-
Good day, Stranger! — Are you new to our forums?
Have I seen you here before? To participate in or to create forum discussions, you will need your own forum account. Register your account here!
Black Friday Offer
- Thread starter geordianna
- Start date
cwgiii
Shaman
Unfortunately, this is common practice in the states. Come up with a price. Double it. Double it again. Then post it at 50% off. Ramp it up and down all year. If anything sells, it is at a spectacular profit.
Soon to follow: "Going out of Business" sale (for the next 4 years).
Change management, and start it all over.
Soon to follow: "Going out of Business" sale (for the next 4 years).
Change management, and start it all over.
DeletedUser8409
Guest
That's legal in Europe too. But before you post it at 50% off you need to have sold it at the doubled up price. That was never done here.
m4rt1n
Adept
Against the law in the EU/UK though.
Pauly7
Magus
The funny thing is, when I first clicked on the offer I was thinking to myself "if they're offering 5 x Phoenix Artefacts for £10 then I run the risk of being tempted... I shouldn't, but I'll be tempted." I guess thank you Inno for not dangling anything even in this dimension of reality so I could avoid sinking another tenner into this game.
When you think about it the previously confusing decision of offering Phoenixes to build in the crafting menu with seemingly no possible way to evolve them now makes perfect sense. There's no point launching such an absurd offer unless they're absolutely sure that there's the highest possible number of people frustrated by having non-upgradable evolving buildings.
When you think about it the previously confusing decision of offering Phoenixes to build in the crafting menu with seemingly no possible way to evolve them now makes perfect sense. There's no point launching such an absurd offer unless they're absolutely sure that there's the highest possible number of people frustrated by having non-upgradable evolving buildings.
OldHag
Necromancer
=============
lol@pauly, I was actually thinking the same thing, about a tenner for a handful of artefacts would seem a more reasonable price to me and would have been tempting, although I have already vowed not to financially support Inno in any way, having played and quit 2 previous Inno games, due to incompetence and the way in which I feel they treat their player base, but I must admit to liking their games and ok with playing them for free.
As for crafting any of the event 'grand prizes' it'll cost anyone who's tempted to craft those £224.97 to fully upgrade one bear/pehonix etc via these super dooper offers........Bwuahahahahha
Insane!
And then there's another evolving 'grand prize' for the christmas event....pfft
Last edited:
DeletedUser8409
Guest
I have. You were just unlucky this refresh.I'd like confirmation but think at the same time of these offers Inno have secretly changed the Crafting options also....
View attachment 4063
Never had 4 for relics until now.
DeletedUser4950
Guest
Flabbergasting (well not really when you know Inno). Where did they pull that 48% "discount" from? I'd really rather not know. Thanks for the horse gift and its 500 housing power (I don't really get how 500 elves can live in a horse but whatever), but thanks as well for making me laugh today Inno.
AstralSoul
Illusionist
I don't need those, but:
- Technically, these artifacts were gone forever, since they were event-only. Raises the value. Same as with collective cards (virtual or paper).
- Always convert the value in diamonds, then make your number. You will find your 33% discount reason.
If you don't want the stuff, don't buy it and move on. But people who buy diamonds enable your free gaming. And trust me, I played over a dozen of empire games. No company gave away so much free premium as ENNO does (diamonds from wells, prizes, etc.)
I'd like confirmation but think at the same time of these offers Inno have secretly changed the Crafting options also....
View attachment 4063
Never had 4 for relics until now.
Nope, I don't copy.
I got a different array of war buildings, a few relics, typical junk, and PET FOOD twice, one for boosted relics, and the other for the fragments.
Let's not get paranoid with something random. They are not going to change the code for some people for a sale, the time they need for that, wouldn't be worth (as coders get paid too, they do not code the game for free.)
Pauly7
Magus
Thinking about the possibly (in some countries) unlawful nature of promoting a discount that isn't discounted from anything...
I got to wondering about the standard diamond purchases. When they say that 1,100 diamonds for £9.99 is a 10% discount, how long has it been (if at all) that they gave out 999 diamonds for this price? Possibly before I started playing the game 2 and a half years ago? Now, I'm not even sure of the UK law here, but to promote a sale surely they can't refer to a previous price that was SO long ago?
I got to wondering about the standard diamond purchases. When they say that 1,100 diamonds for £9.99 is a 10% discount, how long has it been (if at all) that they gave out 999 diamonds for this price? Possibly before I started playing the game 2 and a half years ago? Now, I'm not even sure of the UK law here, but to promote a sale surely they can't refer to a previous price that was SO long ago?
DeletedUser4950
Guest
If you're not getting discounts it's because you're a recent customer. I get them regularly now that my last purchase was 2 years ago. Strange way to thank customers, but there you have it.
Paladestar
Enchanter
I wasn't commenting on the legitimacy of any discount, I already tackled that above in my previous post (which you read and liked). I was just answering the question how do we know whether inno intended the 33% display to indicate a discount or an extra amount for free. The answer - Inno intended for it to be displaying a discount. Intended - but we're not buying it, for the reasons already mentioned in this thread!
DeletedUser8409
Guest
You're wrong on that one. It doesn't say 10% discount, it says +10% and is perfectly legitimate advertising. The base price is £4.99 for 500 so £9.99 should be 1000. You get 10% extra makes it 1100.
DeletedUser8632
Guest
No, I completely disagree. Mind you, I have no issue with premium content but:
1) I wouldn't mind spending somewhat between €5 to €10 Euro a month on diamonds or nice, useful buildings. Turns out that is not necessary because Inno keeps throwing currency generators at us every event and now in the Spire as well.
2) The Fire Phoenix is becoming an increasingly mandatory building. If a player was dumb enough to build the wrong Phoenix, we are in an increasingly disadvantaged situation. Not only in tournaments but the new peer-pressure feature of the Spire makes not having a Fire Phoenix a severe handicap.
Inno's price gauging on this is unethical and questionable.
Pauly7
Magus
Ah... but the 10% accompanies 999 diamonds crossed out with 1,100 diamonds alongside it, so that to me says they are offering 10% extra diamonds for the same money.
DeletedUser8409
Guest
It is 10% extra for the same money.
Laurelin
Sorcerer
Looks like another instance of mysterious and meaningless percentage values shown on "sale" items, as usually seen during Inno's "sales" of Event Currency.
I've already whinged about this in another thread, though, so I'll just link to it here, to avoid double-posting: Post in "Misleading Advertising" Thread.
FOMO baiting indeed (waves to @Vetrinus :~) ). And also - yes, illegal in the UK, at least, where the Consumer Rights Act 2015 specifies that items described as being "on sale" must have been sold at a higher price for "a meaningful period of time" (usually around 3-4 weeks) during the previous 12 months.
@Muf-Muf : I'd like to know too, please, what's up with this apparently misleading "sale" - this time with respect to UK consumer protection law.
Rarity (or otherwise) of the goods concerned (and whether they are physical or virtual/digital in nature) is irrelevant when it comes to offering goods at "sale price". See above. See also below:
Taken from https://www.lawdonut.co.uk/business...r-trading-trade-descriptions-and-pricing-faqs :
3. What counts as a misleading or aggressive trading practice?
Both misleading and aggressive practices are prohibited when dealing with consumers if they are likely to affect the average consumer's decision. Misleading or aggressive practices include:
There is also the following point, taken from the same source website as the above:
18. What are the rules on claiming that products are in a sale or on special offer?
Broadly, any price comparisons of this kind must not be misleading. For example:
2. What specific unfair trading practices are banned when dealing with consumers?
In total, 31 unfair trading practices are banned outright when trading with consumers. They include:
... who have this to say:
A sale must be genuine
If a shop is advertising a sale, it has to comply with requirements set out in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Government guidelines set out steps a retailer should take to comply with these regulations and ensure claimed savings are genuine and aren’t misleading customers.
These are some of the things to look out for when shopping in a sale:
Sadly, though, and no matter that £75 is indeed a very macro-sized "micro-transaction", Innogames know what they are doing, and the moral of the story is:
... and thereby hangs the tale - after all, we are only a few posters, on an increasingly empty forum which is largely unknown to and/or ignored by Innogames' target market (mobile phone-only players) and certainly not promoted to them. They (and their cash, which - according to the history of mobile gaming - they typically part with far more readily than do primarily PC/browser-based players) are directed via prominent in-game announcements to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other (anti) social media, which are, it seems, where Innogames' Customer Service reps spend most of their time these days.
I've already whinged about this in another thread, though, so I'll just link to it here, to avoid double-posting: Post in "Misleading Advertising" Thread.
FOMO baiting indeed (waves to @Vetrinus :~) ). And also - yes, illegal in the UK, at least, where the Consumer Rights Act 2015 specifies that items described as being "on sale" must have been sold at a higher price for "a meaningful period of time" (usually around 3-4 weeks) during the previous 12 months.
@Muf-Muf : I'd like to know too, please, what's up with this apparently misleading "sale" - this time with respect to UK consumer protection law.
Rarity (or otherwise) of the goods concerned (and whether they are physical or virtual/digital in nature) is irrelevant when it comes to offering goods at "sale price". See above. See also below:
Taken from https://www.lawdonut.co.uk/business...r-trading-trade-descriptions-and-pricing-faqs :
3. What counts as a misleading or aggressive trading practice?
Both misleading and aggressive practices are prohibited when dealing with consumers if they are likely to affect the average consumer's decision. Misleading or aggressive practices include:
- harassing, coercing or unduly influencing consumers, either physically or psychologically.
There is also the following point, taken from the same source website as the above:
18. What are the rules on claiming that products are in a sale or on special offer?
Broadly, any price comparisons of this kind must not be misleading. For example:
- to claim that products are on sale, you should show the previous price and should have been selling at that price for a meaningful period of time.
2. What specific unfair trading practices are banned when dealing with consumers?
In total, 31 unfair trading practices are banned outright when trading with consumers. They include:
- pretending that an offer is only available for a very limited time to pressure customers into an immediate decision
... who have this to say:
A sale must be genuine
If a shop is advertising a sale, it has to comply with requirements set out in the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Government guidelines set out steps a retailer should take to comply with these regulations and ensure claimed savings are genuine and aren’t misleading customers.
These are some of the things to look out for when shopping in a sale:
- The basis for the saving must be clear. For example, a sign shouldn't just say 'sale £15' – it should say something like 'was £50, sale price £15'.
- If there’s a promotional offer on an item, the price the item is being compared to must be genuine.
Sadly, though, and no matter that £75 is indeed a very macro-sized "micro-transaction", Innogames know what they are doing, and the moral of the story is:
... and thereby hangs the tale - after all, we are only a few posters, on an increasingly empty forum which is largely unknown to and/or ignored by Innogames' target market (mobile phone-only players) and certainly not promoted to them. They (and their cash, which - according to the history of mobile gaming - they typically part with far more readily than do primarily PC/browser-based players) are directed via prominent in-game announcements to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and other (anti) social media, which are, it seems, where Innogames' Customer Service reps spend most of their time these days.
DeletedUser1874
Guest
The EU (of which Germany, where IG is based, is a part) has a similar directive in place. But unless hit by a class-action, which I don't see happening, or extreme exposure in MSM like the case kid in the UK who spent some £40k on a soccer game, which will get politicians interested (it happened in Belgium already, and in the UK too more recently though I'm not aware whether an actual law is actually being discussed); well unless one of those two things happen or someone with a lot of time and money to waste sues them, I don't see anything changing, sadly. But who knows, maybe one day some kid will deplete their parents' bank account playing Elvenar or FoE and perhaps there'll be exposure. One can dream.