Downloads, Freebies, & PC

bpsperan

I first became a DAZ customer almost 22 months ago and I've seen a lot of changes in that short time.

A number of customers were asking for site features like being able to filter the My Downloadable Products page to show only PC downloads or only MAC downloads. But, instead, it seems the My Downloadable Products page has been replaced with a Product Library page (which still displays both PC and MAC downloads).

So we have a choice now of either using the new "Install Manager" to download and install our files for us, or do it "manually" in which each product takes us to a product page where we choose the individual downloads. (And this method seems a bit confusing at first as it lists both the files for the Install Manager and the manual zip and exe files. It's easy to download redundant files, unless you know better. And I refuse to use the Install Manager.)

Well, I'd been meaning to do this for a while now, but I just unsubscribed from the DAZ newsletter and subscribed to the Renderosity newsletter. Why? Among other reasons, Renderosity gives a monthly freebie to subscribers. Apparently, DAZ no longer gives freebies as such. And there are hardly any truly free products in the "Free 3D Models" section of the shop.

For a long time anyone could subscribe to the DAZ newsletter and this would allow access to freebies and free products. And in the process, reading the newsletter and visiting the site would tempt us with other products and offers.

Now, it seems what DAZ calls a "freebie" requires a purchase. Or at least a platinum club membership. (Seems more appropriate to call that a "reward", instead.)

Also: Prices on DAZ have really skyrocketed in the last year or so! :o The majority of stuff I had my eyes on (such as in my large Wish List) have practically doubled in price. And new stuff seems much more expensive than I remember from before Genesis. Granted, I was a platinum club member for most of my first year and of course I'd see a big jump when it expired. But I mean even taking that into account.

What bugs me most of all, though, is the fact that DAZ no longer displays what the platinum club prices are for products. At least when that information was displayed, customers would be shown how much money they would save by belonging to the platinum club. Without that information, I find it difficult to determine whether it's worth it to me to re-subscribe or whether I'm better off saving my money and waiting until later to go PC again. That, or looking elsewhere for other products.

Bottom line: I do not like the direction DAZ is going right now. And I feel like customer suggestions/complaints are often ignored.

Lissa_xyz

While I won't comment as to the direction of Daz (I'm just not jumping into that mouth of madness, as it were), I can tell you that you can use Install Manager as a mere downloader. Download your files with it, ignore the Manifest.dsx file, and place everything inside the Content folder into your library as you would any other zip file.

Also, there's no reason you have to unsub from one newsletter just to sub to another. A lot of us are subbed to more than one at the same time.

Chohole

http://www.daz3d.com/products/platinum-club

As it always has been, PC items cost $1.99, as has been true since the PC started in 2002. The only change is that now some of them move into the value category at $2.99.

PC members also get 30% discount on DAZ Originals, plus the monthly coupon which works on DOs.

Normal Store prices have not increased for items that are in the store. All items in the store are still the same price that they were on release. (except for a few which have decreased, mostly software)

robkelk

bpsperan said:

I first became a DAZ customer almost 22 months ago and I've seen a lot of changes in that short time.

A number of customers were asking for site features like being able to filter the My Downloadable Products page to show only PC downloads or only MAC downloads. But, instead, it seems the My Downloadable Products page has been replaced with a Product Library page (which still displays both PC and MAC downloads).

So we have a choice now of either using the new "Install Manager" to download and install our files for us, or do it "manually" in which each product takes us to a product page where we choose the individual downloads. (And this method seems a bit confusing at first as it lists both the files for the Install Manager and the manual zip and exe files. It's easy to download redundant files, unless you know better. And I refuse to use the Install Manager.)

I've been lead to believe that this issue is going away. Once the installers are phased out, all that will be left on the download pages will be the "DIM zips," which we can (and I do) download and install in exactly the same way we download and install Renderosity products.

.

bpsperan said:

Well, I'd been meaning to do this for a while now, but I just unsubscribed from the DAZ newsletter and subscribed to the Renderosity newsletter. Why? Among other reasons, Renderosity gives a monthly freebie to subscribers.

RuntimeDNA gives a weekly freebie to its newsletter subscribers... although I've noticed they're sometimes repeating freebies from a few years ago.

bpsperan said:

Apparently, DAZ no longer gives freebies as such. And there are hardly any truly free products in the "Free 3D Models" section of the shop.

For a long time anyone could subscribe to the DAZ newsletter and this would allow access to freebies and free products. And in the process, reading the newsletter and visiting the site would tempt us with other products and offers.

Now, it seems what DAZ calls a "freebie" requires a purchase. Or at least a platinum club membership. (Seems more appropriate to call that a "reward", instead.)

I prefer the term "bonus"...

.
Also: Prices on DAZ have really skyrocketed in the last year or so! :o The majority of stuff I had my eyes on (such as in my large Wish List) have practically doubled in price. And new stuff seems much more expensive than I remember from before Genesis. Granted, I was a platinum club member for most of my first year and of course I'd see a big jump when it expired. But I mean even taking that into account.

To be fair, prices (almost) everywhere else have also gone up.

.
What bugs me most of all, though, is the fact that DAZ no longer displays what the platinum club prices are for products. At least when that information was displayed, customers would be shown how much money they would save by belonging to the platinum club. Without that information, I find it difficult to determine whether it's worth it to me to re-subscribe or whether I'm better off saving my money and waiting until later to go PC again. That, or looking elsewhere for other products.

Bottom line: I do not like the direction DAZ is going right now. And I feel like customer suggestions/complaints are often ignored.

They rarely (if ever) read the forums, alas.

icprncss

The only change to PC pricing (and it's not really a change to the PC per se) is the addition of the Value Category. Items for the value category are priced at the PC level for the first two week of their release. After that, they go to $2.99 and move to the value category.

AFAIK, any item in the value category is under $10. DAZ still has the FastGrab but they've made some changes that are actually for the better. Instead of time or quantity limits, items are placed in it at the FG price for an entire day. If they go in on Friday, they generally remain all weekend.

Today you can pick up the Genesis Generation Morphs for 70% off. Not a bad deal if you want them and don't have them.

As far as pricing goes, I haven't seen DAZ raise prices on items once they are in the store. Correction, before the giveaway, DAZ did decide to raise the price on Bryce 7. However, a few months later, they gave the Pro version away and when they stopped giving it away, they dropped the price back down to under $20 regular price.

Considering I paid about ten times that amount back in 2001 to Corel for the upgrade from Bryce 4 to 5, it's extremely reasonable. If prices of DAZ Originals seem higher, it's probably because DAZ has to pay more to buy out the item from the PA who actually creates it. If prices on PA items are higher, it's likely the PA's costs have risen as well.