# A Word on Monthly Birthstones and Shop Exploits



## Justin (Nov 6, 2014)

Afternoon,

As many of you are aware, the Monthly Birthstone series of collectibles are considered unique items. If you already have one in your inventory, the Shop will not allow you to purchase another. The Monthly Birthstone series exists as a fun incentive to stick around on the forum to obtain every month's collectible, and purchasing many copies to sell later on the Marketplace severely undermines this. Quite simply put, the Monthly Birthstone series of collectibles should not be used as a vehicle to make a profit from buying low and selling high. There are plenty of other opportunities in the collectible market for this.

Unfortunately, there was previously an exploit in the Shop allowing you to purchase multiple birthstones at once, and some members chose to abuse this, therefore bypassing the unique requirement. The exploit has been fixed and members who abused it have had their birthstones obtained by the exploit removed from their inventory without any refund.

It should without saying that we do not take kindly to anyone trying to abuse any function of the forum, especially aspects pertaining to the Bell system, and we will continue to shut down abuses of the system such as the ABD interest and the birthstones.

Thank you for reading and understanding,
Justin


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## sej (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you for this message.


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## Sholee (Nov 6, 2014)

*sad face*

goodbye my beautiful 5 Octobers


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## Lassy (Nov 6, 2014)

Ouch. That hurts for the people who owned like 10 of them :/


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## Sholee (Nov 6, 2014)

Lassy said:


> Ouch. That hurts for the people who owned like 10 of them :/



*raises hands*

But i never intended to sell them for profit, I only wanted 5 of each so I could make it all pretty and interchange 5 Months with different 5 Months which could give me a lot of color combos under my profile. I am a little upset that i didn't get a refund but I knew that it was sorta against the "rules."

It's fine though, you can always make more btb bells~


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## Cuppycakez (Nov 6, 2014)

Oh wow! I didn't know it was considered cheating the shop.  Well I didn't buy any, mine was a gift so.


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## Skyfall (Nov 6, 2014)

*raises my hand too*

Yes, I was one of the people who bought 5 this month.    But I bought 5 because, well, I like having 5 of things and also, I love the color this month because it reminds me of my wedding color, lol.  

It was never my intention to profit later on with a sell off.  I hope the admins reconsider someday for those of us who like symmetry and "same-ness" in our collectibles.


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## aleshapie (Nov 6, 2014)

Bummer...all I want is my own birth month stone...May...Now anyone who has it will not be willing to part with it. I understand (and appreciate) the desire to cut down the "scalping" of collectibles, but ...but...well, now I am just bummed.


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## PandaNikita (Nov 6, 2014)

Thank you for doing this Justin!


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## Chris (Nov 6, 2014)

aleshapie said:


> *Bummer...all I want is my own birth month stone...May...Now anyone who has it will not be willing to part with it. *I understand (and appreciate) the desire to cut down the "scalping" of collectibles, but ...but...well, now I am just bummed.



Wait until May comes around and you will be able to buy it directly from the shop yourself - probably for cheaper than on the Marketplace too.  I don't think this exploit was known of back in May anyway(?) so it doesn't make a difference.


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## Sholee (Nov 6, 2014)

aleshapie said:


> Bummer...all I want is my own birth month stone...May...Now anyone who has it will not be willing to part with it. I understand (and appreciate) the desire to cut down the "scalping" of collectibles, but ...but...well, now I am just bummed.



They will have May 2015 in the shop, you just need to wait 6 months to buy it


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## Gregriii (Nov 6, 2014)

So... for example: I bought the November one bc is my month birthday, but, I changed opinion and I want to buy another, but this one the day of my birthday and sell the other one for the same prize in the marketplace but in december, so it's imposible, no ?D:


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## Coach (Nov 6, 2014)

This is a good announcement, but annoying at the same time because I bought 2 by accident. D:

Oh well.


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## Peisinoe (Nov 6, 2014)

Gregriii said:


> So... for example: I bought the November one bc is my month birthday, but, I changed opinion and I want to buy another, but this one the day of my birthday and sell the other one for the same prize in the marketplace but in december, so it's imposible, no ?D:



You can not buy another, no. Only 1 at a time.

- - - Post Merge - - -

As in 1 per month. Until you have all 12 months


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## Maruchan (Nov 6, 2014)

Sholee said:


> But i never intended to sell them for profit, *I only wanted 5 of each so I could make it all pretty and interchange 5 Months with different 5 Months which could give me a lot of color combos under my profile.* I am a little upset that i didn't get a refund but I knew that it was sorta against the "rules."
> 
> It's fine though, you can always make more btb bells~





Skyfall said:


> Yes, I was one of the people who bought 5 this month.    But I bought 5 because, well, *I like having 5 of things and also*, I love the color this month because it reminds me of my wedding color, lol.
> 
> *It was never my intention to profit later on with a sell off*.  I hope the admins reconsider for those of us who like symmetry and "same-ness" in our collectibles.



^ My thoughts exactly too. 
Nope, I do not have any of the birthstones - will probably get 5 of August Peridot if I am to collect them.
Seeing how...restrictive this particular collectible is, I'm glad I did not started in the first place.
*is a little sad* -__-


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## Skyfall (Nov 6, 2014)

Maruchan said:


> ^ My thoughts exactly too.
> Nope, I do not have any of the birthstones - will probably get 5 of August Peridot if I am to collect them.
> Seeing how...restrictive this particular collectible is, I'm glad I did not started in the first place.
> *is a little sad* -__-



I was actually thinking about you!  I have noticed you also like 5 of things and green collectibles, so as I was purchasing mine I thought, I bet that Maru will get 5 when it's May... You never know, I have found during my 1 year here that the forum fluctuates a lot in policy (most of the time in response to users) so nothing is written in stone.


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## Amissapanda (Nov 6, 2014)

I think it's less of them accusing everyone of buying them to make a profit and more that you can't just let specific people bypass the exploit, whether they may have done it for profit or not. Anyone can say they didn't, but there's always going to be some that did or had planned to. It's all or nothing---they can't just choose specific people to allow to keep them.

In my opinion, this was a smart move. I have no problem waiting until April to get my birthstone.


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## SharJoY (Nov 6, 2014)

Although I was planning to buy 5 Emeralds in May (my birthstone), I understand why the glitch was fixed, and appreciate the thought of having them be unique as to their rarity.


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## LambdaDelta (Nov 6, 2014)

I kinda get the feeling this will actually make the older birthstones even more valuable than they were before.

Not that I'm bothered by it, but lel.


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## Sanaki (Nov 6, 2014)

Lol get rekt people who did this


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## Maruchan (Nov 6, 2014)

Skyfall said:


> I was actually thinking about you!  I have noticed you also like 5 of things and green collectibles, so as I was purchasing mine I thought, I bet that Maru will get 5 when it's May... You never know, I have found during my 1 year here that the forum fluctuates a lot in policy (most of the time in response to users) so nothing is written in stone.



LOL our "5 of things" stubborn-ness. It never occurred to me that buying more than one birthstone, or 'bypassing' the cart limit is actually an exploit/against the rules (but then I've been living a rock so yeah), until I saw Justin posting this sticky just now. 

Your Topaz x5 combo instantly comes to mind while I was reading the OP. (It was like _OHNOOOOOssss_)
I actually went back to the Restock Discussion thread to check, as I believe you mentioned how you choose them because of your wedding in Autumn, and it's the theme color. *3*

That said, I am very pleased with the staffs' handling of the constantly changing forum environment, and how rules & policies are actively being updated to reflect changes. Just like most things IRL, there are bound to be moments that we might or might not be a huge fan of said changes, I understand and respect why it was implemented. Hopefully it'll keep the forum healthier, and benefit most if not all in the long run.


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## The Hidden Owl (Nov 6, 2014)

*hopes and dreams of having 5 amethysts crushed*

So now you can only have 1 of each in your inventory at a time? I was really hoping for 5 amethysts...

;n;


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## Alolan_Apples (Nov 6, 2014)

I don't need more than one of each birthstone. But it's good that I don't abuse the systems on this site.


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## Sanaki (Nov 6, 2014)

A lot of people don't, it's only a few.


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## Coach (Nov 7, 2014)

Did it actually state anywhere you could only have one of each birthstone at a time? Because I didn't see that it did anywhere.


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## Sanaki (Nov 7, 2014)

Well Coach seeing as you were intended to only buy one because the shop restricted buying multiple, I'm pretty sure that's clear that you shouldn't be owning more than one and the glitch just went unnoticed.


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## Coach (Nov 7, 2014)

But it didn't say "You may only buy one" anywhere at all. I was aware you could not re-gift a birthstone after you had got it from someone, but didn't know that buying any more than one was 'Against the policy' or something. It was only after purchasing an additional one by accident I ended up reading the 'Inventory / Cart' message underneath the Topaz birthstone.


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## Debra (Nov 7, 2014)

Were users able to buy multiple birthstones last months too? Or only this month because it got bugged? Just wondering because this is the first time I owned a birthstone and hadn't seen the "Inventory/cart" message before.


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## Sanaki (Nov 7, 2014)

Still kind of implies that you should only have one.


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## Sholee (Nov 7, 2014)

Debra said:


> Were users able to buy multiple birthstones last months too? Or only this month because it got bugged? Just wondering because this is the first time I owned a birthstone and hadn't seen the "Inventory/cart" message before.



you could buy multiples starting from when it first began, so Sept 2013 but i don't think people started exploiting it until recently.


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## Skyfall (Nov 7, 2014)

Debra said:


> Were users able to buy multiple birthstones last months too? Or only this month because it got bugged? Just wondering because this is the first time I owned a birthstone and hadn't seen the "Inventory/cart" message before.



The very first time I heard that you can have more than one was from a Mod, who I am not going to name.  He/she posted in a few different threads that it was possible.  It was right after I joined, so about a year ago.  

The precise mechanics was explained in a few posts I saw from other non-mod users within the last few months, on different threads.  So, more than a few users knew of the possibility of owning more than 1.  

This post by Justin is the first time it's been explicitly explained, everyone can have only 1.  *shrugs*  Well, now we all know.


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## Flyffel (Nov 7, 2014)

I think this is really unfair towards Skyfall.


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## Skyfall (Nov 7, 2014)

Flyffel said:


> I think this is really unfair towards Skyfall.



Aaaah, you are super sweet!  But I took no offense.  If that's the rules, it's the rules, and actually, it's the only way things get clarified... someone/some people do something, and then corrections are made so the original intention is clarified.  

But I appreciate your sentiment, a lot.


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## The Hidden Owl (Nov 7, 2014)

Does this mean that you can only have one? What if someone gifts it to you and you already have one?


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## Katelyn (Nov 7, 2014)

The Hidden Owl said:


> Does this mean that you can only have one? What if someone gifts it to you and you already have one?



^^I was wondering the same thing


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## Debra (Nov 7, 2014)

Thank you *Sholee* and *Skyfall* for explaining. If I understand it correctly now, the merching is the exploit. Not purposely abusing a bug/glitch (because there was none). 

I think it is great that something is being done against merching for atleast this collectible. Even though Jeremy's action was maybe a bit harsh, but we gotta respect his authoritah. I agree that the merchant mentality is taking the fun out of the limited collectibles.


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## Justin (Nov 7, 2014)

Debra said:


> Thank you *Sholee* and *Skyfall* for explaining. If I understand it correctly now, the merching is the exploit. Not purposely abusing a bug/glitch (because there was none).
> 
> I think it is great that something is being done against merching for atleast this collectible. Even though Jeremy's action was maybe a bit harsh, but we gotta respect his authoritah. I agree that the merchant mentality is taking the fun out of the limited collectibles.



No this is incorrect. There was an exploit, and it was abused. The first post explains it.


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## Debra (Nov 8, 2014)

Then I don't understand anymore.

Sorry. Nvm me.


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## Flyffel (Nov 8, 2014)

Skyfall said:


> Aaaah, you are super sweet!  But I took no offense.  If that's the rules, it's the rules, and actually, it's the only way things get clarified... someone/some people do something, and then corrections are made so the original intention is clarified.
> 
> But I appreciate your sentiment, a lot.


You bought them because they remind you of your love and then they get taken away with no refund, it's pretty sad tbh. I understand that it was a glitch and you exploited it, but I would still like to see a bit more courtesy from the admins and at least give a bell compensation. :'(


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## Cuppycakez (Nov 8, 2014)

Flyffel said:


> You bought them because they remind you of your love and then they get taken away with no refund, it's pretty sad tbh. I understand that it was a glitch and you exploited it, but I would still like to see a bit more courtesy from the admins and at least give a bell compensation. :'(


It DOES suck, but it would be a lot of work for them to go through the list and refund all those bells. If you think about it, they were like 260 each so that's like a thousand TBT.  If they bought 5^^


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## Vizionari (Nov 8, 2014)

Cuppycakez said:


> It DOES suck, but it would be a lot of work for them to go through the list and refund all those bells. If you think about it, they were like 260 each so that's like a thousand TBT.  If they bought 5^^



299 to be exact.

And yeah, I do feel Skyfall should be refunded his/her bells since she wasn't going to sell or do anything with them anyway, but the admins have their reasons, too.


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## PrayingMantis10 (Nov 9, 2014)

Vizionari said:


> 299 to be exact.
> 
> And yeah, I do feel Skyfall should be refunded his/her bells since she wasn't going to sell or do anything with them anyway, but the admins have their reasons, too.



Sigh... this exactly. I wish Skyfall and Sholee  ( and others) could be refunded their birthstone TBT. That's a whole lot of TBT.


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## Peisinoe (Nov 9, 2014)

I do as well. However I believe that if they make exceptions now people will be looking for those later on. They have to keep their foot down so to speak against abuse of the TBT market. 

Before anyone says anything. I do know that they were not going to sell for profit and such. They like the aesthetics of having more than one and being able to do patterns of collectibles under their name.


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## Lio Fotia (Nov 9, 2014)

I don't understand how people thought they could have more than one. Even I know you can't have more than one. I've known that from the start, that you could only have one and that they were giftable once. I was shocked to see people with 5 of them the last restock and really was confused. I'm glad this was explained. Sorry to those who lost bells.


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## Zanessa (Nov 12, 2014)

Well I never even saw the option to buy another birthstone after already having that month's birthstone.. so that's weird.


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## Speedydash (Nov 17, 2014)

Awww


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## Ayaya (Nov 17, 2014)

Does that mean you can only own 1 birthstone? The OP mentioned you can only purchase one and not buy another if you already have it in your inventory, but is it allowed to have more than one? Like, say, you ask someone else to buy the birthstones and gift it to you, that means you can't gift/sell the birthstone, right?  Would this be allowed? 

I'm planning on asking people to help me get 5 birthstones of March and June each, so I wondering if that's okay. I never intend on reselling it anyway


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## PrayingMantis10 (Nov 17, 2014)

Ayaya said:


> Does that mean you can only own 1 birthstone? The OP mentioned you can only purchase one and not buy another if you already have it in your inventory, but is it allowed to have more than one? Like, say, you ask someone else to buy the birthstones and gift it to you, that means you can't gift/sell the birthstone, right?  Would this be allowed?
> 
> I'm planning on asking people to help me get 5 birthstones of March and June each, so I wondering if that's okay. I never intend on reselling it anyway


You can only have 1 of each month  in your inventory. I'm sorry but your plan won't work.


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## Ayaya (Nov 17, 2014)

PrayingMantis10 said:


> You can only have 1 of each month  in your inventory. I'm sorry but your plan won't work.



Aw that's too bad. Thank you for answering!


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## Justin (Nov 17, 2014)

Ayaya said:


> Does that mean you can only own 1 birthstone? The OP mentioned you can only purchase one and not buy another if you already have it in your inventory, but is it allowed to have more than one? Like, say, you ask someone else to buy the birthstones and gift it to you, that means you can't gift/sell the birthstone, right?  Would this be allowed?
> 
> I'm planning on asking people to help me get 5 birthstones of March and June each, so I wondering if that's okay. I never intend on reselling it anyway



That is allowed actually. For the reason you stated yourself, you wouldn't be able to gift them later.


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## PrayingMantis10 (Nov 17, 2014)

Justin said:


> That is allowed actually. For the reason you stated yourself, you wouldn't be able to gift them later.



Really? My bad... Players have tried to gift me birthstones ( they bought  from the shop) that  I already had and they couldn't... Did it change at some point?


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## Justin (Nov 17, 2014)

PrayingMantis10 said:


> Really? My bad... Players have tried to gift me birthstones ( they bought  from the shop) that  I already had and they couldn't... Did it change at some point?



It can only be gifted once. They had been gifted that birthstone previously.


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## PrayingMantis10 (Nov 17, 2014)

Justin said:


> It can only be gifted once. They had been gifted that birthstone previously.



I'm sorry. I think I am not being clear... This is the scenario... I have a March birthstone. A friend buys a March birthstone from the shop and then attempts  to gift it to me ( I had mine hidden) .. The gifting won't go through because I already had one in my inventory. This actually happened more than once. . Do I have bad ju ju or is the multiple gifting a more recent development?


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## Justin (Nov 17, 2014)

PrayingMantis10 said:


> I'm sorry. I think I am not being clear... This is the scenario... I have a March birthstone. A friend buys a March birthstone from the shop and then attempts  to gift it to me ( I had mine hidden) .. The gifting won't go through because I already had one in my inventory. This actually happened more than once. . Do I have bad ju ju or is the multiple gifting a more recent development?



Oh I understand now. To be quite honest, I always just assumed it would allow you to anyway. Guess not.


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## PrayingMantis10 (Nov 17, 2014)

Justin said:


> Oh I understand now. To be quite honest, I always just assumed it would allow you to anyway. Guess not.



lol. I feel better now...


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## The Hidden Owl (Nov 17, 2014)

Justin said:


> Oh I understand now. To be quite honest, I always just assumed it would allow you to anyway. Guess not.


Could the mods make it that way? I would really like that since I want 5 amethysts so bad...


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## Skyfall (Nov 17, 2014)

Me too please!  If i cant buy 5 from the shop, i would like to buy 4 from the marketplace in addition to my 1 from shop.  . 

My experience has been same as prayingmantis, i could not gather more when i already had 1 in inventory.


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## Maruchan (Nov 17, 2014)

Skyfall said:


> Me too please!  If i cant buy 5 from the shop, i would like to buy 4 from the marketplace in addition to my 1 from shop.  .
> 
> My experience has been same as prayingmantis, i could not gather more when i already had 1 in inventory.



Me 3 please! Just like Skyfall & The Hidden Owl, I've been meaning to do this...



















Just look at how precious pretty they are... * 3*


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## uyumin (Nov 25, 2014)

.-.


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## RosieThePeppyCat (Nov 30, 2014)

Exactly! I wanna do that with Amethyst


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## Goth (Dec 18, 2014)

I was wondering why the **** my tbt wasen't gaining interest


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