Guild Wars 2

Can anyone explain to me why they just don’t have a full inventory in the Gem store at all times? I mean, why not have every item for sale all the time instead of having the rotations of old items?

What’s the point of not selling something you have unlimited supply of to customers who want to buy it?

I don’t get it. This is a serious question btw

Supply and demand. They hype up demand, by not having supply.

Bunny ears are going to sell like hotcakes when they come back.

I’m sure they will, but everyone who wants them would have already bought them if they were always on the store, yeah?

If it were having sales on things as a rotation, I could see that as being productive, people would buy something on-sale purely because it is cheap and not necessarily because they need/want it immediately. Creating more customers that way, but since only people who like the ears/items will buy them when available, why not just have them all the time?

If you have the impression you can “buy it any time” you may never buy it. But if it only comes up twice a year you may be more likely to purchase it, even if not discounted, because you don’t want to spend another 6 months without it.

Carbon Footprint.3421:

If you have the impression you can “buy it any time” you may never buy it. But if it only comes up twice a year you may be more likely to purchase it, even if not discounted, because you don’t want to spend another 6 months without it.

It’s a dangerous game though. Most players I know simply lose interest in things if they’re not available for a long time so when the items do get re-introduced, those people don’t purchase them.

I think Carbon Footprint is on the ball.

Heimskarl Ashfiend.9582:

I’m sure they will, but everyone who wants them would have already bought them if they were always on the store, yeah?

They have two different strategies. Some items can be purchased at all times, but some popular skins (Like Roxx’s quiver and Belinda’s GS) induce a huge raise in the gold-to-gem rate, leading people to buy the gems with real money instead. Both strategies have advantages, and I suppose they have an employee calculating the strategy to use for which item.

Let’s use the bunny ears as an example here-
It was only available for a short time previously and ever since, people have been craving for their return.
If A-net put them on a limited time offer (say, 24 hours), all the people who have been craving will buy them but also a lot of other people too. These people aren’t sure whether they will use the item, but don’t want to miss out and face waiting another few years if they change their mind.

In putting in such a high demand item (especially without warning) the gold-to-gem price will sky-rocket. People will have to consider purchasing gems with real-life money as they may not be able to afford them with in-game gold. Of course, this results in more revenue for A-net.

EDIT: Realised I joined the party a little late and the points I’ve written have already been made. Oh well.

That strategy has certainly worked on me before. For example when the Infinite Gathering Tools were first released they weren’t in the gem store all the time. I missed them the first time around, then got them as soon as they were re-released. Not because I’d decided I absolutely had to have them ASAP, I still just thought they’d be a nice convenience, but because I didn’t want to miss out on them again.

If they were up indefinitely as they are now I might have kept on hesitating waiting to be absolutely sure, or waiting for the ‘perfect’ version.

There are also people who will buy things simply because they’re limited, because they think it makes it more special or impressive.

Crimson Clouds.4853:

EDIT: Realised I joined the party a little late and the points I’ve written have already been made. Oh well.

That’s alright, you said it better.

Limited editions mean you can con people into paying more for an “exclusive” item that people who join later will not be able to get.

Crimson Clouds.4853:

Let’s use the bunny ears as an example here-
It was only available for a short time previously and ever since, people have been craving for their return.
If A-net put them on a limited time offer (say, 24 hours), all the people who have been craving will buy them but also a lot of other people too. These people aren’t sure whether they will use the item, but don’t want to miss out and face waiting another few years if they change their mind.

In putting in such a high demand item (especially without warning) the gold-to-gem price will sky-rocket. People will have to consider purchasing gems with real-life money as they may not be able to afford them with in-game gold. Of course, this results in more revenue for A-net.

EDIT: Realised I joined the party a little late and the points I’ve written have already been made. Oh well.

I agree with the point, but this will not work on me. If I have money I can spend on gems, then I’m only going to spend it if there is something I want. Last thing I wasted was Roxs quiver and brams mace and shield. Luckily I still had money left to buy them when they where in shortly after Christmas. I would have probably spent more if they had had things in I wanted. Which they didn’t have in when I had the money. But that’s life.

Ah, I see now, thanks for enlightening me.

First having an item available for a limited time forces players off the fence that they may sit on if the item is always around.

The rush caused by a popular item returning jacks up the exchange rate which is a good draw for players willing to spend cash to buy gems and convert to gold. Also since the exchange sinks gold coming and going (the exchange rate difference) as well as sequesters what’s left, it acts as a sponge/marsh for excess gold in the economy which helps keeps inflation due to an increased money supply to a dull roar.

Return of multiple popular items may also drive players to spend money for gems because they’ve already tapped out their excess gold.

Basically at the end of the day, the purpose of the Gem Shop is to get players to buy Gems with cash. If a popular item is always available, they could save up enough gold to buy it via the exchange and that doesn’t drive income generation for ANet.

Fiddlestyx.9714:

Supply and demand. They hype up demand, by not having supply.

Bunny ears are going to sell like hotcakes when they come back.

Exactly. Having a discontinued item (a mini or skin) is regarded as a sort of status symbol. So if you start selling it you get a flood of people buying it. Although you have to bear in mind you have devalued the item now.

Menadena.7482:

Fiddlestyx.9714:

Supply and demand. They hype up demand, by not having supply.

Bunny ears are going to sell like hotcakes when they come back.

Exactly. Having a discontinued item (a mini or skin) is regarded as a sort of status symbol. So if you start selling it you get a flood of people buying it. Although you have to bear in mind you have devalued the item now.

Devalue? The only thing that will be devalued from selling them will be the people that feel special for having something others arbitrarily can’t get.

Pockets.3201:

Menadena.7482:

Fiddlestyx.9714:

Supply and demand. They hype up demand, by not having supply.

Bunny ears are going to sell like hotcakes when they come back.

Exactly. Having a discontinued item (a mini or skin) is regarded as a sort of status symbol. So if you start selling it you get a flood of people buying it. Although you have to bear in mind you have devalued the item now.

Devalue? The only thing that will be devalued from selling them will be the people that feel special for having something others arbitrarily can’t get.

Yes, but as much as it might seem silly there are people who think like that and who are actually less likely to buy an item if they think everyone can get it.

Too ANet a sale is a sale so if they can hit the balance between reaching most people who want it and making it limited enough that those who only want it for the exclusivity will still buy then it’s in their interest to do it.

All of these comments on making them unavailable so when they do become available they will likely sell like hot cakes is not logical for a game like GW2 with a Buy To Play model.

People stop playing for weeks and months and then come back all the time – exactly what the B2P model flaunts as something players are able to do. If the stuff is not for sale for the time that these people are back, then it obviously cannot be bought by these players.

If the stuff is made available again temporarily while a person is not actively playing, then obviously it will continue to not be bought by these players.

With a B2P model and the gem store in its current implementation, it would be more logical and profitable to have all items available at all times. This would mean people who come back to the game for some undetermined amount of time could at least have the items available in case they wanted to buy them.

As it is now, a player who comes and goes from the game can only throw their money at ANet if their time of being an active player happens to coincide with the temporary re-release of these items. Were these things available all the time, then even if the person only comes back for a day, there is still the chance that they would purchase them, especially due to the account unlock nature of many temporary items. Even if a player were not going to come back for 6 months, they may still consider getting these account unlock items (like skins for the wardrobe) simply because they know they’ll still have it in 6 months when they do come back.

ANet’s temporarily available gem store item strategy is not in line with their strategy of offering game content that does not penalize a player for taking time off from the game. Players are, indeed, penalized for not actively playing by the inability to purchase items while they are active that were temporarily made available while they were not active.

GW2 was once praised for being a game where players could hop back into it after long periods of inactivity and pick up where they left off and not be at any form of a disadvantage to other players who did not take time off from playing. I do not believe this only relates to the gear grind present in other (subscription) games, where you were at a combat disadvantage due to being outfitted with inferior armor and weapons, but to all released content…appearance unlocks, convenience items, luxury items and account unlocks, etc.

At least they finally started offering all of the infinite gathering tools all the time instead of being temporarily available items. Perhaps they are slowly coming to the realization that what I’ve outlined above is a more profitable method of selling items.

@StinVec:

I know that the Trading Post/Gem Store is run or managed by an economist. I’m sure the reasoning on why things are run how they are is based upon a lot of data/research.

Considering a large bulk of A-net’s income is through gems, it would be foolish of them to not use marketing strategies to maximise their revenue.

My thoughts are that the majority of players that buy items on the gem-store/buy with real money are active and loyal players. A very occasional/casual player is unlikely to spend real money on convenience/aesthetic items.

Are they? Or are they only offering the older gathering tools all the time and now we are starting a whole new series of gathering tools that will be rotated in and out?

And yes, it is contradictory to one of the underlying tenants of F2P/B2P but also remember we had LS which during the first season required you, if you wanted to participate show up every couple of weeks and with the second season you had to show up if you wanted the chapters unlocked for free.

So yes you don’t feel obligated to play because of the price you the subscription but there were other motivators. So rotating gem shop items are simply another one.

StinVec.3621:

People stop playing for weeks and months and then come back all the time – exactly what the B2P model flaunts as something players are able to do. If the stuff is not for sale for the time that these people are back, then it obviously cannot be bought by these players.

It’s just another reason to login every day or at the very least, continue to follow the game.

The idea of people taking breaks simply because it’s a B2P game is actually bad for ArenaNet. Without an active player base, an MMO cannot live. It’s better to have active players than it is to profit.

Fiddlestyx.9714:

Bunny ears are going to sell like hotcakes when they come back.

I doubt they’ll come back for the same reason the school uniform or swimsuits were never added.

Well, the tactic doesn’t work for me, nor the crazy prices for the junk they always sell. I mostly forget the gem store exists because it sells so little at such a rip-off price.

I’m just sitting around, not spending money till they put what I want back in there. I’m not going to buy other things just because they won’t. In fact, I’m less likely to buy anything else.

Thank you, Behellagh, Healix aand Crimson Clouds, for your thoughts on my comment. You are all very sound and reasoned with your replies on various subjects. I enjoy all of your posts around the forums, so to get back-to-back-to-back replies from all three of you, I must say, is pretty awesome and I appreciate your respectful replies.
:)

I do realize that I do not have the degrees in or ‘hands-on’ experience with the subject matter that those employed by ArenaNet to govern the monetization platform do, nor am I privy to the metrics they use to determine their course of action. Perhaps it really is more profitable for them to release items in a temporary fashion as they have done and continue to do. I cannot imagine they would continue behavior that was not as profitable as an alternative.

I always just buy gems with cash whenever I want something and never use in-game gold to buy gems. I suppose I still cannot understand the logic in some of the choices made by ANet with the gem store, but I can see how it would work to their advantage to do it a certain way.

Well the exchange was set up as an alternate, official means to buy gold, via gems, with cash. To make this gold supply neutral, as in not creating gold from scratch, they set it up so players could trade gold for gems. That gold is paid to those selling gems while those gems end up going to players paying gold. Since gems are only created with cash and destroyed when buying items in the Gem Shop, the exchange only needed an initial seeding (more likely X gold and Y gems added to the exchange for every game account opened) the exchange becomes self sufficient.

You might as well ask why they have sales (50% off!) for digital items that in reality cost nothing. It’s just crap marketing (that is crap for the customers, it obviously works for Anet).

Shinzan.2908:

You might as well ask why they have sales (50% off!) for digital items that in reality cost nothing. It’s just crap marketing (that is crap for the customers, it obviously works for Anet).

Seems to me that not keeping items in the store permanently and having a sale are two totally separate things.

I’m sure the artists who design the items and the programmers who code them are not doing it out of the goodness of their heart, so they are hardly free. The price of development per item sold must pretty small though.

Personally, I prefer a bigger choice of stuff.

Obviously, if something is only available for a short time, occasionally, you will be more likely to buy it then.

On the other hand, though, if everything is available all the time, that means there is always something to buy when you get the urge (or the money) to buy something.

So, I think it’s swings and roundabouts.

As, although they might have a sudden spike of sales when something comes up for sale rarely, they won’t have as much steady business.

For example, say someone missed the wings.

Yes, they will probably buy them when they come up again.

But what if they a) miss them again, or b) don’t happen to have enough money/gems available at that point in time?

Whereas, if they were always available, sooner or later they would almost certainly be able to buy them.

An example of things that are always available, but still sell, would be the scarf.

Eventually, having looked at it quite a few times, I decided to buy it.

Whereas, had it only come up for a few days, I’m not sure I would have?

As I only really decided I “needed” it, when I changed my char’s hairstyle from loose, to an updo and it exposed part of the pauldrons and the neck area of some armour, that didn’t look very good.

Same with the bear/panda/tiger hats.

If/when I decide to level an Asura, I will probably buy one.

But, if they had only been available briefly, I’m not sure I would have bought them?

I also liked the quiver, but as it had silver on it and both visually clashed and clipped with the bow I was using, I didn’t buy it.

Whereas, if it was always available and I noticed it went with my current bow skin, I might have bought it, sooner or later.

The availability was just too limited for me to stay interested. I wanted things like Belinda’s GS skin when I first started playing. It just came back recently, but by that point I was tired of farming SW, etc, and had moved on to another game. I may or may not come back for HoT, but even if I do, I won’t be buying any gem store items in the future. The transmutation system is off putting for a game that relies so heavily on cosmetics, and between that and the poor availability of many skins/items I just lost interest in it.

SWTOR is horribly managed at this point in terms of development, but the majority of of cash shop items can be acquired any time of year either directly through it or on the MP because of greater availability initially, again over time, and because of better price points. Maybe Anet is hitting their forecast numbers, but I think they could be doing higher numbers than they are.

Shinzan.2908:

You might as well ask why they have sales (50% off!) for digital items that in reality cost nothing. It’s just crap marketing (that is crap for the customers, it obviously works for Anet).

No, it does cost money – someone (or more than one person) had to design it, produce it and test it.

Obviously, that cost will probably be covered by a few hundred sales, but still.

They’re also running the game, at this point, on the back of these vanity items.

Businesses these days care more about short term gains than long term gains. That’s what happens when you have the current generation of ADHD kids running marketing.

I have at least 4-5 gemstore skins on my bank that I bought and never used, for the sake of “It is wonderful, I’ll regret someday if I don’t buy it now”.

Seens like they strategy works

I think they kind of shot themselves in the foot by adding the ability to convert gold to gems imo. It means that they have a harder time making money on the gem store, because players can farm gold to convert to gems. So any item they sell on the store is not guaranteed to make them any money.

Therefore, time limited items are designed with the sole purpose of encouraging players to spend real money. As the majority of the player base is not rich (in game), most players will need to spend real money in order to get the item they want before the time runs out.

McDonald’s does this with the McRib and I believe they have said that they make more money from it by releasing it once in a while than by having it available all the time.. It’s a funny little trick that actually works.

Waldir.2571:

McDonald’s does this with the McRib and I believe they have said that they make more money from it by releasing it once in a while than by having it available all the time.. It’s a funny little trick that actually works.

But, surely, with a physical, perishable item, like a food item, it’s a somewhat different situation?

Because, it is more efficient to make a big batch of McRibs up, occasionally, in the knowledge that they will probably all (or almost all) sell; than it is to make them in relatively small batches, continuously and have them hanging around in the hope that a few will sell, before they go bad.

Whereas, with a virtual gemstore item, once it is produced, that is it – it no longer has to be reproduced and can be continuously on offer, without any fear of wastage.

Tigaseye.2047:

Waldir.2571:

McDonald’s does this with the McRib and I believe they have said that they make more money from it by releasing it once in a while than by having it available all the time.. It’s a funny little trick that actually works.

But, surely, with a physical, perishable item, like a food item, it’s a somewhat different situation?

Because, it is more efficient to make a big batch of McRibs up, occasionally, in the knowledge that they will probably all (or almost all) sell; than it is to make them in relatively small batches, continuously and have them hanging around in the hope that a few will sell, before they go bad.

Whereas, with a virtual gemstore item, once it is produced, that is it – it no longer has to be reproduced and can be continuously on offer, without any fear of wastage.

Actually the nature of the item does not affect the consumer response, it’s the Scarcity of it that pulls some kind of trigger in our minds. I could quote great articles all day but here is a rally good one that goes into detail on why this works.

http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/33326/The-Secret-to-Creating-Irresistible-Marketing-Offers.aspx

Ps: Anet has seen the demand for the bunny ears and that is exactly why they are waiting… Once it comes back it will sell more than it would have the hole time it’s been gone.

Carbon Footprint.3421:

If you have the impression you can “buy it any time” you may never buy it. But if it only comes up twice a year you may be more likely to purchase it, even if not discounted, because you don’t want to spend another 6 months without it.

That’s true, but that’s why only a few items aren’t up all the time.

If it’s always available, it gives you an out. “I’ll get it tomorrow.”

If it’s going away within the day, you are more likely to pull the trigger and if you don’t have enough gold converted gems, well then you will have to buy some with cash and that’s what ANet wants and needs.

It’s just that simple.