I was thinking that the Gem Shop should have 2.50$ and 5 dollar purchases that you would get the equal or less amount if you divided the current amount of gems you get from 10 dollars (for example, 800 gems for 10 dollars, you could get 400 gems for 5 dollars and 200 gems for 2.50 I believe) I think this would encourage people to make more purchases, such as paying 2.50 just to get 1 black lion key and such. I would really like to see a real micro-transaction model of this sort added to the game. I already know people will argue “well they won’t make money that way!” keep in mind they WILL make money as it is not free, and the gems being sold are the exact equivalent of what they already cost, they could perhaps even lower the amount given (such as give people 350 gems instead of 400 with 5 dollars, or 150 instead of 200 for 2.50, still giving 800 for paying 10 dollars so you get extra by spending 10 dollars but you do still have the option of paying less.)
Please read the entire thread before criticizing thank you
Some creditcard merchants charge a flat rate fee + % on the transaction. When you offer things for small amounts (like $2.50), there’s a bigger hit to your bottom line than with larger amounts.
For instance, the merchant may charge Anet 50 cents + 2.5% of the transaction (not including tax). Without considering the percentage they take off, 50 cents off of $2.50 is a much large chunk than 50 cents off of $10.
You may see this at stores at the mall. Some businesses will have a “minimum charge” in order to use your creditcard.
Some creditcard merchants charge a flat rate fee + % on the transaction. When you offer things for small amounts (like $2.50), there’s a bigger hit to your bottom line than with larger amounts.
For instance, the merchant may charge Anet 50 cents + 2.5% of the transaction (not including tax). Without considering the percentage they take off, 50 cents off of $2.50 is a much large chunk than 50 cents off of $10.
You may see this at stores at the mall. Some businesses will have a “minimum charge” in order to use your creditcard.
There are f2p games that charge 25 cents for items.
Some creditcard merchants charge a flat rate fee + % on the transaction. When you offer things for small amounts (like $2.50), there’s a bigger hit to your bottom line than with larger amounts.
For instance, the merchant may charge Anet 50 cents + 2.5% of the transaction (not including tax). Without considering the percentage they take off, 50 cents off of $2.50 is a much large chunk than 50 cents off of $10.
You may see this at stores at the mall. Some businesses will have a “minimum charge” in order to use your creditcard.
There are f2p games that charge 25 cents for items.
Some companies can have agreements with merchants for volume discounts. But I doubt there’d be enough small Gem transactions to justify the time and effort it takes to find a merchant willing to negotiate favorable transaction fees.
I don’t see how they would make more money doing it the way you describe. Most people will either buy the gems because they really want something or they won’t at all. I can’t see there being a large group of people that won’t spend money because they can’t buy a smaller amount of gems.
Also, it really does work as a marketing strategy to sell “x” number of gems, but have a lot of things in the store that don’t equal that amount. That way people will end up with an odd amount and need to buy more, thus creating a cycle of spending money so gems aren’t “going to waste”.
You can always buy gems with gold for small purchases. That way you can get the exact amount you want/need.
But it’s still using a proxy currency that’s sold in larger sizes that 25 cents.
So.. you are claiming a 5 dollar purchase is not viable?
No, there are two issues being smushed together. Selling smaller/exact amounts of proxy currency and having more items in the 100 gem or less range. Now credit card companies do charge a fix amount plus a percentage of the charge amount for each charge. This is why they are unlikely be willing to sell you a dollar’s worth of gems. But that shouldn’t mean they can’t have more items, beyond the various consumables, in the 100 gem range. Individual armor piece skins for instance. Day pass for the airship or royal terrace, good for 1 real world day after first use.
I don’t see how they would make more money doing it the way you describe. Most people will either buy the gems because they really want something or they won’t at all. I can’t see there being a large group of people that won’t spend money because they can’t buy a smaller amount of gems.
Also, it really does work as a marketing strategy to sell “x” number of gems, but have a lot of things in the store that don’t equal that amount. That way people will end up with an odd amount and need to buy more, thus creating a cycle of spending money so gems aren’t “going to waste”.
You can always buy gems with gold for small purchases. That way you can get the exact amount you want/need.
Let’s say someone wants to buy a black lion key, but they don’t want to spend their gold or do not have enough gold to convert. That’s just 1 scenario of many that it would incline someone to pay the 2 or 5 dollars instead of 10 dollars for 1 small purchase. People in this thread are saying “THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES CHARGE 9 DOLLARS!” not true considering games like.. team fortress 2 or neverwinter have actual microtransactions where you can pay less than a dollar for items and they do just fine.
Let’s say someone wants to buy a black lion key, but they don’t want to spend their gold or do not have enough gold to convert. That’s just 1 scenario of many that it would incline someone to pay the 2 or 5 dollars instead of 10 dollars for 1 small purchase. People in this thread are saying “THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE BECAUSE CREDIT CARD COMPANIES CHARGE 9 DOLLARS!” not true considering games like.. team fortress 2 or neverwinter have actual microtransactions where you can pay less than a dollar for items and they do just fine.
You missed my reply that explains that some companies have agreements with merchants that provide different fee schedules. It’s not impossible in general, but rather the way NCSoft is setup with the merchant managing Gem purchases.
BUT, there’s another side to this coin. By requiring a minimum of spending $10, it’s a way to effectively force people to spend more money. This is a viable business strategy.
Some creditcard merchants charge a flat rate fee + % on the transaction. When you offer things for small amounts (like $2.50), there’s a bigger hit to your bottom line than with larger amounts.
For instance, the merchant may charge Anet 50 cents + 2.5% of the transaction (not including tax). Without considering the percentage they take off, 50 cents off of $2.50 is a much large chunk than 50 cents off of $10.
You may see this at stores at the mall. Some businesses will have a “minimum charge” in order to use your creditcard.
But will that matter if the min gem cost is still $10? If I understand the Op correctly, the gems themselves will still be a min of $10 for 800, but he would be able to buy things that are the equiv of $2.50 with those gems. (200 gems)
^nvm, scratch that, just read OP post again.
Though, on topic, I know PoE charges a min of $5 for their version of cash shop dollars, and they also offer a large price range when it comes to skins, $2.50 all the way up to $30+. Which is nice, as it has a little something for everyone’s price range.
“Caithe, someday you’ll see, Tyria needs me. -Scarlet”
Though, on topic, I know PoE charges a min of $5 for their version of cash shop dollars, and they also offer a large price range when it comes to skins, $2.50 all the way up to $30+. Which is nice, as it has a little something for everyone’s price range.
The Gem Store already has items priced at different levels. From 50 Gems up to 1k Gems. But in order to buy Gems with real money, the current minimum is $10. Again, this is a viable business strategy, where you’re forced to make a decision on whether or not you really want to buy a certain item. If you do make a purchase of Gems, you pay the set price, even if it’s more than you wanted. It’s a legitimate way of making revenue for NCSoft. With the way some players are, the occasional $10 here and there add up.
Everything in the cash shop is optional, so it’s no real loss to you if you decide against buying Gems. In fact, you already have the option of converting in game Gold for Gems, effectively making the cash shop free. I know of players who haven’t spent a single penny on this game, but always has Gems to buy goodies. And there’s players like me who have spent a lot of money on Gems, because we’re able to afford it.
Though, on topic, I know PoE charges a min of $5 for their version of cash shop dollars, and they also offer a large price range when it comes to skins, $2.50 all the way up to $30+. Which is nice, as it has a little something for everyone’s price range.
The Gem Store already has items priced at different levels. From 50 Gems up to 1k Gems. But in order to buy Gems with real money, the current minimum is $10. Again, this is a viable business strategy, where you’re forced to make a decision on whether or not you really want to buy a certain item. If you do make a purchase of Gems, you pay the set price, even if it’s more than you wanted. It’s a legitimate way of making revenue for NCSoft. With the way some players are, the occasional $10 here and there add up.
Everything in the cash shop is optional, so it’s no real loss to you if you decide against buying Gems. In fact, you already have the option of converting in game Gold for Gems, effectively making the cash shop free. I know of players who haven’t spent a single penny on this game, but always has Gems to buy goodies. And there’s players like me who have spent a lot of money on Gems, because we’re able to afford it.
I was mainly speaking of skins when I was talking about the price rangers of PoE, I just thought it was nice how they had a good number of low cost skins for people to buy. I didn’t say the system Gw2 had was bad(though, I think the skin system can improve overall),I was just bringing up something another games cash shop does that I like.
“Caithe, someday you’ll see, Tyria needs me. -Scarlet”
Though, on topic, I know PoE charges a min of $5 for their version of cash shop dollars, and they also offer a large price range when it comes to skins, $2.50 all the way up to $30+. Which is nice, as it has a little something for everyone’s price range.
The Gem Store already has items priced at different levels. From 50 Gems up to 1k Gems. But in order to buy Gems with real money, the current minimum is $10. Again, this is a viable business strategy, where you’re forced to make a decision on whether or not you really want to buy a certain item. If you do make a purchase of Gems, you pay the set price, even if it’s more than you wanted. It’s a legitimate way of making revenue for NCSoft. With the way some players are, the occasional $10 here and there add up.
Everything in the cash shop is optional, so it’s no real loss to you if you decide against buying Gems. In fact, you already have the option of converting in game Gold for Gems, effectively making the cash shop free. I know of players who haven’t spent a single penny on this game, but always has Gems to buy goodies. And there’s players like me who have spent a lot of money on Gems, because we’re able to afford it.
I was mainly speaking of skins when I was talking about the price rangers of PoE, I just thought it was nice how they had a good number of low cost skins for people to buy. I didn’t say the system Gw2 had was bad(though, I think the skin system can improve overall),I was just bringing up something another games cash shop does that I like.
Yeah, I would love to be able to purchase Gems by doing surveys and such, like some F2P games have set up.
Its not a F2P game it cost 60 dollors and they dont want to be bothered with some cent transfers,F2P games usually have some P2W stuff and try to drain there costumers by every cent they can…
