Announcing The Platinum Club Plus [Beta] Program
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Not for all ... maybe for you - but please don't generalize from you to all.
Agreed. It's not for all for sure.
I don't like the new system. I'm not interested in it for reasons ranging from the $ output to take advantage of membership benefits to the complexity of it. Shopping should be fun, not cumbersome.
On the bright side, I'll be trying something new over there because of the simplicity and there is no need for a minimum investment to use club benefits. At the same time, I'll still be watching for sales here because from what I've seen lately, you don't need to be in PC to get 30 to 80 percent off.
Sorry I did not make myself clear enough. I'm not talking about quality but quantity, and it probably does not pertain to all PC items. In the case of textures however for $10.95 if it's a DO you get four textures and if it's a PC item you get two. In case of a 65% off sale of DOs the difference between an old PC item and a discounted DO would be insignificant (DO would be a bit more expensive) but that DO would also give you two more textures than the PC one. If the PC item is $1.99 the lower price makes up for the difference in content, when said PC item is only 70% off it does not.
Just so everyone knows, I do appreciate the quality of the PC items. : ) I did not want for anyone to feel slighted or something, I just wanted to share my observation.Ah, yes - that's right!
Just some random thoughts...
Assuming the PC+ pool of participating PAs is large enough, I think this could work for me personally. My general use for Daz Studio is for a graphic comic. That often means multiple items from the same artist to maintain a similar visual style for connecting scenes. While i will wait for a sale - and have - the 30% off would mean in some cases I won't wait. While the savings of a larger sale would be nice, I'm impatient enough that I'd take the hit to the wallet to get the items right away.
Part of the thing I like about PC is that many of the texture sets work with other items. For example, the recent texture set for the Fayre dress looks like a good match for the Lady of the Lake set. Not sure it was done deliberately, but at $2.30 I'd probably pick it up anyway instead of w/listing on the off chance I could use them both together in a scene to enhance visual cohesiveness.
I love the idea that there may be large environment sets possible at a price point I'd be willing to pay without having to wait for a sale.
I don't like the idea of a flat rate because I think that would restrict the ability of the PC/PC+ to buy-out or commission the larger sets. I also worry that that means everything will end up $3.50 and right now, the way it's structured, i can still get many items around the $1.99 price point. As for the higher priced items, i admit I won't buy them just to have them, but I would w/list them and the minute I had a $5 off $30 coupon I'd probably get them.
Is the competition on price that strong? I have actually no clue what the total market is, nor DAZ's slice of that however I have got to imagine its already the Gorilla in the mix. Also a gas station competing on opposing corners can only differentiate on price, but the content stores have a lot more dimensions. I think DAZ is the market leader, and competing on price alone for the leader becomes self destructive. How many of us compare discount offering from store to store, before spending, va how many compare individual products (even at different stores)? Lets say you want a bunny rabbit for your next render - do you search all stores for Rabbits, or do you go to the store with the biggest sale going on and limit your search for the Bunny that one store?
But thats not what the PC is - its a marketing tool and you can not isolate the cost of the program to determine its effectiveness w/o assessing the impact to bottom line sales outside of the club. Usually market leaders grow by expanding the market not by devouring he competition whole, because some competition instills confidence and legitimacy to the leader.
POWER of YOUNG BLOOD(for the Vamps)
Then why not make things simple and just increase prices to those, I keep thinking of trying out the new PC+ but it just seems much to complicated to bother, and then of course there's the fact that with some sales non PC members are getting things cheaper.
Are there any 'big' sets due to be released in July, or is the car thing one of the more expensive PC items likely to be released?
I guess it's an option to just fix prices, but then we lose things like the intro discount on new releases. It also means we would lose the ability to put out items which are smaller/bigger in size to the 'norm'. For example, if I wanted one day to do a nice little set of say a couple of chairs or something, and put them out at 4.95.. then PC+ would get them on intro at 1.25, and 1.79 regularly. This flexibility would be excellent IMHO. If we just have fixed prices, I have to make them into a pack which is on par with the usual pack size/content.
And yea each week we have at least one 16.95 item - so yes, they'll be a few 3.56 items coming down the line during the beta.
Jack - Regarding the point to product size of 1.99/2.99 PC DO"s , does the PC acquire the content rights from the PA at a flat rate price or is each item's prospective product price determined discretely with the Artist?
The PA coupon isn't the big seller for me that it seems to be to some other people. Maybe that's because in the average month I'm getting 2 "$5 off with $25 purchase" coupons that I'm frequently not using anyway. Given that the real value of that coupon is dependent on a lot of outside factors, like what products/stores are on sale at a given time, whether those sales are non-stacking or non-returnable, etc., etc., it doesn't really feel like it's a benefit I'm not going to always use anyway. Moreover, the fact that we're already seeing problems in the actual implementation of the sale pricing makes me question whether the Store Staff is actually capable of handling yet another layer of product pricing. After all, they still can't even get the Flash sales working reliably and they've been doing those since the new store went up.
As a side question, once the PC+ beta reverts at the end of July, does DAZ even have a tentative plan as to how the coexistence of two different PC programs would be instituted going forward? Some really obvious questions that haven't been answered or even addressed are:
Can someone join both programs at the same time? Because, hey, I'm currently paid forward in the PC through April of 2015 and I'm really not interested in giving up my existing benefits for that entire time based on what's shown during the brief beta period. DAZ has a long history of fumbling the ball on new programs and then re-writing rules as they go along, so I figure it'll take six months for this program to actually shake down into what it'll actually be. So if there'll still be a conversion option in, say, November, I might be willing to make the switch then. On the other hand, if I can buy into both programs at once for a few months (and get 12 dollars worth of D.0. coupons plus a six dollar PA eligible coupon each month) I'd be far more willing to give the PC+ an earlier shot. In fact, that's the only way that I can see DAZ having to deal with THIS issue:
If DAZ decides to pull the plug on either program, will we automatically be placed in the other? Or will we get the balance of our money back as store credit? Again, this is a simple reflection on the fact that the image that DAZ is projecting is that the PC is on shaky ground, and anyone with any knowledge of sales and marketing* can tell you that one of the main effects of any form of line extension is that the extension product will pull the majority of it's market share from the existing brand's base rather than from it's competitors. (Ie adding Bud Light to the Budweiser line didn't double sales for Anheuser Busch, it instead pulled a small number of drinkers over from Coors, Miller, et al, but mainly cannibalized the existing market for Bud. AH sells a little more beer overall, but the profits are marginalized by the doubled cost of marketing, packaging and inventory maintenance.) So, the odds are that trying to run two mutually exclusive PC programs simultaneously will only end up making one (or both) even less financially tenable.
*and if you don't have a background in marketing, I recommend The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout as a quick and easy way to understand how sales and marketing actually work in the real world.
There are no real 'plans'.. there are few options, but it's far too early. We want to wait to see the results of the beta before looking into them further.
Just my 2 cents, and only about my situation. I have generally snapped up any PC item that looked even remotely good for my purposes, and have really done the number on DO's during the sales over the last year or so. Which means I am ready for a change, especially if it opens up PA's to discount coupon use. That's the part I miss most about the old PC. I am willing to give the new system a try until the end of July, and am optimistic that it will prove to be a success. I think the DAZ Platinum Club is the best deal around, and even if the changes don't work out as well for me as I anticipate, I think it will still be the best for me, because I use Studio only, and the products here work with it.
Maybe after we have used the new system for awhile we can have another thread sharing our feelings about it.
well, that's pretty good. 31cents and 57cents increase. Hmm..
Actually that would be $1.57 difference on the Electrocar. Still, take the total difference of $2.19 and multiply it by however times monthly and the max more it costs (provided you don't splurge) is $8.00.
It's not a fortune and it will (as the last changes did) make Daz very happy for a couple of years.
I agree with you, Kerya...
Sorry but I am far from being filled with enthusiasm.
I hate to be be truth rearing it's ugly head, but we just went through this several years ago. That time, Daz mostly just took the PA and mufti-use off the monthly coupon
Then, interim, .we got mufti-tier PC item costs with whatever they called it.
This time, the $1.99 PC items will become the "were once $1.99 PC items"
In a year and a half, they'll introduce a new price tier for PC items called "Too Cool To Sell at School!" at only $1.00 more.
A year and a half after that....
Daz cannot milk the non-club members when it needs shoez,ies, sales drop when they raise the prices. Non-members can shop the other places and not feel bad about saving the money.
You've got several choices. Quit the PC. Many did last time Daz did this, but obviously it worked out well for corporate enough that here we are again. Buy less. I buy way less from Daz since the last time they did this to us. I buy only what I need, only on sale or in the PC. Like Jack and I were talking, they took some benies away from me, I took most of my spending from them.
Or you can grin and bear/bare LD it. Daz will be doing this to PC members on the regular basis it has for the past three years. Might as well get used to it.
Admins: Can we make a forum section or thread for Club & store "think-tanking" ideas... market discussions and such? One where alternates, what if and other brand features comparison can be freely discussed . There is not even a forum anywhere I have seen for this type of discussion where Consumers can chat with PAs & Brokerage Leaders about possibilities spanning the range of practical to "off the wall" but with the general objective to grow the market.
It would be real interesting I think.
Heck, they can shoot themselves in the foot if the only thing they were holding was a bag of marshmallows. And that's in the limited time when they don't have that foot in their mouth.
Of course, have you ever seen a picture of who's REALLY running the company these days? It's explains a lot.
For the beta PC+ there is already somewhere to provide feedback.
I had to leave the PC some months ago but I hoped to rejoin it someday. The new pricing has me worried though. I always thought that the PC items contained less content than similarly priced regular products to make the $1.99 price possible and to make it less of a deal at regular price to non-PC members. If the price increase won't also bring the change in content than I probably won't be rejoining any time soon. I'm not saying PC does not have quality items, but that there is less of that quality content in each pack than in the regular products from the similar price range.
Here is what I mean...
Compare:
> a PC item by Sarsa costing $10.95 containing two texture options for an outfit: http://www.daz3d.com/wanderer
with:
> a DO item by Sarsa costing $10.95 containing four texture options for an outfit: http://www.daz3d.com/elven-grove-outfit-textures
DOs more often than other items end up on sale, often at 65% off, 70% off or even 80% off. Come such a sale the DO item would cost $3.8 (at 65% off) and PC item (let's say it's past the 60 day intro period) would cost $3.3 (at 70% off). Which one is a better deal? 4 textures for $3.8 or two textures for $3.3? You also have to remember that usually the rule was that the additional discounts don't work, or rather shouldn't work on PC items (PC Anniversary being an exception), so said PC item wouldn't be discounted any farther.
My point is, if the price does not reflect the difference in content than what's the point? How would than PC items be a better deal than DO items? I could live with a price increase but only if the amount/quality of content would increase as well, otherwise I couldn't justify investing in the PC. The environment sets' pricing I can probably live with as it is now but clothing, textures and hair certainly not (since price does not reflect content). I'm talking about regular prices here (when they were $1.99 items I didn't mind the disparity in pricing between PC items and regular items). If the 70% off is meant to allow for more fair pricing than I think the regular price of the PC items should me more fair as well.
This to me sums up what I'll be more aware of if PC changes to PC+. While PC prices are $1.99 I can accept a clothing/hair set with one texture and a limited texture add-on for another $1.99 but if prices for each are $3-$4 I'm going to look elsewhere. I'll wait until PA clothing/hair sets are on sale and buy them instead because usually they contain a much better range of features. There are also texture sets for DAZ products (especially hair) sold elsewhere that regularly go on sale which will be much more tempting than the PC+ texture sets.
A lot of this depends on how you define competition. In the limited area of selling 3D figures and content for Poser and DAZ studio, DAZ is clearly a leader. On the other hand, in the category of selling software to use Poser and DAZ 3D content they're behind Smith Micro and Poser, but in the intermediate area of general 3D content and animation software aimed at the hobbyist and pre-viz markets, both companies are losing market share to products like iClone. And in the larger area of 3D software they're a relatively small player.
This is not to say that this is a BAD thing. In many ways being a dominant player in a limited market can work out better than being a medium sized player in a huge market. The classic corporate example is Coke Vs. Pepsi. In terms of actual money earned, Pepsi flattens Coca Cola, yet Coke stock consistently trades at a higher value then Pepsico... because a huge portion of Pepsi's money comes from it's Frito Lay snack food business, and that business requires a lot more in terms of maintaining ongoing production than Coke's operation, is now almost all tied to it's central soft drink business. Thus, there are more variables that could potentially affect Pepsi's ongoing business. Of course, the flip side is that Pepsi would likely survive a sudden drop in demand for soft drinks, whereas Coke could be totally wiped out... hence the general perception that the better diversified Smith Micro is a more stable operation than DAZ, even though DAZ probably conducts more individual transactions.
This.
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Thanks Cybersox - that is great insight and shed some light for me. I'm a bit confused then why SMSI chart is trending to the floor for quite a while, seems counter to logic. Of course SMSI is more than Poser. You and others mentioned a larger "professional: 3d content market. While Max and Maya are great pro packages they do not have affiliated content stores do they? I'm only aware of TurboS being referenced as "Pro", But I see the products there are all over the board, some half complete others polished. But not much on motions, textures or scene themes to consolidate purchasing decisions. Do "Pro" animators even use contents stores in general or do they just develop their own figures & props. If so - then DAZ is chiseling out a new market away from traditional approach?
Its kind of hard researching the industry - but I'm sure its my search terms like 3d brokerage, content store,3d content, stock 3d, and such do not come back with much except the actual (known) stores usual garbage links. Not much anything describing the 3d content brokerage industry in general - not even a Wikipedia. So I appreciate the info.
The biggest thing that has come out of this for me the past few days- I do not have the same feeling when I shop now- it's "What am I missing?" and "What prices are other people getting?" and that does tend to curb the "Add to cart" action.
So for regular shopping, I'm feeling "unsettled." Anyone else have that overall feeling?
(I did buy Lotus at 51% off (one of the PC+ participating stores) then used the DO coupon as it applies to new releases too, and got her at $2+ change.) I didn't buy Aiko 6 but it says Genesis 2 females, and I'll get Aiko 6 later anyway.
<--IS TOTALLY lost at what to buy anymore... specially when I know I could have gotten things cheaper at 1.99... I just got my PC newsletter and I SWEAR it had 1.99 items on all of the new stuff... Now it seems it's been edited... Just kind of rubs it home that I'm missing out on the PC items. The electrocar still shows as 1.99 for in the newsletter... but it's really 3.56 when I go to the page... it's like I'm being teased... SUCKER!!! Maybe I'll just turn off notifications til August! (sighs)</p>
Also.. I had some stuff in my cart from Thorne's flash sale this morning.. The sale is still going on... and now my cart has doubled in price... Not sure WHAT is going on... I dumped my cart... I don't even know what's a good deal anymore... I'm so bummed. (sighs)
Happy rendering???
The prices in the cart should be fixed when you hit "update cart". The cart sometimes hiccups and kicks out the discounts, for unknown reasons.
<--IS TOTALLY lost at what to buy anymore... specially when I know I could have gotten things cheaper at 1.99... I just got my PC newsletter and I SWEAR it had 1.99 items on all of the new stuff... Now it seems it's been edited... Just kind of rubs it home that I'm missing out on the PC items. The electrocar still shows as 1.99 for in the newsletter... but it's really 3.56 when I go to the page... it's like I'm being teased... SUCKER!!! Maybe I'll just turn off notifications til August! (sighs)</p>
Also.. I had some stuff in my cart from Thorne's flash sale this morning.. The sale is still going on... and now my cart has doubled in price... Not sure WHAT is going on... I dumped my cart... I don't even know what's a good deal anymore... I'm so bummed. (sighs)
Happy rendering???
I've not upgraded to PC+ so all the new PC products are still $1.99. The newsletter I received says this in small writing above the products but shows the PC+ 79% discount on each product image. The news letter is now promoting PC+ so that seems to be the dominant theme now.
I tried that Lee and the prices were doubled. :( It's ok.. nothing I REALLY needed anyway... Just agreeing with Novica ... don't know what is a DEAL anymore.
I've not upgraded to PC+ so all the new PC products are still $1.99. The newsletter I received says this in small writing above the products but shows the PC+ 79% discount on each product image. The news letter is now promoting PC+ so that seems to be the dominant theme now.
kk.. thank you for the info Superdog. I need to go take a Tylenol .. my brain hurts... lol... signing off!
I tried that Lee and the prices were doubled. :( It's ok.. nothing I REALLY needed anyway... Just agreeing with Novica ... don't know what is a DEAL anymore.
Weird. I just put half the shop into my cart, and it used the discount properly. Was the discount also fritzed up when you went to check-out?
Though, I have to admit that I logged in again after the DAZ website went AWOL earlier...
I picked up the Pose set and the two texture add ons.
Taking advantage of intro-discounts, it cost me all of $0.93 more than it would have normally. Had I picked up the Electro-Car, it would have been a total of $2.50 more.
I can accept that.
ok... now I KNOW I'm not going batty... the newsletter has changed yet AGAIN FOR ME... see below... Now the electrocar says 79percent... an hour ago it said 1.99 and the Vintage Fayre and Summery Feel are 1.99 but said 79percent an hour ago... Not sure what the heck is going on... Maybe Daz is playing roulette with the prices???
<--IS TOTALLY lost at what to buy anymore... specially when I know I could have gotten things cheaper at 1.99... I just got my PC newsletter and I SWEAR it had 1.99 items on all of the new stuff... Now it seems it's been edited... Just kind of rubs it home that I'm missing out on the PC items. The electrocar still shows as 1.99 for in the newsletter... but it's really 3.56 when I go to the page... it's like I'm being teased... SUCKER!!! Maybe I'll just turn off notifications til August! (sighs)</p>
Also.. I had some stuff in my cart from Thorne's flash sale this morning.. The sale is still going on... and now my cart has doubled in price... Not sure WHAT is going on... I dumped my cart... I don't even know what's a good deal anymore... I'm so bummed. (sighs)
Happy rendering???
Totally agree it should not be this hard to figure things out. I mean come on just give us a straight discount, not all this stacking stuff to save more money bit when half the time it doesn't work or has to be fixed to get it right. Why not set everything in the PC Club at 75% easy to figure and the price of the item fluctuates with it's base cost.
Shopping here used to be fun, not so much anymore. I can not wait until the Beta is over. I have been in the beta since about a day into this and still have not found anything to use either coupon on yet, since they don't work on new items and trying to figure out what to buy just to get a bigger discount on things is giving me a real headache.
Not sure how useful PC will be to me if this goes forward. And I am for prices changes it has to happen but come on can you make it less complicated please.
I used the monthly PC Coupie to get the Millennium Baby 3.0 http://www.daz3d.com/millennium-baby-3-0 and Baby Moves poses http://www.daz3d.com/baby-moves. It was like 2 bucks out of pocket, so I'm happy. I needed a motorcyclist...
:) Also found these... at
$0.97
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/rocket-launcher
http://www.daz3d.com/v4-hand-poses
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/fashion-for-louisiana-dress-v4
http://www.daz3d.com/spears-of-destiny
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/armor-rings
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/scifi-melee-weapons
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/simple-style-textures
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/b25-simple-dress-textures
http://www.daz3d.com/daz-originals/open-front-dress-textures
and a bunch more less than 1.99
Go figure
Not putting out new stuff on a Wednesday is very very rare. Hmmmm. Only Platinum Club items are new today. Why do I get the feeling I'm being manipulated.
:(
Or is this part of the new PC+ that there be no competition for dollars in the store when the PC items debut? Is this just a one off or what?
JK0011- The DO coupon works on new releases, just not new Plat Club releases. Not sure if you meant ALL new releases, or Plat Club new releases. :) Like I said, I picked up Lotus.