Guild Wars 2

but, what I wanted to buy was not in the gemstore…

would have bought
1 Character Slot 800 Gems – always in store
1 Total Makeover Kit 350 Gems – always in store

1 Set of Light Armor 800 Gems – not in store
1 Weapon 600 Gems – not in store
1 Glider 500 Gems – not in store
Total 3,050 Gems

Would have bought 4000 Gems =$50 usd

This is ridiculous…I thought Anet liked making money…Very poor business model imo.

There were lots of light armor skins, weapon skins and gliders in the store last time I checked. Wonder what happened to them all…

Have you tried…. clicking the right button?

I assume he’s talking about specific weapon / glider / armor skins that he wants that aren’t in the gem store. Most people aren’t going to go into the GS thinking “I’m just going to buy any random thing”. No idea why he didn’t just list the ones he was specifically looking for, but…

This is a discussion that’s been done to death. Yes, limited-time sales of items tick people off. No, its not necessarily a bad business model, because limited time sales will force some people to buy items they wouldn’t have bought otherwise due to being limited and not knowing when they’ll return again.

ekylok.2410:

but, what I wanted to buy was not in the gemstore…

would have bought
1 Character Slot 800 Gems – always in store
1 Total Makeover Kit 350 Gems – always in store

Why didn’t you buy those? They are in the gem shop.

ekylok.2410:

1 Set of Light Armor 800 Gems – not in store

Most armor sets are released in game. Existing sets cycle through the gem shop. like everything else.

There are three light armor sets currently available: Profane, Phoenix, and Zodiac. In addition, there are over a dozen outfits (including some that are ‘light’).

ekylok.2410:

1 Weapon 600 Gems – not in store

Which weapon? There are four currently available. In addition, there are hundreds and hundreds of skins you could acquire through the TP by converting 600 gems into 100-120 gold.

ekylok.2410:

1 Glider 500 Gems – not in store

Which glider? There are 15 currently available.

Would have bought 4000 Gems =$50 usd

ekylok.2410:

This is ridiculous…I thought Anet liked making money…Very poor business model imo.

The gem shop is the most financially successful part of the game, in terms of income exceeding expectations. It’s a demonstrably effective business model.

@OP if your point is that you are frustrated that the specific items you want aren’t available, please specify what you’d like to see. There’s even a sticky post for exactly that purpose.

Criticizing gem shop policies is a popular pastime here, but it doesn’t help change the list of items offered.

If something is limited, then most of the time is limited for 1 week. In that week there is enough time to buy gems with $$$ and that desired item.

Sorry, I guess I should have listed the items I was ready to buy.

Phoenix Glider
Flamekissed Light Armor
Emissary Staff

It just makes no sense to me…I was ready to drop $50, but instead ESO will be getting that money…

And when they do return to the gem store, I may be playing Revelation Online then, and will probably not notice they have returned.

I just don’t see the logic in removing items from gem store.

ekylok.2410:

It just makes no sense to me…I was ready to drop $50, but instead ESO will be getting that money…

And when they do return to the gem store, I may be playing Revelation Online then, and will probably not notice they have returned.

I just don’t see the logic in removing items from gem store.

So the ESO store has those exact items? Or will you be spending your money there on completely different items as some sort of “protest”? I don’t see the logic in that.

Skittish.4539:

ekylok.2410:

It just makes no sense to me…I was ready to drop $50, but instead ESO will be getting that money…

And when they do return to the gem store, I may be playing Revelation Online then, and will probably not notice they have returned.

I just don’t see the logic in removing items from gem store.

So the ESO store has those exact items? Or will you be spending your money there on completely different items as some sort of “protest”? I don’t see the logic in that.

Not in protest, just the other mmo I play also has items I like…

Electro.4173:

I assume he’s talking about specific weapon / glider / armor skins that he wants that aren’t in the gem store. Most people aren’t going to go into the GS thinking “I’m just going to buy any random thing”. No idea why he didn’t just list the ones he was specifically looking for, but…

This is a discussion that’s been done to death. Yes, limited-time sales of items tick people off. No, its not necessarily a bad business model, because limited time sales will force some people to buy items they wouldn’t have bought otherwise due to being limited and not knowing when they’ll return again.

It will also cause people to change their mind if they get sick of waiting for something and make do with something in-game instead. I think this stock rotation model is ridiculous. When I get in the mood to buy something, I want to buy it then, not months or a year from then. The mood can (and has in some cases) pass.

Alin.2468:

ekylok.2410:

but, what I wanted to buy was not in the gemstore…

would have bought
1 Character Slot 800 Gems – always in store
1 Total Makeover Kit 350 Gems – always in store

1 Set of Light Armor 800 Gems – not in store
1 Weapon 600 Gems – not in store
1 Glider 500 Gems – not in store
Total 3,050 Gems

Would have bought 4000 Gems =$50 usd

This is ridiculous…I thought Anet liked making money…Very poor business model imo.

Well isn’t that cute, but is wrong!

Light armor skins in store: Phoenix Light Armor Skin, Profane Light Armor Skin, Zodiac Light Armor Skin
Weapon skins in store: Lord Faren Rapier Skin, Lord Caudecus Sword Skin, Lord Caudecus Pistol Skin, Elegant Fan Focus Skin.
Gliders: Shining Blade, Mursaat, Moth Wings, Macaw wings, Hawk Wings.

Want real weapons and not skins? No problem. Get them all with gold. Buy gems, convert gems into gold, and BOOM you have what your heart desires most.

You say Anet has a poor business moder… again wrong!.
Want any legendary? Buy it with gems (by converting gems to gold).
Want any weapon? Buy it with gems (by converting gems to gold).
Want full ascended? Buy all ingredients to craft it all in 10 minutes with gems (by converting gems to gold).
New to game but want level 80? No problem, pay someone with gems (sending gifts) or just send them gold, because you can actually buy gold with gems (quite an awesome feature).
You like winning in PvP? No problem. Bribe an enemy player with gold, to make the game 4v5, and you will clearly win (because the game is extremely balanced, and 1 missing player counts a lot).
Hell, in this game if you got 4k gems to spend, I can do whatever you want me to. Buy me. I am all yours if the price is right.

I know people who litteraly bought all legendary weapons and ascended gear with gems (by using a secret feature called converting gems into gold).

Advice: open Gem Store, select second tab called Currency Exchange, and buy gold using gems. That is a super secret awesome feature, it’s overpowered, but you did not hear it from me.

u my friend deserve a cookie. that’s exactly how 80% of players who have legendary weaps / ascended gear play the game. real life job → credit card → gems to gold → all done and ready to show off. skin wars2. quite pathetic if u ask me tho.. but it is how it is. basically an official and legit way of gold spammers.

ekylok.2410:

I just don’t see the logic in removing items from gem store.

There’s a lot of logic in it. One of the logical reasons for cycling items through the gem store is to keep gem to gold conversion rates at a stable level. When the big anniversary sale was going on a few months back and just about every item that’s ever been in the gem store was available, gem to gold conversion rates skyrocketed from around 80-90g per 400 gems to upwards of 170-180g per 400 at its peak. If Anet made every single gem store item immediately available this would likely happen again.

By releasing specific items at specific times of the year and offering sales on items in high demand, Anet can generate more income from impulse buys and also maintain the gem:gold ratio, keeping it around a reasonable level.

The gem shop is their main source of income for this game. I think it’s fair to say they understand the reasoning behind all of their business decisions regarding gem store items and sales. Just because you don’t understand their reasoning doesn’t mean they are making poor decisions.

Also, threatening to spend your money elsewhere will not change anything. I challenge you to walk into Target and threaten a manager there by telling them you’ll spend your money at Walmart instead, and see how quickly you get pushed to the side for someone willing to be reasonable in their requests. Sorry pal, the customer is not always right.

But good luck, regardless.

Yeah, go spend your money on another game. If enough people do that, perhaps Anet will get the message. I don’t like the strategy of preying on people’s impulses either.

If Anet doesn’t provide what you want and another game does than Anet deserves to lose a sale.

Skittish.4539:

There were lots of light armor skins, weapon skins and gliders in the store last time I checked. Wonder what happened to them all…

Are you REALLY suggesting that he should have purchased just any skins / gliders? You HONESTLY didn’t know what he was talking about?

I often wonder whether the “scarcity” model of “buy it quick because it might disappear” really makes them more money than having the items all the time which in addition to not being frustrating for people who know what they want, also allows for impulse buying. I suppose it must work otherwise why would they do it. I’m sure Anet has professional marketing people figuring this stuff out. But that doesn’t help people like the OP.

Djinn.9245:

Skittish.4539:

There were lots of light armor skins, weapon skins and gliders in the store last time I checked. Wonder what happened to them all…

Are you REALLY suggesting that he should have purchased just any skins / gliders? You HONESTLY didn’t know what he was talking about?

Well, to be fair, the OP didn’t list out specific items when he initially posted. Just generic categories which still had varieties being sold. Just not the ones the OP was actually wanting.

Dave.6819:

u my friend deserve a cookie. that’s exactly how 80% of players who have legendary weaps / ascended gear play the game. real life job -> credit card -> gems to gold -> all done and ready to show off. skin wars2. quite pathetic if u ask me tho.. but it is how it is. basically an official and legit way of gold spammers.

Except the people who do this enable people like me, who currently possesses more time than RL cash, to earn gold in the game that can be exchanged for gems. Without those “pay-to-skin” types, I’d not have access to a ton of QoL features only available via the gem store.

Djinn.9245:

I often wonder whether the “scarcity” model of “buy it quick because it might disappear” really makes them more money than having the items all the time which in addition to not being frustrating for people who know what they want, also allows for impulse buying. I suppose it must work otherwise why would they do it. I’m sure Anet has professional marketing people figuring this stuff out. But that doesn’t help people like the OP.

It definitely works, which is why it’s done in all sorts of situations, both digital and RL stores.

A different question is how well it helps build and maintain customer loyalty. Airlines have very sophisticated models now for making the most money per flight, which, in fact, generate more revenue than they used to make under the old pricing systems. However, it generates a lot of grumpy travelers, who then have grumpy traveling experiences, which will discourage some from flying specific airlines or get them to consider alternative means of transportation.

In the case of the gem shop, I generally wait for items to be discounted before I purchase, so I never expect to be able to purchase anything exactly when I first get interested in it. I find in MMOs, being in a rush means higher prices, more grind, and sometimes, not being able to get the stuff I want when I want. It’s a lot more fun for me when I don’t worry about the timing.

Djinn.9245:

I often wonder whether the “scarcity” model of “buy it quick because it might disappear” really makes them more money than having the items all the time which in addition to not being frustrating for people who know what they want, also allows for impulse buying. I suppose it must work otherwise why would they do it. I’m sure Anet has professional marketing people figuring this stuff out. But that doesn’t help people like the OP.

It doesn’t even need to be scarce… all you need to do is convince the buyer that the opportunity is. Just look at the infamous JC Penny restructuring, where they got rid of sales and simply knocked down their regular price to match the sale price all year round. Their sales plummeted, and nearly bankrupt them in less then 3 years. Nothing about how the prices were determined changed… just the way they were presented to the public.

Apparently people only pay attention when they think something is special or limited in nature. Thats why Kmart has “every day low price” yet still does flash sales through out the day. And we’ve all seen the riots during Xmas sales.

And now that you’ve experienced a let down, next time you see anything you might “possibly want”, you’ll buy gems and grab as many items as you can. Plus you’re also compulsively watching the Gem store now to see when it, or something else, show up there. They used to bait people all the time with gem store freebies that they’d never announce publicly.

Alin.2468:

If something is limited, then most of the time is limited for 1 week. In that week there is enough time to buy gems with $$$ and that desired item.

A week isn’t enough time, it’s come and gone before the pay check hits my account. (paid fortnightly)

Also the gem store is going downhill. The conversion price for Gems to Gold is atrocious, I’m also another customer wanting to spend money, except I’m going to buy Nightfury and Incinerator… Just can’t until Anet decides to give a fixed price for gem to gold, 1500 gems for 250g is really bad. Should not have gone past 1000 gems for 250 gold.

That makes legendaries $150 roughly instead of $300-400 depending on the AUD/USD exchange.

While I am in sympathy with your frustration, I believe that ANet might have a hard time addressing your concerns if you do not tell them which specific items you wanted to purchase were unavailable.

Djinn.9245:

Skittish.4539:

There were lots of light armor skins, weapon skins and gliders in the store last time I checked. Wonder what happened to them all…

Are you REALLY suggesting that he should have purchased just any skins / gliders? You HONESTLY didn’t know what he was talking about?

I REALLY suggested that, and I HONESTLY didn’t know that. Cross my heart and hope to die.

I wish they would implement chat code links to gem store items that aren’t currently featured on the gem store. Pop the code in the chat window, right click on the item and click Buy On Gem Store.