Limited stock/restock anxiety

[ReeBear]

(reposting from general egg hunt thread)
Could I uh....... gently suggest that a limited stock/restock model is dropped for future egg hunts as it kinda puts the additional stress of catching a collectible when it's restocked so people can't just focus on/enjoy the egg hunt itself ;www; <3 Also folks not feeling able to take time out/breaks when feeling overwhelmed by the hunt itself as there's a pressure to keep refreshing the shop.
I appreciate all you do but I think this current model makes some folks (including me) really anxious in a way that subtracts from the fun - especially as the limited/hard to obtain currency already limits how many collectibles will enter circulation. (Would be happy to discuss elsewhere if this is off topic)
edit: sorry if i make no sense, am having a rough flare up recently ;w;

 

[UglyMonsterFace]

I agree, I'm kinda sad that I even if I found enough eggs to get the prismatic egg, there's still a chance I won't be able to catch a restock in the end anyway and will have to settle on buying other eggs instead. I don't exactly want to stay here and wait for the restocks all day T_T I'd like to go about my day and do other things..

But regardless, it was such a fun event and I'm extremely grateful that the staff puts in so much effort just to let us have a great time so whatever they feel is best, I'll respect it.

 

[Kattea]

Re-stocks are usually pretty good to me, but I can imagine how frustrating it is to miss the big scheduled one and then have to sit there refreshing the shop. I think the staff are pretty fair though, they always trickle more in with smaller restocks until they don’t sell out within seconds. There’s one in the shop right now if anyone didn’t manage to grab one!

 

[-Lumi-]

Re-stocks are usually pretty good to me, but I can imagine how frustrating it is to miss the big scheduled one and then have to sit there refreshing the shop. I think the staff are pretty fair though, they always trickle more in with smaller restocks until they don’t sell out within seconds. There’s one in the shop right now if anyone didn’t manage to grab one!

I think this is what confuses me, though. If the intention behind the staff is to ensure everybody who wants a specific collectible is able to get one why release them that way? If the end goal is ultimately allow 100 prismatic eggs to be sold (or whatever number) then I don’t understand why they can’t just have the stock be unlimited from the get go. The daisy egg had unlimited stock.

Doing it this way (limited, random restocks) adds unnecessary stress. The egg hunt was already a tricky event and then to also be nervous about when you’ll get to buy your collectible? That seems silly. The staff say they will ensure there is enough stock so everybody will get one but you still had people yesterday that were upset/worried after missing a restock or wasting time constantly refreshing for an hour or so at a time to try and catch one. Not to mention this way of doing things favours those who have better internet/computers, have a flexible work/school schedule, and those in specific time zones.

It’s additionally bothersome because the lineups we create are time dependent. Having us rely on random restocks means we can’t get the lineup we want unless we find somebody willing to date trade after. Which most users are! But it’s something that could be avoided for some people, if they were able to buy their collectibles in a specific order the first time.

It just seems like a silly and needlessly complicated way to do things. As somebody who deals with anxiety this sort of way of doing things can be genuinely distressing. It’s not a “fun high” for me to be stressed out over whether or not I’ll get the collectible I’m after. I don’t want to come away shaking after buying a pixel egg, lol. But that’s what happens when I’m nervous about missing a restock. :/

 

[ReeBear]

Yeeeee ;w; Like don’t get me wrong I am so grateful for the staff for running so many wonderful and varied events, but I wish I could focus on the events themselves rather than trying to get certain collectibles afterwards.
idk it just felt particularly bleh with egg hunt bc as fun as it can be (in that brain cell killing frustrating and oh I finally get it way), it definitely feels like an event where taking time away/taking breaks is pretty important to avoid burnout.
I just want to know if there’s an actual reason for doing it this way when it just seems to create unnecessary anxiety?

 

[LambdaDelta]

there's excess of all the eggs left and nobody except staff could buy the prismatic or dragonscale egg

see? I was right, nobody had anything to worry about for this event shop

(don't ask me why they do this limited stock/restocks model then, if they're still gonna stock enough for everyone to get what they want and can afford by the end)

 

[Mr.Fox]

I have no issues with the egg hunt. I like that it rewards us for hard work. The reason the Daisy Egg was unlimited was so that everyone could at least get an egg from the event...this is the case with every 3xEgg currency egg from each egg hunt.

Do I think that someone who gave the forum 'business' by being on here for a couple hours over the weekend deserves a Prismatic egg? Sure I do. Do I think someone who hops on here for the last 10 minutes of the contest deserves the same egg? Of course not.

Without Limited Stock on the collectibles, the TBT Marketplace would collapse. Nothing would be worth more than anything else.

 

[Foreverfox]

I have no issues with the egg hunt. I like that it rewards us for hard work. The reason the Daisy Egg was unlimited was so that everyone could at least get an egg from the event...this is the case with every 3xEgg currency egg from each egg hunt.

Do I think that someone who gave the forum 'business' by being on here for a couple hours over the weekend deserves a Prismatic egg? Sure I do. Do I think someone who hops on here for the last 10 minutes of the contest deserves the same egg? Of course not.

Without Limited Stock on the collectibles, the TBT Marketplace would collapse. Nothing would be worth more than anything else.

I don't think this could have been said any better. I feel like I could say more, but I don't need to. This sums it up perfectly.

 

[BluebearL]

I have no issues with the egg hunt. I like that it rewards us for hard work. The reason the Daisy Egg was unlimited was so that everyone could at least get an egg from the event...this is the case with every 3xEgg currency egg from each egg hunt.

Do I think that someone who gave the forum 'business' by being on here for a couple hours over the weekend deserves a Prismatic egg? Sure I do. Do I think someone who hops on here for the last 10 minutes of the contest deserves the same egg? Of course not.

Without Limited Stock on the collectibles, the TBT Marketplace would collapse. Nothing would be worth more than anything else.

Don't want the economy to collapse! But yeah, the forum needs activity so it is going to reward people who stick around for these things.

 

[-Lumi-]

I have no issues with the egg hunt. I like that it rewards us for hard work. The reason the Daisy Egg was unlimited was so that everyone could at least get an egg from the event...this is the case with every 3xEgg currency egg from each egg hunt.

Do I think that someone who gave the forum 'business' by being on here for a couple hours over the weekend deserves a Prismatic egg? Sure I do. Do I think someone who hops on here for the last 10 minutes of the contest deserves the same egg? Of course not.

Without Limited Stock on the collectibles, the TBT Marketplace would collapse. Nothing would be worth more than anything else.

I don't think the limited stock was necessary in this case, though. I completely understand why they did a limited stock when the houses/fruit/hybrid flowers were in the shop because those could be bought with regular TBT currency. I didn't like it personally, but I understood it because in that case you're right - had those been unlimited it would've affected the TBT Marketplace.

With this event though you could only buy the items if you had event currency. If somebody hopped on for the last 10 minutes of the event and managed to figure out enough clues to buy an egg then they earned that egg. I don't have an issue with the way the event worked in terms of finding clues and getting currency based on that. I think the values for the eggs reflected the amount of clues you needed to solve perfectly.

My issue is that you could only ever get so many of each collectible. There would never be a risk of the market being flooded with somebody hoarding a bunch of prismatic eggs had they had unlimited stock because you were only able to obtain enough currency to buy one. You couldn't solve enough clues to buy two, even if you participated in the egg decorating contest. Whether the stock had been unlimited from the start or not it would've resulted in the same amount of eggs ending up in circulation. The difference being people wouldn't have been stressed over when they got their egg and maybe there was somebody out there who decided to get a dragon scale & my melody or squid egg in place of a prismatic one because they were easier to get.

 

[Mr.Fox]

My issue is that you could only ever get so many of each collectible. There would never be a risk of the market being flooded with somebody hoarding a bunch of prismatic eggs had they had unlimited stock because you were only able to obtain enough currency to buy one. You couldn't solve enough clues to buy two, even if you participated in the egg decorating contest. Whether the stock had been unlimited from the start or not it would've resulted in the same amount of eggs ending up in circulation. The difference being people wouldn't have been stressed over when they got their egg and maybe there was somebody out there who decided to get a dragon scale & my melody or squid egg in place of a prismatic one because they were easier to get.

Nah, it's still business behind the scenes. If the Prismatic Eggs were unlimited, but still cost 15 eggs, everyone would've been saving up to buy them.

When people see 2/2 eggs available, they're more likely to settle on a different egg and thus flush the market with increased variety of collectibles. Never knowing if and when a restock may come is what generates the variety.

I was sitting at 9 egg currency for ages this past weekend. There were only 4 clues I hadn't solved. Not knowing if a restock was coming and not knowing if I was going to be able to solve one more clue caused me to buy the My Melody egg instead of holding out for a Dragonscale egg. Turns out I was able to later solve 1 more clue, that could've gotten me the Dragonscale egg...but since I couldn't predict the future, the market now has 1 more My Melody egg in it instead of 1 more Dragonscale egg.

Hope that makes sense.

 

[-Lumi-]

Nah, it's still business behind the scenes. If the Prismatic Eggs were unlimited, but still cost 15 eggs, everyone would've been saving up to buy them.

When people see 2/2 eggs available, they're more likely to settle on a different egg and thus flush the market with increased variety of collectibles. Never knowing if and when a restock may come is what generates the variety.

I was sitting at 9 egg currency for ages this past weekend. There were only 4 clues I hadn't solved. Not knowing if a restock was coming and not knowing if I was going to be able to solve one more clue caused me to buy the My Melody egg instead of holding out for a Dragonscale egg. Turns out I was able to later solve 1 more clue, that could've gotten me the Dragonscale egg...but since I couldn't predict the future, the market now has 1 more My Melody egg in it instead of 1 more Dragonscale egg.

Hope that makes sense.

That logic is flawed, though. People were told in the egg hunt thread to save up and hold onto their egg currency for the egg they wanted specifically because they would do enough restocks to ensure that they would get the egg they wanted. That's why you had people who specifically saved up and were so stressed out about the nature of the restocks. They were told to save their eggs if they really wanted it - so doing it in a sporadic, limited manner just made things stressful for no reason.

 

[Mr.Fox]

That logic is flawed, though. People were told in the egg hunt thread to save up and hold onto their egg currency for the egg they wanted specifically because they would do enough restocks to ensure if you wanted the egg you'd get it. That's why you had people who specifically saved up and were so stressed out about the nature of the restocks. They were told to save their eggs if they really wanted it - so doing it in a sporadic, limited manner just made things stressful for no reason.

...it's business, and you're not getting it...so I dunno what to tell you. I can't draw a picture of it.
If you were in the TBT Marketplace this weekend you'd know what I'm talking about. Did you see what those first 2 Prismatic eggs sold for? NOT EVEN CLOSE to what they're going for now...heck there's a Prismatic Egg giveaway right now.
So those first two eggs made the users who took the time to earn them WAY more TBT then they can now get for them. Get it yet?

 

[-Lumi-]

...it's business, and you're not getting it...so I dunno what to tell you. I can't draw a picture of it.
If you were in the TBT Marketplace this weekend you'd know what I'm talking about. Did you see what those first 2 Prismatic eggs sold for? NOT EVEN CLOSE to what they're going for now...heck there's a Prismatic Egg giveaway right now.
So those first two eggs made the users who took the time to earn them WAY more TBT then they can now get for them. Get it yet?

I'm saying that it's flawed and mean. That's my issue with it. If somebody took the time and put in the effort to solve 15 clues specifically because they wanted a prismatic egg then they earned that egg. They participated in the event, the event that told them there would be enough stock of all the eggs, in order to get that. Having it hidden behind limited/sporadic stock isn't fair and it caused unneeded stress and anxiety for people.

If I was only able to be online on Saturday for the event, found all the clues but the egg wasn't in stock at the time, then got called away for something and couldn't visit the forum for a week that's unnecessarily unfair. That is something that could've been avoided had the egg been unlimited from the get go. I'm not any less deserving of that prize than somebody who had the ability to solve 15 clues and wait for restocks.

 

[Midoriya]

To be honest, the marketplace was already pretty much dead before the Easter egg hunt. I had been tracking it for several months and it really had become a lot slower as far as people buying things goes. It’s got to be a tough line to walk for the staff on deciding whether everyone should be able to get the eggs they want if they put in enough effort or if they’ll have to settle for something else. Unfortunately anything that generates activity on the forums will always win out in the end, but I do see the appeal of them being unlimited (Just to be clear, I’m not taking sides here. I’m merely giving some background information that might not have been shared yet).

 

[Mr.Fox]

I'm saying that it's flawed and mean. That's my issue with it. If somebody took the time and put in the effort to solve 15 clues specifically because they wanted a prismatic egg then they earned that egg. They participated in the event, the event that told them there would be enough stock of all the eggs, in order to get that. Having it hidden behind limited/sporadic stock isn't fair and it caused unneeded stress and anxiety for people.

If I was only able to be online on Saturday for the event, found all the clues but the egg wasn't in stock at the time, then got called away for something and couldn't visit the forum for a week that's unnecessarily unfair. That is something that could've been avoided had the egg been unlimited from the get go. I'm not any less deserving of that prize than somebody who had the ability to solve 15 clues and wait for restocks.

It's flawed and mean? THE STAFF DON'T HAVE TO PUT ON ANY EVENTS FOR US!!! They don't owe us anything. It's not their fault if we can't make it on here for an event they're hosting out of the goodness of their hearts.

Secondly, ALL EGGS ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, so IF you did like they said and saved your eggs you'd be able to buy whatever you wanted right now...AND I believe that lasts until Friday.

If you STILL don't understand why this is business, then here you go: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/business/mcdonalds-mcribs-returns/index.html

 

[-Lumi-]

It's flawed and mean? THE STAFF DON'T HAVE TO PUT ON ANY EVENTS FOR US!!! They don't owe us anything. It's not their fault if we can't make it on here for an event they're hosting out of the goodness of their hearts.

Secondly, ALL EGGS ARE AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW, so IF you did like they said and saved your eggs you'd be able to buy whatever you wanted right now...AND I believe that lasts until Friday.

If you STILL don't understand why this is business, then here you go: https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/04/business/mcdonalds-mcribs-returns/index.html

I'm not going respond anymore. It's clear we disagree but the way you're replying to me isn't necessary.

 

[Mr.Fox]

I'm not going respond anymore. It's clear we disagree but the way you're replying to me isn't necessary.

I'm gonna tell you a short real story, because this is echoing that exact scenario.

I had to work a cotton candy booth at a carnival once, and it was all charity/free so patrons didn't have to pay for anything. I ran out of pink cotton candy within the first 2 hours of my 8 hour shift.

The amount of people who complained that I only had blue left...was ridiculous. It's free cotton candy, so why are you complaining? One woman said 'you only have blue? Well I wanted pink.' and moved out of my line, so I served the next person in line who happened to be a child. As soon as I handed that cotton candy to him this woman yells 'AM I GONNA GET MY ****ING COTTON CANDY?'
A free service and this is how some people behave...

Bottom line, let's get some perspective. There's people dying all over the world right now, and people are complaining about pixelated eggs...

 

[Jacob]

hmmm, I would just guess that by having unannounced random restocks, it helps keep the traffic of the website up. I always thought having 10 or 15 of a collectible that runs out was a fun way to build hype/introduce maybe a rarer time stamp for the collectible, which then also creates more traffic in the marketplace. which is always good & fun

 

[Megaroni]

Yeah at first I agreed with the whole "there should be an unlimited stock" thing, but at the end of the day, the website depends on traffic. I'm also one of the people that just bought a my melody egg because I didn't know if there would be enough prism eggs. If this was real life and we were talking about necessities then of course I believe everyone deserves necessities, but virtual eggs aren't a necessity. If giving the website more traffic will support it then I'm personally happy to do that. If I didn't have the time to watch the shop then I would simply not go for the prismatic egg.
TLDR if having limited stock leads to traffic which leads to having the ability to give us virtual eggs then I'm happy to partake in the chaos that is restocks

edit: but if a staff member ends up replying to this thread then I'm very interested to see if any of us are right in their reason for having limited restocks. I know nothing about running a website, I'm just talking about what I've learned from reading this thread