FOMO sucks.

[Ashgar.3024]

There's a handful of existing skins that i want in the store to finish a few of my character's look. Looked at the store rotation all the way into September and none of the pieces i want will show up at least up to that point this year.

 

Its not like a real store, they don't actually have to reproduce/reprint/ship the skins, its just data in an excel sheet.

 

Why i can't buy the excel sheet data i want 😞

Edited June 5, 2022 by Ashgar.3024

[AgentMoore.9453]

They think it'll make people impulse buy and spend more, but I dunno if that actually works or if they just wish it did. Personally, I'd prefer to just have a catalog of everything and buy whatever directly or, at minimum, have it on a predictable schedule like most retail shops do instead of the randomness we have now.

This game is a great value for the price you pay, but they're also weirdly allergic to letting you give them money. 🤔

[Ashgar.3024]

34 minutes ago, AgentMoore.9453 said:

They think it'll make people impulse buy and spend more

Oh i know its a marketing ploy.

 

Its just an annoying one since like you said its pretty counterproductive at times.

[Ashen.2907]

49 minutes ago, AgentMoore.9453 said:

They think it'll make people impulse buy and spend more, but I dunno if that actually works or if they just wish it did. Personally, I'd prefer to just have a catalog of everything and buy whatever directly or, at minimum, have it on a predictable schedule like most retail shops do instead of the randomness we have now.

This game is a great value for the price you pay, but they're also weirdly allergic to letting you give them money. 🤔

Not just spend more on impulse but increase the likelihood that the player will need to buy gems with real money.

[Linken.6345]

Also it make people login and check the store if the item they want have showed up.

[Jimbru.6014]

I'm no fan of micro-transactions or loot boxes, but GW2's gem store is superior to its equivalents in other games that I have played for two reasons.

- Everything in GW2's cash shop is available on rotation. So if you miss something or can't afford something right now, no big deal; you know it'll be back in a few months, give or take. Other games don't do that. Other games use the predatory "You'd better buy this NOW or you might never see it again" model. ESO in particular has refined that into a protection racket. "New shiny skin in the store. Would be a shame if you didn't buy it before something happened to it." GW2 doesn't do that, for which we should be thankful.

- GW2 has a safe, market-driven currency exchange in game, where you can buy gems with gold and vice versa.  So at least theoretically, you can farm gold and never have to spend a dime of real money on gems, and if you want to buy gold, you can do it legally in game and are safe from scammers. The only other game I've played that I can recall having a somewhat similar feature was Star Trek Online.
 

Edited June 5, 2022 by Jimbru.6014

[AgentMoore.9453]

27 minutes ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

if you miss something or can't afford something right now, no big deal; you know it'll be back in a few months, give or take

Wish this were true, but it's not. GW2's gem shop has an unpredictable schedule and there are no guarantees as to whether the thing you want will be back in a few months - or ever. As an example, this armor set has had the following schedule:

April 15, 2014
May 13, 2016
June 1, 2016
February 22, 2017
May 26, 2017
October 04,2017
January 22, 2019
February 01, 2020
April 10, 2021
April 09, 2022

If you missed out in 2014, RIP to you until two years later. There are many other items that behave just like this (or worse) in their rotation.

Additionally, on occasions when the thing does come back, you have no way of knowing unless you check manually, meaning there's a very real chance you will miss it yet again. As I mentioned before, if we could reasonably expect certain things to rotate back in at certain times, that would be better, but that's not the system we have.

38 minutes ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

Other games use the predatory "You'd better buy this NOW or you might never see it again" model.

So does this one.

[Jimbru.6014]

There are only a few items I can immediately name that have disappeared and never come back. One from the gem store being the Costume Brawl boxing gloves. Another being the guild kite, which vanished when the NPC selling it was removed and FOR SOME WORTHLESS REASON it hasn't been put on the existing guild gear vendor. There may be others, but it's nearly 2 AM here and my brain is burnt out, so it's entirely possible I'm forgetting some things. But be that as it may, my point still stands that most things get rotated through the gem store. Maybe not on a fixed schedule, maybe not as often as some would like, but they do. If you miss something, it more than likely will come back. Unlike ESO, which has countless cash shop items that were available once for X days Y years ago and haven't been seen since...bah.

Personally, if I had my way, EVERY gem store and Black Lion item would be available ALL THE TIME. That way there's no mind games being played, and it would actually be easier for Anet to maintain. Just add the stuff to the catalog and done, no need to keep up with what's in the store and what's not.

[Albi.7250]

5 hours ago, AgentMoore.9453 said:

They think it'll make people impulse buy and spend more, but I dunno if that actually works or if they just wish it did.

It does. I'm right now considering buying gems for the extra inventory slots as they are discounted right now so I don't have to empty my gold on conversion. I wont buy the Scythe Staff skin in the shop right now, but it honestly does cost some mental energy to not get lured in if neat stuff is on timer.

[AgentMoore.9453]

1 minute ago, Albi.7250 said:

It does. I'm right now considering buying gems for the extra inventory slots as they are discounted right now so I don't have to empty my gold on conversion. I wont buy the Scythe Staff skin in the shop right now, but it honestly does cost some mental energy to not get lured in if neat stuff is on timer.

That's not artificial scarcity though, that's a sale/discount. FOMO relies on the principle that if you don't strike while the iron is hot, you won't be able to get the thing at all whereas if you miss a sale, you can still get the item (just not for a discounted price). They're similar concepts, but different from what the OP is remarking on.

I don't doubt that FOMO is effective with people who fall prey to the feeling of 'get it now or else', I just wonder how effective it actually is compared to just letting people buy things on a somewhat predictable schedule. Every time we miss the availability of something we'd actually buy in the shop, that's a sale ArenaNet misses out on too; I'd be interested to see what their data would look like if the shop's inventory were managed differently.

[Sarius.9285]

6 hours ago, AgentMoore.9453 said:

but I dunno if that actually works

it 100% does

[JayHog.3280]

Personally hate it, need a specific outfit to finish a character and had to tell my friend to keep an eye on the store because I'm going on vacation with no internet and don't think it's fair to be punished for taking a break by making it appear and disappear in like 3 days. -.-

 

Just put everything on sale already, don't give people this anxiety attack.

[Albi.7250]

3 hours ago, AgentMoore.9453 said:

That's not artificial scarcity though, that's a sale/discount. FOMO relies on the principle that if you don't strike while the iron is hot, you won't be able to get the thing at all whereas if you miss a sale, you can still get the item (just not for a discounted price). They're similar concepts, but different from what the OP is remarking on.

Dude the year it will take for the dream scythe to be in the shop again might as well be forever. Same for the discounted Shared Inventory slots. Fomo is fear of missing out i don't see why you define it as forever gone. You can miss out on a sale as you can with a limited item. It does work on the same principle as sales. If you don't buy it now you have to wait a year to get the same discount/Skin again. You personally may buy less, but people in general will be encouraged to spend more money in the game. Added bonus thanks to the sudden appearance  and disappearance of Gem store items, it increases the chance of real money spend, instead of Gold gems. 

[Dante.1508]

I agree op its pretty laughable.

[Gibson.4036]

10 hours ago, Linken.6345 said:

Also it make people login and check the store if the item they want have showed up.

Or it makes us forever realize the thing we wanted was available a couple weeks ago.

I’m just never going to be the kind of person who faithfully checks the store or forum thread. That means they don’t have some of my money they would have by now.

But I guess the FOMO crowd gives them more than they’ve lost from people like me.

[Bakeneko.5826]

9 hours ago, Jimbru.6014 said:

Everything in GW2's cash shop is available on rotation

That's literally how FOMO marketing works. You don't know when it will be back

[Linken.6345]

2 hours ago, Gibson.4036 said:

Or it makes us forever realize the thing we wanted was available a couple weeks ago.

I’m just never going to be the kind of person who faithfully checks the store or forum thread. That means they don’t have some of my money they would have by now.

But I guess the FOMO crowd gives them more than they’ve lost from people like me.

Yes because your money is less then the money they get from other people sadly.

[Mouse.7382]

Its to get you to log in.  Logging in will most likely get you to purchase 'something,' however, trivial that may be.

 

I've worked in a few casinos over the years (marketing and back end systems).  And for those of you that have never been to a casino, I'll tell you, they give out 'free' money or 'food vouchers' or 'points' just for signing up for a players card (anywere from $5 - $20).  

They do this to get 'people in the door.'  That little bit of money is nothing to a casino.  If people come to ONLY use the free money/food they give you, you are in a very small minority.  Most people will not drive out of their way and not spend some of their own money--either on gambling/drinking/eating/concerts/etc.  They know this.

[Emberfoot.6847]

12 hours ago, AgentMoore.9453 said:

Wish this were true, but it's not. GW2's gem shop has an unpredictable schedule and there are no guarantees as to whether the thing you want will be back in a few months - or ever. As an example, this armor set has had the following schedule:

April 15, 2014
May 13, 2016
June 1, 2016
February 22, 2017
May 26, 2017
October 04,2017
January 22, 2019
February 01, 2020
April 10, 2021
April 09, 2022

If you missed out in 2014, RIP to you until two years later. There are many other items that behave just like this (or worse) in their rotation.

Additionally, on occasions when the thing does come back, you have no way of knowing unless you check manually, meaning there's a very real chance you will miss it yet again. As I mentioned before, if we could reasonably expect certain things to rotate back in at certain times, that would be better, but that's not the system we have.

So does this one.

Not to mention, some of the times these things get readded after a 2 year wait, they are here for a week or two then gone again. 

[Eloc Freidon.5692]

Still can't get some armor pieces/variants that just look better than the available ones now. For example, Guild Defender Shoulderplate which doesn't clip compared to the Banded Pauldrons.

 

 

[Malvod.2950]

Agreed, FOMO marketing is bad and I don't know if it even psychologically work on all people. For example on me it doesn't, I would've spent more money if I had all skins in the shop. If half of the playerbase is like me then you are losing money with this marketing strategy, Anet 🙂

Edited December 20, 2022 by Malvod.2950
Rephrasing

[Omega.6801]

1) Does it suck? Yes.
2) Does it work for ANet? Yes.
3) Will it change? No.
4) Why? See point 2).

[Ashen.2907]

As long as consumers empower such systems to work for producers they will continue to exist.

[LSD.4673]

Hey look, another trendy term to misuse. 

[Drok Kindleshot.1496]

well all this scarcity doesn't work on me.....i can buy gems and have them in my account in seconds so I don't know what they hope to accomplish because right now I don't want to buy a single thing from the cash shop the only thing I want right now hasn't been in the gemstore since September and i don't know when it will be back.