Some things about Club Verge.

[Volkov Seraphim]

Luciania

Yup. It's not the concept, it's the execution.
The reward for spending is not worth it. Plus it's not going to make new spenders want to spend more if all you granted is the option of spending even more.

This.

[Anti-Ling]

my argument boils down to something more like "the porsche club is on the community board and are very likely to get first say in things now because the head of said board and said club is the very recently controversial owner of porsche"
If they at least waited to release this with seniority membership, they could have avoided a significant amount of stink
they'd at least have the backs of the jealous folk you're talking about

But ultimately, all these people breaking even legitimate fear for the site's wellbeing down to greed
says more of the club supporters' own greed and ignorance than the challengers' imo

Halfheartedly telling people not to use the feature is similar to saying "don't like it, don't use it" to something like the avatar system
you can't simply avoid the effects a recognized elite community is going to have on the site
The message has already been sent and they're going to have to win a lot of people back
all because they rushed something (to likely get the july items out)

[Cashuea]

While dissapointed in the fact that is "exclusive" club is only for the rich people of gaia, it does not really bother me too much because sooner or later those items will leak out to the open market.

From a PR standpoint, gaia did shoot themselves in the foot. Maybe they will change how it works sometime.

[Idia]

What bothers me most is that it feels like they're not even throwing the bone to the "poor" yet. We get a promise. We get a plastic bone, no marrow.
Why couldn't they have waited and released them ALL, or at least a couple of them at the same time?

It would be nice if every once in a while the money-grubbing wasn't so high-priority and pure dedication got the spotlight.
Whatever they release will probably sit in CV's shadow.

[Nyadriel]

Yorugami

Nyadriel

Bleeding Apocalypse

The only issue I have with Club Verge is that...

...The perks aren't really perks. Not really. I've got a kind of club card to the Rite Aid and the local supermarket. So when I go in and use my club card, I get discounts and coupons towards new things. This is the entire reason why I joined, to get discounts and coupons towards other items.

These supposed member perks don't really give me anything. All I really have is access to more expensive (and quite honestly, overpriced by about 50%) items. That's... not a perk. A perk is seeing the Hoarfrost Pass in the Cash Shop for 499 Cash and, because I'm a club member, I get it for 449Cash instead. THAT'S a club member perk. Or, at least, an example of what a perk should be.

Right now, the promise of a free birthday item, which is nine months away from me, is just kinda meh. I doubt it'll be something amazing and spectacular, and honestly, considering you only have to have spent less than $10 a month for the past year to get in means there are probably a lot of users in Club Verge that aren't the kind of people blowing $25 - $1000 on an exclusive club shop item at once.

Think about it. There are people in Verge who likely spent as little as $9 a month on the site and you're showing them a store where the lowest priced item is $25 and the highest is $1,000. That's just really silly.

This is part of what is getting me the most. There really isnt anything there for the users who cannot spend all that much (or have to do the sponsor thing to get gCash cause they cannot get it any other way) even for a very limited time. At those prices, I would think a person would spend $10 a month, buy MCs and sell them in the mp for gold and use that - well, it isnt even enough to be able to buy those items on the mp. So, one would spend many months that way and/or playing Booty Grab which spills more gold INTO the system as people try to...

This is another big mess!
I know the site needs the money. But this just is not gonna work very well in the long run.
Maybe what they could do is when they have another club for non-Cash-spenders, they could offer very high priced items in GOLD for a major gold sink to counteract this. Because somebody has not really thought this through all the way.

These guys say it better.
Basically boils down to bad execution for the shop.

1. Released at a time when CASH Shop tensions are high.
2. They're pushing the limit on what people can safely spend on virtual items without feeling guilty of neglecting RL needs (I fear when they'll break the 1000$ cap and start selling items for 10k and then what's to stop Gaia from selling a Backwings item for 1million real live dollars someday? ) ;D
3. Their rewards system equates to = spent 100$ on Gaia? AWESOME! Now here's a store to spend 1000$ as your reward!

: / Yeah.

I don't care what people spend their money on here on Gaia
if it helps Gaia keep on running but...their practices of late
have been going a bit skeevy...like a slick talking guy in an
alleyway offering you gold watches from inside his trenchcoat.

It's just customer service at this point.
It's making people wary of supporting Gaia instead of the other way around.

Another way that it is bad timing (aside from doing it so soon after Summer sales) is the fact that this happened the day before the new Federal gas tax started taking place. Gas prices here in Connecticut shot straight up towards $4 a gallon! At a time when the economy is still suffering. This is gonna put a damper on these kinds of sales/prices and another reason why I do not see this as continuing long term. I refuse to go into debt over this.

[Starshine]

Extra Sharp Cheddar

Second, the price tags don't really phase me all that much. I personally probably won't buy anything, but... I guess if you're someone who buys five 999GC RIG bundles a month to sell off for your dream avi, I fail to see how a 5000GC halo is any different, money-wise. The only difference will be supply and demand which is not something Gaia controls directly. Prices are set by users. There really shouldn't be any b'awwwing over that.

I can debate that :3 Demand and supply controls the price for the most part, but Gaia heavily influences the supply, and has more subtle influences on demand.

If they price an item lower and have a sale like Black Friday, supply will increase.
If they up the ratio of getting an item from a rig, supply will increase.
If they re-release an item in a new bundle, supply will increase.
If they release a cheap alchemy formula for it, supply will increase.

On the other side of things, they can decrease supply by make it a component in alchemy formulas, or adding a high sellback.

They can also influce demand too surprised If they release a very similar and cheap alternative to an item the demand for the higher priced version will decrease.

However by releasing more items that goes well with an item will increase demand, as users who previously had no use for it now wants it.

[Tindre]

If I was still working then I would possibly fall for it, but since I am a student and I don't have money for this kind of stuff I just feel it's a bit greedy... pricewise.

I like the idea though, would have been nice a couple of years ago

[Bon Troyage]

Shintouyu

Diamond Cache

The only thing I don't like about Club Verge is that the prices make Gaia look desperate for money, which makes me think that Gaia is in a bad position as a business. I don't know whether that's true or not, but it sure makes me think it. The prices are also a bit crazy to me. But whatever makes Gaia money, I guess.

Gaia's position has been in question since they did a massive lay-off of Devs and Artists. Club Verge is just oil on the fire.

I completely forgot about that (somehow.) I really hope this helps their situation, then.

[Paragonz0]

The high prices are a smart idea since a lot of people only care about how much their pixels are worth. This will ensure the value will remain high. It will be like MC for the club members. 3nodding

Can't wait to see what's in store for next month. emotion_dowant

[chai fae]

Idia

What bothers me most is that it feels like they're not even throwing the bone to the "poor" yet. We get a promise. We get a plastic bone, no marrow.
Why couldn't they have waited and released them ALL, or at least a couple of them at the same time?

It would be nice if every once in a while the money-grubbing wasn't so high-priority and pure dedication got the spotlight.
Whatever they release will probably sit in CV's shadow.

I do agree with this. I don't really see a problem with CV, it's a great idea, but I still feel like I'm as a user not a high priority because I don't spend enough (And I just barely didn't make the cut, if my math is right).

But then, I still think that even if the other reward programs were released at the same time as CV, they would still be overshadowed. If they were released before CV, they'd be overshadowed as soon as CV was released. I mean, we know where Gaia's priorities are at, the rewards for being a member for a long time or for having a high post count aren't going to be nearly as spectacular. I'd love for Gaia to prove me wrong, though. But all I can do is sit back and wait.

[Kain-Senpai]

There's already been a divide within the community: those who can spend and those who can't. This club, as much as I do like it, just widens that gap. Not every single user who is in the club has the "massive amounts of money", as some claim. They simply got in for the Auto-Cash feature, which is $10 bucks a month. That's the bare minimum. Plus, in addition to users who go about the free cash offers to gain GC. I remember reading one user having 7,000 GC for just doing those free offers. It can be done.

The shop's release came too soon. If the Staff had waited a couple of months, or even started this at the beginning of Jan, 2014, then I think users would be less angry. Plus, this gives them the appropriate time to work on features for users who have been here since the beginning, who have reached a certain number of posts, and who don't have the means to donate to the site on a regular bases (if at all).

I don't like the idea of elitism. I never had, and never will. You'd think the Staff learned the mistake of releasing yearly sashes and then soulbinding them to their respective accounts. That caused so much uproar, I'm surprised I haven't seen anyone reference this.

I like the shop, but it's too soon to open it. The July themed items would have been better placed in D*C as a good gold sink, especially if they plan to rotate the items around like the cheaper birthstone items. The other items could have been placed in the regular cash shop. All this time and up to January 2014 could have been better spent figuring out a way to please the majority of users, not just those who spend money on the site. For the record, I have no problem with this. I just think it wasn't executed properly.

You know... I don't know anymore. ::sigh::

[Adnama Lavode]

I don't really get how it's a reward if you're just given the opportunity to buy single items that cost the same as or more than the "membership fee" that is accrued over the span of a year. That alone should send up a red flag. It's not really a reward. Most of them are single pose items and you can only rearrange pixels to be so amazing or complex that they're worth that much as new items.

[Little Coppelia]

I don't really mind, I think it's nice that they're rewarding users who support the site even if it's a little screwed up in some ways but as a high school student with limited amounts of income I can't see myself spending so much on pixelated items. Surely there must be others in my situation? I'm just hoping Gaia will come up with something good for people who've been on here for a while too.

[T y l e n o l.]

The items in D*C are a far higher quality than those in the shop. Therefore to me, the price isn't worth it. I don't care that they wanna offer us a special shop or whatever, but it seems like they're really just seeing how far they can push prices before people get angry.

If people wanna pay, then that's their business but the whole debacle feels really gross.

Also--don't call a blatant marketing ploy a loyalty rewards program. They are not the same.

[Idia]

chai fae

Idia

What bothers me most is that it feels like they're not even throwing the bone to the "poor" yet. We get a promise. We get a plastic bone, no marrow.
Why couldn't they have waited and released them ALL, or at least a couple of them at the same time?

It would be nice if every once in a while the money-grubbing wasn't so high-priority and pure dedication got the spotlight.
Whatever they release will probably sit in CV's shadow.

I do agree with this. I don't really see a problem with CV, it's a great idea, but I still feel like I'm as a user not a high priority because I don't spend enough (And I just barely didn't make the cut, if my math is right).

But then, I still think that even if the other reward programs were released at the same time as CV, they would still be overshadowed. If they were released before CV, they'd be overshadowed as soon as CV was released. I mean, we know where Gaia's priorities are at, the rewards for being a member for a long time or for having a high post count aren't going to be nearly as spectacular. I'd love for Gaia to prove me wrong, though. But all I can do is sit back and wait.

You're probably right. Though, if they came out before verge they'd have had some spotlight, even if only for a little bit.
I thought about it some and I think the only thing that might be fancier than verge would be a private flash space.