Thoughts on PC renewal for Carrarakins? Thumbs up? Thumbs down?
wetcircuit
Posts: 0
When I knew Carrara 8.5 was finally going to be released, I bought back into the Platinum Club with their 3-month membership. Got the expected Carrara discounts, just went through a month of PC "specials" which was fun, but I certainly never won the week-long tier prizes (how ever that worked, you had to buy a certain number of items)…. In fact I find the PC more confusing these days - do I have to copy paste that coupon every time? I have no idea if it worked at all. I just don't get it. I liked it better before when the "buyback" was seamless and the site told me how much credit I had left to (ab)use, etc….
So I feel I got my money's worth, bought a bunch of stuff I will probably never get around to, but not complaining. Daz gave me a discount for Carrara and I more than paid it back by checking the store everyday during the last month of specials, it's WIN/WIN…. Now the 3-months is up and I assume I am not the only person who bought a PC membership just to buy Carrara.... Any thoughts? Seems like there has been a shake up in PC artists lately - really, not complaining here, some of the PC items are great quality, that's not the point…. I'm feeling like I could hop off the train now and we are good.
Any opinions, rumors, thoughts to share? Venting? Mine just expired, and now that little bubble spaceship is $12 instead of $7 so I am wishlisting, not buying… and I think I am ok with that. If they keep the 3 month thing maybe I will rejoin in the Spring for March Madness or something? As Carrara users are we expecting anything large around xmas-newyears? I am just feeling sort of ambivalent about it….
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Comments
Why worry? The PC setup fee has been removed so now you can get in whenever there's something to make it worthwhile.
I was stuck with the PC membership after returning Carrara and it's highly unlikely I'll be resubscribing anytime soon. DAZ Originals generally just aren't good enough to make the membership worth its cost.
There is a price difference between 4x 3-month memberships vs 1 yearly-membership. I always thought the setup fee was arbitrary.
Sorry about your experience with Carrara.... I had to upgrade. I wasn't going to fight it.
Oh it's alright. Life lessons usually come at a cost and this one was relatively cheap :P
Since I didn't buy in just for the Carrara discounts I am probably not the best person to hear from on this. Don't get me wrong, I love modeling and am getting more and more into it. But getting the stuff that they sell on PC is a great habit for me. I can set an eight dollar limit and get four things. Often I'll just buy one, sometimes two. Great Genesis costumes, the whole West Park, GIS, etc., collections, petipet's cool vehicles and scenery sets... bravo!!! It's amazing what goes up for zero point zero, zero, too! Man, they've been just generous with cool models. Some even come to be a little more - like that cool mosquito! What a great way for my dastardly villain to get my main hero poisoned!!!
Rosie and I sat down to figure out if we were going to renew for my second year and were floored with how much return I got for my hundred bucks. In just a few months I've got the year paid off. I quit smoking and I don't go out partying so the hundred bucks toward one of my favorite things ever, is just... well... we decided that I'll PC for the rest of my (hopefully) long life! lol
With that out of the way, which is timed just after tax return time, it leaves me with plenty of flexibility. Many other offerings by DAZ 3D get enormous discounts and early releases or peeks... and then even if I don't buy anything, I can at least grab the freebie.
Again... these comments may not apply, since I do this as a great means to increase my possibilities when I need a scene. I like to have a nice full range of "Grab Me and Drop Me In" content. Just like my example with my Build a Scene video for Woodlands. I know that eventually ther comes a time when 'enough is enough'... I totally see that. But I'm not there yet. I'm sure you know what I mean about the fact that they have cool stuff in there. I already own most everything in all of those PC Anniversary Bundles.
I see these gorgeous Jack Tomalin's at PC for two bucks... um... cart that! All of the petipet vehicles will be (most are already) Mine!!! There's a lot of cool stuff. Great stuff for outfitting Genesis in all sorts of roles from the guy behind the deli to the warrior who oaths to protect mankind from the wall. Curious series is totally killer and AntFarm's NeverLand series and... and... and...
I renewed for a year last July, having had a yearly membership for many years. I was worried that I pretty much had all the qualifying items (DAZ originals for Poser/Carrara 8.1 only, I don't use DS/Genesis) and I'm finding I was right. I'll probably find just enough marginal items for the next half a year, then I might give it up. I do like the deeper discounts on items that would not normally qualify, and the freebies, so its not a complete no-brainer. I still long for the old days when all the PA products were available for voucher purchase ... :-S
I just got the year renewal for $44 - great deal !!!
I just wanted to point out that if you were to enter the Carrara monthly challenge, and win, you could buy that three month PC membership guilt free. ;-) http://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/31940/
Which reminds me, I forgot to post that at the Cafe. My apologies Holly! I've been so busy lately I haven't been there nearly as much as I should!
I'm in it , generally a balance of cost and reward,
they have a lot of genesis stuff which I have just started porting to M4 via daz studio exporting to xdresser - labour intensive but sometimes it's the only way. I bought my renewel at 30 percent off, best stuff are the 1.99 buildings INMHO
from casual observation they are pushing people toward PC then they will gradually raise the pc prices but make the outside prices so expensive it makes pc look like a bargain,
Like Holly I joined for 3 months just to upgrade Carrara. The package was so good (I'm not into Genesis yet, but those starter packages were amazing value).
However, the PC thing was ruined for me when it became Daz originals only. It's confusing to apply, and often most of the stuff I am interested in is not a DAZ original.
However some of those PC $1.99 items are just great (as Dartan says the whole West Park / East Park - just fantastic).
So, it seems to me that it isn't worth it atm. However every so often with a Carrara upgrade or package of props will come along, then it is worth it to buy up those $1.99 items you missed out on for a while.
I wish it was not this way. I used to be a Platinum club member annually and spent a lot more. This way I spend less. Daz is the loser in my case, but I guess they have done the sums and make more this way overall.
Yes, the West Park series is fantastic. I just wish Jack Tomalin would provide modern, clean textures (not abandonned or soiled or vandalized) for it. Granted, East Park has some clean textures, but it is only a small fraction of the sets. I want to be able to use all the sets as an actual working asylum. Unless somebody has a better idea, I guess I'll have to redo all the textures from scratch.
But the PC Club is great. It is well worth the price. Of course, now I'm broke. >:-(
it seems to pay well for me
and Holly, you were one of those who convinced me to join, I resisted about 2 years before joining to get DS3A for $1 almost lapsing then grabbing C8.1 upgrade from C7 which I had gotten off a 3D world mag.
whether I would have accumulated 2000+ items of content in my DIM otherwise is questionable but. . .
:ohh: So it's all my fault then…?
Sorry about that Wendy… :red:
Yes, the West Park series is fantastic. I just wish Jack Tomalin would provide modern, clean textures (not abandonned or soiled or vandalized) for it. Granted, East Park has some clean textures, but it is only a small fraction of the sets. I want to be able to use all the sets as an actual working asylum. Unless somebody has a better idea, I guess I'll have to redo all the textures from scratch.
But the PC Club is great. It is well worth the price. Of course, now I'm broke. >:-(
Argus - a lot of these rooms use essentially the same walls etc.
Like you, I've bought the lot. I have an intention to blend the two textures together. I am after a run down (not abandoned) look for episode 10 of Sci Fi Funk. I'll post here when I've got the look I want so we can discuss.