Information regarding Expansion and DLC Pack Purchases [Archive]

Dexella

08-10-2012, 06:40 PM

Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products. The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs. In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*. As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.

Laenai

08-10-2012, 07:16 PM

So, let me get this straight...We have subscriptions. We pay our regular money for subscriptions and buy fluff items from the marketplace.You guys go F2P and give us the option of purchasing sub time and expansions AND fluff items with SC meaning we don't need subscriptions any longer.You take away sub time meaning we can purchase expansions and fluff items with SC.You take away expansions, meaning we're right back in the same boat that we were before it was F2P.Is there a redname that can actually tell me what the benefit to going F2P is now? Honestly. I REALLY want to know why we're an F2P game when the only F2P features are fluff items and we're exactly back to where we were with everything else.And, yes, I'd like to know how to get my SC back as cash from all of my accounts as I will no longer be needing any of it. I will not be purchasing any expansions for EQ2 from this point forward.

Iad

08-10-2012, 07:21 PM

I think we all saw this coming when they removed the option to pay for a sub with SC.

Brook

08-10-2012, 07:45 PM

SisterTheresa

08-10-2012, 07:53 PM

<cite>Laenai@Oasis wrote:</cite><blockquote>So, let me get this straight...We have subscriptions. We pay our regular money for subscriptions and buy fluff items from the marketplace.You guys go F2P and give us the option of purchasing sub time and expansions AND fluff items with SC meaning we don't need subscriptions any longer.You take away sub time meaning we can purchase expansions and fluff items with SC.You take away expansions, meaning we're right back in the same boat that we were before it was F2P.Is there a redname that can actually tell me what the benefit to going F2P is now? Honestly. I REALLY want to know why we're an F2P game when the only F2P features are fluff items and we're exactly back to where we were with everything else.And, yes, I'd like to know how to get my SC back as cash from all of my accounts as I will no longer be needing any of it. I will not be purchasing any expansions for EQ2 from this point forward.</blockquote>In all honesty, I have no clue whatsoever.Getting subscriptions and expansions through SC ... SoE STILL got money whether it was by CC, PayPal or Cards. There are people who are cmfortable using the game cards and not their CC, whether by choice or age restriction. So yes, SoE, you are really ((add expletitive here)) your customers over with this that makes zero sense.I know about the explination how you are "looking over the models" or something ... <a href="http://forums.station.sony.com/eq/posts/list.m?start=0&topic_id=186940#2812788" target="_blank">this is the post</a> Piestro made about removing the SC for subs explination for EQ. Can it be justified that it is an underused feature in EQ2 as well??So .... colour me confused. <img src="/smilies/0320a00cb4bb5629ab9fc2bc1fcc4e9e.gif" border="0" />

Peogia

08-10-2012, 08:21 PM

Daevin

08-10-2012, 08:22 PM

Brace yourselfs for another population decline from whatever little population exists today. Really, these decisions to take away the ability to pay with SC for a subscription and also the expansions/dlc packs is going to hurt this game more than help it. Very bad timing with these unpopular decisions with Guild Wars 2 just around the corner.

Kaylakaze

08-10-2012, 08:26 PM

I think I get it. I buy SC only when it's double (or triple) SC days. I also only bought my expansions during the half price sale, so effectively I paid $5 and $10 (or less) for the expansions. So what they're saying is they want to make sure they have tighter control of exactly what amount expansions are going to be sold at.Don't worry, in another month, they'll be announcing you can't use SC for anything anymore. And a month after that, they'll announce that only subscribers are allowed in the game on weekends. Then they'll keep increasing "subscriber only" time until only 3 F2P players are allowed to be logged in at a time and they're not allowed to be over level 10.

m1ndtrix

08-10-2012, 08:38 PM

Crap, now I have like 60 dollars in Sation Cash and nothing really to buy with it. I want to support SOE, but buying cosmetic items has always seemed very silly to me. I'm also terrible at CCG. So I'm left with no way to spend this money on actual content.I'm usually good at keeping my money away from the "cash traps" that are so prevelant in gaming now (Xbox Live Points, Steam Wallet, etc.), but this time I got burned. Lesson learned.

Dreamaria

08-10-2012, 09:01 PM

It's actually very easy to understand from SoE's point of veiw.People buy SC at discount prices (say you buy it on double SC weekend), meaning you pay half of what you would normally have. Then you save it and buy a $50 expansion with it, meaning SoE only got half of the value of the expansion - easy enough to understand why SoE would want all their money for the work...they have to pay their employees with something...and I don't think cookies will work.Secondly those that have reoccuring subscriptions get a bonus 500 sc per month they have it reoccur...IE save it up and buy your expansion filling in the rest...meaning again SoE gets cut short on what they would normally get from an expansion.The point of business..make money. Though I do feel bad for those that uploaded sc and have little spend it on, I personally have a fair amount and nothing snags me on the market...and I have 7 alts to put appearance gear on <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" />

jjlo69

08-10-2012, 09:06 PM

well im gonna play the bad guy here on this .. it just closes another loop hole of players paying plat for SC to buy things that overall will hurt the soe's pocket book.. lets face it $20.00 worth of smed cash = what 300-1k plat depending on the server(note this is a complete estimate on my part) so if an exp comes out that roughly 4999 you could basicly spend 600-2k plat or even goto wall mart and but a couple of the 2k card for $15 and buying the expansion for 30 bucks respectively. plus with the pss1 merge hapening soon europe players will not be able to get the expansion via what every pss1 is called

Darktreem

08-10-2012, 09:22 PM

<cite></cite><cite>Dreamaria wrote:</cite><blockquote>It's actually very easy to understand from SoE's point of veiw.People buy SC at discount prices (say you buy it on double SC weekend), meaning you pay half of what you would normally have. Then you save it and buy a $50 expansion with it, meaning SoE only got half of the value of the expansion - easy enough to understand why SoE would want all their money for the work...they have to pay their employees with something...and I don't think cookies will work.Secondly those that have reoccuring subscriptions get a bonus 500 sc per month they have it reoccur...IE save it up and buy your expansion filling in the rest...meaning again SoE gets cut short on what they would normally get from an expansion.The point of business..make money. Though I do feel bad for those that uploaded sc and have little spend it on, I personally have a fair amount and nothing snags me on the market...and I have 7 alts to put appearance gear on <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /></blockquote>I do find that the expansions for EQ2 are a bit expensive to begin with. AoD collectors edition cost about £30 at 50%, so would be £60 at normal price. The most expensive expansion for LOTRO due in Sep costs £45. I am a bit annoyed with Turbine now, as they stated that when the game was going F2P you could buy the expansions with Turbine points, but now the latest expansion can only be bought with real money. So Turbine is doing the same it seems.I bet this change is a negative side effect to the PSS1 parternship. They are not getting enough subs now from cancelled EU players, they now have to get the money back elsewhere.

Spakka

08-10-2012, 09:32 PM

I am absolutely disgusted at this announcement, I have never bought fluff items or anything else with SC except for subs and xpacs. I have 6,800 Sc now that I purchased when both these items were available in the marketplace and the intention was to use it for only those items. There should be some sort of breach of implied contract here.What if SOE were to yank all items from the market place so you can buy nothing at all with SC, leaving people with heavily funded wallets and nothing to buy? There is no difference in principle.I could see a case for making an announcement that all future purchases of SC would not be able to buy subs/xpacs but to hugely promote the sale of SC and later remove the ability to buy subs/xpacs from people who had already purchased SC when these items were available on the marketplace (and no indication they would ever not be available) is outright fraudulent if you ask me.

GusEQ

08-10-2012, 10:05 PM

I also saw this coming after they removed non-recurring.Admittedly I was also frugal when it came to sc, cashing in only on bonus days...What bothers me though, is that they would have implemented this in the first place without understanding the basic mentality of consumers in that yes....they prefer to save money where they can.I mean what exactly went on in their heads when they went in this direction in the first place? To walk back on this now really is a slap in the face to people who loaded up on sc. So they claim that in order to maintain their bonus sc days they needed to do this...because of how much players love it, yet they completely ignore a huge part of why players love(d) sc bonus days....being able to spend it on practical things. Now the bonus days really mean a whole lot less now that it is restricted to fluff items.

Peogia

08-10-2012, 10:07 PM

<cite>Dreamaria wrote:</cite><blockquote>It's actually very easy to understand from My point of veiw.People buy SC at discount prices (say you buy it on double SC weekend), meaning you pay half of what you would normally have. Then you save it and buy a $50 expansion with it, meaning SoE only got half of the value of the expansion - easy enough to understand why SoE would want all their money for the work...they have to pay their employees with something...and I don't think cookies will work.Secondly those that have reoccuring subscriptions get a bonus 500 sc per month they have it reoccur...IE save it up and buy your expansion filling in the rest...meaning again SoE gets cut short on what they would normally get from an expansion.All of this only amounts to poor very bad budgeting who is watching those check books<img src="/smilies/97ada74b88049a6d50a6ed40898a03d7.gif" border="0" />The point of business..make money. Though I do feel bad for those that uploaded sc and have little spend it on, I personally have a fair amount and nothing snags me on the market...and I have 7 alts to put appearance gear on <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" />This is just an easy way to increase profit with out having to lift a finger by saying the sony money you purchased from sony is now worthless & "none refundable", please reinsert your Credit Card to complete any further transactions with sony as they no longer accept there own currency anymore</blockquote>If I have but only one complaint about Age of Discovery it would be mercenaries.

GusEQ

08-10-2012, 10:10 PM

One alternative I would have been more accepting of would have been only restricting the most new expansion to real world currency.People who play the game extensively would more than likely end up paying them in full, and it would probably get more new people to buy sc cards during promotions if they could use the sc to purchase older xpacks.

SlashnGut

08-10-2012, 10:33 PM

Development of the game costs money - understandableHowever, instead of stopping people from using SC an easy fix would have been the below:Expansion: $39.99 if paid for with cash $69.99 or $99.99 if paid for with SCThose who wish to use SC to make the purchase due to lack of a credit card or not wanting to use their credit card could still do so it would just cost more. They woud still have to buy the SC and would need to buy more of it in order to make the purchase. The above is just an example but would not be that hard to set up and would appease the ones who want to use SC, or should anyway. Can't please everyone all the time and all.

Buffalo

08-10-2012, 10:35 PM

A very easy solution to me. Just quit the game and find something new.

Avirodar

08-11-2012, 02:19 AM

<cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products. The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs. In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*. As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>A very effective solution to this was proposed when subscriptions were removed from the MarketPlace.Add a secondary figure for SC, called Bonus Station Cash (BSC). Basic examples include...A 1500 walmart card gives : 1500SC, 500BSC A 1500 walmart card on triple redemption day gives : 1500SC, 4500BSCBuying 5000 SC on a double SC promo day gives : 5000SC, 5000BSCThe 500SC per month, for being a gold recurring subscriber would be changed to 500BSC per month.Make it so expansions and subs can only be purchased with SC, not BSC.Use judgement as to whether or not expansions/subscriptions should be included in half price promotions.SOE could start doing that, as of the 27th of August. What ever people already have, they have as "SC", but from the 27th Aug, any SC redemptions would be put in relevant categories.At least, that is what I would do, if I was wanting to provide a reasonable solution for both new and existing customers, while retaining functionality of the MarketPlace systems.Edit: change to include the 500 per month for recurring subs.

Aneova

08-11-2012, 02:49 AM

They likely got tired of giving away expansions to the folks who sit on the free monthly SC for having the appropriate subscription.

Kinya

08-11-2012, 05:47 AM

I would like to know, how can I get a refund for Station Cash I bought in order to buy next x-pac with it. I am not going to spend SC for any fluff items.I would like to get my money back pls. On all 4 accounts.

theriatis

08-11-2012, 06:17 AM

Hi,is it possible to gift someone the Expansions ?Regards, theriatis.

Avirodar

08-11-2012, 06:29 AM

<cite>theriatis wrote:</cite><blockquote>Hi,is it possible to gift someone the Expansions ?Regards, theriatis.</blockquote>No it is not.

General_Info

08-11-2012, 07:01 AM

<cite>Kaylakaze wrote:</cite><blockquote>I think I get it. I buy SC only when it's double (or triple) SC days. I also only bought my expansions during the half price sale, so effectively I paid $5 and $10 (or less) for the expansions. So what they're saying is they want to make sure they have tighter control of exactly what amount expansions are going to be sold at.</blockquote>This is why they are changing it. like you i purchased SC on a double SC weekend however i didn't buy the expacs on a half-price day. i spent 1000 free SC along with $25 and i got both expansions.If you dont own ether expansions and you dont mind the standard edition the two day half-price sale is a good deal buying both for $30 (or less if you have SC from double, triple SC weekends or rebate sales)

Juravael

08-11-2012, 08:37 AM

And what about those of us that stocked up on SC for the expansion this fall? I do not need any of the expansions that are current for any of my three remaining accounts and there is nothing else on the marketplace that I would buy.

Otatop

08-11-2012, 10:38 AM

Katz

08-11-2012, 11:33 AM

<cite>Avirodar@Oasis wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products. The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs. In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*. As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>A very effective solution to this was proposed when subscriptions were removed from the MarketPlace.Add a secondary figure for SC, called Bonus Station Cash (BSC). Basic examples include...A 1500 walmart card gives : 1500SC, 500BSC A 1500 walmart card on triple redemption day gives : 1500SC, 4500BSCBuying 5000 SC on a double SC promo day gives : 5000SC, 5000BSCThe 500SC per month, for being a gold recurring subscriber would be changed to 500BSC per month.Make it so expansions and subs can only be purchased with SC, not BSC.Use judgement as to whether or not expansions/subscriptions should be included in half price promotions.SOE could start doing that, as of the 27th of August. What ever people already have, they have as "SC", but from the 27th Aug, any SC redemptions would be put in relevant categories.At least, that is what I would do, if I was wanting to provide a reasonable solution for both new and existing customers, while retaining functionality of the MarketPlace systems.Edit: change to include the 500 per month for recurring subs.</blockquote>That seems a better solution.

General_Info

08-11-2012, 12:31 PM

removing expacs from the marketpalce is a much simpler change then splitting the SC into two types. Besides they can still run half price sales on the expansions through RMT.

zehly

08-11-2012, 06:01 PM

I totally get your move here. Makes perfect sense. Closing a loop hole that you should have never had in the first place, but that was also difficult to avoid not having. Triple SC Weekend + 50% Weekend = Bad Business (tm) for subscriptions and expansions. Works great on the fluff items, the consumables, etc. All I ask is that since you want to be "aggressive", could you please get "aggressive" in marking down those prices on said consumables (vitality, XP, and research-time reduction, please). I don't mind paying full price for an expansion. Love the game. Don't mind ya charging my credit card monthly, either. All for it. But please make the grind less painful, and give me more sexy instant gratification.

Rectale

08-11-2012, 06:36 PM

nixhoPe3

08-11-2012, 07:17 PM

Newb question: What, exactly, constitutes a DLC pack with regards to EQ2? I was trying to see if there is some kind of list for this, but I can't seem to find one.And in my opinion, I am rather frustrated by the decision to unilaterally remove the ability to use SC cards for both subscriptions and expansions. I can see their point about losing money on them due to SC Double/Triple promotions, but if they are going to continue those promotions, why don't they save the Expansion sales for those with Credit Cards and allow SC purchases at full price. I truly would not mind paying full price for these options, as long as it is in SC.As it stands, I do not use a credit card. I use a debit for bills and essentials only. I am unwilling to add a card of either type, so any real money I would pay into the game is SC. (I have seen all the arguments about how 'easy' it is to get a prepaid, and I don't feel that arguing my particular difficulties about that is relevant or necessary. I should not be forced to pay in a way that I do not choose for a 'play your way' game.)In summation, are they going to at least allow me to buy the expansions from other sources, like a box store, or am I going to be out of luck with the next expansion?*Side note... I would feel happier if I knew a red name was, at minimum, reading the replies from their customer base. Please, just let me know the voices are being heard.

Hirofortis

08-11-2012, 07:36 PM

<cite>nixhoPe3 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Newb question: What, exactly, constitutes a DLC pack with regards to EQ2? I was trying to see if there is some kind of list for this, but I can't seem to find one.And in my opinion, I am rather frustrated by the decision to unilaterally remove the ability to use SC cards for both subscriptions and expansions. I can see their point about losing money on them due to SC Double/Triple promotions, but if they are going to continue those promotions, why don't they save the Expansion sales for those with Credit Cards and allow SC purchases at full price. I truly would not mind paying full price for these options, as long as it is in SC.As it stands, I do not use a credit card. I use a debit for bills and essentials only. I am unwilling to add a card of either type, so any real money I would pay into the game is SC. (I have seen all the arguments about how 'easy' it is to get a prepaid, and I don't feel that arguing my particular difficulties about that is relevant or necessary. I should not be forced to pay in a way that I do not choose for a 'play your way' game.)In summation, are they going to at least allow me to buy the expansions from other sources, like a box store, or am I going to be out of luck with the next expansion?*Side note... I would feel happier if I knew a red name was, at minimum, reading the replies from their customer base. Please, just let me know the voices are being heard.</blockquote>DLC us another game. They are just saying they are removing the abiltiy to buy xpacs from all there games. And I agree, I don't mind paying the full price for the xpacs, but the SC made it really nice. But don't have any reason to buy sc cards now so hope they enjoy the loss of sales. Flavor of the week fluff garbage is not somethign I care about.

viper491

08-11-2012, 10:31 PM

This hasn't started yet, but I can't seem to locate the option to pay via SC for the expansions...this true for anyone else? (On my account with an All Access pass, I can only pay cash, while my regular sub account can pay with SC...what gives?)

Fyranaer

08-11-2012, 11:11 PM

This is so lame. I bought SC so I could purchase my game that way. I pretty much have no reason to purchase station cash any longer. Are you a F2P game or not?

Iad

08-12-2012, 12:34 AM

<cite>Fyranaer@Everfrost wrote:</cite><blockquote>This is so lame. I bought SC so I could purchase my game that way. I pretty much have no reason to purchase station cash any longer. Are you a F2P game or not?</blockquote>Lucky for them, their slogan "f2p your way" can easily be changed to "f2p our way".A lot of us are in the same boat of only having the option of buying stuff we don't want with our SC.

Regolas

08-12-2012, 03:26 AM

I think it's a rash move removing all products gold members want from the marketplace. First subs, now xpacs. Now very few gold subscribers will buy any SC. Noone cares about the other things.

Wingrider01

08-12-2012, 10:39 AM

<cite>Regolas wrote:</cite><blockquote>I think it's a rash move removing all products gold members want from the marketplace. First subs, now xpacs. Now very few gold subscribers will buy any SC. Noone cares about the other things.</blockquote>disagree with you simply on a business level - they are a for profit company, the choices seem to have been, remove any and all promotions for increased station cash or remove the items that they take a pure loss on becasue of these promotions. Business logic 101 - sell items for a profit to help pay the bills and development costs. Loss leaders int eh current economic environment do not make sense at all.I know gold subscribers that will continue to purchase the items that are released on the market place, it will not deter them in the least, removeing the specials on station cash purchasing in itself would impact them greatly though.

Juravael

08-12-2012, 12:41 PM

tomsky

08-12-2012, 03:19 PM

Simple Solution:Don't do Double SC weekends, only do Half price SC sales on specific items you want to.That way, you are ALWAYS getting the same amount of money when someone buys the expansion via SC, or via RL currency.Removing it from SC sales, is just going to lead to less people buying it, and you will lose out more.I'm sure 99% of people would rather that SC and Subs were available via SC, than the double SC days we get.

Cottontiel

08-12-2012, 05:13 PM

<cite>Wingrider01 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Regolas wrote:</cite><blockquote>I think it's a rash move removing all products gold members want from the marketplace. First subs, now xpacs. Now very few gold subscribers will buy any SC. Noone cares about the other things.</blockquote>disagree with you simply on a business level - they are a for profit company, the choices seem to have been, remove any and all promotions for increased station cash or remove the items that they take a pure loss on becasue of these promotions. Business logic 101 - sell items for a profit to help pay the bills and development costs. Loss leaders int eh current economic environment do not make sense at all.I know gold subscribers that will continue to purchase the items that are released on the market place, it will not deter them in the least, removeing the specials on station cash purchasing in itself would impact them greatly though.</blockquote>Like some other people have mentioned, I don't blame them for doing this, even if the expansions probably should cost less by now or at least be on more frequent sales - maybe once a month? two months? Something like that. If you're like me and just hoard subscription freebie SC or have a few bucks laying around when a double/triple bonus sale starts, then you're pretty much able to buy the expansions at either for pretty much no cost, or a major discount.I agree with Wingrider01 on the topic about some golds not being hindered, as both a RL buddy of mine and I are gold with our accounts, and while this will suck for future xpack/dlc purchases since we aren't too keen on giving out our CC/debit info, it's in no way hindering us from playing the game. We prefer the double/triple station cash bonuses because then we can buy a bit of SC, get more SC from bonus, then have that in SC wallet to use at our leisure.Sure, while some (or to certain people, all) items in the marketplace may be useless fluff, I like being able to pop onto the marketplace and purchase something on a whim. On another note though - is it possible for one to just go out and buy one of the prepaid cc/debit cards that are able to be used online as an alternative method of payment?

Zyllah

08-12-2012, 06:09 PM

<cite>viper491 wrote:</cite><blockquote>This hasn't started yet, but I can't seem to locate the option to pay via SC for the expansions...this true for anyone else? (On my account with an All Access pass, I can only pay cash, while my regular sub account can pay with SC...what gives?)</blockquote>I, too, don't have the option to purchase expansions within the game, and am only given the option to purchase with a credit card, rather than the SC I have on my account. I was hoping to upgrade my standard copy of DoV to the collector's edition, and would really like to be able to do so. However, I will not be doing so if it's not done with SC.I don't like the route this is going, as I was happy to purchase my expansion with SC, but due to the business needs you have, it's perfectly understandable. However, should you want to charge as much as you did for AoD, please consider making the next expansion greater in content and features. Make it worth the cost. AoD, which I got with SC, was not worth the full cost, even though it did have some great features.

Trojenn

08-12-2012, 06:34 PM

Lets see if I can get people to see what there doing, and go get people to see that alot of this is your own fault.When SoE originaly implemented the purchasing of Xpacs on the Market Place, 98% of most people I play with bought the amount of SC they needed either VIA Game Card or CC to purchase the expansion. If you went out and spent 100$ on SC to save up for future purchases of Game Expansions then you are an idi*t. Did you honestly think that a year / 2 years down the road that the value of your SC wouldn't become zero or something would change and you wouldn't be able to use it.Then we have the people who like to abuse the system. Yes I realize that this was SoE's stupidity in the first place by not paying attention to the repurcussions of there actions but that really doesnt matter. They have double and SC Weekends and you are getting 2x or 3x the amount of SC you actualy paid for and people took advantage of it. How long did you honestly think this would last. People got mad when they fixed it and I don't blame them for fixing it. And yes, they attempted to make a wrong a right and allowed people a limited time to use it after taking the option away. But how is it good business to continue to let people buy there service/product for 1/2 to 2/3 off. You wouldnt make any money and you would essentialy go bankrupt. Now they are taking away the option to buy Expansions or DLC away from the market place. Again, you probably fall into the above categories if you are mad about this. " I wanna use my years worth of saved SC to buy the expac and now I have to actualy pay for it. " or " I bought my SC a year ago and have been saving it to buy the new expac and now I cant use my year old SC " and my favorite " Since I couldnt use my 3x SC stock pile to pay for my subscription anymore I figured I would rip SOE off some more by using it to buy an expansion". SoE gives us 500SC a month for our subscription, so in a 12 month time frame thats 6000 SC, do you honestly think SOE would want EVERYONE to get the new expacs for free. I meen come on people.The sad part is, I cant tell you how many people don't realize that you can still use the SC Cards from walmart to purchase expacs / subscriptions. You just use the code on the website rather then useing it in game. It still works and you still get 500SC added to your wallet. People can still sell SC Cards for plat and I for one will still buy them. SoE isn't loosing out on any money this way. Even though I am not paying the money for the service. Someone else is.

Tigress

08-12-2012, 06:49 PM

<cite>Zyllah@Permafrost wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>viper491 wrote:</cite><blockquote>This hasn't started yet, but I can't seem to locate the option to pay via SC for the expansions...this true for anyone else? (On my account with an All Access pass, I can only pay cash, while my regular sub account can pay with SC...what gives?)</blockquote>I, too, don't have the option to purchase expansions within the game, and am only given the option to purchase with a credit card, rather than the SC I have on my account. I was hoping to upgrade my standard copy of DoV to the collector's edition, and would really like to be able to do so. However, I will not be doing so if it's not done with SC.I don't like the route this is going, as I was happy to purchase my expansion with SC, but due to the business needs you have, it's perfectly understandable. However, should you want to charge as much as you did for AoD, please consider making the next expansion greater in content and features. Make it worth the cost. AoD, which I got with SC, was not worth the full cost, even though it did have some great features.</blockquote>i agree. AoD was and is overpriced. i bought it (x2) bc i could buy it with SC. it was december 2011 and during one of the SC sales. the only reason why i bought it then was bc i could use SC. when i bought other expansions, i purchased them thru amazon. age of discovery is not available at amazon, which seems suspicious/odd.i have extra SC sitting on my accounts that i can do nothing with. i dont care for fluff items. i had planned on buying the next expansion with it. now what?

Tigress

08-12-2012, 07:00 PM

<cite>Dilbert@The Bazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote>Lets see if I can get people to see what there doing, and go get people to see that alot of this is your own fault.When SoE originaly implemented the purchasing of Xpacs on the Market Place, 98% of most people I play with bought the amount of SC they needed either VIA Game Card or CC to purchase the expansion. If you went out and spent 100$ on SC to save up for future purchases of Game Expansions then you are an idi*t. Did you honestly think that a year / 2 years down the road that the value of your SC wouldn't become zero or something would change and you wouldn't be able to use it.Then we have the people who like to abuse the system. Yes I realize that this was SoE's stupidity in the first place by not paying attention to the repurcussions of there actions but that really doesnt matter. They have double and SC Weekends and you are getting 2x or 3x the amount of SC you actualy paid for and people took advantage of it. How long did you honestly think this would last. People got mad when they fixed it and I don't blame them for fixing it. And yes, they attempted to make a wrong a right and allowed people a limited time to use it after taking the option away. But how is it good business to continue to let people buy there service/product for 1/2 to 2/3 off. You wouldnt make any money and you would essentialy go bankrupt. Now they are taking away the option to buy Expansions or DLC away from the market place. Again, you probably fall into the above categories if you are mad about this. " I wanna use my years worth of saved SC to buy the expac and now I have to actualy pay for it. " or " I bought my SC a year ago and have been saving it to buy the new expac and now I cant use my year old SC " and my favorite " Since I couldnt use my 3x SC stock pile to pay for my subscription anymore I figured I would rip SOE off some more by using it to buy an expansion". SoE gives us 500SC a month for our subscription, so in a 12 month time frame thats 6000 SC, do you honestly think SOE would want EVERYONE to get the new expacs for free. I meen come on people.</blockquote>maybe your accounts are getting 500 SC/month but mine most certainly are not and, yes, i am on recurring.the tone in your whole post is super offensive. not everyone put SC on their account to "rip off SOE", as you imply. i added SC on my account buy expansions at a time when i had the funds to do so. there is a promise from SOE that you can use your SC when you want, how you want. the way SC works is it goes to the SOE bank and the game does not get credit for it until it is spent. so let's say you have 10,000 SC sitting on your account. it's in the SOE SC bank but none of the games are getting credit for revenue. for example: when my son buys a 500 SC item from FreeRealms, that gets added to FR's revenue. when i buy a 4000 SC expansion, that gets added to EQ2's revenue. i currently have enough to buy an expansion on two accounts. that SC will never get spent in EQ2. it is extremely unlikely that i will buy two expansions bc my son does not play enough to justify spending $40x2 when the next expansion is released. it would have, however, been easy enough to spend the SC. since a refund is highly unlikely, i will most likely allow my son to buy stuff from FR; therefore, EQ2 will never see the revenue on his account that they would have for a future expansion. i'm willing to bet that i'm not alone & lots of ppl with alt accounts won't be buying as many expansions as they would have, if they could have used SC.

nixhoPe3

08-12-2012, 10:09 PM

<cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products. The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs. In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*. As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>Real world currency is used to buy the SC. In fact, I use cash, not credit. This is irrelevant to my point but I felt compelled to clear the air on that.What alternatives are going to be offered for customers (like myself) who wish to purchase Expansions and DLC packs (still not sure what exactly that is...) but are desiring to pay with real world currency instead of inflationary borrowed credit. Are you going to offer purchasable unlockable cards at game stores or Wal-Mart or something like this which can then unlock the download for a specific user? (That might be a good idea for those wishing to buy Expansions as a gift for friends and family.) Maybe return to selling the boxes as well (which doesn't make sense if you are striving to cut cost and increase revenue.)What exactly is going to be offered as a replacement option for paying into a game that I (and others) are obviously wanting to continue enjoying?I would love to see this game continue, I want to play THESE characters that I have invested REAL WORLD currency in, I want to see these characters move through an evolving world; so please, rather than allowing the customer base to continue jockeying back and forth, bickering over what might or might not be intended by the company they are supporting, answer our obvious questions about the future of this game.

salty21db

08-12-2012, 11:12 PM

<cite>nixhoPe3 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products. The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs. In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*. As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>Real world currency is used to buy the SC. In fact, I use cash, not credit. This is irrelevant to my point but I felt compelled to clear the air on that.What alternatives are going to be offered for customers (like myself) who wish to purchase Expansions and DLC packs (still not sure what exactly that is...) but are desiring to pay with real world currency instead of inflationary borrowed credit. Are you going to offer purchasable unlockable cards at game stores or Wal-Mart or something like this which can then unlock the download for a specific user? (That might be a good idea for those wishing to buy Expansions as a gift for friends and family.) Maybe return to selling the boxes as well (which doesn't make sense if you are striving to cut cost and increase revenue.)What exactly is going to be offered as a replacement option for paying into a game that I (and others) are obviously wanting to continue enjoying?I would love to see this game continue, I want to play THESE characters that I have invested REAL WORLD currency in, I want to see these characters move through an evolving world; so please, rather than allowing the customer base to continue jockeying back and forth, bickering over what might or might not be intended by the company they are supporting, answer our obvious questions about the future of this game.</blockquote>Going to stop there because I'd love to know your thoughts on debit cards or such and how they are "inflationary borrowed credit."

Trojenn

08-12-2012, 11:26 PM

<cite>salty21db wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>nixhoPe3 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products.The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs.In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*.As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>Real world currency is used to buy the SC. In fact, I use cash, not credit. This is irrelevant to my point but I felt compelled to clear the air on that.What alternatives are going to be offered for customers (like myself) who wish to purchase Expansions and DLC packs (still not sure what exactly that is...) but are desiring to pay with real world currency instead of inflationary borrowed credit. Are you going to offer purchasable unlockable cards at game stores or Wal-Mart or something like this which can then unlock the download for a specific user? (That might be a good idea for those wishing to buy Expansions as a gift for friends and family.) Maybe return to selling the boxes as well (which doesn't make sense if you are striving to cut cost and increase revenue.)What exactly is going to be offered as a replacement option for paying into a game that I (and others) are obviously wanting to continue enjoying?I would love to see this game continue, I want to play THESE characters that I have invested REAL WORLD currency in, I want to see these characters move through an evolving world; so please, rather than allowing the customer base to continue jockeying back and forth, bickering over what might or might not be intended by the company they are supporting, answer our obvious questions about the future of this game.</blockquote>Going to stop there because I'd love to know your thoughts on debit cards or such and how they are "inflationary borrowed credit."</blockquote>This is the problem with Forums in general - people tend to post without reading what has already been said. I swear this will be repeated 20x's before it gets across to people. YOU CAN STILL PAY FOR EXPANSIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH STATION CASH CARDS !!!.. Just redeem them on the website and not in the market place. If you don't like to use plastic debit cards or credit cards - go to Walmart and buy a couple of station cash cards and use them on the " WEBSITE " and not in the Market Place.

salty21db

08-12-2012, 11:48 PM

<cite>Dilbert@The Bazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>salty21db wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>nixhoPe3 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products.The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs.In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*.As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>Real world currency is used to buy the SC. In fact, I use cash, not credit. This is irrelevant to my point but I felt compelled to clear the air on that.What alternatives are going to be offered for customers (like myself) who wish to purchase Expansions and DLC packs (still not sure what exactly that is...) but are desiring to pay with real world currency instead of inflationary borrowed credit. Are you going to offer purchasable unlockable cards at game stores or Wal-Mart or something like this which can then unlock the download for a specific user? (That might be a good idea for those wishing to buy Expansions as a gift for friends and family.) Maybe return to selling the boxes as well (which doesn't make sense if you are striving to cut cost and increase revenue.)What exactly is going to be offered as a replacement option for paying into a game that I (and others) are obviously wanting to continue enjoying?I would love to see this game continue, I want to play THESE characters that I have invested REAL WORLD currency in, I want to see these characters move through an evolving world; so please, rather than allowing the customer base to continue jockeying back and forth, bickering over what might or might not be intended by the company they are supporting, answer our obvious questions about the future of this game.</blockquote>Going to stop there because I'd love to know your thoughts on debit cards or such and how they are "inflationary borrowed credit."</blockquote>This is the problem with Forums in general - people tend to post without reading what has already been said. I swear this will be repeated 20x's before it gets across to people. YOU CAN STILL PAY FOR EXPANSIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH STATION CASH CARDS !!!.. Just redeem them on the website and not in the market place. If you don't like to use plastic debit cards or credit cards - go to Walmart and buy a couple of station cash cards and use them on the " WEBSITE " and not in the Market Place.</blockquote>Even if you couldn't they make "cash cards" nowadays lol.

Cyliena

08-13-2012, 11:07 AM

<cite>tomsky wrote:</cite><blockquote>Simple Solution:Don't do Double SC weekends, only do Half price SC sales on specific items you want to.That way, you are ALWAYS getting the same amount of money when someone buys the expansion via SC, or via RL currency.Removing it from SC sales, is just going to lead to less people buying it, and you will lose out more.I'm sure 99% of people would rather that SC and Subs were available via SC, than the double SC days we get.</blockquote>I completely agree with this.

Delirya

08-13-2012, 11:56 AM

<cite>Cyliena wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>tomsky wrote:</cite><blockquote>Simple Solution:Don't do Double SC weekends, only do Half price SC sales on specific items you want to.That way, you are ALWAYS getting the same amount of money when someone buys the expansion via SC, or via RL currency.Removing it from SC sales, is just going to lead to less people buying it, and you will lose out more.I'm sure 99% of people would rather that SC and Subs were available via SC, than the double SC days we get.</blockquote>I completely agree with this.</blockquote> Yep! Get rid of the double/triple SC and do half-price and rebates. I love playing eq2 but with this option removed, I will not be getting anymore expansions.

Gealaen_Gaiamancer

08-13-2012, 12:18 PM

I only have one thing to add to this one--THANK YOU for giving a few weeks notice this time, as well as giving folks a chance to buy expansions if they hadn't already. Yes, this sucks for folks who were saving up for the NEXT expansion, but perhaps there will be some other product or service that you will want to buy with your hoarded SC sometime. Speaking of next expansion ... spill. Any word on content/features/date? <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" /> Or point me to another thread if I missed it. Edited to fix spelling. And I'll edit it again later if I notice another error. Ha.

Calthine

08-13-2012, 12:30 PM

<cite>Cyliena wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>tomsky wrote:</cite><blockquote>Simple Solution:Don't do Double SC weekends, only do Half price SC sales on specific items you want to.That way, you are ALWAYS getting the same amount of money when someone buys the expansion via SC, or via RL currency.Removing it from SC sales, is just going to lead to less people buying it, and you will lose out more.I'm sure 99% of people would rather that SC and Subs were available via SC, than the double SC days we get.</blockquote>I completely agree with this.</blockquote>As do I. When Station Cash was still a bubble of an idea the one thing we said was "Make it so we can buy our subs and expansions with it."

Wingrider01

08-13-2012, 01:20 PM

<cite>Delirya@Guk wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Cyliena wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>tomsky wrote:</cite><blockquote>Simple Solution:Don't do Double SC weekends, only do Half price SC sales on specific items you want to.That way, you are ALWAYS getting the same amount of money when someone buys the expansion via SC, or via RL currency.Removing it from SC sales, is just going to lead to less people buying it, and you will lose out more.I'm sure 99% of people would rather that SC and Subs were available via SC, than the double SC days we get.</blockquote>I completely agree with this.</blockquote>Yep! Get rid of the double/triple SC and do half-price and rebates. I love playing eq2 but with this option removed, I will not be getting anymore expansions.</blockquote>you need to think globally - this change will affect ALL games that utilize station cash and I know that my kids would be very upset if the double and triple station cash events are removed from free realms. Best just to handle it exaclty the way they are planning

Hirofortis

08-13-2012, 02:22 PM

<cite>Dilbert@The Bazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>salty21db wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>nixhoPe3 wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products.The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs.In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*.As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>Real world currency is used to buy the SC. In fact, I use cash, not credit. This is irrelevant to my point but I felt compelled to clear the air on that.What alternatives are going to be offered for customers (like myself) who wish to purchase Expansions and DLC packs (still not sure what exactly that is...) but are desiring to pay with real world currency instead of inflationary borrowed credit. Are you going to offer purchasable unlockable cards at game stores or Wal-Mart or something like this which can then unlock the download for a specific user? (That might be a good idea for those wishing to buy Expansions as a gift for friends and family.) Maybe return to selling the boxes as well (which doesn't make sense if you are striving to cut cost and increase revenue.)What exactly is going to be offered as a replacement option for paying into a game that I (and others) are obviously wanting to continue enjoying?I would love to see this game continue, I want to play THESE characters that I have invested REAL WORLD currency in, I want to see these characters move through an evolving world; so please, rather than allowing the customer base to continue jockeying back and forth, bickering over what might or might not be intended by the company they are supporting, answer our obvious questions about the future of this game.</blockquote>Going to stop there because I'd love to know your thoughts on debit cards or such and how they are "inflationary borrowed credit."</blockquote>This is the problem with Forums in general - people tend to post without reading what has already been said. I swear this will be repeated 20x's before it gets across to people. YOU CAN STILL PAY FOR EXPANSIONS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS WITH STATION CASH CARDS !!!.. Just redeem them on the website and not in the market place. If you don't like to use plastic debit cards or credit cards - go to Walmart and buy a couple of station cash cards and use them on the " WEBSITE " and not in the Market Place.</blockquote>Maybe you did not read it yourself? "Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products."So, I have looked for any way to use a SC card to buy an expac and the only way I have found is cash. There is no mention of using a card to get an xpac. So why don't you walk us through this method since you know a secret that we don't. As far as sub time, yea, that is easy to add, but not to buy an xpac.

strentgh

08-13-2012, 02:57 PM

this does not bother me what SOE is doing. I would as a company have all of the Expansions be paid in cash , and the items used for Example : potions, and such you can get it with station cash, or what ever I would have ingame purchases of the items you can use in game. I feel that they are doing what any company would be doing and since it does take time and money to make expansions and make sure the programming is correct.

Iad

08-13-2012, 04:01 PM

<cite>strentgh wrote:</cite><blockquote>this does not bother me what SOE is doing. I would as a company have all of the Expansions be paid in cash , and the items used for Example : potions, and such you can get it with station cash, or what ever I would have ingame purchases of the items you can use in game. I feel that they are doing what any company would be doing and since it does take time and money to make expansions and make sure the programming is correct.</blockquote>The only reason it bothers me is because the option was available in the first place, so I stock piled a bunch of SC, that is now useless to me. Will I get a refund? Of course I won't. Those of us that purchased SC with the intent of using it to purchase expansions and subs now have a bunch of SC to stare at. I don't want anything else they have to offer in the marketplace, and I'm clearly not the only one or there would be no need to remove these options in the first place.

Juravael

08-13-2012, 04:46 PM

I know exactly what you mean <img src="/eq2/images/smilies/9d71f0541cff0a302a0309c5079e8dee.gif" border="0" />

Kenazeer

08-13-2012, 06:57 PM

<cite>Dilbert@The Bazaar wrote:</cite><blockquote> YOU CAN STILL PAY FOR EXPANSIONS...WITH STATION CASH CARDS !!!.. J</blockquote>Can you now? How is that?

Kenazeer

08-13-2012, 07:00 PM

<cite>salty21db wrote:</cite><blockquote>Even if you couldn't they make "cash cards" nowadays lol.</blockquote>Where do you find these cash cards for which one would not pay an additonal fee?

Laenai

08-13-2012, 11:12 PM

Here's the thing about paying RL cash for expansions:They don't put them out in boxes anymore. The production of these expansions cost the salary of the employees to make them....just....like.....everything.....else.....i n....the....game....every.....day.Without the boxes and with it just being a link to clicky-click for your digital download, there's no production cost in the creation of the expansion. That means: you're paying for the bare bones. No magic, no extras, no discs, no fancy posters, no pewter figurines, no nothing.That extra $50 bucks for the collector's edition? A couple more lines of data. Nothing anymore special than anything else. Nothing tangible or permanent.Its data. And not even pretty packaged data. Its a blue link. Nothing extra goes into an expansion that doesn't already go into things like the Drunder GU, DoVx2, and the Qeynos revamp. You might even argue that MORE went into the Drunder GU and DoVx2 than went into our last expansion which, again, was just a link to click and download.You cannot tell me that SoE didn't know what they were doing when they released AoD, had a triple station cash bonus weekend 2 weeks later, then announced the week after that how AoD was a huge success and everyone and their brother's dog bought it. If you didn't understand how, why, and when they did that, I have a beachfront bungalow in Nevada that you might be interested in.Well, duh. I'll pay $15 x the number of my accounts to click on a blue link. I won't pay $40 x the number of my accounts to click on a blue link. I will, however, pay $40 for a box from the store with a fancy map, a few discs, a booklet, and a pewter figurine. So if you're going to push real life cash, put out a real life game.I foresee that they will change the tune they're whistling once the same thing happens with the next xpac that happened with AoD-- pushing them into a triple station cash weekend so quickly after the release due to low interest. We'll see expansions for station cash again. We'll see non-recurring subscriptions for station cash again also once those of us who have a year or more of sub time stocked up run dry and don't buy anymore of it.

Zherik

08-14-2012, 07:09 AM

IF I have this correct and I understand everything thats been posted then...Just one question for SOE. WHAT are you going to do (ie. reimburse,compenstate, something, etc)for those TRUSTING players who stocked on SC with the express purpose of paying for subs ?I know many players, myself included who have multiple accounts.We have dilegently purchased, stockpiled, and otherwise saved our SC for the express purpose of spending it on what you had offered AT THE TIME WE PURCHASED our SC.In case it hasn't been made quite clear to you, and who knows if you even bother to read this... People feel ripped off and are quite upset with the fact that they feel paid for something that was being offered and now its not being delivered. It seems to be awful close to a bait and switch tactic.Wouldn't it have been wiser to let people who have stockpiled SC, use up their SC? In my case, I get a large check once every six months, I do not want to use my Credit Card/Debit Card cardto pay for my 4 accounts, my girlfriend's four accounts, and I pay for a family members account also. that's NINE accounts I pay for. That is 15 x 9. I am NOT going to put my Credit card/debit card in your system for 9 spots. I have my prestige mounts, my houses I want. I am sitting here with a stack of SC cards I bought when I got my check in. they are USELESS to me now. In this day of facebook, social media, etc. It just doesn't seem to be a well thought move.If I'm wrong, please correct me.edited for spelling and grammar

Hirofortis

08-14-2012, 11:47 AM

I understand the business logic here. SOE has become one of the few profit portions of Sony and they are trying to wring every cent they can out of the customers due to Sonys poor performance. I however agree more with what the players are trying to get SOE to see. I have beecome more and more disastisfied with SOE's business practices. I think the developers are trying there best to make a good game here. They may not always do the right thing, but they are trying. It is special interest items that are pushed for cash that are really sucking right now. Was SOEMote a good idea, I think it is more a meh idea. I turn the thing off myself. Knee jerk reactions is what SOE is known for. Instead of fixing the issue you just go WAHHHH, I am taking my toys and going home. Your marketing department is half baked and it shows. WHy not fix the issue like So many here have said instead of kneeing your customers in the face, yet again.

Jashrat

08-14-2012, 01:36 PM

Really Sony?After slapping me in the face with your with your lastest bait and switch fiasco with station cash, you have the audacity of sending me a "Bonus Station Cash" promotion email for Best Buy station cash cards? I have hundreds of dollars of worthless station cash already.I am absolutely floored at how low you have gone. At least honor the station cash I have already purchased for expansions and subscriptions. In my opinion that would be the only way to redeem yourselves here.

feldon30

08-14-2012, 01:39 PM

The real problem here is Marketing, as it has always been at SOE. I have spoken at length about their failure to market the game, give us accurate information about expansions, and not be totally oblivious to regions outside the USA.Marketing did these three things which created the perfect storm we have now:<ul><li>Exclusive deal with Walmart to have +500SC bonus on each card and allowing that bonus to be tripled</li><li>Triple StationCash days/weekends</li><li>Half off SC purchase weekends</li></ul>I'm not sure what to say to folks threatening to "Take their money elsewhere" because they can't get an EQ2 subscription for $1.25 a month (or free if you trade plat for game cards) and expansions for $6.68. That's like threatening to walk out of Saltgrass steakhouse because they won't sell you a steak for $3.Was Destiny of Velious worth $40? I'd say so if you include Drunder and Skyshrine. Just as far as amount of content.Was Age of Discovery worth $40? Nope.I'm not sure how SOE would handle SC refunds. Everyone has bought SC for a different cash value. Some people paid $15 and got 1500SC. Others got 2000SC. Some people paid as little as $3.75 to get 2000SC. And I'm guessing the multiplier values were not stored anywhere.

Wingrider01

08-14-2012, 04:56 PM

<cite>Hirofortis wrote:</cite><blockquote>I understand the business logic here. SOE has become one of the few profit portions of Sony and they are trying to wring every cent they can out of the customers due to Sonys poor performance. I however agree more with what the players are trying to get SOE to see. I have beecome more and more disastisfied with SOE's business practices. I think the developers are trying there best to make a good game here. They may not always do the right thing, but they are trying. It is special interest items that are pushed for cash that are really sucking right now. Was SOEMote a good idea, I think it is more a meh idea. I turn the thing off myself. Knee jerk reactions is what SOE is known for. Instead of fixing the issue you just go WAHHHH, I am taking my toys and going home. Your marketing department is half baked and it shows. WHy not fix the issue like So many here have said instead of kneeing your customers in the face, yet again.</blockquote>not really sure where you are getting your financial advice but suggest that you locate a different sourcece of investing information - this move is logical, I doubt that SOE or any busines for that matter ever intended SC as a means for players to obtain subscriptions and expansions - the two set P/L items for cents on the dollar.Sure fix the issue - keep two buckets, one for the purchase amount of station cash - the face value of the redeemed card and one for the bonus addon, subscriptions and expansions come out of the bucket for face value of the card only. That is the best proceedure to follow. Of course the theory is sound, implementation would be harder since sc is at the account level and the account can be tied to every game that is in the stable.

Juravael

08-14-2012, 05:10 PM

If you are not happy about this then let them know by e-mailing them and sending them private messages. I posted John Smedley's email address earlier but it was removed for some reason. You can google him just as easily as I did. He even posted his own e-mail address himself in these very forums in one of the discussions about subscriptions being removed from the marketplace.I've sent some PM's and a few e-mails. Now all that I can do is sit back and see what SOE decides to do.*edited to note that Smedley did reply to my e-mail and I was very satisfied with what he had to say. I'll leave it at that, he does read his e-mail.

Korok

08-15-2012, 05:22 AM

<cite>Zherik@Oasis wrote:</cite><blockquote>IF I have this correct and I understand everything thats been posted then...Just one question for SOE. WHAT are you going to do (ie. reimburse,compenstate, something, etc)for those TRUSTING players who stocked on SC with the express purpose of paying for subs ?I know many players, myself included who have multiple accounts.We have dilegently purchased, stockpiled, and otherwise saved our SC for the express purpose of spending it on what you had offered AT THE TIME WE PURCHASED our SC.In case it hasn't been made quite clear to you, and who knows if you even bother to read this... People feel ripped off and are quite upset with the fact that they feel paid for something that was being offered and now its not being delivered. It seems to be awful close to a bait and switch tactic.Wouldn't it have been wiser to let people who have stockpiled SC, use up their SC? In my case, I get a large check once every six months, I do not want to use my Credit Card/Debit Card cardto pay for my 4 accounts, my girlfriend's four accounts, and I pay for a family members account also. that's NINE accounts I pay for. That is 15 x 9. I am NOT going to put my Credit card/debit card in your system for 9 spots. I have my prestige mounts, my houses I want. I am sitting here with a stack of SC cards I bought when I got my check in. they are USELESS to me now. In this day of facebook, social media, etc. It just doesn't seem to be a well thought move.If I'm wrong, please correct me.edited for spelling and grammar</blockquote>I must agree with Zherik's opinion. I feel I have lost money with this change.

kcirrot

08-16-2012, 10:01 AM

<cite>feldon30 wrote:</cite><blockquote>I'm not sure how SOE would handle SC refunds. </blockquote>Easy, they won't. <cite>SOE Terms of Service wrote:</cite><blockquote>C. REFUNDS AND RETURNS POLICYIn the event that you have purchased any packaged goods from SOE, you may return such packaged goods to us for any reason within thirty (30) days of shipment for a full refund, less shipping and handling charges. No refunds will be made for purchases of Virtual Goods (including purchases of Station Cash), items that are downloadable or opened, that are received by us more than thirty (30) days after delivery or that were obtained using Station Cash. Downloaded products or account keys purchased to activate or unlock downloaded software are non-refundable at any time. Refused orders will be treated as a return, with the same policy that applies to returned items.</blockquote>

Zherik

08-16-2012, 11:02 PM

<cite>Zherik@Oasis wrote:</cite><blockquote>IF I have this correct and I understand everything thats been posted then...Just one question for SOE. WHAT are you going to do (ie. reimburse,compenstate, something, etc)for those TRUSTING players who stocked on SC with the express purpose of paying for subs ?I know many players, myself included who have multiple accounts.We have dilegently purchased, stockpiled, and otherwise saved our SC for the express purpose of spending it on what you had offered AT THE TIME WE PURCHASED our SC.In case it hasn't been made quite clear to you, and who knows if you even bother to read this... People feel ripped off and are quite upset with the fact that they feel paid for something that was being offered and now its not being delivered. It seems to be awful close to a bait and switch tactic.Wouldn't it have been wiser to let people who have stockpiled SC, use up their SC? In my case, I get a large check once every six months, I do not want to use my Credit Card/Debit Card cardto pay for my 4 accounts, my girlfriend's four accounts, and I pay for a family members account also. that's NINE accounts I pay for. That is 15 x 9. I am NOT going to put my Credit card/debit card in your system for 9 spots. I have my prestige mounts, my houses I want. I am sitting here with a stack of SC cards I bought when I got my check in. they are USELESS to me now. In this day of facebook, social media, etc. It just doesn't seem to be a well thought move.If I'm wrong, please correct me.edited for spelling and grammar</blockquote>I am going to correct myself here.If you go to 'My Account' for your SOE account then to Account Details.. there IS a spot where you can use a game card to pay for your subscription. My grandson found it and immediately asked for his monthly allowance (a walmart card with the 500 bonus sc) from me. Guess he really really wants to play LOL. But I'm glad he figured it out. It is a bit more of a hassle but yes it did work perfectly fine.

ocarinah

08-17-2012, 05:30 PM

I thought the whole point of using station cash to pay for expansions and subscriptions was for those people that want to stay anonymous or to protect their credit card information. Does anyone remember that SOE got hacked and credit card information wasn't secure? I know lots of people that deleted all credit card information and started to only use station cash. That was main reason it got started in the first place. Let me ask you this is 1/2 price for an expansion more than zero? I have a feeling you won't get more money you will be losing it. If you don't want sales on expansions and subscriptions then have a special station cash card (like you have dungeon marks now) that can only be used for paying for these two things that will never have sale prices but people can still feel secure their information is safe or they don't need to have a credit card. Why just remove it and lose customers, offer a solution that works for both parties. Can keep the station cards the same actually and just have people claim them as EC (expansion/subscription cash) instead of normal cash so you have control not to give any bonuses or sales on these items. And here is an even better idea....this new EC you can use it to gift someone an expansion or subscription to a friend. Do you know how many times I have wanted to gift either of these to friends in need so they don't have to quit the game.

Tigerr

08-17-2012, 07:40 PM

This is how you KNOW none of the devs play the game. If anyone on the SoE team played the game they'd know that people that have multiple accounts wont shell out 40 bucks per expansion on each of their 9 or so accounts. The only way these people would even consider buying/activating an expansion for their 10th account if it was SC purchasable. SoE feels that since alot of people are buying the Expansions via SC, they will also buy the same expansions with real life cash. I have a bunch of friends that would just NOT get their 3rd or 4th account an expansion. Whereas with SC, they'd say "ehh, I got this card off a buddy, i'll just buy it with SC". Not one person is going to buy expansions left and right like they did with SC if they are 40bucks real cash. Instead, people will just not activate that 2nd, or 3rd, or even 10th account that they wanted to. Seems like SoE doesn't think when they do stuff like this. Specially with expansions like AoD, that provided virtually NOTHING. I only purchased AoD because I believe it was available with SC and I had some saved up from before. I would NEVER pay 40 bucks using my card. Especially for the 2nd and my 3rd account. SoE, do you realize that just because people bought the gold + expansions with sc, it doesn't mean they will buy it with cash. Not smart at all. I'll just sit back and LOL while it takes you guys 2-3 months to realize that you had more sales when it was available with SC and put it back in game.

LF_Snape

09-12-2012, 11:10 PM

<cite>Brook wrote:</cite><blockquote><cite>Dexella wrote:</cite><blockquote>Starting Monday, August 27th, 2012, we will no longer accept Station Cash as a payment method for Expansions and DLC Packs. Real-world currency will be the only way to purchase these products.The reason for this is simply that these products require a high level of development resource and are therefore a substantial cost. We want to continue to run aggressive Station Cash promotions, which we know our customers love, but cannot continue to do this and protect the revenue that we need to offset these costs.In consideration of our players who would like the opportunity to purchase current Expansion and DLC Packs with Station Cash, we are running a 50% discount on them from Friday August 10th until Sunday August 12th*.As always, if you have questions about your Station Account or Station Cash Balance, please contact customer service at <a title="http://www.soe.com/support" href="http://www.soe.com/support">http://www.soe.com/support</a>.</blockquote>How does it require a high level of development resource, the matrix is already set up and billing is basically automated?Just feed billing through the same program you use to put stats on gear and it should take care of itself with most of us being happy.</blockquote>its because when they offered double or triple sc they lost there a$$, cause ppl could be a yr or 2 for next to nothing like i did. i told my guildies a yrs or so ago that would not last cause they were loose major money, and i was right cause they got rid of it.

Gumballz

10-17-2012, 07:13 PM

Here's a Very very very simple solution that will benefit everyone and is simple to implement.When redeeming an SC card... give us 3 options.1 :- 1 months Sub2 :- Station Cash3 :- 1 Expansion pointWhen realeasing new content, you can then simply buy the item for cash or Expansion points.The math shouldnt be too hard to work out. 3 points = 45 bucks = 1 expansion. deluxe = 4 or 5 points.

Zilk

11-05-2012, 04:58 PM

Another topic I've failed to clue in on due to not paying more attention to the forums and other social media sites used by SOE. I am not complaining, it's my own fault for not keeping up with such more diligently.I simply want to express my hope that someone from SOE will read this and other users feedback and take such into consideration in bringing back a SC based expansion purchase model. I know I will be okay with whatever works for SOE and off-sets the cost they feel enabling such features will work. If it's finding a way to reinstate such a model that is not discounted during market place sales events and costs more to offset potential purchasing because of Double and Triple Station Cash events, I know I will be okay with it.Thank you.