>_> Kits and Pet Enhancment Bundles raised?

[TheDarkSenshi]

This thread is about the new costs of the Leveling Kits and Pet Enhancement Bundles.

I refuse to pay 11k sc for a Pet Enhancement Bundle simply for the fact that the enhancement success rate is still very very low. The Ultimate Leveling Kit has been 9450 sc since it came into existence.

If these raised prices are permanent, I for one will discontinue purchasing those certain items raised in price.. I would like to know what the community thinks about these changes. Any input on their decisions would be greatly appreciated. Discuss!~

[poochyenarulez]

pet bundle was raised!?!?!??!?!?!??!!!!!!

it was WAY to high from the original price!
i never even bought pet bundle for original price, i always waited for a sale to buy a pet bundle
says original price is now 13675 o.o

[poochyenarulez]

took me a min, but

the prices havn't changed, so wat r u people talking about?

[comp4ssion]

A quick look into the store shows current prices of the Pet Enhancement Bundle at 7350SC and the Ultimate Leveling Kit at 9450SC. While I'm more or less just fine with those prices, I noticed an obscene price tag crossed out to the immediate left of both items.

This strikes my sensibilities in a manner much akin to high fashion outlets. You know, the ones that sell the seconds from the glitzy clothing manufacturers, showing a suggested retail price of $120 for those pants, with that price crossed off and a $45 price tag appended to it? Yeah. Kinda like that.

GMs, I don't mean to come off as though I'm roasting you, but Outspark is not a strip mall selling booboo fashion seconds. Most of your SoS clientele are, as I am, high school or college age kids on tight budgets and I am, quite frankly, a bit surprised at the unadulterated hubris you display in presuming your players are able (let alone willing) to pay $42.26 for one Ultimate Leveling Kit. (That's the real dollar cost of the crossed out 29585SC price tag you see there....rounded DOWN).

If you're trying to make the Ultimate Leveling Kit and Pet Enhancement Bundles look like bargains with this tactic, I understand...but you don't have to. Anyone who has used a nice mount or a 30D 100% boost book can see that it's worth the investment. If you intend to eventually boost the price of these kits up to an amount at or near (or, God forbid, greater than) the crossed out prices, I can personally assure you that you will lose a LOT of your bigger-spending players.

[GM_Phibes]

took me a min, but

the prices havn't changed, so wat r u people talking about?

Thank You! The prices haven't changed. The purchase price reflects the MASSIVE discounts that these kits have been sold for.

The Ultimate leveling kit is sold for a discount of over 68% off the value of its items. Just for comparison, Fiesta doesn't discount anything more than 20% and its players are also high school and college-aged gamers.

[poochyenarulez]

A quick look into the store shows current prices of the Pet Enhancement Bundle at 7350SC and the Ultimate Leveling Kit at 9450SC. While I'm more or less just fine with those prices, I noticed an obscene price tag crossed out to the immediate left of both items.

This strikes my sensibilities in a manner much akin to high fashion outlets. You know, the ones that sell the seconds from the glitzy clothing manufacturers, showing a suggested retail price of $120 for those pants, with that price crossed off and a $45 price tag appended to it? Yeah. Kinda like that.

GMs, I don't mean to come off as though I'm roasting you, but Outspark is not a strip mall selling booboo fashion seconds. Most of your SoS clientele are, as I am, high school or college age kids on tight budgets and I am, quite frankly, a bit surprised at the unadulterated hubris you display in presuming your players are able (let alone willing) to pay $42.26 for one Ultimate Leveling Kit. (That's the real dollar cost of the crossed out 29585SC price tag you see there....rounded DOWN).

If you're trying to make the Ultimate Leveling Kit and Pet Enhancement Bundles look like bargains with this tactic, I understand...but you don't have to. Anyone who has used a nice mount or a 30D 100% boost book can see that it's worth the investment. If you intend to eventually boost the price of these kits up to an amount at or near (or, God forbid, greater than) the crossed out prices, I can personally assure you that you will lose a LOT of your bigger-spending players.


the crossed out part shows how much them items cost if u added up all the items in the bundle together

the crossed out part isn't the new set price for them items..

[comp4ssion]

Thank You! The prices haven't changed. The purchase price reflects the MASSIVE discounts that these kits have been sold for.

The Ultimate leveling kit is sold for a discount of over 68% off the value of its items. Just for comparison, Fiesta doesn't discount anything more than 20% and its players are also high school and college-aged gamers.

Ahh.....You know, I apologize for even assuming that you would so much as attempt to gouge us so deeply for the awesome Leveling Kit.

*does Billy Mays voice* "You get the 30 day EXP boost, the anti death penalty pendants, five hundred large HP and MP potions, the Divine Protections of Jureah, AANNNDDD the multi-location loaders, a 29,585SC value, all for the low, low price of 9,450SC!!"

Thanks for clarifying, and I'm glad I don't have to be so paranoid about the price of my favorite leveling kit increasing. Feel free to disregard my previous post.

Also thanks for not being a scalper. ;)

Edit: Pooch, I get it. I don't need two people telling me the same thing. Don't you have someone to badger about a cleric AOE attack skill right about now?

[GM_Phibes]

Play nice, people! I see that sassy line at the bottom of your post, comp4ssion, you sassy thing.

I know there will be bumps in the road but my goal as the Solstice GM is to get out in front and tell you guys what is coming before it happens. I have also been talking about this on Facebook. If there is pressure to raise the prices, I will fight to do it slowly, over time, instead of having you log in one day and find that the prices really did get jacked up without any warning.

Your priorities are MY priorities. (trying out a new slogan)

[GM_Nekopon]

That's so corny, totally something I'd say.

[poochyenarulez]

Edit: Pooch, I get it. I don't need two people telling me the same thing. Don't you have someone to badger about a cleric AOE attack skill right about now?

i didn't see his post till i posted
<.<


btw, was planing to make cleric aoe thread, i discovered something new that says clerics are suppose to get more aoe skills =D

[tazsbigtoy]

I really hope we are keep better informed about things. With the current economy, I've been having to budget my spark cash purchases, and stuck pretty much with only boost books. I was broke on the last sale on the 30 day ones, but then they offered what I though was a nice bargain with 30% off the ultimate leveling kit, so I bought 4. Then a week later they did a bogo sale on the same item which made me feel like an idiot for my earlier purchase.

[Daft_Brat]

I think the confusion is as to why now, after so long, those prices are being listed. We all know how much we save buying those and I think everyone's wondering why prices would increase right now when we aren't even able to get the content to keep up with the high levels. (I'm talking about maps)

[TheDarkSenshi]

I waz responding to the notices in game with this thread. xD The notices were stating these items were on sale... My opinion will still stay the same tho... if the prices do go up I will not be purchasing those items anymore. I really appreciate your input GMs. I do hope everything goes well with the up coming content.... we soo need new maps xDD

I also can't help but agree with Daft about content input.

[AnimePimp66]

i can only say i hope this is the cost of a hell of a alot of overdue content.... serously just gets more boring none wants to spend 2 times as more than ppl b4 them to achieve the same lvs and get the same stuff in the same maps as b4 them which im sure the newer players will b constanly reminded of b4 get to hooked on this...

[comp4ssion]

The inference that I'm drawing (keep in mind that this is just an inference) is that they're going to have to raise the prices on these items soon. Why, I don't know, and I sincerely hope that when and if they do, it won't be by much...but that's what it's looking like so far.

[onetoo3forfine]

I really hope we are keep better informed about things. With the current economy, I've been having to budget my spark cash purchases, and stuck pretty much with only boost books. I was broke on the last sale on the 30 day ones, but then they offered what I though was a nice bargain with 30% off the ultimate leveling kit, so I bought 4. Then a week later they did a bogo sale on the same item which made me feel like an idiot for my earlier purchase.


they did this a few times already....there is always BOGO sell for the kit once every 1 or 2 months....

[wardomic]

Considering the massive discount on the Ultamate leveling kit the price will probably increase at some point. We can only wait and see what happens.

[Artanis.]

Price increasement FTL
>>;

i think i used up like 6 pet enhancement kits for just
2 lvl 3 mounts and to get 1 hp healing wing int and to get 1 of my unenhanced pearls to ....an unenhanced pearl xD i would say increase the prices and ya gone surely lose alot of players buying it that are or arent allready buying it in the 1st place

[vkeng]

Thank You! The prices haven't changed. The purchase price reflects the MASSIVE discounts that these kits have been sold for.

The Ultimate leveling kit is sold for a discount of over 68% off the value of its items. Just for comparison, Fiesta doesn't discount anything more than 20% and its players are also high school and college-aged gamers.

the price got no change but the bundle A ARE BUGGED!!! i personally bought 2 bundle A that cost me 13675SC each on the 18/1, its stated there should be 7350SC for each.

I sended CSR ticket to outspark and they reply me so:
Response (CSR Logan) 01/19/2010 11:23 AM
Dear vkeng,

Thank you for contacting Outspark Customer Support!

Please be aware that there is a bug with the transaction page, causing the item to reflect the normal price instead of the sale price. We are hoping to fix this bug in the near future. I have double checked your purchase(s) and confirmed that you did get the sale price. The SparkCash balance is indeed the correct amount.

Thank you for your inquiry to this matter.

Regards,
CSR Logan
Outspark, Inc.
Customer (vkeng) 01/18/2010 07:20 PM
i had recently bought 2 bundle and i found i missing too much SC. then i checked on my history... its shown that i bought each bundle A for 13675sc instead of 7350sc

Pls Return my SC >.< that costing a lots there

[princesorrow]

:cool: Ibe prince of sorrow for you to know? and me to be?

[GM_Phibes]

Vkeng, I spoke to CSR and they assured me that there is a visual bug (just visual) that shows the full price instead of the sale price. You are only charged the sale price and your remaining SC total reflects this (which is the math they double checked).

This bug is horrendous because it naturally makes people think they're being overcharged. I assure you that fixing it is a very high priority and I apologize for the stress it is causing everyone.

[satans_worrior]

Vkeng, I spoke to CSR and they assured me that there is a visual bug (just visual) that shows the full price instead of the sale price. You are only charged the sale price and your remaining SC total reflects this (which is the math they double checked).

This bug is horrendous because it naturally makes people think they're being overcharged. I assure you that fixing it is a very high priority and I apologize for the stress it is causing everyone.


yeah yeah yeah !!! we all know what is going on , we ALLLLLLLL know that you GM's know that we spend hours upon hours stairing at a computer monitor and our brains are going GRIND GRIND GRIND I MUST LVL I MUST GRIND GRIND GRIND and you GM's thought you would have a laugh and see how looooonnnnngggggg it would take us to relise what you have done :D:D:D:D

nice try but we not alllll brain dead martions yet

[agha_torab]

I think the reason Senshi created this thread is because there have been Notices in game, probably on both servers, talking about the discount you get from purchasing a kit as opposed to the items separately. At the end of the Notice it has said: "These prices won't last forever!" This insinuates that you guys are planning on raising the prices soon. It is the insinuated increase that she is against, am I right?

[takashi_46]

I think the reason Senshi created this thread is because there have been Notices in game, probably on both servers, talking about the discount you get from purchasing a kit as opposed to the items separately. At the end of the Notice it has said: "These prices won't last forever!" This insinuates that you guys are planning on raising the prices soon. It is the insinuated increase that she is against, am I right?

I was under the impression of the same thing.

[wardomic]

Senshi created this thread because at the page where you buy the Ultamate Leveling Kit a previously invisible number became visible which marked the non discounted price, which was mistaken as the new price of the bundle.

The fact that they made it sound like they were going to increase the price in recent announcements can be seen both as a marketing strategy to sell more quickly, or as a means to warn players that prices will increase and should stock up if possible. At a overall discount of 68%, and even more of a discount on 30% off that price and 2 for 1 sales you have to think that maybe we've had it good for too long and should have expected this sooner or later.

[doninpon]

I think the people are simply saying that if the Ultimate Leveling Kit goes up in price, they’ll stop buying it and move on to using 24hr boost books on specific days that they’ll be grinding (at best). I normally run a 30day boost all the time on my main but only grind hard on certain days. That being said, I’ve already contemplated doing this… unless you allowed us to move the 30 day boost book from one character to another (like the boost goggles etc), then I might consider paying more for it. But until then, another 1% per mob isn’t worth it to me.

With all that said, Kits.. don’t get me started D:. I stopped buying them a long time ago. Pet enhancement seems rigged to me. Or, I just have really bad luck. Either way, once again, not worth it.

[AnimePimp66]

guess noone remembers it used to b 8k sc it acually was a big thing when the raised it then to the current price now u.u

[agha_torab]

Senshi created this thread ...

So we answer for other people now?

[GM_Phibes]

Play nice or I'll jack these prices into the stratosphere! (I kid, I kid.. I kid because I love).

There is a lot of pressure to raise the prices on these things ("correct" the prices is the phrase I hear sometimes) so I am doing my best to keep you all informed while not breaking any rules. I do love my job and want to keep it :)

Please know this: I will insist that new bundles be created that give enough range in terms of price and contents so that people who don't want to spend more can still have choices. I want to make lots of bundles for everyone from the richest billionaire to the most cash-strapped little Xenians.

Today's sale is not a marketing ploy. It is not up to me, but I doubt the Ultimate Leveling Kit will be this cheap again, ever.

[comp4ssion]

Lolz@ the cemantics..."correct" the price. I'd argue that you've been here and interacted with us for just long enough to get a good feel for "correct" prices. It sounds almost as though you're being told what prices to set on something by someone who doesn't even know how to calculate an optimal price for a product. I do, however, applaud the steps you do seem to be taking to prevent the prices on these items from spiraling out of control altogether.

I feel this is an appropriate time to compare the cost of premium items and the associated dollar amount to the dollar amount of subscription fees for MMOs of the same quality. Due diligence in market research is arguably a prerequisite to any successful re-pricing campaign. It's only now, thinking about it, that I realize how complicated the process of game-wide revenue optimization is.....prices need to be high enough to net profits and expand/maintain operations, yet low enough to attract and retain players. Honestly though, and with this perspective in mind, I doubt that a sudden and substantial price increase on the most popular kit in SoS history will serve both of those ends (though you're likely to get away with a substantial price increase if you make it very gradual).

I'd love to see your work on bundles...perhaps a few moderately priced bundles specific to class, or level bracket, might be a good idea? The quality of the idea of "bundles for everyone from the richest billionaire to the most cash-strapped little Xenians" is a foregone conclusion....i.e, winner. I implore you to keep in mind that different character classes have very different needs for Sparkcash items (e.g., Warriors don't need many SC MP pots, Ranged classes burn through death pendants quickly, very low level characters can make great use of premium clothing items without the need for a Mixed mode gem while mid- and high-levels can't, etc.).

If you possess the requisite oversight and power to make a bundle that helps me level as much as the Ultimate Leveling Kit does for a comparable price, I for one, actually wouldn't care if the price on the ULK went up.

Frankly (and feel free to use this suggestion), your best bet would be to assemble a consortium of the game's more knowledgable players to see what sort of bundles they would buy in lieu of the ones flagged for a price increase, and how much they'd be willing to pay, and then create a derivative work from your findings. I'll bet you a 30D 100% EXP boost, right now, that this approach would pay off.

This approach is kind of a mirror of the phenomenon that increased inflation rates; with the revolutions taking place in the banking system around the time I was born, it simply became easier for people to spend their money in amounts and for things they figured were worth it. If you make more ways for people to spend their Sparkcash in a manner that strikes them as sensible, you'll make more money even without price hikes. Buyer's remorse is just as applicable in the computer gaming industry as it is to a large car dealership....and you don't have the decision process de-stressor of a legally required three-day cooling period in your industry either.

Also, which do you think would be better for the game....a hundred active players who each spend $50 a month on Sparkcash, or a thousand active players who each spend $20 a month on Sparkcash? It has been months upon months since I have seen a single Secret of the Solstice advertisment anywhere...perhaps with a few well-placed and well-timed ads on web sites frequented by bored computer users, you won't HAVE to increase prices because you'll have more cash flow coming in from a new player base.

There are just a few things for you to keep in mind, as I am only trying to help you improve this game without having to drive the prices through the roof if you don't have to. :)

[wardomic]

So we answer for other people now?

I was paying attention when this thread was made. Also this thread was made BEFORE the green notices with this kind of advertisement started appearing in game.

[agha_torab]

So the answer is yes then...

[GM_Phibes]

Cut it out or the thread gets locked. PLEASE.

[TheDarkSenshi]

I simply made this thread to acknowledge the notices about the leveling kit and how if it's raised to that price then sadly i will not be purchasing the kit. The notices say one thing and our lovely Phibes says another. ^^ I waz merely curious about what the community thought. Thank you for all the replies, it's much appreciated.