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There is a very sweet news about community event during HoTS launch and there is info in there where to get HoTS - GameStop and TL Store and also info where to download HoTS. Except it's not a download info but info about pre-purchasing directly from Blizzard and what is included in what version.
And their prices are ridiculous.
1. My first question is, is my impression correct that TL, a community site, prefers to make more money from it's users instead of offering the cheapest possible while still safe and solid means to get a game such as HoTS?
We can't even call it buying from TL because games offered at TL store are all really advertisements of Amazon, Amazon is the one selling and paying TL for referral links. And in case of HoTS Amazon doesn't even offer the free beta key, not even now.
I checked the prices of HoTS on Polish auctions site Allegro.pl and even though Amazon offers free delivery to Poland, Amazon's price is still 30% more expensive.
And there is no beta key included while all 6 shops on Allegro offer it.
I'm comparing the bullshit retail standard edition sold by Amazon, which is a DVD in a box, to keys only. Why? Because all of the Polish shops have to also get the bullshit retail standard edition to get the keys. That's what I'm guessing after seeing that they all send beta keys immediately but won't send the full version keys until the launch.
Even if I'm talking shit and retail boxes aren't necessary then why can't TL also offer keys alone for a price lower than retail version?
Why 6 shops in Eastern Europe can offer better deal? All of them with between 1000 to 15 000, minimum 99% positive comments from buyers.
And this is how we get to my 2nd question
2. Why can't TL actually sell games instead of making money on referral links?
Why can't TL offer games at a price that would show the community is being cared for?
Team Liquid has 185+ staff members all over the world and there are potentially more people, like forum stars, who could partake in something like allowing the community to get our favourite games for the best price.
For me allowing fellow users to pay less by storing and sending games at a post office is the same contribution as translating, writing news, etc.
And most of those hundreds of people all over the world I bet have never been even asked if they would help.
If a Polish shop with 1000 items sold can deliver great price than global site like TL can do at least as good and still make reasonable money out of it but so far prefers to allow it's users to get milked hard for money from fucking referals.
And there is no option for people like me who aren't interested in the bullshit retail standard edition but keys only.
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Australia7069 Posts
so you want the volunteer staff of TL to round up cheap copies of HOTS from random auction sites to help TL make money? i'm confused.
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No jesus, I want to know why TL prefers to earn on referrals instead of using the fact it is the best English site for StarCraft and getting copies directly from Blizzard at prices distributors get, or at least set it as a goal and get games from distributors.
And then send games to staff members interested in helping who would store them and send to people who make orders at TL store.
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Australia7069 Posts
as a concept running something like this depending on volunteers to send stuff is just going to lead to problems down the road. theres no accountability. what if a game doesn't get to a customer, you need to go and find the person who was supposed to send it who then has to find proof they sent it then track it down etc etc. theres a lot more to shipping something than just sending it to a bro to drop in a mailbox.
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Buying cd keys is very different from a legit physical copy. Cd keys are often taken from retail boxes from poorer countries with a lower retail price and then sold online. There have been instances of developers blocking such keys since they are meant for local retail use, not Internet sales. TL is a legitimate site and we have no interest in being involved with the shady business of selling cd keys.
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On February 19 2013 16:05 Kiante wrote:
as a concept running something like this depending on volunteers to send stuff is just going to lead to problems down the road. theres no accountability. what if a game doesn't get to a customer, you need to go and find the person who was supposed to send it who then has to find proof they sent it then track it down etc etc. theres a lot more to shipping something than just sending it to a bro to drop in a mailbox.
If in my absurd country post office registers and insures packages then this should be normal in most of the other countries.
You just get a piece of paper that you sent the game, if the game vanishes and post doesn't mark it as delivered, then insurance is being given. The only thing lost is the time.
We can trust that people of this awesome community would have a system set so it wouldn't end in looking for anything in case of emergency.
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United States8476 Posts
So what you're basically suggesting is that TL staff spend an absurd amount of time and resources so that people can buy HotS for a few dollars cheaper? There are so many problems with this idea that I don't know where to start.
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how about beetlelisk handle the distrubiton? Volunteer work ofcourse.
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On February 19 2013 16:22 R1CH wrote:
Buying cd keys is very different from a legit physical copy. Cd keys are often taken from retail boxes from poorer countries with a lower retail price and then sold online. There have been instances of developers blocking such keys since they are meant for local retail use, not Internet sales. TL is a legitimate site and we have no interest in being involved with the shady business of selling cd keys.
I would like to apologise for forgetting the simple fact that the prices are different in different countries, I implied like an complete idiot that TL is acting like thieves, when after checking I know now that Amazon is the cheapest store selling HoTS in the UK 
For that and for the time it took me to apologise I request a week ban as an atonement.
You still could get legit physical copies and get keys from them, that would save the users the cost of a delivery.
And I think there are people who would buy for an incredibly silly money a box without a key for full version but key/s for trial only, like those that were put in pairs in the boxes of WoL. That silly money could be then sent back to people who bought keys alone.
User was temp banned for this post.
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On February 19 2013 21:21 monk wrote:
So what you're basically suggesting is that TL staff spend an absurd amount of time and resources so that people can buy HotS for a few dollars cheaper? There are so many problems with this idea that I don't know where to start.
How is walking with a bunch of boxes to send them at the post an absurd amount of time? What kind of resources are you talking about when TL can accept over 52 000 USD for a documentary and from the beginning take the possibility of a profit into a consideration and talk about it? What's the difference between this and gathering money from users beforehand to get the best deal at buying hundreds, thousands of copies?
If Ebay offers HoTS for 31 pounds and Amazon offers it for 27, includes free shipment to some countries ans still has a profit than that's a significant amount of money we are talking about, especially if we are focusing more on the sum of those "few dollars" TL could get, that multiplied by thousands of users ordering the game makes it something worth looking into.
The problems I see regarding TL in this situations are:
- Sending a bunch of emails to wholesalers / distributors / maybe Blizzard even to negotiate the best price and terms like sending the hundreds of games not to a single recipient but dividing the number and sending the games directly to people who would handle the retail distribution
- asking people who can be trusted if they are interested in safely keeping a bunch of games in their house / apartment / room and visiting a post office every now and then to send those games
- doing a research what can be done about making the delivery safe, sound a good service - in Poland it's choosing the package to be registered
What else can you see as a problem? And like I wrote, if TL can openly ask for money and succesfully gather it then it's not a problem.
On February 19 2013 22:25 TOCHMY wrote:
how about beetlelisk handle the distrubiton? Volunteer work ofcourse.
Of course! Please notice we are talking about me and not TL now.
I will handle the distribution for netwars.pl , since I am nobody on TL so to be trusted I would have to pay TL a significant bail, that I can't afford in the near future but perhaps at some point in time.
After an unnecessary delay, for which I am to blame, I just finished the short process of registering a firm which is necessary to get the prices from wholesalers and I will handle the distribution, but also more than that - I will pay for the games by myself as I've got the money. And all I will get in return is a wholesaler's cost of the games and money to pay for the ZUS.
Natural questions is: why have I made this threa, since I have the money no problem to buy HoTS for any money?
1. Having money doesn't equal with the freedom of wasting money.
2. Both TL and people who buy from TL can gain significantly.
To make the transactions safe for users I will talk with the guy who handles money from various netwars.pl collections of money, so netwars users will pay him and he will pay me once I prove the games are sent. Proving will include me sending him videos of me sending the games at the post office, pictures of the keys if necessary and a number which each package is being given to be able to track it.
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On March 06 2013 02:37 beetlelisk wrote:The problems I see regarding TL in this situations are: - Sending a bunch of emails to wholesalers / distributors / maybe Blizzard even to negotiate the best price and terms like sending the hundreds of games not to a single recipient but dividing the number and sending the games directly to people who would handle the retail distribution
This is effectively what TL are doing. There is no way Blizzard can be expected to enter into a deal with TL on this because it wouldn't make sense for Blizzard. Nearly everyone from TL is going to buy it (at least once). Blizzard giving TL a cut would basically be charity, not business.
On March 06 2013 02:37 beetlelisk wrote:- asking people who can be trusted if they are interested in safely keeping a bunch of games in their house / apartment / room and visiting a post office every now and then to send those games
"Now and then"? You mean thousands of copies in one day right? Or should we order from TL and wait until 2 weeks after release to get our copy?
Have you ever even considered the logistics of that? Who is going to drive the truck full of boxed copies of games to the post office before they can even send them?
On March 06 2013 02:37 beetlelisk wrote:- doing a research what can be done about making the delivery safe, sound a good service - in Poland it's choosing the package to be registered
So after the staff have *volunteered* their time arranging to buy hundreds/thousands of copies they should then also negotiate a bulk deal with a postal service while still being liable for any games which get lost before they are sent.
Solid plan.
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This thread clearly isn't going anywhere.
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EPT
