Guild Wars 2

Instead of having these items that are available only at specific times of the year, why not just double/triple the price when they are out of season? Some people want an item badly enough and have enough money to pay extra for it rather than to wait up to 10 months for it to reappear. This would satisfy both those players AND create additional income since they are paying extra, without any actual negative impact (as long as you put a note that it is more expensive because it’s out of season, or even create a new tab for them).

Limited availability (particularly for items that come and go unannounced) likely generates more cash purchases of gems because it doesn’t give people time to save up for them or catch them at a bad time (like right after spending all their gold on a precursor). It’s all about triggering that impulse purchase, much like how supermarkets have all those snacks just sitting next to you while you’re waiting in line at the checkout.

Well how about seasonal items then? Items that people know will appear at a specific time of year anyway.

Doesn’t always work out that way, take Grenth’s Hood for example: I know a few people were expecting it to show up on Halloween, but it actually reappeared on the store about a week or two before Halloween and was gone again in a couple of days. On the other hand the Wintersday outfit and earmuffs did appear (and stay) throughout the event, but the scarf was a bit of an unexpected extra item a lot of people bought – and a couple weeks before that there were a series of sales (the one with the character slot, bank tab, and collection expander sales) that drained people’s gold/gems savings beforehand.

Unless you’re already sitting on a pile of gold from successfully playing the trading post, chances are your best efforts to save up for items will be thwarted somehow and you’ll find yourself wrestling that credit card out of your own hand.