This is why I hate flash sales.

[Nero DarkSlayer.9206]

I've been waiting for three years to buy the lava lounge pass. I even posted about it in the gemstore request thread back in October 2020. I check this game's news feed at least twice a week, but come on. I can't check the news EVERY day. The pass was on sale for ONE DAY. Out of THREE DAMN YEARS. I missed the sale by TWO DAYS. Yeah, I get that's on me. But there's little more infuriating and insulting than diligently supporting a game for the better part of nine years, convincing at least a half a dozen of my friends to try it out, and then to be slapped in the face by marketing models that demand I spend every minute of every day playing this game. I sent a support ticket asking very nicely for leniency. Even offered to pay full price for it. Of course they told me 'no'. I fully expected them to. I'm colossally pissed off all the same. I mean the news article dropped the same day the item did, so there wasn't even any forward warning. it was literally 24 hours from the word go, out of nowhere.

P.S. Here's my quote from the gemstore request thread. Oct 28 2020

"My only wish is for the (permanent) Lava Lounge pass to be on sale again. I've been checking the gw2 news feed every few days for like a year now waiting for it."

I got news flash, A-Net. I'm a PERSON. I like to play other games. I like to consume other media. I've been playing Valheim the past few days, so I missed the sale. Sue me. I think it is outrageously unfair to miss out on something I've been waiting and asking for for YEARS just because FOMO market models happen to be profitable, albeit disgustingly draconian and manipulative towards consumers. I mean come on. The item was up for TWENTY FOUR HOURS. If the item was on sale for one day, but available for a few, this wouldn't have been an issue. But no. it was available for ONE DAY. That is just disgustingly disrespectful of people's time. I'm over here BEGGING to give you my money, but you won't accept it because I failed to log into your news feed EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. Amazing.. Amazing what corporate number crunchers will demand of people for the sake of turning a profit, isn't it?

... Nine years... Nine goddamn years I've been playing this game. Thousands of hours... Probably at least a thousand DOLLARS grand total over those years... And then this. Thanks Arena-Net. Good to know you care so much about your most loyal customers.

[SweetPotato.7456]

Send a customer support voicing your interest in purchasing the pass , it could work. Pretty sure they won't pass up a sale. Good Luck,

PS: don't get annoy. I know that feeling well, it is not good for you.

[Nero DarkSlayer.9206]

@SweetPotato.7456 said:Send a customer support voicing your interest in purchasing the pass , it could work. Pretty sure they won't pass up a sale. Good Luck,

PS: don't get annoy. I know that feeling well, it is not good for you.

Thank you for your concern, but I'm afraid I already tried that. I explained the situation far more calmly than I did here, and support still said they won't help. Which is part of the reason I'm so heated in this thread. I genuinely do feel like A-Net just spit directly on my face.

[manu.7539]

What a weird sale system. Is that good for business to not have every items accessible whenever the moment your customers wants them? I have some serious doubt, we're talking about virtual items here so there is no inventory management that could explain that.

[Omega.6801]

@"manu.7539" said:What a weird sale system. Is that good for business to not have every items accessible whenever the moment your customers wants them? I have some serious doubt, we're talking about virtual items here so there is no inventory management that could explain that.

No what explains it is false scarcity.By not having everything available at all time, it incentivizes players to buy when the item they want is for sale. "Better buy it now before it vanishes." Others can explain the marketing behind it better, but it works, however counterintuitive you may find it. Having an item available all year round makes it so, that people think about buying it and in the end might end up not buying it or thnking "I can buy that later if I still want it." BUt having things available only for a limited time creates a sense of urgency and fomo.

[Manasa Devi.7958]

@lokh.2695 said:

@"manu.7539" said:What a weird sale system. Is that good for business to not have every items accessible whenever the moment your customers wants them? I have some serious doubt, we're talking about virtual items here so there is no inventory management that could explain that.

No what explains it is false scarcity.By not having everything available at all time, it incentivizes players to buy when the item they want is for sale. "Better buy it now before it vanishes." Others can explain the marketing behind it better, but it works, however counterintuitive you may find it. Having an item available all year round makes it so, that people think about buying it and in the end might end up not buying it or thnking "I can buy that later if I still want it." BUt having things available only for a limited time creates a sense of urgency and fomo.Sure, that's a good way to market things, but it doesn't quite work when the window of buying opportunity is too small. A window is too big a term to describe this., it's more like a pinhole of opportunity. Put it on sale for a week and many more people will see it. When the week nears its end, people who might not have bought it otherwise will get nervous because they see a missed opportunity hanging over their heads.

[Randulf.7614]

I missed a sale once and they sold the item to me. No reason they can’t be flexible to others too

[Nero DarkSlayer.9206]

Yeah the reason they only sell items for one day is to psychologically pummel people into logging into the game every day and spending more time overall in the store. Thus maximizing the amount of time you spend getting advertised to, and therefor vastly increasing your likeliness to make a purchase. Because you're forced to spend all your time sitting in the market for the one thing you DO want, and are manipulated into buying things you might not normally buy because you won't get another chance to. It's called FOMO in the business (Fear Of Missing Out). The same concept behind pre-order bonuses.

And if A-Net wants to reach out to me and make a special sale, I'd be overjoyed. But I doubt they will. I already submitted a ticket and they basically told me to get lost. Though if they did make a special sale just for you @Randulf.7614 , I'd be very interested to know exactly what you did or said to get that sale. Because like I said, I already asked and they said no.

[Randulf.7614]

It was a few years ago. I’d missed the deadline for a longer sale by a few hours, but it was an outfit I really wanted. I emailed them and said if I added gems could they sell me the item.

They said yes and deducted the gems and mailed me the item

It was then I discovered I already owned the item and hadn’t checked properly (I took that one in the chin)

[SweetPotato.7456]

@Nero DarkSlayer.9206 said:

@SweetPotato.7456 said:Send a customer support voicing your interest in purchasing the pass , it could work. Pretty sure they won't pass up a sale. Good Luck,

PS: don't get annoy. I know that feeling well, it is not good for you.

Thank you for your concern, but I'm afraid I already tried that. I explained the situation far more calmly than I did here, and support still said they won't help. Which is part of the reason I'm so heated in this thread. I genuinely do feel like A-Net just spit directly on my face.

I am sorry to hear that. Seriously do not know why they don't want the sale.

[Nero DarkSlayer.9206]

I can remember one time a few years back I bought an item, had an error of some kind, and they mailed me a replacement. I think it was the harp or flute or something.

Iunno if they changed the rules recently or something. Maybe I just sent a ticket to the wrong department. I sent the ticket to the purchasing support team. Should I have sent the ticket to game support or something?

[Randulf.7614]

Can’t remember. Think I just did normal support

[Inculpatus cedo.9234]

If you are unsuccessful with your plea to the CS Team, you can find all items available for purchase each day here, in this thread: https://en-forum.guildwars2.com/discussion/458/news-gemstore-items-new-returned-sales#latest

If something is really important to you, it only takes a second to check each day's posting.

Also, the News Blog (for the Gem Store) is always updated on a Tuesday.

Good luck.

[Ashantara.8731]

@Nero DarkSlayer.9206 said:I've been waiting for three years to buy the lava lounge pass. I even posted about it in the gemstore request thread back in October 2020. I check this game's news feed at least twice a week, but come on. I can't check the news EVERY day. The pass was on sale for ONE DAY. Out of THREE kitten YEARS. I missed the sale by TWO DAYS. Yeah, I get that's on me. But there's little more infuriating and insulting than diligently supporting a game for the better part of nine years, convincing at least a half a dozen of my friends to try it out, and then to be slapped in the face by marketing models that demand I spend every minute of every day playing this game.

While I understand your dismay, sales in this game only happen a few times every year and always have the same model: each item for only 24 hours. Playing the game for nine years, you surely have been aware of this and that it's not a bad idea to check the news every Tuesday, and - in case of a sale - mark the day of the desired item in your calendar. Just a thought.

[Fuchslein.8639]

One more reason why the Gemstore should be accessible outside of the game. So you could just look from work, if you have the week no time to play or perhaps had pc problems or so.

[Nero DarkSlayer.9206]

Trust me I am aware of this game's market model. I have been for years. Just knowing about something doesn't make it ethical or just in any sense. A known evil is still an evil.

I did check the news. Like I said in my initial post, I check the news several times a week. I wouldn't have missed the sale if it had been up for more than TWENTY FOUR KITTEN-LICKING HOURS after THREE YEARS of absence. That's the issue here. It's not that I was unaware of the system. It's that the system is downright ABUSIVE.

And I couldn't really mark the date of that item because like I said, the gemstore news article published THE SAME DAY the item was on sale. There was absolutely no forward notice on that item whatsoever.

Imean jesus christ... I know you guys are just trying to help, but it's irritating when I'm told to do the thing I literally already said I did in the initial post. It just sends the message that people aren't even reading what I wrote before chiming in.

[Adamixos.6785]

I mean, I don't want to rain on your parade, but this news post here literally listed every sale for the week of March 16-22:https://www.guildwars2.com/en-gb/news/study-the-stars-in-style-with-the-astral-scholar-appearance-package/

There is exactly one day in the week when you should check gemstore updates, and that is Tuesday.

One. Day. A Week.

This really is on you.

[HnRkLnXqZ.1870]

Ran into that issue a few times so far. While the game is normally quite accommodatingly with players who have a busy life, the gemstore is the big exception. In a few cases I was around during such a short-time-sale. The people in question however were not around. So I waited until the final day of the sale and the purchased the item and gifted it to the player. These players happened to always be away during the sales, so I took the risk. In one case, I am still waiting for them to return after a "cya tomorrow," 4.5 months so far :S.

If you have a friend you have good level of trust with, you could ask them to have a look around as well.

[ugrakarma.9416]

i just avoid develop a "lux" for gem items.

luckly the only item i really love is balthazar outfit, and i get item when its released.

i put gems almost to support the game, and let it stockpile.

[Strider Pj.2193]

@Nero DarkSlayer.9206 said:Trust me I am aware of this game's market model. I have been for years. Just knowing about something doesn't make it ethical or just in any sense. A known evil is still an evil.

I think hyperbole would describe your statement of it being unethical. They didn’t cheat you out of anything. Nothing was forced. You game still functions.

Is is to you liking? No. But far from not ethical.

. It's that the system is downright ABUSIVE..

No. It’s not abusive. If anything your reaction to it may be. But the system isn’t abusive. It’s a ‘luxury’ item. It’s not necessary for any gameplay.

Frustration is normal. But calling a process something it’s not, isn’t helpful.

[Nero DarkSlayer.9206]

Yeah, the news was posted beforehand, but for the third time. The news published on the 16th. The item was only available on the 16th. And there just so happens to be a global health pandemic going on right now. The government told me I wasn't allowed to work a year ago. I've been sitting here, wasting away in my house for an entire year. I'm sorry if I don't even know what day it is anymore.

And yeah, I know it was my fault for missing the window. I admitted such (albeit briefly) in my initial post. My whole argument is that the window was unreasonably short when compared with how infrequently it goes on sale (24 hours available in a span of THREE YEARS is utterly ridiculous). and that there shouldn't even BE a window because of how psychologically demanding, manipulative and unethical it is to host immoral market models such as exclusive 'flash sales' in the first place. Sure, it is the company's legal right to do so, but it still blows my mind when people defend and endorse this kind of predatory practice. Sometimes seemingly for the sheer sake of gleaning some smug-satisfaction from posturing over someone else's misfortune. I get that impression more in the steam forums than here, but still. My point stands. I'm advocating for a freer, more open and consumer-friendly gemstore for everyone -you included-, so why on earth are you against me here?

[Adamixos.6785]

Btw. you are also completely wrong about the three year thing. The item in the gemstore was the Lava Lounge Bundle, which has shown up 2 times within the past 3 years (3 times including this week). https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lava_Lounge_Pass_Bundle

You didn't have to wait 3 years, only 1. The last time this was on sale was March 2020. The Lava Lounge Pass by itself will never come back, only the item I linked, as it did this week. And if you have the LS episode unlocked, it costs exactly the same amount of gems as the pass-only version would.

[mercury ranique.2170]

Just curious, doesn't one of the websites around who uses API's, offers a service to alert someone when an item on someone's wishlist comes available?

[Tuna Bandit.3786]

Under other circumstances I'd be like the others but that is a massive time.The article people quoted "Published March 16th Lava pass on sale March 16th" that is indeed same day. Yeah the other announcements give you heads up but not that pass...

If it would be (for example) mistlock I would've said "wait a few months and it will return.But 3 years on an item?Wow. Bad business.

I also don't get why others succesfully sent a ticket, and you were given a harsh "No"That is inconsistent policies.

[mindcircus.1506]

@"Nero DarkSlayer.9206" said:Yeah, the news was posted beforehand, but for the third time. The news published on the 16th. The item was only available on the 16th. And there just so happens to be a global health pandemic going on right now. The government told me I wasn't allowed to work a year ago. I've been sitting here, wasting away in my house for an entire year. I'm sorry if I don't even know what day it is anymore.

And yeah, I know it was my fault for missing the window. I admitted such (albeit briefly) in my initial post. My whole argument is that the window was unreasonably short when compared with how infrequently it goes on sale (24 hours available in a span of THREE YEARS is utterly ridiculous).

This pass has been on sale annually. Much more than the 24 hours in 3 years you are pretending here.https://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Lava_Lounge_Pass_Bundle"immoral"...."unethical"...."predatory"..."absuive"?Seriously it's a luxury item in an MMO cash shop.