Temporary items in store and the disabled...

Temporary items in store and the disabled...

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

Temporary items do nothing for the store in fact they harm the store. Making it impossible for people to buy cosmetics because they are gone does nothing for profit.

When these items are placed in the store for purchase they should be given enough time so that those who are on fixed incomes can actually enjoy these items while playing.

For example, I’m disabled. I have a fixed income and I have to wait for this income to come in before I can actually make a purchase like a cosmetic item. Recently you had an item which was the electromagnetic wings in the store. On the label of the item the store showed that it stated “available at this price for a limited time”. At this price means to me that it would have still been available at the normal price once the sale ended.

I was extremely disappointed when this item disappeared from the store because of the wording I expected the item to be normal price but still available for purchase which was fine with me because it would have then been 700 gems.

My point to this is people who are retired or disabled are on fixed incomes and have to wait for a time frame usually in the middle of the month before they receive enough to purchase cosmetics from the store. This system is not only worded incorrectly so it is misleading to the public but it’s also a disservice to those of us who are disabled or retired and have to wait for income at specific times during the month only to find the items we want to purchase are completely gone.

Taimi the character shows the public that you are aware of the problems that disabled people face. I would hope that this reaches a developer and that the policies regarding disappearing cosmetics or mislabeled sales items can be addressed so we can all continue to have fun while keeping the game profitable.

Thank you.

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Posted by: Faaris.8013

Faaris.8013

Sorry, but even people on fixed incomes (majority?) benefit from planning their expenses on a monthly basis. Please consider putting away X Euro/Dollar per month for gaming, so next time you will be able to buy the item when it shows up.

You can also get gems with ingame gold. There’s something wrong when you have to wait for your paycheck to buy an ingame item, and it’s not ArenaNet’s business model.

Herleve – Ruins of Surmia

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

Unpopular advice incoming:
1. If your income is that constrained, perhaps you should not be buying video game shinies?
2. If you are capable of playing a video game, you are capable of some level of work to earn extra $$

That’s a false statement. you need to check out butyoudontlooksick.com and realize just how wrong you are.

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

Sorry, but even people on fixed incomes (majority?) benefit from planning their expenses on a monthly basis. Please consider putting away X Euro/Dollar per month for gaming, so next time you will be able to buy the item when it shows up.

You can also get gems with ingame gold. There’s something wrong when you have to wait for your paycheck to buy an ingame item, and it’s not ArenaNet’s business model.

It really is their business model because making skins unavailable after 30 days doesn’t help anyone. Even when I was able to work it was a problem because of paydays.

For example: In another title, Elder Scrolls Online, it takes whole months before it disappears. It takes them a very long time before the items disappear. It’s still a problem there as well.

The items that disappear for real currency should never disappear. It does nothing to benefit the sales of the items when the majority as you said in your statement have fixed incomes.

Additionally as a second example, Elder Scrolls Online offers a subscription with endless gatherer storage and with monthly currency for the store. This allows for the building up of currency so that items can be purchased when they are available. No such subscription exists in this title which makes it more difficult for players.

If they had something like the subscription that ESO offers here in GW2 then you could make the arguments you made but that is not offered.

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

Just realized he need’s to change his signature. brb

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Posted by: Just a flesh wound.3589

Just a flesh wound.3589

I know some people don’t like to farm but if money is that tight, can’t you set aside a few minutes a day to do a little gold making to convert to gems?

Be careful what you ask for
ANet may give it to you.

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Posted by: Illconceived Was Na.9781

Illconceived Was Na.9781

I haven’t spent a dime (or shilling or deci-Euro) on the gem shop; we can all convert gold to gems as often as we like.

Also, try not to worry about the hype or marketing language used in the gem shop: it’s hype and marketing, not a contract. For example, certain dyes are advertised as ‘exclusive’, when they are available to everyone (they aren’t even exclusive to the dye packs that randomly drop them, since you can unlock many via the Guaranteed Wardrobe Unlock and birthday presents).

It’s just a way to drum up enthusiasm and urgency, the same method used by advertisers for hundreds of years. (Non-GW2 examples: Iceland is greener than Greenland & stainless steel can stain.)

John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”

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Posted by: thehipone.6812

thehipone.6812

Unpopular advice incoming:
1. If your income is that constrained, perhaps you should not be buying video game shinies?
2. If you are capable of playing a video game, you are capable of some level of work to earn extra $$

That’s a false statement. you need to check out butyoudontlooksick.com and realize just how wrong you are.

There are myriad support systems, special programs, and laws intended to support people with disabilities in finding a rewarding career that fits their needs.

http://work.chron.com/ideas-careers-fibromyalgia-sufferers-23558.html
https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/employment/home/
even reddit is here to help
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fibromyalgia/comments/334z00/best_jobs_for_people_with_fibro/

Heck, you could set up a website about GW2 like dulfy’s or similar when you are able to and earn some $

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Posted by: Inculpatus cedo.9234

Inculpatus cedo.9234

Many of us are on fixed incomes and manage to plan ahead by either exchanging Gold for Gems periodically, or saving a few dollars every month for that ‘must-have’ purchase when it arrives in the Gem Store.

Please don’t paint disabled/fixed income players as incapable of managing their funds.

Thank you.

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Posted by: Haleydawn.3764

Haleydawn.3764

The gemstore creates artificial scarcity. Many items do return to the store regularly. Just keep an eye on it.

My advice? Swap ingame gold on the regular for gems (for example; any gold over 50g in your wallet is converted), so they build up nicely, then they are there to purchase what you’re waiting for either outright or partially, saving you real money.

Kitten.

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

Unpopular advice incoming:
1. If your income is that constrained, perhaps you should not be buying video game shinies?
2. If you are capable of playing a video game, you are capable of some level of work to earn extra $$

That’s a false statement. you need to check out butyoudontlooksick.com and realize just how wrong you are.

There are myriad support systems, special programs, and laws intended to support people with disabilities in finding a rewarding career that fits their needs.

http://work.chron.com/ideas-careers-fibromyalgia-sufferers-23558.html
https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/employment/home/
even reddit is here to help
https://www.reddit.com/r/Fibromyalgia/comments/334z00/best_jobs_for_people_with_fibro/

Heck, you could set up a website about GW2 like dulfy’s or similar when you are able to and earn some $

I’ve had two jobs already but that’s beside the point you have no idea what people’s disabilities are or their limitations making a global statement about someone not having a job is ignorance on your part and is not the point of this post.

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

The gemstore creates artificial scarcity. Many items do return to the store regularly. Just keep an eye on it.

My advice? Swap ingame gold on the regular for gems (for example; any gold over 50g in your wallet is converted), so they build up nicely, then they are there to purchase what you’re waiting for either outright or partially, saving you real money.

That is an awesome suggestion thanks for that!

I wanted to let people know also that this is not an attack on Arenanet I just wanted to make them aware of the payment time frames of disabled people and the retired and how artificial scarcity causes a problem for us.

I think people are misunderstanding the reason for my post.

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Posted by: Just a flesh wound.3589

Just a flesh wound.3589

Unless you are independently wealthy you’ll need to “farm” for the gold. You can either “farm” in real life with a job (spending hours each day working to get money) or you can farm ingame to get gold to convert to gems. If you aren’t working 8 hours a day at a real life job and you want gems then you can spend some of that time that you’re not at a real job to farm gold.

Be careful what you ask for
ANet may give it to you.

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Posted by: tigirius.9014

tigirius.9014

So let me reiterate since people are trying to derail this post.

The purpose of this post is to let Arenanet know that the time limit on items is too short.

It’s also to make suggestions to help change the policy on time frames for items to remain in the store.

It’s also to help change the language of the items in the store so they aren’t misunderstood. Stating “Available at this price for X days” implies that the item will be available AFTER the sale is over at the regular price. It’s misleading and should be changed.

Let’s not have anymore derailing posts or ignorance posts about the disabled. That’s not the point of this thread and these posts do nothing to help with these issues.

Thank you.

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Posted by: Just a flesh wound.3589

Just a flesh wound.3589

So let me reiterate since people are trying to derail this post.

The purpose of this post is to let Arenanet know that the time limit on items is too short.

It’s also to make suggestions to help change the policy on time frames for items to remain in the store.

It’s also to help change the language of the items in the store so they aren’t misunderstood. Stating “Available at this price for X days” implies that the item will be available AFTER the sale is over at the regular price. It’s misleading and should be changed.

Let’s not have anymore derailing posts or ignorance posts about the disabled. That’s not the point of this thread and these posts do nothing to help with these issues.

Thank you.

You are the one that made your thread about disabled and lack of money when you said

For example, I’m disabled. I have a fixed income and I have to wait for this income to come in before I can actually make a purchase like a cosmetic item.

So the answers that you don’t need to wait for that income by either setting aside gems by buying gems ahead with your fixed income or farming are on topic and solve your problem.

Be careful what you ask for
ANet may give it to you.

(edited by Just a flesh wound.3589)

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Posted by: Illconceived Was Na.9781

Illconceived Was Na.9781

The purpose of this post is to let Arenanet know that the time limit on items is too short.

Except that’s merely your opinion. I convert gold to gems often enough that I always have gems when something interesting goes on sale. And if I’m not playing often enough to be around for every sale, well, I don’t mind missing out because… I’m not playing often enough.

Limited-time sales are a common method of generating interest. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but that doesn’t mean it needs to change.

John Smith: “you should kill monsters, because killing monsters is awesome.”

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Posted by: Faaris.8013

Faaris.8013

Let’s not have anymore derailing posts or ignorance posts about the disabled. That’s not the point of this thread and these posts do nothing to help with these issues.

Thank you.

I agree, I tried not to get into this in my first post. However, you brought this topic up, for no reason related to the game. Your disability has nothing to do with the problem you have with the gem store, so why bring it up in the first place? And now you are asking people to not talk about disabilities, that’s weird.

Take away the last part of your first post and your points about the gem store don’t lose any value. To be honest, I skipped the last part before I wrote my first reply, because your problem is that ArenaNet doesn’t respect when you get your paycheck and removes items from the store before you have money to buy them.

But that’s how life goes. Opportunities don’t care about your personal situation, you have to prepare yourself to seize them when they show up. I gave you advice how to prepare for the next sale, so you don’t miss out.

Thing is, ArenaNet sells more items if they only make them available for a short time. You probably have a list of real life things that you would like to have, but are not necessary. You postpone your purchase because they are always available, you think if you really wanted, you can buy them any time (like you could fulfill your life’s purpose any time, if you just wanted, and you have the rest of your life to do it). Most of these things you’ll never buy. Nike sells a lot of “special edition” sneakers because sneaker-heads know they are only available for a short time and in limited numbers. That is what makes them special and valuable.

Understand how it works and prepare accordingly. I wanted the Viper’s skin for my Thief girl since I saw it a couple of weeks ago, googled it, found a reddit thread that’s over a year old where someone asked about the gem store rotation. I realized that it will come back at some point, so I prepared. Now it’s back in the store and I got it. I “fell” for the artificial scarcity they created, but my Thief looks sexy, so I have that going for me.

Herleve – Ruins of Surmia

(edited by Faaris.8013)

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Posted by: Psientist.6437

Psientist.6437

I don’t like the studio’s strategy of limited time offers either. I can’t complete my ninja, vampire maid without Belinda’s greatsword. When that skin was offered, I had no idea I wanted a ninja, vampire maid. The gold to gem exchange is the main reason for the strategy. A limited time offer increases the likelihood that players will spend real money rather than convert gold, since they have less time to earn gold. Imo, it is difficult to find fault in them using this strategy.

If you are on a strict real world budget, I would not buy gems with real world money hoping that the studio will offer something you want in the future. Converting gold to gems on a schedule is a much safer strategy since you can always convert the gems back into gold if you find something you want in game. There is a 30%ish difference in exchange rates that can be overcome if you exchange gems to gold when there is an increased demand for gems such as big gem shop sales. As well, if you track the rate for gold to gem exchanges you can find opportune times to convert gold into gems.

“No! You can’t eat the ones that talk!
They’re special! They got aspirations.”
Finn the human

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Posted by: Menadena.7482

Menadena.7482

Yes, converting gold→gems when rates are good is the way to go. I admit to spending real world money too, but I look at it as how much I would realistically be paying if this were a subscription game and keep that as a ceiling.

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Posted by: Just a flesh wound.3589

Just a flesh wound.3589

I farm daily and convert gold to gems on a regular basis. If you plan ahead you’ll rarely get caught without the gems needed to buy something. I use this site to give me an idea of the lowest possible price I can pay for gems and this site to check gem prices when I’m at home, looking to buy gems and not logged on. If I catch the prices when they are good I can log on and buy.

Be careful what you ask for
ANet may give it to you.

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Posted by: mtpelion.4562

mtpelion.4562

Using the Gem Store for free does require a deal of planning and farming, but at least it is free.

Set yourself a farming goal of X gems per week and farm the gold to stockpile them up.

Server: Devona’s Rest

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Posted by: Danikat.8537

Danikat.8537

Sorry, but even people on fixed incomes (majority?) benefit from planning their expenses on a monthly basis. Please consider putting away X Euro/Dollar per month for gaming, so next time you will be able to buy the item when it shows up.

You can also get gems with ingame gold. There’s something wrong when you have to wait for your paycheck to buy an ingame item, and it’s not ArenaNet’s business model.

It really is their business model because making skins unavailable after 30 days doesn’t help anyone. Even when I was able to work it was a problem because of paydays.

For example: In another title, Elder Scrolls Online, it takes whole months before it disappears. It takes them a very long time before the items disappear. It’s still a problem there as well.

The items that disappear for real currency should never disappear. It does nothing to benefit the sales of the items when the majority as you said in your statement have fixed incomes.

Additionally as a second example, Elder Scrolls Online offers a subscription with endless gatherer storage and with monthly currency for the store. This allows for the building up of currency so that items can be purchased when they are available. No such subscription exists in this title which makes it more difficult for players.

If they had something like the subscription that ESO offers here in GW2 then you could make the arguments you made but that is not offered.

Elder Scrolls Online also does a lot of special offers where items are only available for a few days. The most recent example is the mushroom house which was sold from the 15th – 19th June inclusive – just 5 days. They didn’t even announce the price in advance and there’s no way to convert gold into crowns (their gems) so the only option was to save up an unknown amount in advance, or spend real money.

It’s actually a fairly standard tactic in games because for every person who is living pay check to pay check and needs to wait for the money to come in there’s someone with more money than sense, or who has planned ahead and has the money saved up.

Having said that I think you’ve got the answer in your post – if the subscription system works for you then you can use the same method here – every month when you get paid you buy gems, however many you want. Then you save them until something you want to buy comes along.

(Or alternatively just set the money aside and use it to buy gems when something is released, or if there’s nothing in the gem store that month you can use it in ESO to buy extra crowns or on whatever else you want that month.)

Danielle Aurorel, Dear Dragon We Got Your Cookies [Nom], Desolation (EU).

“Life’s a journey, not a destination.”