Where Will Your Adventures Take You?
Unseen
Posts: 661
For me the answer is clear: nowhere...
Prices are far too high these days in the DAZ store...
Not a polemic, just an observation.
Post edited by Unseen on
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Comments
Go to TurboSquid and have a look :lol:.
Although I have bought a lot recently, I have to agree with this. Prices have risen significantly on new releases.
I would also make the observation that considering iRay was trumpeted as being an innovation on a par with the discovery of the Higgs Boson, it is surprising the proportion of new releases that actually have iRay shaders! I could be forgiven for suspecting that the plan is to release more iRay Essentials at $15 a shot!
Unfortunately, they are also raising for the "older" Items. Example: I bought Pure Hair for Genesis in 2013. Since then, the price has increased by $3. :roll:
That said, I wouldn't say that the prices are "too high" in general. I've tried my hands on modelling, and am currently fiddling with Iray setting and trying to make a decent material for that item I modelled, and it does take many hours to complete.
Alas... I can only spend each dollar once, and once my budget is spent, all the other items have to go to the wishlist...
Many of the current new releases might have been started and possibly finished before the respective artist had the chance to get their hands on Iray and / or to gain a good understanding of how to best set up Iray surfaces. I'd wager DAZ gave them about as much help as they give their customers when it comes to explaining how the various settings actually work. So in that respect, I'd say just give them time.
As for the prices, at least for DAZ Originals there was a noticeable price raise a while ago, at the very least for the various figure bundles. This was discussed in the forums, although I don't think DAZ commented on this (unsurprisingly). While there may be good reasons for this, I don't quite understand why older items where affected by that as well, I guess they just magically became better somehow.
I was going to pick up the new Mad Hair - until I realised it appears to only have Iray mats, which contradicts the fact that it is for DS 4.7 which doesn't have Iray.
I think one of the reasons prices have gone up is that the flash and other sales have changed from a max of 50% off a year or so ago, to where now 60% is almost the norm. With a higher base price steeper discounts can be offered without losing any money, but appear to the casual viewer as "more of a bargain"
Another area which has introduced a sort of price increase of 10-15% is the very rare appearence of unconditional gift card sales. A year or two back the gift card sales were roughly monthly and offered at around 14-16% off if the card was at least 100$ (or in some cases $200). Recently there has been no minimum value for a gift card purchase discount, but the need to buy 1 or more new releases. To get the one today you need to buy 3 items with a combined cost of at least 30-40 dollars to get just 10% off, so unless you are buying a huge gift card, or actually would buy the new releases anyway, the deal is not very tempting.
Gift cards are a method I use to control my spending, when my credit is zero I stop spending until the next GC sale comes along, but if I stick to that these days my spending will completely grind to a halt!
I do agree the prices have gone up. Seems like a lot of products are 13 dollars or more, and some are 20.00 or more.
Sadly, prices for everything including groceries has gone up, but my salary has not. =-/
What happens when prices are too high, is more stuff gets put on the wishlist for the next 50% off sale for when the item goes off 'new' status.
I wonder if delays in purchasing outright are a good thing? the longer something is on a wishlist does that mean a person will be buying it or never buy it because something more affordable or that suits their needs more comes along.
The other issue, at least for me, is I may really like something being released but have limited use for it. So while I may love Widget X, with the Xray eyes and the Iray presets, but if I only use it a few times, the high cost will deter me from buying it at all.
So now, I'll be forced to focused to decide on whether an expensive item has re-usability. So the prices are deterring more impulse purchasing.
Yup. It is a tricky line for us PAs.
Customers that post here on the forums are now demanding upwards of 70% off for brand new releases. The work is getting harder and more intense in the way of detail and industry standard demands. DAZ has also tightened their requirements for submission so that our store remains as high quality as possible (which is awesome to see and still -very- challenging to meet).
My work isn't quick or easy. I invest in professional training and software every year. I can certainly offer 70% off on new releases if that is what the demand is. But I'll need to compensate by bumping up the base price of the product.
So you can either purchase something for 30% and have a lower base price or purchase it for 70% off and have a higher base price. The margin is what matters to creators. That needs to stay the same.
For you it is a wonderful creative outlet. For us it is business. I hope that makes sense. :)
~Bluebird 3D
Bluebird, I think it makes sense and thank you for giving us the information from your view. I also have a limited budget due to my salary and seldom buy things at full price,although it does happen occasionally. (twice in the last year)
As I have stated previously in other threads, I am thankful for all of the wonderful PAs that we have and the wonderful products that they put out. I am just sorry that my wallet doesn't allow me to sure my appreciation in a direct fashion.
70% off new releases - I don't think I've seen those posts demanding this - its quite ludicrous and if PA's raise prices to cope with that I can see some real problems a raising; it runs the risk of new comers just taking one look at the prices and leaving.
To be honest the only price increases I've seen are pretty much in line with overall price increases in the cost of living.
I often clean up my wishlist, kicking items out while thinking 'I don't need this anymore because...', usually because I've found an adequate substitute for it since I first wish-listed it or because something even better has come along that I'll get more use out of.
I always think 'cost per use' when I'm buying. Something like Stonemason's Streets of Old London might seem pricey at the time of purchase, but I know I'll be calling on it so often that each use will cost me pennies in the long run, whereas a prison interior or similar would just be a costly indulgence to me at any price because I'd barely get any use out of it. I love Slosh's 'As You Wish' genie outfit and think it's a cut above a lot of the skimpy stuff that shows up here, but I've even resisted it on sale because I know I'd be lucky to get one commercial render out of it as it's not typical of the things I use. It's a good job that admiring promo art costs nothing :)
I plan on winning contests for my budget here!
Either that or win the lottery...
Every other means I can think of to raise money for this on the side are unscrupulous at best, and illegal at worst :zip:
I also plan on spending a lot more time over at ShareCG and other such sites. Plus monitoring the freebies here is wise, as a lot of items seem to come and go from there quickly.
Life is too expensive. I wish it would go on sale one day!
I don't recall people demanding 70% off. That seems excessive.
Pricing for sales is an old trick, but ends up hurting most buyers because it raises core price of items.
However, I would imagine with selling any form of virtual item, the profit will be in selling quantity. As more users flock to the DAZ store, the prices don't necessarily need to keep going up.
At some point, with the pricing some individuals will never purchase specific items.. Which means no sale either way....
I'm just concerned the hobbyist is getting priced out of the DAZ 3d store.
I often clean up my wishlist, kicking items out while thinking 'I don't need this anymore because...', usually because I've found an adequate substitute for it since I first wish-listed it or because something even better has come along that I'll get more use out of.
I always think 'cost per use' when I'm buying. Something like Stonemason's Streets of Old London might seem pricey at the time of purchase, but I know I'll be calling on it so often that each use will cost me pennies in the long run, whereas a prison interior or similar would just be a costly indulgence to me at any price because I'd barely get any use out of it. I love Slosh's 'As You Wish' genie outfit and think it's a cut above a lot of the skimpy stuff that shows up here, but I've even resisted it on sale because I know I'd be lucky to get one commercial render out of it as it's not typical of the things I use. It's a good job that admiring promo art costs nothing :)
This is what I do as well. A Delayed sale, can often mean no sale if prices are high, because, usually by the time is reduced enough for me to afford it, I've moved on to something else.
I too am now thinking of cost per use more. That's too bad. I do occasionally enjoy an impulse purchase.