GC Gift Cards are for Angels ONLY! UPDATE: NO GC GIFT CARDS

[kloob]

They just need to stop selling gift cards entirely. They have created an economy that is dependent upon these gift cards and when they reduce the flow, y'all complain. At this point everything really just needs to be a direct purchase

[clarion]

I think it would be really good to have at the very least the 200 and 500 gc cards available to everyone in the regular shop. Those have a lot of utility for people doing things like offering small prizes for contests, someone needing to top up just enough to get something, or people needing to pick up a minimal amount of gc to enter runway since the fee isn't broken anymore and it's pretty inconvenient when they aren't available.

Putting the larger amount ones in c9 would sort of mirror how the big 100x rig bundles are sometimes exclusively in there -- it makes them a thing that's not *only* available to bigger spenders but the larger denominations or bigger bundle sizes are less likely to be wanted or needed by people who aren't spending that much to begin with.

[vixxnly]

I'm gonna be honest....I couldn't really care less if it's in C9 or not. I'd consider myself a casual spender. I have the $5 sub when it makes sense monetarily for me to do so. If they were to leave them in there for good, and not remove them from the shop, then I wouldn't be annoyed. I'd know they're always there if I need them, and would stock up on a rotation in which I have access to C9.
I would like the tax to be removed if this is the route we're going, but really, at the end of the day I don't care. I don't use GC cards for pretty much anything anymore since tickets are no longer in the CS shop and i'm not a strictly f2p gaian.

[iiiHuntingtoniii]

GAIA. DOES. NOT. CARE.
Now these fine gentlemen are going to flip you upside down and shake until we get our monthly quota.

And frankly, you shouldn't either.
Don't support this shitty company until they treat their users better.

[C]

I vend for gift cards as I no longer have the financial stability to directly buy GC, but I definitely have had very little interest in direct-buying GC for awhile. Why would I need to if I can just recycle my invo for gold/plat to buy gift cards?

This highlights, for me anyway, how GC gift cards are not healthy in general for the virtual economy. There is already way too much GC floating around from gift card exchanging. Many users currently hoard astronomical values of cards. I strongly infer that this has gotten to a point where Gaia does not pull in as much cash flow anymore from its sales. Items getting sold out in LV see a lower proportion of the sales coming from users directly buying GC to buy them; the other (growing) proportion is from the existing GC pool in the marketplace.

I suppose you could argue that money is money - the GC was originally purchased for real money, and we're only seeing a delay of that revenue being recognized as it passes through the marketplace and eventually being sunk into Gaia Cash items. From a business perspective, having so much "unearned revenue" floating around in the marketplace is not an ideal situation to be in (it is considered a liability, though idk how Gaia recognizes it on their books)... though most customers don't give a s**t I suppose.

I strongly believe this is why we do not see project tickets being sold for GC anymore, nor do I ever want to see them in LV (or even C9 for that matter) ever again without a substantial price hike.

I digressed from the topic (I get pretty heated with these topics lol accounting trainee here), but I am okay with gift cards being in C9. I don't see it as the most optimal solution, but it's a start. (I am actually 100% for having them available on a permanent direct-buy page similar to the project tickets, but the one time Gaia did that, everyone threw a fit lmao)

The minimum angel subscription is $5 USD. I understand there are many people who enjoy Gaia while living cheque to cheque (especially in these unprecedented times), but I do not think this will change much of what we currently see in the GC market. Angel subscribers get a higher bonus to buy additional GC, which actually could mean more GC cards are being introduced into the economy...? Unless non-spenders are doing something else with gift cards in LV that I am not aware of, I don't see the problem.

(my thoughts are kind of disjointed my bad)

[5enpai]

I'm hoping this is just a mistake, but it most likely isn't. I'm saddened by this, as Gaia is limiting the amount of users who can purchase GC giftcards and use them for the Cash Shop. When you limit your customer base, that will have an effect on the profits. Business 101.

It's going to make it harder for free users to purchase items from the Cash Shop. At least allow the 200 and 500 GC Giftcards available for all users, and place the 1000 and up amounts in C9. I feel this would be a fair solution.

[Hong-Nan]

meIapoiea

i know that they want to sell more angel subscriptions, but this is NOT the answer. this is just driving up inflation of the GC gift cards.

Here here! And they need to remember, they are selling CASH for PIXELS!!!!

[Twisted Lady]

I'm not a fan of it. I'm sure they moved the cards to C9 as a way of encouraging more subscribers, but I think it'll fail. If all I want is to buy GC cards and sell them for gold/plat, I''m probably not going to be happy about spending an extra $5 so that I have access to the cards and then pay the extra GC card tax to buy them. Unless this is an attempt to wean users off GC cards in general so they can eventually get rid of them, then this is a perfect solution to that problem.

Maybe a fair compromise would be to keep the cards permanently in C9, and then have them rotate in and out of the regular cash shop. Maybe only keep the 2500 GC cards and below in regular rotation and the higher value cards only appear once a month or so. Remove the card tax in C9 to make it more enticing, and that $5 subscription suddenly becomes a lot more appealing.

[feasibleweasel]

For me, I feel less incentivized to take out a subscription or to purchase GC at all. I already have plenty of items and outfits for my avatar and I don't really see the need to spend real life money (esp as a college student during a pandemic) just to get even more junk for my avatar. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything even if I don't look as cool as other users. But for the gift card to be sealed behind Cloud 9, it just makes me want to dig my heels in and not even bother with giving Gaia anything because I don't know what I'm getting back. A lot of the website is dead or dying and it's hard to me to really find a reason to spend money on this website anymore. And I used to spent a LOT on GC like ten years ago. It's all just really sad honestly.

[Bun]

I feel like it is a slap in the face for C9 only users to get Gcash cards. It screams "Only people who pay on our site are allowed to enjoy our cash shop items! The rest of you, good luck with the broken market place!"
Yeah. So no thank you.
My subscription just expired and I have 0 intention of renewing. If I want something, I'll just ask a friend. Honestly, until items become more diverse and interesting again, I won't be spending a dime on here and actions like this encourage users, like myself and my friends, to stop spending on here. It all boils down to greed.
Gaia didn't need to do this. Look at how many tickets they're pushing out daily for pure cash only. This wasn't needed.


However, I'm glad the cards are dropping in Market. That means I can just keep buying them there with all the Gold I've saved up from there not being anything I've wanted lately.
As long as they stay cheap in MP, I don't care at this point where they go.

[gloomspell]

mank demes

They just need to stop selling gift cards entirely. They have created an economy that is dependent upon these gift cards and when they reduce the flow, y'all complain. At this point everything really just needs to be a direct purchase

What do you propose users who do not pay for the site do?

Wouldn't this just create an even more extreme economic hierarchy, where the people with IRL money control all the wealth on Gaia? And those who just grind & do not or can not spend real cash will never be able to catch up to them?

I don't like that kind of Gaia, not one bit.

[gloomspell]

iiiHuntingtoniii

GAIA. DOES. NOT. CARE.
Now these fine gentlemen are going to flip you upside down and shake until we get our monthly quota.

And frankly, you shouldn't either.
Don't support this shitty company until they treat their users better.

What you're talking about is a boycott.
I have no intentions of boycotting Gaia, especially not over something like this.

Others may find that actions like restricting the Gift Cards to paid members only is the breaking point for their frustrations with the site & they may honestly choose to leave the site, withdraw their funding, and/or cancel any subscriptions. However, I do not feel that way.
I reserve boycotts of companies for when they make morally-reprehensible decisions, when their CEOs are ousted as ***** & rapists, when their business practices put the workers' lives in danger, etc. This is not to say that those who choose to boycott companies for any lesser reasons are in the wrong, so much as pointing out the extreme levels to which a company must go in order for me to call for and institute a boycott of them & their products.

What Gaia is doing here may be seen as objectionable, possibly even morally questionable if we're looking at in terms of abusing their relationship with their clients (us, the users). But in the end, while I object to their current practices, they are in fact a business & there is nothing illegal about their actions.
One reason why I respect Gaia as a company more than many others is the fact that they do indeed seem intent on at least trying to listen to their userbase, and seem to attempt compromises which will make the users happy without sacrificing their profit margins. (And again, let's remember that Gaia is not actually a profitable company - they are fighting to stay afloat right now.)

So in the end, however angry I am about this, my solution is to do just this - to voice my opinion on their actions together with the rest of the community in the hope of future changes that better reflect the wishes of that community.


I do fully support anyone who wishes to use their monetary resources as a form of capitalist protest, but I also recognize that this is not even an option for many users, and many of the people who are suffering from this Gift Card shop relocation are the non-cash-paying users who acquire these Cards off the MP, meaning they do not have the option to withdraw monetary support as a form of protest.


For example, I am an Angel Subscriber with access to Cloud 9 & this move in no way affects me as a user. If I chose, I could turn a blind eye to this or even stock up on Gift Cards, sell them on the MP, and profit. But my interest is not to turn my money into a tool or a weapon here, but to instead use my voice & my opinion to express my distaste for the inequality being perpetuated by this move & the troubling implications it has for Gaia's economic future.


I appreciate you suggesting a "solution", or at least plan of action, on how people could respond to this. I don't think it's practical for everyone & I don't think it's the right choice for me, but I appreciate the sentiment.

[kloob]

gloomspell

mank demes

They just need to stop selling gift cards entirely. They have created an economy that is dependent upon these gift cards and when they reduce the flow, y'all complain. At this point everything really just needs to be a direct purchase

What do you propose users who do not pay for the site do?

Wouldn't this just create an even more extreme economic hierarchy, where the people with IRL money control all the wealth on Gaia? And those who just grind & do not or can not spend real cash will never be able to catch up to them?

I don't like that kind of Gaia, not one bit.

The users who don't want to spend money on Gaia can earn platinum and buy items on the marketplace, like how users did before this crazy cash push prior to 2013 or so.

There has always been an extremely uneven wealth gap on Gaia, but it's more apparent now with the current set up than it has ever been. It isn't hard to earn currency now either, whether that's by grinding games or spending some time in the exchange.

[feasibleweasel]

feasibleweasel

For me, I feel less incentivized to take out a subscription or to purchase GC at all. I already have plenty of items and outfits for my avatar and I don't really see the need to spend real life money (esp as a college student during a pandemic) just to get even more junk for my avatar. I don't feel like I'm missing out on anything even if I don't look as cool as other users. But for the gift card to be sealed behind Cloud 9, it just makes me want to dig my heels in and not even bother with giving Gaia anything because I don't know what I'm getting back. A lot of the website is dead or dying and it's hard to me to really find a reason to spend money on this website anymore. And I used to spent a LOT on GC like ten years ago. It's all just really sad honestly.

An update to this after the announcement I just got. Gaia's 17th anniversary items can only be bought with cash apparently. I feel like that completely excludes a lot of users who have been here since nearly the beginning. I want to be able to celebrate the anniversary, but not with Gaia almost trying to force me to spend real money. There doesn't seem to be an event happening for it, no fun or games or interactions, just pay to play. It really does feel like Gaia is pushing users away like this...

[Bonaduece]

feasibleweasel

An update to this after the announcement I just got. Gaia's 17th anniversary items can only be bought with cash apparently. I feel like that completely excludes a lot of users who have been here since nearly the beginning. I want to be able to celebrate the anniversary, but not with Gaia almost trying to force me to spend real money. There doesn't seem to be an event happening for it, no fun or games or interactions, just pay to play. It really does feel like Gaia is pushing users away like this...

Gaia's 17th anniversary already came and went this year (they gave out this freebie at the time). Those bundles are just the two most popular ones of the many they had for sale at the time, making a return appearance.