OCCUPY GAIA :: SAY NO TO BUYING GC

[Hmni]

I sign because I would like to see things finally go back to normal.

[M00NDR0PS]

Laeyele

Aperture Sentry Turret

Laeyele

Aperture Sentry Turret

Laeyele

It's just a game targeted for little 13-17 year olds

Since when did 13-17 year olds have $500 to dish out on wings or $1000 to dish out on halos/Verge bundles?

If this was still the Gaia of 2004 I might have belived that this site was for 13-17 year olds. But no, that is clearly not the case any more.

heh, i did
Most of my friends on here are under 18. shrug

So tell me, what job do you have that enables you to have such disposable income? lol

Edit:
Just read the rest of your post, and I agree. It is stupid to spend such money on pixels.

Well, I think I've probably spent in total around $300 from when I was 14-16, during high school I had the luxury of my parents giving me money for A's and B's on my report carrrd, so it added up

" Target acquired. "

»»» I used to be like that too, when I was that age. I received an allowance from my parents every two weeks for doing chores around the house, and so I used to buy Gaia Cash Cards every chance I had. I think, in the time since the cash shop opened, up until a few years ago, I had probably spent well over $1000 on this site.

But that was when items were at a more reasonable price, and things were actually new and exciting. Cash shop updates did not happen frequently, and sales were even less frequent. It all still had appeal back then.

I cannot afford it any more though, because I work for my money now and I pay for things myself. My phone is not cheap, and I pay for my own meals and trips and all that jazz.

But even if I had the disposable income, I would not spend it here. $50+ for re-released items or cheap recolors is nonsense, and I absolutely will not pay real money just to roll in a mountain of gold. Gaia has also done too many things recently to turn me off, and I refuse to spend money on a site or company that acts so ridiculous.

" Shutting down. "

[Alamoraine]

I'll sign.
I've been with this site for a really long time and made some friends that I still cherish to this day. Now it pains me to see so many of them want to leave because they are feeling (and rightly so!) as though they are treated less like site users and more like geese; geese of the golden variety that produce an endless supply of riches to the ones that own it. -_-
I understand that this place needs real money to stay up and running; Hell I've bought my share of Gaia cards in the past and indulged in the fun of buying exclusive items and watching them evolve into something cool, but when it gets to the point where there are 5 cash item updates for every regular gold item update, or an item with less than 5 poses to it costs $50-$500, it gets more than a little uncomfortable. At least when Neopets introduced their RL currency, they TRIED to be subtle about it and even now it's still apparent that you don't need to have any to still have fun there; something that's hard to remember on here when you're being constantly prompted to buy crazy-expensive items for real money and forgetting about what really makes this site so special; the people. After all, without people, there would be no exposure, no money, and NO website.

[kitten tea]

Laeyele

Sorry, I'm gonna have to say no; only because this is JUST a website.
It's just a game targeted for little 13-17 year olds who generally don't know what a market is or how it runs. It's here to make money and that's how the world runs.

It's in my opinion that being fed up over pixels and virtual money is real silly to me, there's so much more to life then whining about losing 2 million+ gold because of some inflated item due to some rad event that gives gold-poor people a chance in luxury. I don't keep track of what gold I lost, it's not a priority to me: I'm in college now and encasing yourself so deeply into a websites' pixelated issues doesn't compare to real life issues. I mean wow, 1st world problems.
Though, I do have to say, losing a SIGNIFICANT amount of REAL money due to previous GC spending on items you sold in the past that are now worth much more is pretty lame and I'm sorry for that.

Good luck trying to change Gaia's business strategies. They just don't care.

Uhm, you're wrong. I bet most of the user base is yes, in that age group.
But they target us, the ones who have a job and who have money to dish out. Those kids, 13-15, who can't get a job at that age don't have money to spend on the site. "Well I don't have money so I guess I can't look cool."
They want my money, your money, OUR money as the older user base. They upset the older user base, there goes their income for the site.

That is what people are so upset about.

EDIT: Yes though, the younger user base may not realize that they are funding a site so hungry for our money so they'll gladly spend their allowance. They don't understand though.

Even though I buy my items with cash (when it is spare and i have the funds for it.) I think to myself, "God I'm wasting my money. Why do I do this??" But s**t. It's my money and I'll do what I want...

I will be pissed when the site does shut down and all the items I've bought will be gone.
Oh well.
That's life I suppose.

[`Smarties]

toxic_fright_angel

I sign because I would like to see things finally go back to normal.

I don't know if it can ever be brought back to normal. sad

[Hmni]

`Smarties

toxic_fright_angel

I sign because I would like to see things finally go back to normal.

I don't know if it can ever be brought back to normal. sad

Well one can only hope it will.

[bubbie333]

I came back to Gaia recently and the first way i tried to make money was through the marketplace. Then they stated releasing Flynn's booty and now i cant afford anything. For this reason I sign.

[Marionette is Lost]

I actually read through many of these posts, and had some mixed feelings. Most just took the words from my mouth. Honestly, I'm curious to see what other offers Gaia is going to pester us with. This whole situation is a huge disappointment to me.

[UnseenLizard]

Ya,flynn's booty damage it all
neutral

[August Star Of Heaven]

Definitely signing.

[Sanrio TM]

I sign.

[Aeges]

Sign me up. I'd write an epitaph/suggestions, but I hardly think it's worth my time to type them.
Many *good* ideas for improvement have been mentioned by users but have yet to be implemented.

I also went out of my way to download adblock. s**t is - out - of - control - here.

[sora987]

Honestly this entire thread frustrates me to no end. All complaining and no one offering a realistic, comprehensive solution. Gaia will never stop selling cash items cheap or expensive, so instead it's better to think up a compromise that would restore the site to more of your liking while they can still profit. Screaming "gold sink" till the cows come home won't solve anything because most aren't willing to go along with a very dramatic siphoning of gold out of the marketplace. However, this needs to happen because it will essentially punish vendors for being greedy which is just as an important factor for the rising prices as the Flynn chests. Here's some suggestions from me:

1) Community: The site needs to rekindle the emphasis on creating a virtual world. The home page should mostly advertise the goings on of the characters and events on gaia and not simply advertisements for everything that's on sale this week/month/whatever (leave that to announcements and less intrusive side banners). Interesting plot points should always be occurring and give clear lead up to the various events. Plot events should NOT be centered around cash items. Cash items should only be an offshoot of the events. Events should take much more effort and involve actual games instead of a bunch of forum attacking/spamming. Event's should actually give desirable items for higher achievement.

2) Gold Sink: The marketplace is the biggest gold sink no doubt, but with all the extra gold it isn't effective in the slightest. Vendors cannot be controlled so you can only drive down the prices by making taxes punishing for hugely inflated prices. A graduated tax could be used ranging from the normal 2% up to 40% for the 2 billlion+ gold items. The taxes would be divided into ten classes with each class showing a rise of 2 to 4% and then an increasing 4% for each class beyond the second. Taxes will only remain this way until prices drop back to pre-Flynn inflation levels. Once that happens all products will be charged a flat tax of 4%.

3) Tying in the Mess: Tie in the inflation fiasco along with the drastic market change to an ongoing event. Something like a shady entity blackmailed Flynn into releasing a ton of gold into the gaia economy. The economic chaos that ensued left a perfect opportunity to invade. The leaders of gaia create the higher taxes to bring things under control and to raise money for defense. A few main characters form a resistance group to bring down the evil being and its minions threatening gaia towns. All seasonal events and characters tie into this major event during its duration. At the end of the event market taxes reduce back to normal over the next few weeks. All seasonal events during this year offer the best quality prizes in the history of gaia events for those who can complete the difficult challenges. The event duration is based on the time it takes for inflation to reduce to acceptable levels.

4) The Cash Shop: Super expensive items can still exist but they cannot be old items or recolors. They are their own unique items and all have some form of animation. Certain community members can get into a monthly payment plan and once they reach certain amounts are free to choose from several of the exclusive expensive items for that tier. Tiers go from $50 - $150 - $300 - $500-$1000. Payments should only be like $25 a month. Recolors of items go back into rigs. EIs are no more than twelve dollars and all have at least 25 poses for $5 eis and 60+ for normal price. No more Flynn's anything. Since alchemy is now pay to win that probably remains the same.

5) Games: Instead of having emphasis on paying to win simpler games should instead be made balanced gold earners only. More advanced games like soul crash or whatever your iphone games are is where paying for features can be included. Of the simpler games decide what you're going to revamp and what you're going to lose. Keeping old, unbalanced games and never upgrading them is a waste of bandwidth. Do polls on the five most popular ones, update those, and replace a couple of the least popular with something similar but more entertaining/unique. Have fewer but better quality games that you are serious of about keeping up with (like 7- cool

6) Monthly plans: There should be no outside ads whatsoever for those on a plan. Also give other benefits such as exclusive viewing to some popular new animes you're currently partnered with after they've been paying for some amount of time (like two months). If they've been paying for two years they get a beautiful exclusive item as nice as a high quality EI for that alone.

7) Gold Shops: are the same I guess. They are updated fairly frequently.

Those are just some of my ideas on this issue. Other suggestions can be made but people need to get serious about this. Pointing fingers and cursing out the CEO will not change jack s**t. Hell my suggestions probably won't either but at least it starts a real discussion. This community really needs to decide what about this site is absolutely vital and what isn't. Now I'm going to bed because my head feels like s**t.

[Pwnder]

***** WARNING ! - TL;DR IN EFFECT *****

These are merely Observations, Opinions, Feelings, Musings and a Sequence of Events
(not in any particular order)
of a long time Gaia user

-sigh-
I just can't do it anymore.
I'm done spending, I will rally too

I've been on the site since very early '04, made my first cash purchase a month later, been doing it ever since. If only PayPal would track my purchases that far back, I'd find out how much I've spent since then. Shmeesh! its got to be an insane amount, probably could have bought a car. gonk Where are the reparations?
(would LOVE to know my 10 year purchase history)

At first I was excited about some of the new GC releases, especially Flynn's Booty because I was questing stuff. But the releases kept coming and coming for higher prices - prices I would NOT afford no matter how bad I wanted one item. I even bought one of the wings formulas because honestly..$20?.. and what are the chances of that dropping from an Alchemist Case anyway? I Sank some of my gold into Alchemy to get Level 5 and Cinque, now I'm stuck again because prices are just too high so I'm not leveling up soon. Sure I could farm in Zomg or wander Towns 1 (Towns 2 gives jack) for hours and hours and hours and hours on end to randomly craft a Cache, but I've eventually gotta go to work, do school work and feed, punish and bathe my children.

I'm not unaccustomed to tossing $50 at Gaia in a month, but not in a pay period! Granted I made enough to buy my first '03 item because of a splurge on Flynn's Chest (that is the only high priced purchase I will throw at one item again....evar!), but the item price was inflated - I'm the sucker.

It's sad to see all these cool items re-released for GC in Verge and La Victorie, knowing I just can't do it, and I feel left out. Definitely cannot keep up with the flash sales, I don't get paid once a week, and those who can are in completely different tax bracket. I can't spend anymore on GC items than I have already and then look at the Marketplace economy here. On top of that, I haven't been able to afford the new EI's or bundles lately, like I used to do with my monthly typical expenditures, because I blew my bs budget on stupid economy inflating items. - again, I'm the sucker

I've been a collector of items for a long time, I have so much stuff that I can't manage it, and have been doing the dance for a new Inventory Arranger for a VERY long time. Yeah its in the works but when it comes out I'll probably just organize the stuff I already have because I'm not buying anything for a while. Sadly 95% my items are not available in gold shops or as game items, how much would that equate to in cash terms? and I can't even appropriately manage them all...

I was so upset at the marketplace prices and the fact that I contributed to it, I opened some of my old MCs and sold them around ABP instead of the inflated price everyone else was selling, to take a shot at driving down the ABP. -sucker

In effect, I'm already beaten down by the lack of a decent Inventory Arranger, next was Alchemy, Zomg, Towns 1 & 2, The Marketplace economy and now my Wallet. (It would be nice if they could incorporate bugs and trash into Zomg, or increase the drop rate, but alas...)

One thing that has always bothered me, and it's just a personal observation, of the many MANY times I have bought CI's - only 3-4 times have I got something extremely rare, since they started putting them out. The drop rates on those don't seem to be proportional to the purchase rates of users. NEVER got an SDPlusBlind NEVER got an exclusive re-color. I'd want to think that the amount of actual money I spent would have left me luckier in that aspect. Or maybe many would consider me lucky enough already? Enlighten me! Or is it that drop rates for CI's, and Game Items are just bad? Which is why, now, we have to pay $50 for that super rare item that never dropped.

What do Gaia big spenders get around here, besides a lame crown from Verge on your birthday, and an opportunity to spend more than what they are personally worth? What about a unique item reward for those who purchase more than $???? in a year? Oh I know I'd get one. I really miss those discounts for cash purchases. Customer rewards go a long way when hard earned money is being thrown around for pixel art, the love of the site and for turning your head away from the blatant neglect of its features. - sucker

This is my first post in SF, which I have been lurking for a month now, reading some of the statements around here and they reflect how I feel bit by bit. I don't post in the Forums often but I felt I had to appropriately or inappropriately spew, here.

Most of the gold I make is resale of GC items, but I've always returned it by purchasing items from the MP, which only adds to my stupid collection. I would usually purchase Zomg items for resale in my store, however, as of late I'd feel guilty for selling them double what they have been worth the past three years because of inflation, not to mention I can't afford it right now and the fact that Zomg is a neglected feature not worth spending 200,000gg for a Supercharger Deluxe to keep me in it.

I've never had anybody to blame but myself for my lack of Gaia gold, for not posting random crap in the forums and using other gold granting features. I'm not eloquent enough to post some insightful banter or maintain a thread or guild. Work, school and kids keep me too busy for that kind of activity, besides being a private person. But the fact remains I have spent my time and money here regardless of all that, for almost 10 years.

Only months ago I had a wet dream of being a great enough web developer and artist to work for Gaia Interactive, a site and technology I love, but to hear the outcry of its users and staff as of late makes me want to continue managing in the restaurant business.

In the restaurant business the customer is always right, the staff doesn't have to pay for mistakes and customers always return when they are rewarded or given discounts. I know this because I created rewards and discount systems within my company to increase sales by 30%, even when I had to raise the price dramatically on the main product. 10 - 15% off every time they make a purchase, plus a rewards member cash bonus every time they reached the max. Pshh! thats a free meal where I come from. I analyze the sales trends in anyway I can and make sure people are taken care of. I know and recognize frequent customers and personally make sure they are satisfied, not being mistreated or over charged. My staff respects and enjoys working with this company because I don't mistreat them, like they are on a different level from myself, and they are proud of their work environment and money. I don't make money off my staff, they earn more than me according to my payroll reports. I earn my extra bonus from happy customers, the happy staff that serves them and the resulting sales from it all. In addition, I get pride from my accomplishments and the customers keep returning, that's why I keep getting a bonus, and Gaia is where some of my bonus is spent. -sucker

Seems like nobody is having fun anymore

I've said enough...
It was pent up.
Rate my avi

Bleh...