[Feedback] Happy Hour

[BB_Dantesama]

Please remain on topic,

Thank you

BB_Dantesama

[Nuttymut]

Hi Dantesama,

I'm sure you know I am not one to be silent about my opinions and I welcome the opportunity to air my thoughts and perceptions on the subject of Happy Hour.

• Happy Hour Sales are in my opinion part of the larger structure that raises revenue from your customers
• It's clearly a mechanism to ensure additional revenues can be raised at the end of the month when BB's targets are falling short
• In my somewhat humble opinion this undermines customer confidence. It certainly undermines mine.
• I will only buy gems during Happy Hour.
• My guess is that BB is caught between server loads and potential additional server costs and their revenue per server/unit
• And in a sense that continues to leave me (BB's customer) feeling non commital on spend

Notwithstanding my assumptions above in essence what I am saying is I feel BB's pricing structure doesn't inspire me to part with my money. Additionally I continue to wait (and after 12 months of waiting I'll dispense with the patience you have continued to request) for all the promises BB are making to come to fruition.

Dantesama you could be mistaken for thinking I am not financially astute. Some years ago at the tender of age of 28 (well very very many years ago) I was promoted. I had 13 staff working under me. I was responsible for setting and monitoring budgets, which today would equate to, over £1bn. I worked in private industry and the income the company relied upon was generated entirely from making it's own products. We needed customers for our products and we worked hard to secure them.

In today's money each of our customers was spending £200K - £500K with us.

It was always in our best interests to align our business entirely with our customers needs. Part of that was to carry out market research about our customers and to work to the budgets we knew they had.

I continue to feel BB are not getting it right when it comes to a simple transparent pricing structure. BB's pricing is ambiguous in my opinion. Happy hour is clearly not something that BB would do if gem prices were resilient enough throughout the rest of the month. It's a fall back, top up the revenue plan, solely designed to protect BB. It does not bring value to BB's customers.

Starter packs were introduced in March 2012. They were pulled less than six months later to be replaced by a pack that had essentially doubled in price.

I would simply ask BB to reflect my comments. I want you to make a profit. I know if you do that the game will continue to be available to me. I don't have any issues with anyone making a profit for any service I buy.

I would like BB to consider dropping Happy Hour prices completely. In return I would also like to see them reduce gem prices. I am not suggesting BB have Happy Hour all month. However, such comments tend to put glass ceilings in place.

During the last 2 months I have "felt" one or two ears listening to us, your customers. I hope you are doing more than paying us lip service. I hope you are taking on board the comments that are being made. Whilst my knowledge of the gaming market may be slim I am confident that my comments are correct as a customer.

May I close my comments by stating that I do not think I have strayed off the subject of Happy Hour. I have put forward my comments as part of a larger picture. I cannot stress enough I understand BB's need to make a profit. My job for the last 30 years has been largely about the production of profit, not only for the company I worked for but the supply chains and customers who the company worked with and for.

Nuttymut :-)

[Dopey]

I’ve spent all I’m ever going to spend on this game. I regret every penny. My only hope now is to wait an unknown amount of time with the delusion that one day BB will listen and make the game something resembling what I would like it to be/delivering on content promises of over a year ago.

It’s interesting to me that during Christmas we got a 100% sale. This seemed appropriate, something a bit more than usual for ‘the’ event of the year. But we’ve had a couple of 100% sales since then which I feel completely de-values there specialness. Worst still when another significant event like Easter comes along all we get is 20%? If we can have 100% sales for no reason/significantly lesser events then we should be able to have one for Easter. This current 20% sale smells of pure fishy marketing carp. A token sale designed to seem like a generous thing but in reality all it is there for is to make those scrambling to get enough eggs during Easter to be convinced enough to buy some gems while ‘a good offer’ is on as well. Do the bean counters not see how more people for less money can make them so much more money than less people for extortionate prices?

I’ll gloss over why it could be argued Easter is more important to some then Christmas and just move on to my next point. If it’s so easy for BB to give a number of 100% in just a few months then it blatantly shows what little value the gems truly are if there price can so easily be slashed in half so often.

Instead of 100/50% happy hours (Trades description act breach there as I’ve never once been happy when buying them) lower the normal cost of the gems across the board by at least half then have a set standard happy hour rate that adds on 10% to each package that’s buy-able. Then issue happy hour to all significant real world events and any special promotions BB do. At least then those that miss a 100% happy hour aren’t disadvantaged as much when the next happy hour is just 20% at a much needed time like right now for Easter. Players will always know they can catch the next happy hour and won’t have lost out just due to bad timing.

[Nuttymut]

Hi Dopey,

I am not sure if this comment is entirely correct. BB are required to operate under the Statute that governs the country in which they sell. Failure to do so could lead to their website being refused access to sell in that country.

As such I do not think that your reference is entirely correct. I'd be more happy to suggest that BB could (in all innocence) be in breach of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 with updates. I do not think that this relates to their use of "happy hours" though. I tend to think that their advertisement offering 20% more gems does misrepresent the offer. And as you know for all contracts to exist there must be an offer and an acceptance. Although BB could argue that they are offering to offer in argument to side step this issue. I would suggest that by showing the price for the Gems to include a 20% bonus does infer to those who have not seen the prices before that a timeline exists on this offer. In advertising the gem costs in this way I would suggest BB have (innocently) breached the Misrepresentation Act 1967.

BB are not using the word "sale" in there offer for gems. This is true when the have a happy hour. In essence it amounts to a sale and as such it can therefore come under the relevant Statute for the control of how prices are shown over the internet in the UK. If I recall correctly the Sale Of Goods Act covers this with requirements on timelines.

All the above aside I continue to put my own point to BB which is their pricing structure lacks transparency. Both morally and legally I would like to see BB clean this up and introduce a pricing structure which is substantially more tangible than that currently used.

Are gems worth the price - that's a matter for the seller and buyer to work out and BB are entitled to sell there product at whatever price they deem fit. As such buyers are also entitled to stand at arms length and buy gems if they feel the value of the gems suits them. Statute cannot change how people value items. It can however, ensure that parties behave in a way that is legal, fair and honest.

I have not ventured off the subject of Happy Hour. I merely wanted to add some points which help with the feedback BB receive.

Nuttymut :-)

[Dopey]

In regards to my comment about the trades description act, I meant it humorously.

[Srimonah]

So there won't be any better offer this time 'round than this +20%?

[DaveyDent]

Nuttymut

Mate pls pls give it a rest, it always seems that you are of the opinion 'the glass is always half empty'.

A companies overheads/wages etc etc have to be paid for some how, if you really really don't like it that much you could always go somewhere else and allow us that do enjoy this game to actually play it.

AND on another note I DO think BB have been listening to us lately, the Vet General changed, Guild quests got sorted out and more.

A saying, 'if you continue to go through life wanting everything done now, you will always be disappointed'.

have a good day

Davey

[Cully]

Confused. TOday is the26th. it's 12.31 pm and I don't see the 100% in the shop?

[peck_ed]

This is a feedback thread from last month

"25.02.13 20:04"

[Peajay]

The 'Happy Hour' promotion that people are aware of is a 100% extra gems for your money. The current promotion is not the same. Everyone that knows about the 'Happy Hour' will not buy for less just like people that knew about the retail pack from last year would not buy the current version.