@Birger

Because you kept saying Full Price and insisting that you get no reward for your purchases.

And, you're being pedantic about the one card.

I 'WAS' trying to understand and I'm pretty sure I do.

Got nothing else to say
Moving on now

@Wyldanimal

Congrats. Woo-hoo, good for you.
Rub it in, Make him *****.
But it's not really working.
Don't know where you get the ***** from. Must be on your own tab.
Disappointed is closer to reality.
TEam spirit is not really what TEAM spirit used to be.
But hey - nice to see that you can agree amongst yourselves that you are right.
No need to listen to criticism, then.
Enjoy.

@Birger52

Don't know where you get the ***** from. Must be on your own tab.
Disappointed is closer to reality.

yes, you know what, you are right..
I should retract the use of the word *****.
That was in poor judgement on my part, and thank you for pointing that out..

I'd edit my Post and change it, but that wouldn't be right..
I posted it, and at the time that was how I felt..

But you made it clear that in hindsight, it was wrong.

This conversation continues to baffle me?

I don't understand all the talk about pricing and discounts? It has nothing to do with it. I have a problem with an exclusive card; ANY exclusive card at ANY price or ANY offer. AND I have yet to figure out why or how the calendar could be considered FUN? Even if you bought the calendar and forgetting the technical problems ... What or where was the fun? All it was was a simple 24 day subscription with a free exclusive card.

Assuming you wanted all the cards great! you got a 4% discount .. fair enough. If you wanted all but one of the cards you are cost neutral but have a card in your collection that you wish you didn't. Still fair enough. But whats with the exclusive card? Is there fun in the fact that fellow members can't buy it without buying cards they don't want? Or does the joy come from the fact it will be unavailable to future members? Maybe it's just me but I get no happiness in what others cant or wont have.

I'm not sure I agree with those calling the calendar greedy or mean or whatever. I do think it's foolish and short sighted and thats is annoying. No card is worth 330 credits to me - even if it includes 24 other cards I may or may not want. I don't even like the idea of it and would like to think I would not have bought it any price but in reality I'm sure I would have bought it had the discount been significant but I would not have been happy about it at ANY price or discount.

As I said I am mystified as to where the fun is? It is unfortunate for all the new members that will never have the opportunity to buy it. And I feel no joy those current members who are fans of Niemira or Christmas cards who could not buy it without paying for cards they didn't want. And I find it hard to believe that Totem sold enough calendars to make up long term lost revenue but that I do not know so that's why I have repeatedly expressed myself on this issue.

Myself, I'm a bit neutral to the card itself. I like Niemira and I would have certainly bought the card because I generally like to complete the sets and it was a special occasion card but I have plenty of her cards so it's really no big deal. Just annoying. Had this been a show I was really looking forward to or a girl like Marilyn who has only 5 available shows and sadly sounds like she wont be back I would have been much more disappointed.

For my own satisfaction I will express my annoyance with my wallet so will make a point of skipping 24 shows that I would have bought including passing on at least one of the 'available' Niemira card that have been released since the calendar and Penelope the Christmas card is definitely out. I haven't decided how I'm going to eliminate the other 22 as I foolishly cleared my wishlist when I saw the calendar.

As far as 'collectors' not benefitting from the promotions. I consider myself a collector I but I'm not buying shows I don't want. I tried a subscription ONCE and still regret it to this day. But if being a 'collector' means buying every card whether or not it appeals to you then I suggest you collect at a slower rate; abstain for a month or 2 and then you will not be left out. How can you expect to play the slot if there are no girls to put in the wheel? But if there are only thirty or sixty cards you don't own then I would image your chances of winning a 1,000 credits are better then most. I can participate slots but it is foolish for me to do so. My odds of winning credits are lower then many and there is about a 0% chance of getting a spin of cards I would buy.

Can I just say that in any promotion that Totem or any other Vendor offers, not all their customers will be happy. That is just a fact of life.

This is the first time that Totem has tried this approach (or at least that I remember)

By all means post your opinions, but please bear in mind my opening paragraph, it may not have suited you (and Totem would like to know why), but please keep the comments civil and try to avoid emotive adjectives.

Pretty please

@Wyldanimal 👍

@Cartref
Promotions are fine.
Punishing members/customers that can or do not buy a given offer (like producing/selling something they can not buy), is not a promotion.

@Birger52 - nobody was punished and it was a real promotion, not a very generous one maybe, but it was a promotion and everybody could choose for themselves whether to to participate or not and they could make that choice right up until the day before the offer expired. Nobody was excluded and nobody was "punished" any more than anybody is punished by not participating in the "buy two books and get a third at half price" offers that Waterstones regularly make.

Nobody was excluded and nobody was "punished" any more than anybody is punished by not participating in the "buy two books and get a third at half price" offers that Waterstones regularly make.

Everyone who choose not to buy the offer which included cards they may not have wanted was excluded. Those of us that are selective about what end up in our collections were excluded.

I've never heard of Waterstones but I assume if you don't buy two books you can still buy the 3rd book at the regular price? If so, it is in no way similar.

It is very simple .. if you did not buy the offer which includes cards that not everyone wanted then you were punished as the card was not available otherwise. And even if you wanted to buy the offer but did not have the credits available at the time you were excluded and if you were not yet a member you have been excluded.

It's common sense and saying it or spinning it otherwise will never make it factual. Sorry.

@TheEmu
Hardly.
I do not know this "Waterstone", but still think you analogy is incorrect.
I can not imagine a book-club, that prints a book, ONLY to give it away.
I can not imagine, that "Waterstones" deny any of their customers to buy the third book in your comparison at full price.
Not that it will change my mind, but feel free to let me know, if it is not so. I'll know to keep away from this Waterstones, then.

Buy 3 pay for 2 is a widely used promotion.
But you can still buy "the third item" at full price, if you don't want the 2 first....

Not so with this christmas celebration. I can not buy the card, that was given away for free.

I have been around here for almost 10 years. Actualy also with VG in the end of the '90's and '00's, I believe.
But anyhow: I have contributed - however little - to the production of this special card, that has been given away for free, to some select members of this community.
As I could not afford the Calendar, I am being punished, by not being allowed to buy the card.

I think, that the "buy these 24 cards and get one for free", is an excellent idea for a promotion.
One can debate the buying blindly (not knowing which cards you are buying) - some do, and that is fine with me. I don't like it. I have done it on some occations (if I don't get a card I can use, I am supporting the community, the TEAM, the business), but it will definitely not happen again.
That the free card for doing something Totem knows very well, that a lot of members do not do, is an exlusive card, is exactly what makes the calendar a reward to a select section of the community (and thereby a punishment for everyone else), and not a promotion.

Enough already, guys! We are talking about ONE single card that members may or may not have wanted.

Saying that Totem is, 'punishing' members is ridiculous and childish.

Your ideas are like, Totem thought about a promo to punish peeps who don't buy everything. Really?

I can never own this bonus card either but I'm not bitching about it. IT's ONE FREAKING CARD!!!

Grow up. Move on and forget it. It's done and dusted. There're plenty more girls coming this way :)

Who knows... Maybe in 5 or 10 more years, Totem will release the card for all to buy. On 2nd thought, bad idea. The uproar from those that already have it will deafen us all! :/

The analogy was that Waterstones, a bookshop, regularly make an offer that you can choose to accept or not. Nothing more than that. In exactly the same way Totem made an offer that you could choose to accept or choose not to accept - the details of the "reward" being unimportant. And organisations do quite often make special offers that take the form of "exclusive" articles that only "qualifying customers" can buy - some of the things offered by "air miles" and similar schemes are like that.

In all of these cases, including that made by Totem, if you choose not to accept then is yourself that is imposing any limitation that choice may entail. It was your choice and only your choice. Until you chose to not participate you had the possibility of buying this card that you said was denied you - it may have been too expensive for your taste, but you could have bought it.

Not being rewarded is not the same as being punished.

Actually for me it's the idea of it not just the one card.

Saying that Totem is, 'punishing' members is ridiculous and childish.

Maybe but I don't feel that way

Your ideas are like, Totem thought about a promo to punish peeps who don't buy everything. Really?

Punish is a strong word; I think Totem just didn't think at all on this one

I can never own this bonus card either but I'm not bitching about it. IT's ONE FREAKING CARD!!!

I agree .. but if the obvious isn't spelled out it may become a trend. Most of the promos reappear over time

Grow up. Move on and forget it. It's done and dusted. There're plenty more girls coming this way :)

I'm trying to (grow up and move on that is) but every time I see someone promote exclusive cards as 'fun' or a good thing I feel the urge to state the obvious . I probably wont grow up soon enough to stop any time soon.

Who knows... Maybe in 5 or 10 more years, Totem will release the card for all to buy.

Bad idea .. on many fronts. Totem does not honor it's word. And those that paid for 25 cards just to get that one will have lost their exclusive fun.

On 2nd thought, bad idea. The uproar from those that already have it will deafen us all! :/

Correct. And I would say rightfully so.

I've never seen anyone banned here before but ***** I'm on my way. For that I am sorry but I've enjoyed VG/DB/IS for 10 years now. It is the only adult site I spend money on but I do feel strongly that exclusive cards are bad business. Bad for Totem and bad for members. I do believe those that buy all the cards should be rewarded and I want them to be rewarded as they support the product and keep my cost down to where I'm comfortable. But their reward should not punish those of us that don't want all the shows. Give them exclusive fan signs, outfits, whatever just not exclusive content.

Let us try a simpler analogy, purely with the iStripper universe.

If Totem offered a card for 1000 credits then it would be in many ways very similar to the Advent calendar offer which, as has been pointed out, could be regarded as a single expensive card. It may be a poor offer, but it punishes no one, and it does not deny anything to anybody.

Not being rewarded is not the same as being punished.

Not making content available without buying stuff you don't want is excluding members and could be called punishing. I just call it short sighted. Without air miles you can still book the flight.

IS is digital content and not limited by quantity or availability. The only limitation is whether or not Totem will sell it to you. I personally cannot come up with a legit comparison but here are a couple tries. Forgive my lack of creativity.

The new Star Trek TV series aired the 1st episode on CBS last fall then all the rest are EXCLUSIVELY on CBS streaming service which cost $5-$10 p/m. I passed but will watch it on Vudu or Amazon when it becomes generally available. This is similar but the big difference is if wanted to I could pay now for CBS streaming now if I choose to or wait until its released on bluray and general digital distribution.

I can't think a real or better example probably because it's such a bad idea - but imagine you couldn't by a ticket to see the latest Stars Wars movie and never will had you not bought tickets to those ***** prequels (Phantom Menace, etc).

If Totem offered a card for 1000 credits then it would be in many ways very similar to the Advent calendar offer which, as has been pointed out, could be regarded as a single expensive card. It may be a poor offer, but it punishes no one, and it does not deny anything to anybody.

I agree and that is how I looked at it. I saw the offer as I could but the Xmas card for 330 credit and it included a free 25 card subscription, But you could also only sell the card for 25 days then never sell it again.

The problem is not the price.. there have been several cards that cost more than the norm. The problem is the limited availability (exclusiveness).

What is wrong with offering something for a limited period? Many things are, sometimes because they have an inherent limited lifetime but quite often it is just the choice of whoever is making it avaliable. The point about air miles was not that you can use them to buy flights but you can also cash them in to buy other things - some of which may only be available that way.

I happen to think that the Advent Calendar was a poor offer, but not an unfair one and certainly nothing to ***** about in the way that a few others have done.

Ok. This is just getting silly now. We are not comparing one card from a hot model who has plenty of other cards on sale to a multi-million dollar blockbuster movie franchise are we? I give up.

The EXCLUSIVITY of the card was, I'm guessing a reward for those that have full collections and can't take part in other promotions because they've been so loyal. They get so few promos that mean anything to them.

However, any one of us could have bought the 25 card pack for the price of 24 cards right up to the 23rd/24th? of December, KNOWING full well what 23/24 of the cards were.

I'm totally mystified why people are ***** so much. Again... It's JUST ONE FREAKING CARD!

People will keep saying:

"Yeah but that's not the point! The point is I couldn't afford it at the time so lost out. I wasn't around so missed it. I didn't like most of the other cards so didn't buy the calendar etc. etc. etc"

So all of this is Totem's fault???

FFS. My last word on this is, deal with it. Nothing is going to change over this so move on. Thank you :)

I don't recall seeing so much crying about the VIP cards when they were "Exclusive".

Yes...........

I said "Crying"

Was it because you guys were VIP members at the time, getting the "Exclusive VIP Cards" and you were all fine with the exclusiveness because you were included ???

Now, all of the sudden, it's really really bad and you're like "How Dare You ??!!"

Well, a very emotive issue to a number of members - no doubt.

A metaphor and logic defence - I can understand that as an ex-management analyst and auditor - and, of course, thereby an expected defender of the status quo. I knew my role as did those with whom I spoke.

The introduction of the `VIP' element has me - as a spectator - puzzled.

I ***** the Advent Calendar - to lay those cards on the table! My view, of course, expressed up front. I cannot remember, in my time here, so many service glitches, failures to deliver on time, and - sorry - so many unattractive cards (in my opinion) - in the 4+ years that I have been here. And as much as I used to adore Niemira, I have soooo many of her cards, the addition of a seasonal garb would be seen when first downloaded, then only - maybe - viewed around Christmas this year.

But in the 4+ years here, I have not known of a VIP arrangement. So I do not understand the context of the rebuttal.

Sorry, not meaning to stop the flow - although where it CAN go, or hope to achieve, is puzzling - but `rubber-necking' and trying to understand the VIP arrangement ... If someone would be so kind as to elaborate ... ?

Hi ktab.

A few moons ago, before the days of iStripper and 3k cards, We had VirtuaGirl or VGHD.

The old carousel usually gave a discount to all of half price cards when the demos appeared at random.

If memory serves correctly (correct me if I'm wrong), After 300 cards, VIP's, (Now Diamond level) we got a free card once a month, chosen by Totem that other members could buy at half price on the carousel.

So yeah, pretty much the same idea as this one.

Totem were losing too much money along with subscriptions at the time. That's when many changes were made to keep the company going. Lots of members cried at the time but are still here ;)

This was nearly 5 years ago. When I became active on this forum although the changes were about 4 years ago?

Many thanks @HombreSinSombra

When I joined, it was VirtuaGirl - in fact I was one of the many who was ***** of the transition to iStripper - in retrospect, foolishly! Possibly like some of those VIP adherents.

I assume - having acquired a lot of cards at the start - that the VIP system, had, by then, been discarded.

Thank you for your reply - I was truly wondering about that reference.

Truth to tell, I was, also, hoping to act as a `circuit-breaker'.

Apart from riling themselves further - maybe even raising each other's ire to the degree there MAY be residual feelings later - all parties seem to have firmly and ably made their case! Management Analyst conclusion `Now what?' Nothing will be undone. Critique has built an argument. A defence has been laid. There is - (meaning not to upset anyone, as a spectator who has his own views and prepared to live by those) - really nowhere else for this to go!

Others may well differ. But is this about rolling out resentment or submitting a case for the record? If the latter, I suggest - as one with `no horse in this race' - it has been done! Continuation will gain nothing - may even be counter-productive. I would suggest a `cyber-handshake' by all protagonists. No victor! Points of all should be recognized and the field of dispute cleared!

Thanks again @HombreSinSombra - 😀 - Now I will slink away, hoping that the argument is done! Points have been made. It is up to management to either heed or disregard - the same as with all managements.

@ktab .. hear hear 😊
Today is the 12th day of Christmas so the Advent Calendar was closed 12 days ago.
This argument is non-beneficial and has gone on long enough.

@muttonjeff

Good as always to `see' you. I have been watching your US east coast (?) weather, with both trepidation - and envy (our coast - sea breezes and all - is to soar over 40C - it being just past noon Sunday here). Grass is always greener sort of thing - although yours maybe under ice and snow!

I hope you are holding up well in that Arctic wind/storm onslaught! 👍

It is early in the season so the snow has been light.. 25 inches 😕. The worst is usually Feb-Mar.
Erie, PA had over 65 inches. So glad i don't live there.
The temperature is cold. -15C (5F) add the windchill and it feels like -26C (-15F).
I do not envy you 40C (104F) as I prefer the cold .. but these negatives temperatures are equally uncomfortable.

I don't recall seeing so much crying about the VIP cards when they were "Exclusive".

I'll be honest; I remember the VIP cards and I remember them being free but not exclusive. I thought they could still be purchased. If I didn't I guess I just didn't think about it. It was something that didn't interest me much as I prefer to choose my own cards so my memory may not be clear. Does anyone remember which cards were these exclusive cards and are they for sale today? I assume not but if they are I'm surprised there was no outrage as new members were able to but these cards?

I will add that I remember when features were disabled in the software until you reached a certain level. I was well beyond the level so it doesn't affect me but I absolutely posted this was a bad idea because it is. Totem and members both benefit from members buying cards anything that discourages that ***** everyone. I do understand not selling the older low res content to the newest members and it does not represent the current product

I stand by my statements. I have no idea in what pleasure there is to be had in restricting sales for anyone.

I don't recall seeing so much crying about the VIP cards when they were "Exclusive".

UPDATE - I found my old post and it was deja vu.

In any case, It looks like my feelings have not changed in 7 years and I'm still on an island amongst my piers ;)

https://www.istripper.com/forum/thread/15950/1?post=276037

You are not allowed to see this topic or access data relative to this topic

@dar2112v

I certainly do not wish to embroil myself in what is, clearly, a heart-felt issue for you. I do not have a stake in this difference of views - unless, of course, the Advent Calendar is meant to provide a `prototype' for a future cards sales system! Should that happen, I expect an explosion in protest threads and a high-scale use-up of credits followed by an mass exodus of members from active participation. I was not there for the VIP situation - so I am not sure that even such a reaction would divert the decision - possibly until it was too late to save the company that we all love. Finger-pointing at that stage will be of no use! I might be incorrect, but even iStripper steadfasts, like @TheEmu, in this thread, have described the Advent Calendar arrangement as `poor'. Quite damning given the source's usually supportive stances.

On a principle basis, I am inclined to agree with you. I have already stated my absolute repudiation of the Advent Calendar. I think - in my opinion - it encourages lazily-cast and generally `bad' shows! I voted with my purchase abstinence (highest in a long time, in December). Even worse show-scoring! December's Talent of the Month' - with has partial dependency, I have been informed, on sales and show scores - will always be a contentious and `tainted' award, in my opinion.

I am surprised that this thread is still current. I see its only use as `housing' this debate. And it would seem to be a debate without end. Often such a circuitous situation will result in the thread being `locked'. I am not sure that a result such as that will provide any solution or even `closure' for your concerns.

I hope your points will be conveyed to management. Your arguments, I believe, have been strong and comprehensive. It is hoped they will be a consideration in any future promotions! But beyond that, what can you achieve here?

I would counsel the old platitude: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. I am not being patronising - despite the old quote. Such `truisms' do have a real-life application. Not much consolation, but your frustration does not appear to be easing - despite your expressing your point so well and so clearly.

😕

Thank you for finding that dar2112v

Been looking for it to no avail

You actually proved and reinforced my point

The VIP cards were initially for VIP members only. There was one VIP ONLY card each and every month.

Nowhere near as much crying from members as this One Time Only "Exclusive Card" has received

I would just like to state that I had a number of problems with this and at one stage I was worried that I could not participate because my PC had died.

I would also like to say that, according to my perception, that nobody was excluded from partaking of this offer. If you didn't want to take part then that was your decision - you were not excluded from from participating. Despite my PC problems and a glitch on Totem's end for the last card (the other "supposed" glitches were not a problem as my PC was FUBAR) I still found this a lot of fun.

My wife (the Old Goat in another thread) had put up an Advent Calendar with a number of chocalate novelties in it. Guess which one I preferred, particularly as I am Diabetic and AFAIK the iS girls may be sweet but I think they are "sugar" free.

Punishment is a perception, not necessarily a fact!