Random thoughts for discussion not argument!

[BiggKitty]

I am putting a few thoughts down hopefully for discussion and not a shouting match by the most beligerant members on this Forum. They are also not necessarily my beliefs so would appreciate no one hammering me for voicing them!

It has to be noticed a trend towards trading on the Marketplace with real money, for example eshop credits etc. while this is frowned on by the staff if such trades are conducted under cover of pms it will become very hard to now stamp out.

This has probably been caused by the rise in TBT prices of collectibles on the marketplace and the scarcity of getting one's hands on TBT bells in the first place.

I understand the idea of the Forum selling TBT for real money has previously been discounted, but do the admins feel the time is right for a rethink?

To avoid confusion I am adding, I am not talking about individuals selling TBT for real money, I am talking about the Bell Tree Forum selling in the shop let's say 100 TBT for x amount of money.

Money made from this venture could all be put towards improving and extending the website to benefit all.

I put forward this suggestion because it would be no worse than the people that play Facebook games where they use real money to buy credits to advance their game. It is all just pixels but people do pay a lot of money for such.

The downside of this proposal is perhaps it would give an unfair advantage to those that were earning money rather than the younger members who possibly rely on parents for subsidising them.

For those that say the collectibles are just pixels and therefore a waste of money, everybody wastes money on something or other, so that argument does not hold, people will always spend money on something that gives them enjoyment, it is their choice what it is.

There is no denying that unless the admins scrap the collectibles, with their recent surge in popularity are more and more in demand.

So, up for discussion is "Should TBT bells be sold by the BellTree for real money" ?

 

[oath2order]

Dear god no that sounds like a terrible idea.

 

[nard]

I'd rather not pay to do things on the site.

 

[Lovelylexi]

No way, in my opinion. Paying for a tiny image that literally just sits there and does nothing sounds ridiculous. The way the TBT method works is just fine and it should stay that way. Plus, imagine how much trouble could come out of using real money, like if a person manages to scam someone out of real money - that's a lot worse than losing TBT bells and there isn't much of a way to get it back. There's just too many complications that would come with using real money for something that isn't even necessarily worth real money.

 

[FancyThat]

I see what you're saying about people paying for currency in game with real money, I do this with The Simpsons:Tapped out and I suppose DLC add ons could be counted as I use real money for those. But I buy that currency from big companies (EA, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft etc) not individual people, I wouldn't feel comfortable buying TBT with real money from individuals. But as you said the money could be used to benefit the forum I think you meant the site offers bundles of TBT like the mobile/Facebook games ie 1500 TBT for X amount of real money.

I've been on websites that were free but offered a premium service for a yearly or one off subscription and you got perks for going premium. Not sure it would work here or if the site even needs more money but if something like that was offered maybe premium users earned more TBT per post or something idk.

 

[BiggKitty]

No way, in my opinion. Paying for a tiny image that literally just sits there and does nothing sounds ridiculous. The way the TBT method works is just fine and it should stay that way. Plus, imagine how much trouble could come out of using real money, like if a person manages to scam someone out of real money - that's a lot worse than losing TBT bells and there isn't much of a way to get it back. There's just too many complications that would come with using real money for something that isn't even necessarily worth real money.

Players are already buying TBT for real money behind the scenes, my idea was to stop that by Bell Tree itself offering say 100 TBT for x amount real money, there would be no scamming involved then and any money made could be invested back into the BellTree site. Surely there have to be ideas that Jeremy has for the Forum that could benefit from an injection of cash?

 

[LyraVale]

Considering that time is money, we've all spent "real life money" on these collectibles in a way. SO I wouldn't judge someone for wanting to just throw some cash at it all. But I don't like the idea tbh. I think it would really take away the fun of collecting.

I realize people are already doing it with the eshop credits etc...but that's still fun for them, since it involves trading, and wheelin and dealin. They're still actively participating on the forums, and interacting with other users. If they could just pay some cash, buy somt tbt, go get some collectibles, and then be done...they would get pretty bored of collectibles.

Also, I know you were just using it as an example, but I personally hate FB, because of the way the way its so aggressive about getting people's money, info, time, etc....it's like once you step into the FB vortex it's all stripped away from you little by little lol. I get that this may be just my own issue, but seriously, if TBT ever started following a FB type model in any way, I would be VERY very sad.

Basically, this site is great because you can come here and leave real life stuff somewhere else for a while. It's a little kingdom of its own, and it would be sad to see it get invaded by more powerful foreign influences (in this case the big bad REAL LIFE).

 

[Skyfall]

My response is also not fully thought out, I am just basically thinking out loud as I write this, but I dont think this is a bad idea. I do work, so throwing a little money for it as oppose to spending time (which has really shrunk for me) is not a bad thing.

I know that on facebook and on sites like Gaia real life money IS spent on pixels. Does anyone have experience on how that works? Does that schew the marketplace in favor of the real life wealthy? What impact does it have on the value of the virtual currency?

On a separate note, this may create a huge headache for the admins legally as soon as real life anything is created, it subjects to the site to a differernt set of regulations and laws, I think.

I do agree though, the reason why TBT is so valued by many is because "real" currency, of our time, has been already been spent. Well put on that.

 

[Kammeh]

Basically, this site is great because you can come here and leave real life stuff somewhere else for a while. It's a little kingdom of its own, and it would be sad to see it get invaded by more powerful foreign influences (in this case the big bad REAL LIFE).

Hahaha, yes, this!!

 

[SharJoY]

I am not a fan of the idea for several reasons. FB is a corporation, so they have paid staff, to handle the site and all that entails. Whereas, here the staff volunteer all their time and efforts, etc (at least I do not think they are FT paid staff), so adding a paid feature would just be so much more time consuming, and more headaches (they would need to stock up on ibuprofen for sure - little humor here). Collecting them is fun, gives me something to do, but would I pay real money, no. As for the potential for adding revenue for maintaining the site - well, I would prefer making a donation, such as was done before, and get a unique collectible for doing so. For me being able to buy them with real money would take away the fun of collecting them, and I would probably stop.

 

[Cuppycakez]

I say no because I'm pretty sure there is lots of people under 15-16 who don't have jobs or anything so it's like yar har parents give me moneysss

 

[Mercedes]

Yes but is should be 100 TBT 99 cent and the higher you go the more TBT. But the TBT rates might Skye rocket so idk.

 

[lazuli]

Yes but is should be 100 TBT 99 cent and the higher you go the more TBT. But the TBT rates might Skye rocket so idk.

ok this whole topic is dumb, esp ^ (I AINT PAYING $10 FOR 1kTBT)

tbt is on vBullentin, which is a paid forum ANYWAYS. donations and such could get members lil things like a special collectible or tbt credits or WHATEVER but not directly buying tbt for real $$$
then theres the issue of lil kids here (talkin like 8 or 9 years old) spendin like a hundred dollars for TBT credits.
and also the money conversion because not everybody who uses the forums uses USD.

 

[Mercedes]

ok this whole topic is dumb, esp ^ (I AINT PAYING $10 FOR 1kTBT)

tbt is on vBullentin, which is a paid forum ANYWAYS. donations and such could get members lil things like a special collectible or tbt credits or WHATEVER but not directly buying tbt for real $$$
then theres the issue of lil kids here (talkin like 8 or 9 years old) spendin like a hundred dollars for TBT credits.
and also the money conversion because not everybody who uses the forums uses USD.

Nono no. You have got it all wrong. 99 cent is the lest, and then at 4;99 we could get 800 TBT and so on and so forthz

 

[Cuppycakez]

I mean, I'm just thinking. If this becomes a thing, everything in the market will be raised a BUNCH by price. Collectibles are already a bunch of TBT. For example a blue candy sells for 2-2.5k. That could quickly become 5-5.5k because everyone would have more to spend, so people would raise prices. Not to mention how hard it would be for people who CAN'T afford to buy online fake money. It would be impossible for them to get anything because they would just be doing the general posting for 2 TBT each.

 

[Justin]

I don't think we would ever directly sell Bells, but we definitely have and are continually considering other possible monetary donation options.

 

[Danielkang2]

Even if Justin did sell tbt I bet eshop cards and download codes go for much more than justin is selling them at.

 

[Javocado]

I ain't tryna have another Gaia Online fam.
Bad idea, but I see where you're coming from.

 

[Cuppycakez]

I don't think we would ever directly sell Bells, but we definitely have and are continually considering other possible monetary donation options.

Collectible for donating? Heh heh???

 

[nard]

Collectible for donating? Heh heh???

yas like maybe a little cent/dollar bill collectible