Announcing The Platinum Club Plus [Beta] Program
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That was the best hidden freebie ever. Apparently that special is over and done with. Shows up as 19.95 for me.
have you tried to put it in the cart and proceeded to the checkout (without checking out) sometimes the price doesn't show until you look at it in the checkout page. Or it could be over as it was a limited time, but might be worth a try :)
Unfortunately there is no discount when I place it in my cart. An email to club members would have been nice.
I've been checking the "revolving" sales specials at the top of the webpage pretty much everyday so it couldn't have been a special but for a very limited time.
little research... prices in the value category under plus pricing...
only guaranteed accurate to about what is here.
I don't know how many used to be 2.99 items.... but currently less the 10% of the 2600 plat/value items now fall under 1.99
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And from my point of view the 1000 items at the top of the range are where I did a lot of my buying.... and there would have been a lot less...
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this could be interesting.... I may spend the same amount but on a lot less items which means some artists will see increased sales and others will see less from me.
but the difference between 500 items at 1.99 and 500 at about 4.99 is 1000 versus 2500.... no way to make that come out of my budget so maybe 200 times at 4.99 but even there you're going to lose any impulse and I'm only going to buy it if I'll use in this week
244 @ 1.39
023 @ 2.09
001 @ 2.23
011 @ 2.30
097 @ 2.37
012 @ 2.39
006 @ 2.69
006 @ 2.79
001 @ 2.98
561 @ 2.99
192 @ 3.29
001 @ 3.30
002 @ 3.49
005 @ 3.56
019 @ 3.59
020 @ 3.89
001 @ 4.19
001 @ 4.25
323 @ 4.49
616 @ 5.09
003 @ 5.99
Ehm ... just a question: you DID change to the new Plus thingie? It's only free for PC Plus members.
(Read this thread carefully before you do - if you like to buy PC items at 1.99, don't ...)
It's no longer on sale in the revolving ads, so my gues is that the offer expired after midnight. According to DZ in his announcemt post about the article, it was just means for a very limited time, anyway.
Ehm ... just a question: you DID change to the new Plus thingie? It's only free for PC Plus members.
(Read this thread carefully before you do - if you like to buy PC items at 1.99, don't ...)
Unfortunately, lol, yes I did change. Wish I hadn't!
I'm logged in and everything. No Weazel for me.
It's no longer on sale in the revolving ads, so my gues is that the offer expired after midnight. According to DZ in his announcemt post about the article, it was just means for a very limited time, anyway.
I never received email notification and unfortunately a girl has to sleep, heh.
I'm not sure that's so -- it's the people who have a large base of content who tend to say "I already have all the DO's I want, what I need is savings on PA items."
Then you mean 'a large base of DO-heavy content'. I don't find the changes better for me at all and am one who has a hard time using the monthly coupon. But that doesn't concern me as much as going from a fixed PC pricing to a variable one. I'm totally agin that--not against a price hike per se.
Comment removed by moi. :-)
...
I like your math. That's the first time this PC+ made sense for me on the customer side. When I signed up for the PC Membership the last few times, my thoughts were: I have nothing to lose. $70 for $72 worth of coupons. I could find $6 worth of DO each month, even if they weren't exactly what I wanted. I don't think I've ever failed to spend my $6 DO coupon.
With the new system, again, I don't see myself forfeiting a coupon because there's absolutely NOTHING to purchase. And as I admitted in early post, I don't like paying more for PC items, but I can see the need to keep up with inflation. And though I try not to (kind of), I tend to spend well over $18/mo... often on PA items... so again, the PA coupon will go to use.
Now that I have my blinders off, I am swaying toward the PC+. $144 is more valuable than $72, even if I get less bang for my buck with the DO coupon.
However, I'm with a lot of others... I prefer a flat fee for PC items rather than a percentage. If DAZ says the new price for PC items are $3.99, then fine... I can deal with that. In fact, $3.99 still borders on impulse buy for me. Only thing, I'd have a lot fewer impulse buys. Right now, I can comfortably put 5-6 $1.99 items in my cart and not thing twice about it on any given day... every day for that matter (but don't tell my husband). A $3.99 item... I might just stick one in my cart. Even though I'm spending less than 5-6 $1.99 items, I'm more aware of a $3.99 item.
It's the same principle when it comes to those $0.99 sales. It's like I become brain damaged or something. My thoughts go from it's okay to spend $10-15 today to I can get 101 items for under $100.
May we have a $0.99 sale tomorrow, please? No... I can't afford a $0.99 sale right now.
LOL
I'm actually a monthly in the PC. I think I was grandfathered in at some point in the past and haven't thought about it since. I switched from annual to monthly when Aiko 3 came out!! That was a long, long time ago. My husband gave me the money to renew and I spent it on Aiko instead. Heh.
So I pay 7.95/month and get a 6.00 coupon back. I guess it is better to get the two coupons instead of just one. :)
(Looking back on it the huge thrill I got from seeing Aiko 3 for the first time has only been matched by the housemouse.)
When it comes to coupons people tend to forget that - beside the monthly, quarterly or yearly PC fee - they have to spend at least another $144/year of REAL money to make the additional PA coupons work. Without that these coupons are worthless.
So I took the plunge and joined the PC+ after carefully reading this entire thread and all the pros and cons people are posting about it. I thought what the heck..."Don't knock it till you've tried it" I know there are dozens of scenerios and what if's regarding the changes, but truthfully I hope these changes curb my spending habits as I have spent thousands of dollars here in the last 1.5 years ( altho I have been a member since I can't remember). I have over 300 items in my wishlist ( almost all PA items), I think over 1600 items installed, over 1000 waiting to be installed and almost 100 waiting to be downloaded, which is absurd...I haven't even tried out the majority of what's installed yet. Seriously do I need anymore items...NO!!..do I want all the new shiny items...YES!!
DAZ3D is a business and will do what works for them, in the meantime they have graciously allowed their customer base to give input into their decisions, but in the end they will do what is necessary for them and their employees ( who are the PA's who supply the content really) and hopefully with the input of customers who have provided their opinion what also works for us. Yes 1.99 for content is great for us,but is it feasible for a company, no but I think the bottom line is change is inevitable no matter where you go and people hate change and the unknown, but seriously until you try something new you just don't know what the outcome will be and you never know when it will actually work out in your favor...with all the sales DAZ has we should still see some great reductions on quality items
P.S. I still really like free tho and did not get the DZFire item when I switched to the PC+ last night. Is that no longer available????
On a somewhat related note...
Just wanted to say I'm a bit overwhelmed with all the sales/events/etc., that are going on at the same time. Perhaps there are a bit too many things going on at one time so people are having a hard time finding stuff and figuring out exactly what is what. This would also make it hard on the staff at DAZ because they need to know what's happening and how to fix it if something goes wrong. So perhaps less things going on at one time would be better and easier for the future. Just an observation...
Thanks.
This is nice, but I rather have the 1.99 items and give up the 6.00 for PC items, keep the 6.00 for PA items.
BTW does anyone know when this amazing V4/M4 summer sale will end?
Dare one use the S word here, or would one get spifflimacated :coolgrin:
I'm not sure that's so -- it's the people who have a large base of content who tend to say "I already have all the DO's I want, what I need is savings on PA items."
Then you mean 'a large base of DO-heavy content'. I don't find the changes better for me at all and am one who has a hard time using the monthly coupon. But that doesn't concern me as much as going from a fixed PC pricing to a variable one. I'm totally agin that--not against a price hike per se.
Exactly. The only feedback I have at the moment is that if plus beta is any indication of how the PC club will be, Plus will not benefit me at all so I won't be paying for it. I'll be better off outright buying items should I want them. Plus stopped me from buying the new Viking items I had not purchased yet. I think I have 17 days left of my annual into August. Our PC Club regular membership will revert for the remainder of our membership I hope ....
For me the cost of the membership I paid for (yearly) is a lot less than some. I was fortunate to pay for the yearly when it was on sale and I had a coupon that actually worked with it and at the time Daz was running a special where if you spend $30 get $5 off at the time and I paid a total of $39 altogether for my yearly membership. My membership ends in January of 2015. So for me the math that has been figured out in this thread doesn't apply to me because I paid a lot less than most. I am lucky in that regard.
The offer seems to be over. One less incentive to jump into the PC + test immediately, I guess.
If I understand correctly, you are pointing out the the PC prices have remained fixed - while non Platuinum Club content (DO&PA;) have adjusted down with the greater software industry? Maybe the temporary discount prices, but list prices are obscene compared to conventional consumer digital media and software - in terms of development cost to the value it delivers to the consumer. Outside of 3d a industry, most other industries pour a LOT more effort into developing and debugging digital media products (software, entertainment media). The PC 1.99's are subsidized by the club program, and that is subsidized by DAZ 3d. Its all in an effort to groom routine behaviors and generate increased interest. We SHOULD NOT equate PRICE PAID to consumer VALUE, because the pricing discounts are wonky. That's what dorked up the PC subsidies - no patience for the market to naturally accommodate its level of demand so when the support is removed, demand collapses.
>>Or, for that matter, with the price of DAZ Studio Pro, which is given away for free to entice customers to buy content. Does that mean that developing DS costs nothing, or that its capabilities are worth less than a single $1.99 PC item?<<</span>
Accounting nightmare, all the R&D went into a product that was devaluated from 300/sales instance to zero in a quarter. How to you depreciate that product inventory and what about the value of the IP? When that happened, I cried foul, but supported the decision because I believed the average joe just might get enticed ... but it proved insufficient because while access was made available, the need was not. The average Joe is not creative enough to figure out what to do worthwhile with the DS output. It all looks like effort and its easier to purchase the next bug-zap app.
Concerning DAZ Studio, while the base product is free all the add-ons cost money. Many companies offer a free or very cheap entry level version of their software and then charge for upgrades and add-ons. For example, without buying all the Aniblock plugins animation is really difficult and even with them it's still pretty time consuming and clunky.
I got the entry level version of VUE from a 3D magazine and then upgraded that at a discount. So a lot of companies factor in the cost of these enticement into their business strategy because they know it might generate longer term income. I'm sure DAZ does the same thing so this shouldn't affect PC.
That was the best hidden freebie ever. Apparently that special is over and done with. Shows up as 19.95 for me.Yeah looks like I missed the weazel freebie too. Lovely.
Aside from that, my initial impressions of the beta are "Bleah". I'm already missing the $1.99 items.
Also not a fan of even more coupons with more conditions and restrictions we need to track. I suppose it wouldn't be so bad but the purchase process does not provide clear indication of item categories through every step.
Frankly, the only thing I'd like to see in from any PC beta is completely accurate pricing on my Wishlist and a removal of the mysterious price changes that happen when you put them in the shopping cart from unseen stacking/specials/whatever. I'm pretty sure *more* coupons are not the way to fix this.
On the surface, we're spending more dollar for dollar ($144 + $70 membership fee = $214) for $144 worth of coupons in comparison the current PC membership is $70 for $72 worth of coupons. However, I wonder how often PC members spend less than $18/mo on PA items.
Forgive me if I'm not understanding what you're saying, but it seems to me this is EXACTLY a relevant comparison to PC prices (or was, when only DS Standard was free and Pro cost more). DAZ gives away DS to entice people to buy content. E-on sells (and sometimes gives away) an entry level version of Vue to entice people to buy upgrades. DAZ heavily subsidizes the PC to entice customers to buy more. In all three cases, the entry "price" is unrealistic.
In the case of Vue, e-on strips a lot of basic features out of the entry-level version, so there is strong incentive to upgrade for most users. With DS4Pro, the situation is somewhat different, as even without additional add-ons, one COULD do a great deal without buying any additional content, but the vast majority of users will buy content.
With PC items, however, the dynamics are somewhat different. Originally it may have been mostly older items (I've only been around since 2007, so I don't know what it was like at the very beginning), but with 3-5 new items every week there's a lot more steady development cost going on. And the ability to reduce "features" of the content is rather limited -- there may be only one texture for the base item and textures are a separate item, similarly for things like unimesh fits, but the majority of new PC releases are, IMHO, certainly worthy of being "regular" products at market prices. People complained about both of those "price increases", but I think most considered them to be reasonable trade-offs. I don't think most PC members would be happy if Jack's PC items were as "stripped-down" compared to his brokered products as Vue Frontier or Poser Debut are compared to the full versions.
Bring back the Weasel! I took it out of my cart because the freebie was skewing my bottom line results (which I wanted to share so people could see how this was working) That's what I get for trying to be helpful, lol!
Speaking of which, here's a sample order using the PC+. I show you the three items from the summer promo bought to trigger a 50%, then the items (big ticket) that I went for on the wishlist, plus other items. Please keep the PC+ debate OFF of my art studio thread and keep it here, as I mention in my post over there, the PC+ works best when it stacks, and yes, the summer promo right now requires buying things to stack. (People like or hate that, 'nuff said. This will just give you an inside look at the bottom line.)
Sniffle sniffle...and I can only dream about the Weasel. DzFire, help us out here!
http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/38051/P1065/#630383
I can tell right now how the PC+ is going to affect what I buy- it will be the artists in the rotation week who are in the other promos so they stack. Period. Otherwise, there isn't anything that I can't wait for!
Forgive me if I'm not understanding what you're saying, but it seems to me this is EXACTLY a relevant comparison to PC prices (or was, when only DS Standard was free and Pro cost more). DAZ gives away DS to entice people to buy content. E-on sells (and sometimes gives away) an entry level version of Vue to entice people to buy upgrades. DAZ heavily subsidizes the PC to entice customers to buy more. In all three cases, the entry "price" is unrealistic. However it was the pyramid business strategy so its clear the profit is achieved by ever growing volume of sales, because next months promo/cost of product cant be supported by last months sales. Therefore the focus is on the wrong side of the equation.
In the case of Vue, e-on strips a lot of basic features out of the entry-level version, so there is strong incentive to upgrade for most users. With DS4Pro, the situation is somewhat different, as even without additional add-ons, one COULD do a great deal without buying any additional content, but the vast majority of users will buy content.
With PC items, however, the dynamics are somewhat different. Originally it may have been mostly older items (I've only been around since 2007, so I don't know what it was like at the very beginning), but with 3-5 new items every week there's a lot more steady development cost going on. And the ability to reduce "features" of the content is rather limited -- there may be only one texture for the base item and textures are a separate item, similarly for things like unimesh fits, but the majority of new PC releases are, IMHO, certainly worthy of being "regular" products at market prices. People complained about both of those "price increases", but I think most considered them to be reasonable trade-offs. I don't think most PC members would be happy if Jack's PC items were as "stripped-down" compared to his brokered products as Vue Frontier or Poser Debut are compared to the full versions.
No arguments from me that the PC products are some of the best. The PC actually has some of the most skilled artists/craftspeople supplying product. I think they are on par with other PA products at a minimum. But I look at the PC 1.99 line as a whole - its recognized as flat rate because that's how its offered. Would I buy Petipet, Jack, Moyra, and Valander if they were non-PC, heck yes. But I would compare my needs against value a bit more than the PC. I snap up PC because its a great deal and recognize its subsidized, and will tuck it away until I need it. I don't have to worry that I'm doing my fair share to add to profits...if my purchasing habits here are not meeting plan, nobody's are. The problem is that all the subsidized benefits alone are not enough to expand the market, and will only yield a bit more from the already indoctrinated. Why? Because non users do not see the need... and I content that creative minds want to know.
Forgive me if I'm not understanding what you're saying, but it seems to me this is EXACTLY a relevant comparison to PC prices (or was, when only DS Standard was free and Pro cost more). DAZ gives away DS to entice people to buy content. E-on sells (and sometimes gives away) an entry level version of Vue to entice people to buy upgrades. DAZ heavily subsidizes the PC to entice customers to buy more. In all three cases, the entry "price" is unrealistic.
In the case of Vue, e-on strips a lot of basic features out of the entry-level version, so there is strong incentive to upgrade for most users. With DS4Pro, the situation is somewhat different, as even without additional add-ons, one COULD do a great deal without buying any additional content, but the vast majority of users will buy content.
With PC items, however, the dynamics are somewhat different. Originally it may have been mostly older items (I've only been around since 2007, so I don't know what it was like at the very beginning), but with 3-5 new items every week there's a lot more steady development cost going on. And the ability to reduce "features" of the content is rather limited -- there may be only one texture for the base item and textures are a separate item, similarly for things like unimesh fits, but the majority of new PC releases are, IMHO, certainly worthy of being "regular" products at market prices. People complained about both of those "price increases", but I think most considered them to be reasonable trade-offs. I don't think most PC members would be happy if Jack's PC items were as "stripped-down" compared to his brokered products as Vue Frontier or Poser Debut are compared to the full versions.
I'm not sure I follow your argument. If DAZ is heavily subsidising PC and DS then how do they make any money? If the $70 we pay doesn't cover PC discounts because it doesn't generate extra sales then what is the point of offering it? Surely DAZ can work out how much content PC members buy and then subtract the cost of PC and DS from that to reach a total profit margin?
What is causing new content to cost more than five years ago? Are PA's demanding a bigger slice of the cake to stay on board? Have overheads risen so significantly that the cost of developing DS is crippling DAZ? I don't think most PC content (clothes, hair and props) are significantly more advanced than they were five years ago. Does making clothes and textures for Gen 2 require significantly more time and skill than for V4/M4? Do weapons and other props take more time and skill now than in the past? I'm not a developer but I rather doubt it.
DS hasn't had a major upgrade for ages. It's very capable but unless the added modules are purchased it's still very limited to the extent that I doubt anyone would pay anything other than a nominal price for it especially in such a competitive market. And here is the clincher - DAZ content only works with DS, Carrara (the DAZ version of Poser Pro) and, with limitations, Poser so why would anyone come here to buy DAZ content without DS being available?
I'm not sure I follow your argument. If DAZ is heavily subsidising PC and DS then how do they make any money? If the $70 we pay doesn't cover PC discounts because it doesn't generate extra sales then what is the point of offering it? Surely DAZ can work out how much content PC members buy and then subtract the cost of PC and DS from that to reach a total profit margin?
What is causing new content to cost more than five years ago? Are PA's demanding a bigger slice of the cake to stay on board? Have overheads risen so significantly that the cost of developing DS is crippling DAZ? I don't think most PC content (clothes, hair and props) are significantly more advanced than they were five years ago. Does making clothes and textures for Gen 2 require significantly more time and skill than for V4/M4? Do weapons and other props take more time and skill now than in the past? I'm not a developer but I rather doubt it.
DS hasn't had a major upgrade for ages. It's very capable but unless the added modules are purchased it's still very limited to the extent that I doubt anyone would pay anything other than a nominal price for it especially in such a competitive market. And here is the clincher - DAZ content only works with DS, Carrara (the DAZ version of Poser Pro) and, with limitations, Poser so why would anyone come here to buy DAZ content without DS being available?
You were doing fine until the points in your last paragraph...the middle paragraph has some very pertinent questions.
DS has had a lot of updates that included new capabilities and features. It has a very rapid development cycle, comparatively to the competition, Almost to rapid in some opinions. For what is predominately a static scene rendering system, the basics are very well implemented (documentation excluded) in DS. Its also got a decent rendering engine. The add-on modules are not required to achieve that core capability, but some can be achieved easier. Also note some of these modules are independent (like dynamic cloth or hair) because they were developed independently but in cooperation with DAZ. Its like Photoshop where many external plug-ins add to functionality. I paid the full DS4 Pro price when it was released and still thought it was a great value. I was concerned that they abandoned development when DSPro went free. Also recall when DS4 was released, DAZ offered ALL('cept Carrara) its own modules and complementary apps free for about 6 months. Not to mention tons of free content. I was floored with the 2011 Holiday Gift (Kong lover). Lastly DS characters all are open in design. No drm or proprietary inhibitors beyond limits allowed by the EULA. They export scenes fine to all professional animation apps using discrete node exports using DAE or FBX or/in combination with static OBJ. The models adhere to standards for the most part, or can easily be adjusted. DAZ Studio has competition, however its not as vast as you would that is suitable for the majority of potential users. Tools like SMart Content (which seems mundane, and perhaps a hindrance to the experienced CG artist) is precisely what is appealing and the type of feature that goes a long way reaching the casual social media user. And that's where the focus of the pyramid need to be - the billion user base .
I'm in agreement here. I'm one of those people who won't mind the change in PC item pricing. I have religiously purchased every PC item that I wanted as it came out. And with the 79% stacked intro price, I'd be spending maybe a buck more per new PC item, give or take. The change in my spending will CERTAINLY come with the rotating artist thing. I'm trying the beta, and with Stonemason being in the "summer stackup" artists, AND a rotating PC+ artist, AND the $6 off an $18 purchase, I bought two Stonemason sets for less than ten bucks -- for both of them together. Obviously, I also had summer stack-up items in my cart, but it was still a pretty sweet deal.
The only thing I don't like is that I can see a few vendors making the weekly-PC rotation far more frequently than others. One of my absolute biggest gripes about OTHER content sites (okay, just one of them) is that we see the same top-selling artists with huge store sales all the time. That's all well and good, but there are also plenty of non-top-selling artists with amazing things that go on sale maybe once or twice per year. And at that other site, I know for a fact that the uber-big sales (over 30%) don't happen without consent from The Powers That Be. The marketplace starts to feel very stale when there are only a dozen-or-so vendors who flood the store. Having said that, I'm not at all familiar with how DAZ decides whose stuff is on sale. And there are probably artists who wouldn't want to be in the PC rotation. But if DAZ keeps the rotating vendor sales equitable, I'd be on board with the new structure. Obviously, vendors with huge back catalogs would hit the circuit more often than those with just a few items. But it would be nice to see "the little guys" pop up in the sale, too.
I'm not sure I follow your argument. If DAZ is heavily subsidising PC and DS then how do they make any money? If the $70 we pay doesn't cover PC discounts because it doesn't generate extra sales then what is the point of offering it? Surely DAZ can work out how much content PC members buy and then subtract the cost of PC and DS from that to reach a total profit margin?
What is causing new content to cost more than five years ago? Are PA's demanding a bigger slice of the cake to stay on board? Have overheads risen so significantly that the cost of developing DS is crippling DAZ? I don't think most PC content (clothes, hair and props) are significantly more advanced than they were five years ago. Does making clothes and textures for Gen 2 require significantly more time and skill than for V4/M4? Do weapons and other props take more time and skill now than in the past? I'm not a developer but I rather doubt it.
DS hasn't had a major upgrade for ages. It's very capable but unless the added modules are purchased it's still very limited to the extent that I doubt anyone would pay anything other than a nominal price for it especially in such a competitive market. And here is the clincher - DAZ content only works with DS, Carrara (the DAZ version of Poser Pro) and, with limitations, Poser so why would anyone come here to buy DAZ content without DS being available?
You were doing fine until the points in your last paragraph...the middle paragraph has some very pertinent questions.
DS has had a lot of updates that included new capabilities and features. It has a very rapid development cycle, comparatively to the competition, Almost to rapid in some opinions. For what is predominately a static scene rendering system, the basics are very well implemented (documentation excluded) in DS. Its also got a decent rendering engine. The add-on modules are not required to achieve that core capability, but some can be achieved easier. Also note some of these modules are independent (like dynamic cloth or hair) because they were developed independently but in cooperation with DAZ. Its like Photoshop where many external plug-ins add to functionality. I paid the full DS4 Pro price when it was released and still thought it was a great value. I was concerned that they abandoned development when DSPro went free. Also recall when DS4 was released, DAZ offered ALL('cept Carrara) its own modules and complementary apps free for about 6 months. Not to mention tons of free content. I was floored with the 2011 Holiday Gift (Kong lover).
I bought all my plugins (some on sale) so I didn't get the offer you mentioned. I own Carrara and while it is a lot more capable, the development of that is at a snails pace too. Having used DS to create quite a lot of animations recently I'm very aware of its limitations. As far as I'm concerned that's a limitation that's difficult to live with as my experience has grown. So when members outgrow DS because it isn't developing then what are our options? We've bought all this DS specific content - what now? I'd be happy to buy more advanced plugins but apart from the hair plugins nothing new has arrived in ages. How about an ecosystem or bullet dynamics? I'd even pay for a overhaul of the animation system but the chances of anything like that being developed this side of hell freezing over are unlikely.
I really like using DS so it has many things going for it hence my frustration at its limitations. For comparison, I used to use ACID Pro 7 but Sony stopped developing it so I changed to Reaper. Many other AP7 users moved to other DAWS because without development AP7 fell behind. But I still miss many things about AP7 and if Sony updated it I might be tempted back. The difference is I could use my Sony samples, midi files and VST's in any DAW. I can't do that with DAZ content.