The Daz Studio and Related Product Deals Thread (Daz3D, Renderosity, Renderotica, etc.)

[Schlongborn]

And yeah, prices have been creeping up, the key is to learn to have patience r.e. waiting for the right sale.

Well, I guess I agree with you that the best move is to just not play. The Daz+ sales have also been getting oh so much worse though, at least we kind of had a glitched one just recently.

 

[OhWee]

The 'oops' sales are why this thread exists...

Of course, for some of you, waiting around until just after Daz3D.com Midnight to see if a glitch, etc. is gonna happen is a friggin' pain. I tend to be up around that time, but not everyone gets to have that luxury.

I haven't really bought anything during MM though. I need to find a good time to fire off my Daz+ coupons though...

 

[oaiki]

Anyone here still hoarding gift card money

My logic here is that if enough of us ignore whatever gimmick the Daz sales team has cooked up, they will note the lower sales numbers and move on

I guess it is easier for you to ignore the gimmicks since you already have a large library

prices have been creeping up

My tuppence worth...

I think the current Token / Gift Card is is more about liquidity, Store Credit is a liability on the Balance Sheet, so they need to have a high churn on it. Also, the SVB thing has hit their payment processor, hence they are encouraging the use of Paypal so that they have easier access to cash. Encouraging artist to spend it immediately instead of waiting for the best deals is beneficial to them, this is what the tokens do.

Like most businesses long standing loyal customers are not their best revenue source, because they have large libraries, so the gimmicks are the hook for new customers (I was one quite recently) who need to build up their asset inventory, they haven't yet learnt how to maximise their discounts and are they easily distracted by enticing promos (I have far too many female characters because their promos featured redheads). So, I am not too sure that sales will drop that much, just look at how many new "developers" are springing up on these forums, quite likely trying to match the 3 or 4 digit subscription revenues of "legendary" developers as frequently reported, and complained about, on these forums.

Price rises are a natural consequence of inflationary times, their service providers will be increasing their cost and whilst some companies absorb the increases others just pass them on. Daz does not strike me as a magnanimous vendor. Focusing their high discounts on DOs and older items is part of this as they will have covered their acquisition cost and will have a higher profit margin.

I guess I am thinking that the gimmicks will increase in complexity to disguise the true price we are paying, the displayed discounts and their ability to stack will reduce and tokens which are morphs of the "buy something everyday to increase your discount" will morph again into something that will continue to keep newcomers believing that they are getting a good deal whilst building their libraries, until that is, they discover something like Daz-Deals which teaches us that patience is a virtue.

 

[OhWee]

The only fallacy I can see in the 'move away from gift cards' argument is that gift card money is money that Daz3D.com, etc. get 'up front', with the idea that I'll ask for some item later for the money that I gave them for the gift card however long ago that was. It's generally non-refundable, sure you can return items, but that just goes on your 'store credit' balance, not onto your credit card.

So if you are in a 'cash crunch' situation, well gift cards are the best way for Daz3D.com to bump up their cash balance 'IMMEDIATELY' as gift cards themselves are generally non-refundable.

At some point, Daz3D.com does need to 'split' that money with whichever vendor(s) that made the products that you ultimately choose, but in the meantime, Daz3D.com is earning a tiny bit of interest on the full amount that you spent on that gift card, or at least the amount that Daz3D.com needs to 'set aside' for the vendors.

So I get the 'make them shop everyday' sentiment, but if Daz3D.com needs a lot of cash fast, gift cards are the way to do it.

Again, if not enough people 'buy in' to whatever the gimmick of the moment is, the Daz3D.com sales team will try something else. Sometimes the best move is not to play, in the hopes that your opponent (in this case the Daz3D.com marketing team) will have to change their strategy. Sure, a few people are enamored NOW about the whole token thing, but that will wear thin soon enough amongst the 'higher spending' customers.

Meanwhile, Renderosity.com just continues to soldier on, and I'm sure that they appreciate their customers that may be shopping more at Renderosity these days due to 'Daz3D.com sales fatigue...'. Renderotica is a bit of a unique case, as they cover a 'niche' market... us porn creator types!.

 

[oaiki]

The only fallacy I can see in the 'move away from gift cards' argument is that gift card money is money that Daz3D.com, etc. get 'up front', with the idea that I'll ask for some item later for the money that I gave them for the gift card however long ago that was. It's generally non-refundable, sure you can return items, but that just goes on your 'store credit' balance, not onto your credit card.

<SNIP>

Yes to all of that, GC & Tks work hand in hand for liquidity and the Balance Sheet, the former brings bigger quantities of cash in fast and the later reduces its liability just as fast, making the balance sheet much more attractive.

 

[Schlongborn]

The only fallacy I can see in the 'move away from gift cards' argument is that gift card money is money that Daz3D.com, etc. get 'up front'

I don't think gc sales will go away, my point is that they made themselves a lever so they can force you to spend your gc money in a suboptimal way.

 

[Schlongborn]

Meanwhile, Renderosity.com just continues to soldier on

Rendo also increased their prices though. Anyone seen a good 70% sale lately? Those have become... kind of rare. Also they're reworking the prime system, in the future only prime members will get the reward points. So locking stuff behind fees going on over there as well.

 

[oaiki]

I frequent 3 sites, Daz, Renderosity and CGBytes/Renderotica, each now have their own "token" system,

• Daz: tokens - 1 week expiry, cumulative discount
• Renderosity: points - no expiry, redeemed for cash coupon, which expires
• CGBytes: points - 1 month expiry, purchasable, redeemable (max 50% of order value)

Of the three systems I prefer Renderosity's it allows to use the points at a pace that matches your budget; the other two are "use them or lose them" and whilst useful they leave a bad taste behind.

CGBytes is halfway between Rendrosity and Daz, your store credit is held as points which you have to use before they expire.

The Daz system is the worst, I hope it doesn't morph into their standard reward mechanism

 

[amster22]

Rendo also increased their prices though. Anyone seen a good 70% sale lately? Those have become... kind of rare.

There is presently at rendo a 70% off sale till Tuesday

You must be registered to see the links

With ~120 assets, reasonably recent.

And a 60% off sale only today

You must be registered to see the links

With 160 recent assets

Besides that, yes, the prices have increased. Recent rendo assets are mostly in the range $12-15, while they were generally around $10-12. And there is a similar ~20% increase at daz3D. Numbered chars have even experienced a 35% increase from $45 to $60% since G9.

 

[Schlongborn]

There is presently at rendo a 70% off sale till Tuesday

Yeah, but I want like a good one... as in lilflame's entire store off 70% or something like that. Not the same 4 items that were on sale 12 times already for the 13th time.

 

[Schlongborn]

There is actually a glitch right now in the daz store. When you buy something in the flash sale you get tokens for the undiscounted price. So you put something that costs >20$ into your cart, you will get 2 tokens. And when you then use the CHOOSE-FIVE coupon you still get 2, but the price is only ~10$ dollars. So you could fill up your cart with stuff and get a whole bunch of extra tokens if you want.

EDIT: Oh, and you can't get any tokens for gift cards anymore.

EDIT2: It says so on the token page now:

You’ll get 1 Token for every $10 you spend in a single transaction, excluding the purchase of Gift Cards.

Was this already there last week? I feel like it was not. Either way, that is kind of destroying the one benefit these tokens had.

EDIT3: Also regarding people not liking these gimmicks. Look at the forums! People already have like 17 tokens! How are they doing that? I thought I was an irresponsible spender... Others had 40(!) tokens expire yesterday!

 

[amster22]

There is actually a glitch right now in the daz store. When you buy something in the flash sale you get tokens for the undiscounted price. So you put something that costs >20$ into your cart, you will get 2 tokens. And when you then use the CHOOSE-FIVE coupon you still get 2, but the price is only ~10$ dollars. So you could fill up your cart with stuff and get a whole bunch of extra tokens if you want.

This has been fixed

 

[Schlongborn]

This has been fixed

I did not take advantage of that glitch, you just end up spending money for something that will make you spend even more.

 

[oaiki]

Was this already there last week? I feel like it was not. Either way, that is kind of destroying the one benefit these tokens had.

No, last week all purchases qualified, there were no exclusions

EDIT3: Also regarding people not liking these gimmicks. Look at the forums! People already have like 17 tokens! How are they doing that? I thought I was an irresponsible spender... Others had 40(!) tokens expire yesterday!

Not entirely surprising, the promise of almost 50% off is distracting enough when you see high value items such as bundles with paltry discounts.

 

[Schlongborn]

No, last week all purchases qualified, there were no exclusions

I know, I bought a gift card and got tokens. But I was wondering if the text that says gift cards are specifically excluded was already there. I think not actually.

 

[oaiki]

I know, I bought a gift card and got tokens. But I was wondering if the text that says gift cards are specifically excluded was already there. I think not actually.

I actually checked the wording last week before I bought a gift card, fortunately, as I hadn't rechecked the wording, I haven't been tempted to buy another. So, thank you Schlongborn for the heads-up

 

[amster22]

Yeah, but I want like a good one... as in lilflame's entire store off 70% or something like that. Not the same 4 items that were on sale 12 times already for the 13th time.

You must be a seer. There is a 75% off Lilflame sale at rendo till 04/04

You must be registered to see the links

(OK, only 20 items and they are very old, but it is Lilflame and 75%...)

Also, if you want to get your kicks, 200+ shoes are at 50%/60%prime till Friday

You must be registered to see the links

 

[amster22]

150 items

You must be registered to see the links

(You need a real new release. It does not work if you repurchase the daz+ freebies.)

 

[oaiki]

<SNIP>
150 items

You must be registered to see the links

(You need a real new release. It does not work if you repurchase the daz+ freebies.)

I'm not seeing the $2.79 ... in fact the promo is not showing on the shop page either ...

 

[tk99]

I'm not seeing the $2.79 ... in fact the promo is not showing on the shop page either ...

Showed up on the store page for me just now, but the 2.79 for Daz+ isn't working.