchasing it.

    But just turning a critter pink with no other outstanding features, caused me to shake my head in dismay, laugh to myself, and pass this item up, wondering who was fooling who.
  4. Lempo Well-Known Member

    SOE was not dishonest in any way here.

    Every since SC point purchased before, during and after the sale could be used to buy the mount.

    As Dexella pointed out, they haven't released the prices of the items when they were announced in the past, them not doing it this time is in no way mixing it up, changing the rules or anything of the sort. If someone does not like the price they can say it is too high. Saying that they were scammed, cheated, bait and switched, deceived, forced to buy more SC at full price or whatever are simply wrong, these accusations are false pure and simple. I also laugh at the fact you say that if SOE had said it would be 5000SC to start with that no one would be complaining, there would be about the same volume of complaints, only they would be saying "I can't afford to spend that much on a mount!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" they'd put lots of exclamation marks in and capital letters as if to make their claims more legit, but in the end there would still be the same number of complaints and accusations of price gouging and other 'cool' buzzwords used to whip the mob into a frenzy.
  5. Mystfit Well-Known Member

    They'll be disappointed then cause Meatbeast is about the only thing that would cause me to spend that much SC. This was a thought out purchase for me. LIttle else oculd tip the balance this way ;)
  6. Mathrim Active Member

    I completey agree with you 100% that as it stands right now, SOE commited no LEGAL action of deceit,etc, etc.

    That doesn't change the fact that the way this was marketed in conjunction with the timing of the Double SC weekend DID lead to people purchasing double sc solely for the intent of buying the mount on Monday, only to FEEL like they were deceived into spending funds they would have never invested had they been given warning by SOE about the increased costs.

    Do you want to refer to those people as losers and suckers and speak to them as you and Elostrion have bascially saying tough ****, deal with it? Sure. You go right ahead..

    I prefer to be on the opposite side with people who would expect better treatment and customer service loyalty from a company we have invested years and thousands of dollars into. Whether or not you want to call us mob mentality or emotionalal entitlement mentality, I could care less. I'm 100% comfortable where I'm standing now.
  7. Rotherian Well-Known Member

    I had planned on buying several of them to make an alternating color meatbeast carousel. Because of the price, I rethought that plan, and didn't buy any meatbeasts at all. That doesn't mean that SOE deceived me in any way. The price wasn't what I expected; that is true. But it wasn't SOE's fault that I expected a different price.

    While people are well within their rights to feel disappointed, and also to state that they are disappointed that the price was not what they expected, it doesn't then follow that those people are within their rights to accuse SOE of deception or dishonesty.

    They stated that meatbeasts would be in the marketplace.
    They were (and still are).
    They stated that the berry-fed bovoch would be available for one day.
    It was.

    What part of that was deceptive or dishonest? o_O

    Some argue that the price should have been announced. Unless I am mistaken, they haven't announced prices ahead of time for any other marketplace item (if you can provide a verifiable counter-example, please do). Therefore, they were under no obligation to do so with this item.
    Elostirion and Lempo like this.
  8. Morg Well-Known Member

    I understand your point Lempo.

    Let me try to convey my point more clearly since it's being missed ( not necessarily by you Lempo either ).

    I and my husband were collectors of toys/statues. Many items were limited edition or unique one of a kind items.

    The limited edition items were Pre-Sold by different companies with the price stated UP Front along with the ESTIMATED date of release. The rarity of these did increase the cost. But by the companies stating the cost UP Front customers had the CHOICE of either passing them up completely or saving enough money to buy them. Many if not most of the items were sold out PRIOR to them releasing the item. And when listed for re-sale by private owner, the costs also increased dramatically and people who missed out on the initial deal had to pay the higher cost. If you need a specific example look up the company Hot Toys and the Predator and Alien Series, these sell at first for around 300 bucks each. Their re-sale value is double and sometimes triple that cost. People stand in lines ( figuratively of course ) to buy them for 300 bucks. By the companies being UP FRONT about the cost, you increase sales, customer support and confidence in your product and create good will and good word of mouth for your current sales and ALL FUTURE SALES.

    SoE doing it the way they did was NOT up front about the increased cost. Hence why many are angry/disappointed in the offer of the Pink cowbeastiethingamajig.

    Here is how I believe it should have been handled, but this is just my opinion.

    " Hey Gang! We will be offering on Monday April 1st 2013 a RARE One day only Offering of a Pink ( yes PINK!! ) Meatbeast for the the Customer who has everything else!
    This is a limited one day sale and the RARE Pink Meatbeast will be at a premium price of 5000sc!
    Get it while you can and be sure to take advantage of our DOUBLE SC WEEKEND Event being offered Prior to the Sale of the RARE PREMIUM PINK MEATBEAST *
    ( * Puns Intended for the lawyers out there ).


    This is not a hard concept to grasp. When you want people to reach into their wallets to fork over cash for your product, be honest about your product and you will sell more and create returning customers. It is that simple and easy.
  9. Elostirion Well-Known Member

    You need to stop right there and stop putting insulting words into your conversational partner's mouth(s). It is extremely bad manners in every way possible.

    What I have said before (and you never responded to, so it must have been difficult for you to come up with something to say against it at the time), is that people gambled. They tried to predict the future and seek advantage for themselves by buying discounted goods hoping to exchange them for unknown goods later.

    When you gamble, there is the possibility of losing. Without the possibility of losing, what would be the value in winning?

    Gee Mr Securities and Exchange Commissioner, I bought that stock because it had always gone up before. But it went down. I was deceived!!!

    You admitted some of the truth in your last post. SoE has done nothing to deceive you. Now go the rest of the way. You feel deceived because you made a guess at the future that didnt come true. That's not being deceived. That's life.
    Lempo likes this.
  10. Mathrim Active Member

    You people act like this company has absolutely no obligation to provide quality customer service to their customers and still want to completely gloss over the effect that running these promotions at the same time had. I pretty much know your answers to the first part. You've all stated it. They do have no obligation to inform of us price changes ahead of time. By your reasoning, if my sub price goes up 2.5x to $45 bucks next month, I should just bend over and take it.

    Lets look at this logically and honestly. This is the way things would have played out if the timing had been different.

    Meatbeast Promotion (NO DOUBLE SC WEEKEND)
    Player A decides they want the pinke meatbeast and wait until Monday. Player A can then add SC on Monday if needed and can buy a $50 dollar pink meatbest.

    That's it. Absolutely no investment required if cost is deemed too excessive, Player A has ZERO incentive to buy SC ahead of time and invest funds. Net Loss/Gain = Sony 0 / Player 0

    Meatbeast Promotion (WITH DOUBLE SC WEEKEND)
    Player A due to the limited time promotion buys a $15 SC card expecting it to cover the cost of the pink meatbeast since the current ones are normal price and noone has warned them otherwise. Player A on Monday is now stuck with the decision of investing another $10 to $30 dollars to afford the pink meatbeast or sitting on SC for future use.

    Player A regrets the decision to purchase Double SC and FEELS deceived into investing for the pink Meatbeast on Monday. Had Player A been given warning, they would have never purchased the SC. Net Loss/Gain = Sony +15 / Player -15
  11. Lempo Well-Known Member

    There was no deceit on any level for this event nothing will change that.

    I can't help how they FEEL, meds can maybe, for most there is no need to go to that extreme, simply opening their eyes and minds and looking at the situation reasonably. I'm certain that a fair number of people would have bought a card for the 2xSC promo anyway, even if this mount hadn't been advertised, of course not a single one of them has been honest enough to chime in with that, or if they have I missed it.

    I have not referred to any of these people as losers or suckers, please refrain from accusing me of doing so. I have done nothing more than point out that they are making false accusations, and in many cases (some certainly futile) tried to explain it and why what they were saying was not true. It wasn't what some wanted to hear, and some played the "la-la-la I can't hear you game"
  12. Mathrim Active Member

    No. All you and Elostirion are doing is placing the entire blame for the flare up on the playerbase. You aren't placing any of this situation at the feet of the company who should be trying to provide quality customer service and helping to make the playerbase happy.

    Your empathy and concern for the playerbase is almost non-existant which to me just proves that you could care less how the players feel about the situation. Maybe you two should apply for jobs at SOE. You would fit right in.
    Pipsissiwa likes this.
  13. Pipsissiwa Well-Known Member

    It is such a shame that some people can't just agree to disagree. Repeating your view over and over doesn't make it true, and lets face it, all opinions are simply a matter of perspective. Without SOE explaining their marketing intentions in detail, which quite reasonably they won't do, no-one can say for sure whether they were behaving in an iffy manner or not - it is down to each individuals perception to decide what they think. Some say no, some say yes. Neither are 100% right or 100% wrong. This situation does not have an absolute truth as it currently stands. Calling people names because they don't agree with you also weakens any argument you may have.

    As I have said before - all that matters is the result, which in this case is that many, many players are unhappy. Rightly or wrongly, that is the result that SOE have to deal with or ignore at their leisure.
    Tylia likes this.
  14. Lempo Well-Known Member

    Actually I believe they do where it applies to our accounts, 30 days maybe longer. The thing is here the price did not 'change' it is a marketplace item.

    Your reasoning does not compare you are leaving out options, and it is not logical or honest in any way.

    If next month they announced green and pink martian models to be an option to the standard/SOGA models but the monthly fee was $37.50 IF you wanted the pink martian (14.95 is the monthly price, not 19.95 that is for station/all access). Then you either accept it and use the pink ones, or you chose to stay with the standard model that is identical except for color. Whether or not you want to bend over or not is entirely up to you.

    THAT is a logical and honest comparison.

    As far as SOE providing quality customer service I have NEVER had a problem with their customer service, my /petitions have always been handled rather rapidly, MANY within 5 minutes, recent server transfer house issue resolved in less than 30 on a petition submited a 12:14 AM on a Monday morning.

    Of course people also choose to conveniently forget the ending using SC for paying subs. SOE was under no legal or moral obligation to do anything, yet they did, they bent over backwards. Even 1 month after the grace period expired when people that had been away from the game for a while came back and found that out Smedley personally posted on the forums that if you contacted him he would get your issue taken care of personally. I don't even recall a single one of the ungrateful ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY MOBSTERS posting a note of thanks to him in that thread.

    I've already stated I throw my share of punches their way but when I do they've earned them, people here just want to bend the rules and make rules up to their advantage. They want to say that because the THOUGHT/ASSUMED something would happen a certain way and it didn't pan out that SOE CHEATED them, and for quite some time you were right there with them agreeing, granted you eventually opened your mind and gave it a fair assessment but others still drone on and on and on.
    Wingrider01 likes this.
  15. Lempo Well-Known Member

    All opinions are a matter of perspective that is the definition of an opinion.

    Some of the accusations being hurled at SOE are bordering on libel and slander that is FACT. That is what I have been callig people out on.

    I can see that you see it such a shame that people can't just agree to disagree so much that you like post where unwarranted attacks and accusations are made, it is pretty funny, kind of surprising as I wouldn't have expected it from you.
  16. Lempo Well-Known Member

    There is no blame to be placed at SOE's feet they did nothing wrong here.
    People are unhappy with the price that an item costs, it is entirely within SOE's rights to set the price at whatever they want.
    It is almost barbaric, sort of uncivilized and just as wrong for these people to be making the personal attacks on SOE's image using terms that do not apply in any way.
    It is in effect a form of bullying being used against SOE, yet you think it is justified for whatever skewed reasoning you are applying to it.
    I got ya.
    Wingrider01 likes this.
  17. Elostirion Well-Known Member

    I dont know the entire player base. I have said nothing about the whole player base. I have responded to what you have said.

    The only sweeping generalizations I have made are about eating low quality "food".

    You need to stop mentioning my name in connection with your lies please.
  18. Eddard Member

    I just wanted to add in an interesting anecdote related to F2P micro-transaction that may disturb some people, and it may/will be coming to future games outside of Facebook. Because of robust analytics, testing price elasticity is easy and personalized. Example - when I log into, let's say Farmville, I am offered a chance to purchase a pink barn instead of a normal brown one. I love pink and I want to buy it and show it off to my social graph and it will make my farm more "me" - now let's say in the past I also purchased a pink tractor, a pink wheelbarrow, and a pink scarecrow for my farm... my price will likely be 5-10x higher than someone who hasn't purchased before. Or let's say I love yellow - the game knows this and will offer me yellow items at much higher prices than someone else who doesn't like yellow more than another color. It is all behavior analytical pricing. Imagine your arguments and how upset you would be at Game Maker X if you found out your pink meat beast cost YOU $75 because they know you love pink and spend money whereas someone who is "cheap" and doesn't care about pink is offered it for $5. Something to think about in between the back and forth here.
  19. Iren Active Member


    of course its within SOE's rights to double the price of a fluff pet, just as its within the subscribers rights to come here and express their disdain

    they done nothing wrong? legally no but morally yes
    this pink pet is the start of a new pricing schem that has just been introduced and how did we get to know of the pricing, well 2 days after it was started of course, and for reasons unknown, i know it cant be virtual inflation, if they needed mroe money in the coffers to fund wages then they should up the price of a sc card, i have racked my brain as to why this one thing would cost more than double its normal price and i just cant think of a reason, the "rare" thing is not a valid reason to me, i see that as an excuse.

    a new animation i could understand but why just a recolour?
  20. Mathrim Active Member

    Wow. You must be playing a completely different game from me. I have had pettions stuck in the queue for 6+ days and the quickest response I have ever gotten is the next day. I would almost claim you are lying but of course I have no actual proof. The fact that you want to equate the customer service I am talking about to ticket times is laughable. Why don't you ask the PSS1 people how they feel about customer service.

    Bent over backwards regarding the SC sub thing? WTF are you smoking. They didn't even respond for a week until the forum posts finally got enough feedback to picked up by the mmo news sites where it began making SOE look like a fool. Shall we completely OVERLOOK the fact that this was another customer service nightmare that THEY created because they didn't inform the community ahead of time? The fact that you would even use this event as a GLEAMING recommendation of SOE's excellent customer service is astounding.

    I think the most offensive thing to me about yours and Elostirions posts is the fact that you insinuate people were gambling when they bought the Station Cash. I guess it just doesn't occur to you that players could expect that they were participating in NORMAL Station Cash promotions and NORMAL marketplace actions. This isn't an Online Casino Game. Players expect to see standard values based on the NORMAL rates that have been set by SOE over the last 3 years.

    If Sony can announce that there will be REBATES and 1/2 Off Marketplace sales, then why can't they annouce that there will be 2.5X normal cost items......Do you want to tell me they don't post those rebate and 1/2 off sale notices?

    Vandrago likes this.
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.