How'd they do it? (Get me addicted)

FirstBastion

A fun exercise would be to render the last three items you bought in one image. Obviously a bit of creativity might be necessary if they're from different genres.

xyer0

Fauvist said:

Same thing happened with a feathered headdress I desperately wanted.  For sale at DAZ, and I thought "Oh eventually it'll go on sale."  It didn't.  It disappeared from the store. 

@Fauvist Was it this one? I bought it when it was released. It left the store. Then it came back. 

Mouser

Keep telling yourself, I can stop any time I want!

FirstBastion

kwerkx said:

FirstBastion said:

A Simple rule helps.  Render what you purchased before you buy more. 

This.  

I've made a game out of loggin what I've bought, adding it to a "to render" list, and crossing it off once I've rendered it.  The shame of having a long "to render" list slows my buying down.  Also, like having test images of the stuff I buy set in the context I imagined using it in.. good luck.

I have a folder full of store page screen snaps that I stumbled on as I was searching the store, that have the big red button that says purchased. Stuff I forgot I had purchased. "There's a nice item that could come in handy,  what!?!   I already bought it. Let me go render that right now. "

I search through that folder on occasion to trigger ideas for renders too. There's hundreds of possibilities in there.

JazzyBear

Bargain hunting is fun and hidden bargains are even better! Having a couple of projects or series of projects to work on helps focus what I purchase now. Maybe think of a story that you would like to illustrate like fanfiction or even an original story and work on renders for those. Be sure you are a Daz plus member and add in the Daz deals browser as well. I also shop with a bargain buddy and we help each other decide what we might really need versus what we might really want. No matter what you are not alone.

Gr00vus

Echoing what others have said somewhat, I used to buy much more frequently than I do now. I would always find stuff "I might use for some reason someday" during sales and buy them "at a discount" to have them to use someday. More often than not someday never came. Now that I've learned that lesson I do a lot of what others have suggested:

Use the wish list and keep it lean. Generally its only stuff I know I really want and will use, very infrequently will I include something that's just super cool and might inspire a render I wouldn't otherwise have done, something I don't want to have to try and search for later.

Only buy when things are on deep discount (70% is the thresshold for me to even consider at this point) unless it's something you will definitely use in your next 3 renders.

Don't use the PC+ monthly cupons just to use them. The DAZ Originals one you should use every month - there's always something that costs $6 or less in that category you can use. But the $6 off an $18+ cart is one you can skip if you don't have $18 worth of stuff you really want to get that month.

Only buy stuff you have confidence in in terms of the quality of the product. Too often I bought things that seemed to fit a need, only to find they weren't very good for various reasons (bad geometry, bad textures, bad shaders, hard to use/bad documentation, etc.). Now I try hard to look at how other users have employed the product and the results they get before I buy a thing. It's really cut down on the disappointing purchases (and sometimes returns). This is another reason to try out what you have before you buy more stuff - you only have 30 days to get a refund if you don't like a product.

Related to that, I keep a list of gaps I have in terms of product types I really need to achieve some renders. Could be a particular hair style, a particular class of morphs, a particular clothing item, a particular shader, a particular texture set, etc. These are the only things I'll consider buying at release, everything else can wait for a hefty discount. Keep that list current. I often find I've got redundant products addressing a particular need - I've learned not to keep buying the similar things over and over again unless I still haven't filled that gap (due to non-existance of products, or unsatisfactory quality of existing products).

Perfect example of where I am now, V9 is a very nice looking character. With a couple of discounts I could get the base for $19, that's a pretty good deal. I have zero idea what I'd use the character for, the character looks quite a bit like other characters I already have, and there's not a lot of versatility offered (it's not an every person kind of character in terms of textures - it's a pretty specific niche). In years past I would have bought because it's a decent deal, and I might use it someday. Now, it's a non-starter. I dont' see myself using it, it's not worth paying money for.

Bottom line, only buy what you'll actually use / reuse in the immediate future that isn't just a slight variation of something you already have.