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Gem-store items availability


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Isn’t it possible to just make every item in the Gem-Store available all the time instead of removing them and bringing them back again after awhile?

It’s kind of frustrating when you miss out on a item in the gem-store and you dont know when anet will put it up again.

Is there like a restriction on how many items that can be up in the gem-store at the sametime?

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@"kharmin.7683" said:Yes, it is frustrating but it is a marketing tactic that renders items more valuable in the perception of the buyer due to scarcity.

For many gem shop items, the only value is the perception, so that turns out to be an important factor for buyers. If something is available all the time, then people dismiss its importance. Absence makes the heart grow fonder etc. People who want a particular item or three would enjoy not having to wait, but there are lots & lots of items at this point, and more people would take those for granted.

Holiday decorations in RL are special because they are only around for a short time. Special menus at restaurants, seasonal coffees, etc... it's all more interesting to humans because they aren't always available.

That's why businesses have been using "artificial scarcity" as a technique long, long before the digital age. It works because, in this type of case, perception is reality.

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There's also people like me who, if an item is available all the time, will spend forever thinking "I might get that one day" but that one day never actually happens. Whereas if it's being removed you have to get on and make a decision, so it can generate more sales by forcing people to get off the fence and choose (even if some of them choose not to buy it).

Incidentally I've been waiting for the white feather wings to come back too. I never had a use for them before but now I've got an idea for a character that they'd be perfect for. So much so that it's not really worth making the character until I can get the wings.

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@AshkyLicious.4729 said:Thanx for all the very good and helpful posts! :D

Wish they could atleast change items more often, and make sure that all the items gets a chance to show up.I think that it took like over a year for the white wings to show up again for example. That’s too long.

If you're looking for white wings, there'll be an alternative in a few days. White wings with pink colored feathers at the bottom. They got datamined and are most likely going to be added on tuesday. If you want to check them ingame, here's the chatcode: [&AgGfXwEAAA==]

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@Raknar.4735 said:

@AshkyLicious.4729 said:Thanx for all the very good and helpful posts! :D

Wish they could atleast change items more often, and make sure that all the items gets a chance to show up.I think that it took like over a year for the white wings to show up again for example. That’s too long.

If you're looking for white wings, there'll be an alternative in a few days. White wings with pink colored feathers at the bottom. They got datamined and are most likely going to be added on tuesday. If you want to check them ingame, here's the chatcode: [&AgGfXwEAAA==]

Thank you for the tip, it isn’t the white feathers I want though, I just used them as a example :D

I’m waiting for Dragons Eye Circlet headpiece, so hopefully they bring it back again soon :)

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Wow, who would've thought you'd find ppl making actual arguments for artificial scarcity of digital items.

Shop too bloated? Give me a break.

Not only should this tell you how messed up the rewards in this P2P game are when the ingame shop is almost bursting, while ppl crave for new content and rewards for years, it would also be quite telling how bad the UI and their data structure is, if they can't handle a few hundred items on display.

That said, I don't think it would be "bloated" at all. There are filters and categories, there's a search function and overall, as a vet player, you're most of the time still only interested in the first shop page, displaying the newly added stuff. Are you unable to use Amazon? How many million different items does this site offer?

However, the entire idea behind GW2 is to release every few weeks new shop items. The whales flood in and insta buy everything they think they ever will need, since it's gone in a few days. I can't imagine how much money they would lose if ppl only had to buy the stuff they know they really need. And imagine how many ppl would browse the shop, find an item they want and start grinding weeks to get enough gold and gems ingame for this item.

They will never let all items stay in the shop. It was a mistake that ppl didn't complain much harder about this 6 years ago . It's so anti consumer. Imagine going into a local supermarket to buy some milk. And when you don't find it you ask an employee and he tells you that their sortiment rotates on a secret basis. They won't tell you when you can buiy milk again but there's currently milk powder in their "Mystery Box", which you can buy for $5 each and which has 3 random items out of 30 items total in it.

Lol, ppl would probably burn this supermarket down. But with video games nowadays ppl defend this as the only way for studios to survive. That's so sad

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@"Adenin.5973" said:Wow, who would've thought you'd find ppl making actual arguments for artificial scarcity of digital items.Artificial scarcity has existed since marketing existed. It's got nothing to do with digital items or actual availability, hence the term "artificial."And there are reasons why it's better for the community (just as there are reasons for why it's worse).

But with video games nowadays ppl defend this as the only way for studios to survive.I don't think it's the only way for studios to survive, but I don't think it's some horrid new tactic that game studios invented just to make money. I don't condemn Starbucks for offering Seasonal flavors for only part of the year; this is no different.

Or in other words: there's nothing to defend. It's a standard marketing practice and like any marketing, some people don't like it.

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@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@"Adenin.5973" said:Wow, who would've thought you'd find ppl making actual arguments for artificial scarcity of digital items.Artificial scarcity has existed since marketing existed. It's got nothing to do with digital items or actual availability, hence the term "artificial."And there are reasons why it's better for the community (just as there are reasons for why it's worse).

But with video games nowadays ppl defend this as the only way for studios to survive.I don't think it's the only way for studios to survive, but I don't think it's some horrid new tactic that game studios invented just to make money. I don't condemn Starbucks for offering Seasonal flavors for only part of the year; this is no different.

Or in other words: there's nothing to defend. It's a standard marketing practice and like any marketing, some people don't like it.

In what world does the community or a customer profit from artificial scarcity?

And yes indeed shops that offer real products have every reason to do this, since it costs them money to keep their products around and indeed there's limited space in their shops and for display. But this is not in any way the case for digital items.

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@AshkyLicious.4729 said:Isn’t it possible to just make every item in the Gem-Store available all the time instead of removing them and bringing them back again after awhile?

This has been discussed multiple times already. The point of not having everything available at all times is to increase the percentage of people likely to buy an item. When you are waiting for a specific item, you are much more likely to actually buy it, especially if it is only available for a limited time. It's all about marketing.

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@Malafaia.8903 said:This really kitten me up.I'm waiting almost a year to get the hydra staff, now.What's really infuriating is i don't know if i'll have to wait one more month or one more year.

Hydra Staff is not a gem store item, it was a Black Lion Chest drop.It will come back sometime with the statue vendor, was happy to finally get my Zephyr Wings after a year

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@"Adenin.5973" said:In what world does the community or a customer profit from artificial scarcity?First, no one is saying that customers profit from artificial scarcity; people have pointed out that there are benefits, all intangible:

  • People personally value things more if they aren't always available. 800 gems for something you have to keep an eye out for is often more treasured than something worth 200 that you can have whenever you want.
  • People sometimes dither about deciding; it helps the customer decide how important it really is when it's not always around. Call it the "don't give me a ring on the telephone until there's a ring on my finger" principle.

For people who are able to be 100% rational about spending, these aren't very worthwhile considerations. But people who are 100% rational about spending aren't likely to be consumers of digital goods: there's no mechanic offering extra damage for looking fabulous; the convenience items are inefficient for the vast majority.

And yes indeed shops that offer real products have every reason to do this, since it costs them money to keep their products around and indeed there's limited space in their shops and for display. But this is not in any way the case for digital items.And yet stores do it even when space is not an issue, which is why I used Starbucks as an example. While it's true they can't offer an infinite number of flavors, they can easily make room for 5-6 more ... and yet they choose not to. Because there are other reasons why artificial scarcity has been used as a marketing tool.

Obviously, ANet (and every other company) uses artificial scarcity because it means more profits for them, not primarily for any of these qualitative benefits for players. The point is that it's not as one-sided as critics are trying to claim. In the end, every product/service sold is done so ultimately for the company's benefit; they are only able to do so because there are also benefits to the consumer.

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I understand the fact of artificial scarcity from a marketing perspective.

I would still prefer all the items being present in the gemstore than not knowing when the items are going to be in there again. It does not make me want to buy the item any less because its always there, it gets me more interested to buy even more skins instead because Im able to buy all the things I need to be able to create perfect look for example.

And since you unlock the skin and can use it as much as you want for all your toons, the skin is not really that unique anymore. It’s only a onetime buy, so might aswell have it on the gemstore all the time for everybody to get the chance to buy skins whenever they want.

I think that it even can contribute to people buying skins more. if you want to change the looks on your character for example, you might want to look into other skins that wasnt relevant to you before. It will help alot to have all the skins in one place instead of the need for waiting for a long time before the skin shows up again.

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@"AshkyLicious.4729" said:I would still prefer all the items being present in the gemstore than not knowing when the items are going to be in there again.Absolutely, that's a strong preference held by many.

It does not make me want to buy the item any less because its always there, it gets me more interested to buy even more skins instead because Im able to buy all the things I need to be able to create perfect look for example.Sure, that makes sense. As long as you recognize that it does affect the value that other people see and the purchase choices they make because of it.

It's a classic business risk|reward choice: offer the items year round (pleasing many on principle) and gaining all the impulse purchases ("I need it now") versus annoy a few people while gaining all the "urgent purchases." Regardless of your preference or mine, it turns out that the latter works better in the long run more often for more companies.

Business uses artificial scarcity because it works.

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@Illconceived Was Na.9781 said:

@"AshkyLicious.4729" said:I would still prefer all the items being present in the gemstore than not knowing when the items are going to be in there again.Absolutely, that's a strong preference held by many.

It does not make me want to buy the item any less because its always there, it gets me more interested to buy even more skins instead because Im able to buy all the things I need to be able to create perfect look for example.Sure, that makes sense. As long as you recognize that it does affect the value that other people see and the purchase choices they make because of it.

It's a classic business risk|reward choice: offer the items year round (pleasing many on principle) and gaining all the impulse purchases ("I need it
now
") versus annoy a few people while gaining all the "urgent purchases." Regardless of your preference or mine, it turns out that the latter works better in the long run more often for more companies.

Business uses artificial scarcity because it works.

Well it makes sense when you put it like that, and I understand why they never probably change this :) fingers crossed that they change items more often atleast. I liked the idea of getting a notification for the item youre waiting for when its available again, which was mentioned above by Hoover.6394. That would atleast make everything easier :P

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