I'm very thankful I didn't spend that much on Gaia Cash itself, and that uni was too busy to make me have to go AWOL from the site for more than 2 years, not that I was any inclined to spend more than the amount I've staggered over the span of 2 years (probably somewhere less than US$200? Aah how I love and miss the gaia I used to know; I had joined somewhere around late 2007, and even then, some 2003/2004-ers had already found changes with the site, but GC items, expensive as they were for me, were already AFFORDABLE at their 2010 pricing, compared to the abomination they are now.
Just the idea that Gaia itself released gold generating items is probably the largest contributor to the in-game economy just crashing like that. I thought they were firmly against the idea, before?
It boils down to corporate greed, corporate greed, and corporate greed. Compare the old "About Us" page for Gaia, and the new. It's too... corporate-y now. I know many people were not contented with the management of Derek (?) or whoever followed him before the current senior management (if there was someone between the original founders and the current management of Gaia Interactive,) but Club Verge and all the other things I've come back to -- wow.
I've managed to even do a huge clearing of my wishlist, not only because I no longer want the times, but also because their prices have been so unstable that I don't see myself ever getting them, even if I sold my entire account (and its measly account worth.)
I'll even let you in a secret -- the largest amount of gold I've ever handled without reselling a GC item was roughly 250k, simply from questing and zOMG! It's a shame; I loved zOMG! when I was tried of Shin Megami Tensei and my other MMOs. Now, I find solace in browser-based text-only MMOs.
I'll still be here for a while, perhaps. But I haven't bought Gaia Cash in 3 years, and I never will. I'm not kidding here, thankfully I don't really have emotional investment (read: friends) who still play the site anymore. Okay, I have one friend, but I'm not sure she still plays -- she is active elsewhere, though.
Heck, I want to distance myself from GC items released before my long hiatus, but I specifically want certain items I won't mention (because I find it embarrassing to beg) because 1) I'm from and live in the Philippines and have relatives who were affected direly by Typhoon Haian -- I channeled my effort and money directly to the people of Leyte though, rather than through a middleman, 2) I really like x, because I am also x, 3) the rest of the items I left in there are older items I've had in my WL for up to 4 years, for legacy purposes.
Oh, and I sign -- you can add me if you wish, and are not obligated to quote me. I'm not likely to read it in a timely manner, anyhow. :'D
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