Gem Store Items
They do it precisely to make more money. Many people have an inherent weakness that if something is scarce, they must obtain it before time runs out. This is why advertisements will often use wording like hurry, limited time, and last chance or something along those lines. People rush to purchase the items, and it works. It’s tacky and one of the many gross byproducts of detestable profit maximization. But it’s also your answer, none the less.
It of course makes even less sense with digital products since they don’t run out, but keeping them “limited” helps inflate their perceived value because of the artificial scarcity. This week you buy this. Next week you buy that. Ad infinitum.
The gem store must have been designed with this in mind, because the way its layout presents itself does not exactly allow for lots of products to be displayed. Even with the current amount in there it’s cumbersome to browse and they’ve had years to change it if they really, really wanted to.
Think of the possibilities.
Eh, I don’t think the people who designed the layout were thinking about this at all. There are lots of design issues with the layout (and with the original TP).
However, I completely agree that a lot of folks are impulse buyers. If you leave the same stuff up in the store all the time, people are likely to think, “eh, I can get that any time.” If we know that things have a limited availability, then we tend to be likely to buy “just in case.”
In a way, this is also better for the players: if something is always available, we don’t think of obtaining it as something special and we tend to discount its value. We tend to give more importance to things that aren’t always around.
John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”
I’m just going to be lazy and link this blog post titled ‘How to Encourage Impulse Buys in Your Store: A Deeper Look at Unplanned Purchases’.
Of particular note:
Hit the right psychological triggers
Make your impulse buys more noticeable and enticing by pushing the right consumer buttons. Here are some suggestions:
- Urgency – Trigger people’s sense of urgency through limited-time promos. Consider the Bath & Body Works example above. It included a “Today Only” description in its signage to make the impulse buy more compelling.
- Value – Make people see that they’re getting a good deal with generous offers. Victoria’s Secret for instance runs “Buy two, get two” promos with its impulse products to further encourage shoppers to buy.
- Excitement or Novelty – You don’t always have to throw in an offer with your impulse products. Often, if a product looks fresh or novel enough, people will notice them. If you have new and original items in your store and they fit the above-mentioned criteria (i.e., handy and low cost), then consider testing them out as impulse buys to see how customers react.
Wings being up only for 24 hours? Novelty and urgency. Did you see how high gold→gem prices spiked when those came out? More than a few people would have resorted to buying gems with cash because they couldn’t (or wouldn’t) pay 100+ gold for 500 gems.
Manipulating customers into impulse buys isn’t stupid, it’s business.
However, I completely agree that a lot of folks are impulse buyers. If you leave the same stuff up in the store all the time, people are likely to think, “eh, I can get that any time.” If we know that things have a limited availability, then we tend to be likely to buy “just in case.”
This is the exact reason. Personally there are a number of skins on the gem store that I like, but that are also permanently up there. I don’t have an immediate use for them, but I know if there ever comes a time when I think I might want it I can buy it later. They pretty much lost that purchase, who knows when or if I decide that now is the right time to get that skin. Heck I may even forget about it.
When a skin is up for only 24hrs it forces you to make the decision about whether you think you might use it or if you would never use it. For the wings specifically, most people feel they might want to use it at some point and don’t want to miss out on it and regret it later.
I won’t stop because I can’t stop.
It’s a medical condition, they say its terminal….
It’s a medical condition, they say its terminal….
However, I completely agree that a lot of folks are impulse buyers. If you leave the same stuff up in the store all the time, people are likely to think, “eh, I can get that any time.” If we know that things have a limited availability, then we tend to be likely to buy “just in case.”
This is the exact reason. Personally there are a number of skins on the gem store that I like, but that are also permanently up there. I don’t have an immediate use for them, but I know if there ever comes a time when I think I might want it I can buy it later. They pretty much lost that purchase, who knows when or if I decide that now is the right time to get that skin. Heck I may even forget about it.
When a skin is up for only 24hrs it forces you to make the decision about whether you think you might use it or if you would never use it. For the wings specifically, most people feel they might want to use it at some point and don’t want to miss out on it and regret it later.
Pretty much this. If it’s going to stay in the gem store permanently, then that means people will just grind gems ingame to purchase it with, instead of spending actual money. Anet wanted to make money on this, so they gave it a limited sale, which meant people couldn’t just grind silverwastes for a couple of hours to get them for free. They either had to buy the gems then and there with real money (if they didn’t have the gold/gems already), or miss out on purchasing them.
Tarnished Coast