Mea.5491 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 "What's the actual reason for limited time gem store items?" - It exists to annoy the crap out of me... Forever waiting for the freaking Aetherblade skins. They return like what, once a year? And last time I was too broke to buy all 3 sets. Sigh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ashen.2907 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 > @troops.8276 said: > > @Djinn.9245 said: > > > @troops.8276 said: > > > > @Ashen.2907 said: > > > > ****> @troops.8276 said: > > > > > It's funny in the digital market to have things like 'sales' and 'limited' when there is no supply and demand. Just demand. I mean are Anet running out of pixels? Did they massively overstock some items and they're taking up space in a warehouse somewhere... > > > > > > > > Just like every producer of a consumer product in the free world they are trying to maximize return on investment. They spend money to produce the weapon skin and want to make as much off of it as possible. Increased yield from any given investment means greater overall revenue and, potentially, greater ability to continue to develop products that people might want to buy. > > > > > > > > If you were to make something, lets say a sculpture, and could choose between making $10 profit or $20, which would you choose? > > > > > > Yes, that's the incredibly obvious and simple bit though isn't it. But unlike many industries there is no actual supply, material or production cost beyond the initial design. It doesn't really cost more to sell 10 skins or 20000, profit wont go down because of a lack of raw materials. Sure there are still bills to pay. Whereas your sculpture example is completely different. The laws pertaining to digital sales in many countries are terrible as well. The industry at large trying to act like the product has any inherent value beyond the sale it self. Maybe not Anet though. I don't know. I heard they got a pretty good returns policy. And on top of that there is some very dubious in game sales techniques towards an often young or desperate consumer base whom often defend their favourite company beyond what any reasonable consumer should. > > > > I don't think you could convince Microsoft that digital products don't have any inherent value :) > > > > I understand what you're trying to say, but there is really no difference between a digital game and a physical board game, for instance. And many people enjoy Halloween decorations you purchase in a game as much or more than physical Halloween decorations they could purchase, etc. > > All most. The intellectual property is what has the value, re microsoft. > > If all those Halloween decorations get sold and there is still demand, the company cant create more in the same way that a digital producer can. Finite v infinite supply. But it's just I'm an old grouch who doesn't like all these new fangled aggressive and sometimes subversive sales techniques. My computer would do little for me without an OS (microsoft or otherwise). Its not just a matter of IP. We live is a world that blends digital and physical to a degree never seen before. The actual physical functionality of our civilization is reliant on the digital aspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troops.8276 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 > @Ashen.2907 said: > > @troops.8276 said: > > > @Djinn.9245 said: > > > > @troops.8276 said: > > > > > @Ashen.2907 said: > > > > > ****> @troops.8276 said: > > > > > > It's funny in the digital market to have things like 'sales' and 'limited' when there is no supply and demand. Just demand. I mean are Anet running out of pixels? Did they massively overstock some items and they're taking up space in a warehouse somewhere... > > > > > > > > > > Just like every producer of a consumer product in the free world they are trying to maximize return on investment. They spend money to produce the weapon skin and want to make as much off of it as possible. Increased yield from any given investment means greater overall revenue and, potentially, greater ability to continue to develop products that people might want to buy. > > > > > > > > > > If you were to make something, lets say a sculpture, and could choose between making $10 profit or $20, which would you choose? > > > > > > > > Yes, that's the incredibly obvious and simple bit though isn't it. But unlike many industries there is no actual supply, material or production cost beyond the initial design. It doesn't really cost more to sell 10 skins or 20000, profit wont go down because of a lack of raw materials. Sure there are still bills to pay. Whereas your sculpture example is completely different. The laws pertaining to digital sales in many countries are terrible as well. The industry at large trying to act like the product has any inherent value beyond the sale it self. Maybe not Anet though. I don't know. I heard they got a pretty good returns policy. And on top of that there is some very dubious in game sales techniques towards an often young or desperate consumer base whom often defend their favourite company beyond what any reasonable consumer should. > > > > > > I don't think you could convince Microsoft that digital products don't have any inherent value :) > > > > > > I understand what you're trying to say, but there is really no difference between a digital game and a physical board game, for instance. And many people enjoy Halloween decorations you purchase in a game as much or more than physical Halloween decorations they could purchase, etc. > > > > All most. The intellectual property is what has the value, re microsoft. > > > > If all those Halloween decorations get sold and there is still demand, the company cant create more in the same way that a digital producer can. Finite v infinite supply. But it's just I'm an old grouch who doesn't like all these new fangled aggressive and sometimes subversive sales techniques. > > My computer would do little for me without an OS (microsoft or otherwise). Its not just a matter of IP. We live is a world that blends digital and physical to a degree never seen before. The actual physical functionality of our civilization is reliant on the digital aspect. Information has all ways had a value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troops.8276 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 > @Ashen.2907 said: > > @troops.8276 said: > > > @Djinn.9245 said: > > > > @troops.8276 said: > > > > > @Ashen.2907 said: > > > > > ****> @troops.8276 said: > > > > > > It's funny in the digital market to have things like 'sales' and 'limited' when there is no supply and demand. Just demand. I mean are Anet running out of pixels? Did they massively overstock some items and they're taking up space in a warehouse somewhere... > > > > > > > > > > Just like every producer of a consumer product in the free world they are trying to maximize return on investment. They spend money to produce the weapon skin and want to make as much off of it as possible. Increased yield from any given investment means greater overall revenue and, potentially, greater ability to continue to develop products that people might want to buy. > > > > > > > > > > If you were to make something, lets say a sculpture, and could choose between making $10 profit or $20, which would you choose? > > > > > > > > Yes, that's the incredibly obvious and simple bit though isn't it. But unlike many industries there is no actual supply, material or production cost beyond the initial design. It doesn't really cost more to sell 10 skins or 20000, profit wont go down because of a lack of raw materials. Sure there are still bills to pay. Whereas your sculpture example is completely different. The laws pertaining to digital sales in many countries are terrible as well. The industry at large trying to act like the product has any inherent value beyond the sale it self. Maybe not Anet though. I don't know. I heard they got a pretty good returns policy. And on top of that there is some very dubious in game sales techniques towards an often young or desperate consumer base whom often defend their favourite company beyond what any reasonable consumer should. > > > > > > I don't think you could convince Microsoft that digital products don't have any inherent value :) > > > > > > I understand what you're trying to say, but there is really no difference between a digital game and a physical board game, for instance. And many people enjoy Halloween decorations you purchase in a game as much or more than physical Halloween decorations they could purchase, etc. > > > > All most. The intellectual property is what has the value, re microsoft. > > > > If all those Halloween decorations get sold and there is still demand, the company cant create more in the same way that a digital producer can. Finite v infinite supply. But it's just I'm an old grouch who doesn't like all these new fangled aggressive and sometimes subversive sales techniques. > > My computer would do little for me without an OS (microsoft or otherwise). Its not just a matter of IP. We live is a world that blends digital and physical to a degree never seen before. The actual physical functionality of our civilization is reliant on the digital aspect. And your OS would do little for you with out the hardware. Neither are actually essential for life. For most individuals, computers offer entertainment and convenience but basic internet access is all they really may need, if that. Business ofc is different. I understand perfectly well about profitability and why these things are done. Consumers need to consume to keep it all going round. Digital mediums are great for that because theres all ways something new just around the corner. And yes, we 10% of the worlds population, are heavily dependent on computers as scientific instruments and as a medium of data transfer to keep the whole show running. But none of that changes the simple fact that some skin you buy at the cash shop has no inherent value beyond being intellectual property. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astralporing.1957 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 > @SmirkDog.3160 said: > That's great and all, but you see I didn't buy the thing because I didn't want it when it was available. There was 0 panic because I didn't want it in the first place. I would've bought it if it was still available, but since it's not, they're missing out on that sale until they make it available again. How does _that_ make more profit? Plenty of people (inb4 "uhmmmm that's not a fact that's your opinion" again) have wanted gem store items but they weren't available or couldn't afford them when they were, and had to wait months or just give up and never get it. How does _that_ make more profit? It does in fact make more profit. After all, when it'll be on sale again, you _are_ likely to buy it. They haven't really lost your money, they merely delayed acquiring it. On the other hand, if it were available always, a lot of people with no immediate need of that skin would keep delaying on buying it. And delaying, and delaying, and delaying. In many cases, indefinitely (because there would always be something those people would consider more important, and there's no rush, right?). In short, this strategy causes a lot of people to buy the item not because they feel they need it, but because they feel they _may_ need it somewhere in the future (and who knows if it will be available then). Rather obviously, the second group is bigger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illconceived Was Na.9781 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 > @SmirkDog.3160 said: > That's great and all, but you see I didn't buy the thing because I didn't want it when it was available. There was 0 panic because I didn't want it in the first place. I would've bought it if it was still available, but since it's not, they're missing out on that sale until they make it available again. How does _that_ make more profit? Plenty of people (inb4 "uhmmmm that's not a fact that's your opinion" again) have wanted gem store items but they weren't available or couldn't afford them when they were, and had to wait months or just give up and never get it. How does _that_ make more profit? That's great and all, but you see: that applies only to you. ANet isn't using artificial scarcity to get you to spend more; its gem shop team is using it as a tactic to get the community as a whole to spend more on all sorts of items. You are not the target audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illconceived Was Na.9781 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 Artificial scarcity has other benefits besides generating more sales: * Humans tend to embrace novelty and ignore the common, i.e. familiarity breeds contempt. Removing items from the gem store makes them feel more special. * Too much choice is overwhelming for many people. Limiting the number of available items in the shop is often easier for a lot of folks. * Waiting for a particular item in the shop causes most people to pay more attention to the gem shop generally, making it more likely that they'll see stuff they want (but didn't know about). * Waiting & looking also increases the likelihood of impulse purchases. Of course, some of these apply better to some people than others. The point is that these all have an impact on the overall community. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teofa Tsavo.9863 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 I let it get to me today lol. A dress outfit I had seen 100 times and always thought I might buy came up ON SALE and ONLY AVAILABLE for x time! Yeah. KaChing. Derp, knowing full well I had just been manipulated. Oh well. It's a nice dress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaklex.6308 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 It' simple Marketing 101, this is one of the first things they teach people that are learning marketing(and I've never even taken it, but I do know it's one of the basic principles of marketing). So it's not whether you want the item know or if you'll even use it, but if it's only going to be around for 5 days and maybe never again you bet there will be at least 50% of the people that will buy it with the premise of maybe needing or using it some day...until then it gathers dust, but they own it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sojourner.4621 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 > @SmirkDog.3160 said: > That's great and all, but you see I didn't buy the thing because I didn't want it when it was available. There was 0 panic because I didn't want it in the first place. I would've bought it if it was still available, but since it's not, they're missing out on that sale until they make it available again. How does _that_ make more profit? Plenty of people (inb4 "uhmmmm that's not a fact that's your opinion" again) have wanted gem store items but they weren't available or couldn't afford them when they were, and had to wait months or just give up and never get it. How does _that_ make more profit? Because plenty of people have a psychology of "Well, I like the skin but I don't need it RIGHT now, and since it is not going away, I may as well wait" and then never make the purchase. If you announce it as limited time, it is going to flip some people NOW who would have been on the fence, and force the wishy washy player to make a decision. Not only that, for the times where they bring them back, all the time spent without tends to get people hyped for when it comes back, and actually in many cases will drive even **more** sales of the item than the first release, because who knows when the next time you can get it will be? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obtena.7952 Posted November 3, 2017 Share Posted November 3, 2017 It's pretty simple ... limited time offers give a perception of additional value and drive traffic. look at ANY other sales opportunity in a store or online. It's the same thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutjob.9021 Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 GW2 is free to play except for expansions. Everything you buy with gold to gem conversion or by using real life money to buy gems is optional. It might be a great convenience in some cases, but it won't make your character do more damage, etc. That's a VERY important principle as many games out there ruthlessly milk the players for real life money by giving big advantages in game to those that shell out the money. The price casual players pay for this free to play is that they might miss out on items like the Halloween mount skins which cost a lot of gems and probably won't be available again until next Halloween. Imagine that you are low on gems, low on gold, and don't have a reserve of stuff in the bank that you can sell for quick gold to convert to gems. If you want a 2000 gem item your only real option now is to get out that credit card or do without as most players can't raise enough gold to buy 2000 gems in just a few days. I choose to do without, but I'm thankful that some players are willing/able to pay because that's what lets me play for free. And of course some players convert real life money to gems and then gems to gold and that's an even bigger real life money sink that keeps GW2 free to play for the rest of us. If the items weren't limited time offers, the player who might otherwise spend real life money instead may think, "I'll just take a few weeks or months, raise the gold, buy the gems, then buy the items and not spend any real life money." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayumi Spender.1082 Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 I just know with them not giving me my Dhuum Jungle Explorer Outfit and thinking "maybe until it comes out, she will buy the other outfits". Guess what, I'm not. Just give me the outfit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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