First of all, thanks to DoomYoshi and everyone running the passport contest, it's been awesome!
I've really enjoyed it, it's really got me reinvigorated!
So this got me thinking that I would gift a membership to my friend (the one who got me started playing). He hasn't played in almost a year. I tried to by him a membership, but apparently I can't just by a years membership. It takes 3500 credits, but you can't by 3500 credits, you have to get 2500 and 500 and 500. So to gift him the now $30 membership I have to buy $40 worth of credits? I guess it's creative marketing, but it just created a lost sale to someone (me) who never complains about this stuff and would have been even have been happy to pay the $30 fee.
This is so disappointing - I've gone from being re-energized about playing to having a bad taste in my mouth, just because someone thought it would be good business to try to trick me into buying some useless stars for an extra $10? Who knows, right now I'm feeling so turned off I might not even rejoin.
If I've totally misunderstood this (I hope so, I just can't understand anyone thinking that making it so difficult to pay $ could be good for the site) please let me know.
If this is indeed the way it is, hopefully someone will read this and question this practice, because you know that for everyone who takes the time to say something, many more just quit instead.
Tet
I noticed the same sad thing when trying to buy it for my mother. Last year, no problem. Now not only the price has risen from $25 to $30 (yes, they even use the "stupid customer" $29,95 gimmick), but you can't even buy it for that price. You have to buy gold stars too. I really wasn't interested in gold stars when I was 7 years old and I certainly am not now.
When I first paid for premium membership (first and last time I've done that ever anywhere) I did it as much to support the site as I did it for the extra games it allowed. I actually felt that "fuzzy good feeling of supporting and being part of something worth while". All that is gone. While there have been some welcome improvements (more options in number of players and rules) it has also become increasingly complicated and confusing (especially for a casual player) with the constant changes (we now seem to have a new "central command". Sounds mostly ridiculos and the game info is all chaos now, but "change is good", I've been told). Today I don't feel part of it anymore, I feel like a customer. A customer that the "store" is trying rip off and manipulate in every way. But then, I guess I'm wrong as always: "I am sorry that you had a hard time buying a gift certificate for your mother but we have other people able to do this process without much difficulty."...
Well I'm glad to find one other person who is wrong with me this time. Welcome to the club King Tet.
Maurice
"momoost"
