Is it just me... I just don't spend my money at Daz anymore

edited December 1969 in The Commons

Hi...

I have just checked and my spend in DAZ has dropped by 80%.

This is not just due to me not spending on Genesis... but also due to the fact that I find the new store a pain to shop in.

1: If I have already bought an item the shop no longer checks and I have to manually check over 2000 previous purchases from over the last 10 years and there is no way to search the previous purchases except page by page. this means I cannot trust the shop not to let me repeat buy an item.

2: Sometimes its hard to tell if items are for V4 or Genesis or Daz or Poser

3: I have to repeatedly sign in to the site. Annoying.

4: The download options are now just mind boggling... one item I bought recently had 6 download files! all different with different names and codes... which is the one I need to load the item into Poser on a MAC??? So I buy the product I have no faith it will work...

So in short... I don't spend here, even though there are some good products its a pain in the neck and I spend at other sites instead.

I cannot be alone... this must be costing Daz money.

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Comments

  • StezzaStezza Posts: 7,751
    edited December 1969

    same as

    so annoying seeing several download links for one item...

    there should be an option for what you are buying for so as just to get that one file.

    I feel like Mr Monk sometimes! :roll:

  • Serene NightSerene Night Posts: 17,551
    edited December 1969

    I shop a lot here. I have to take a break now though with xmas coming, and other expenses.

    Genesis is huge for me. I really don't want any of the older stuff anymore. =-)

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,123
    edited November 2012

    ...
    I cannot be alone... this must be costing Daz money.

    Nope, you're not alone.

    I buy perhaps one item a month and that's usually a super cheapie. I gave up on the Platinum Club a year ago. I have no great interest in Genesis products quite simply because I find DAZ Studio4 to be more of a problem than it's worth. I still use Studio3 so any products that I buy are usually older products that I get just because they go on sale and help complete my collection.

    Since DAZ's Genesis line of people don't work in Studio3 I have very little interest in them despite the fact that I actually do own Studio4 and have the basic Genesis character items. I just don't have it installed on any computer anymore. That eliminates a lot of product interest for me. But even many of the new architectural items that have geometry files that will work in Studio4, unfortunately have texture files and lighting files intended specificically for Studio4 so they are incompatable with Studio3. :-(

    There is precious little reason for me to buy at DAZ anymore. I already have a huge library of generation 3 and 4 DAZ people and their clothes, and also a huge library of architectures, and landscapes, and animals.

    Now, as you pointed out, DAZ has "improved" their website so much that I enjoy going there as much as I like rubbing sand in my eyes. I do understand what they did and why they did it. They unburdened themselves of a custom made webstore that was becoming difficult to maintain and bought a canned webstore and now they don't appear to have the time or expertise or perhaps desire to customize it again to make it as useful as the old one used to be. It's a webstore, what more could we want from them?

    So, no! You are not alone. Just walk into your garden, bend down and grab a handfull of worms and start munching.

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • patience55patience55 Posts: 7,006
    edited December 1969

    Nope, not just you. I had fond memories of past sales. This year's was for me, a non-event. I'd buy for Genesis but they broke faith when they removed .dsf files. New store promos aren't accurate. Sometimes 'Daz Studio' means "any" version, sometimes it means 4.0 and up; and sometimes/more often now it means 4.5 and up. I do not practice mind reading. Buying a file to have to return it is not fun. That procedure sometimes but not always cancels out membership, which does get straighten out but still.

    I used to rely heavily on the store's ability to remember what I had bought already save for individual items out of bundles of course.
    What a nightmare.
    So unless something is obviously 'brand new' and i know for sure that I haven't bought it is there any remote possibility of a purchase happening. That is of course after signing in again. I don't know if it's a security feature hence I've held back on complaining about it; but this is the 'only' store I've shopped at online that never remembers me. I can be gone for weeks from others and they remember me ... seemingly quite happy to see me return.
    Haven't received a PC newsletter for a long time.
    Not sure but that may be expiring soon, don't know ... it seems to come and go without notification. Silly thing is/was there is/was no way for me to buy a month at a time, paying one month at a time. Changing payment info cancelled membership. And like, yeah right, okay.
    Can't say I've had that problem on any other website either.

    So with my saved monies I've bought a new computer and life moves on.
    Cheers.

  • MorpheonMorpheon Posts: 738
    edited December 1969

    No, it's not just you. I think I used to average $50 to $100 a month; last month, I think I spent less than $20, and this month I've spent less than $10 (and that only because I've been waiting for "NGM for Genesis" for like forever, and I had to have it). I've been getting 30% off coupons from DAZ -- strangely titled "welcome back" -- but until I see some improvement in DAZ's attitude, that's likely all they're going to be getting from me.

  • FSMCDesignsFSMCDesigns Posts: 12,512
    edited December 1969

    Hi...

    I have just checked and my spend in DAZ has dropped by 80%.

    This is not just due to me not spending on Genesis... but also due to the fact that I find the new store a pain to shop in.

    1: If I have already bought an item the shop no longer checks and I have to manually check over 2000 previous purchases from over the last 10 years and there is no way to search the previous purchases except page by page. this means I cannot trust the shop not to let me repeat buy an item.

    2: Sometimes its hard to tell if items are for V4 or Genesis or Daz or Poser

    3: I have to repeatedly sign in to the site. Annoying.

    4: The download options are now just mind boggling... one item I bought recently had 6 download files! all different with different names and codes... which is the one I need to load the item into Poser on a MAC??? So I buy the product I have no faith it will work...

    So in short... I don't spend here, even though there are some good products its a pain in the neck and I spend at other sites instead.

    I cannot be alone... this must be costing Daz money.

    yep, just you, LOL.

    1. it's called personal responsibility. i keep track of what i buy so looking up something i am not sure i have already purchased, either here, or elsewhere isn't a biggie.

    2. i don't have problems knowing what is what. I use genesis mostly, but have a big collection of V4 stuff and still buy V4 addons to use on genesis.

    3, no problems with logging in or using the store.

    4. have to agree, the different files are a bit confusing, but far from keeping me from purchasing anything...yet.

    I have a pretty good idea of what kinds of things i need for my projects, so i am selective in what i buy and from whom, but i do like getting a good deal and always check things out to see what deals i can get. Love fast grab.

  • edited December 1969

    Hi...

    I have just checked and my spend in DAZ has dropped by 80%.

    This is not just due to me not spending on Genesis... but also due to the fact that I find the new store a pain to shop in.

    1: If I have already bought an item the shop no longer checks and I have to manually check over 2000 previous purchases from over the last 10 years and there is no way to search the previous purchases except page by page. this means I cannot trust the shop not to let me repeat buy an item.

    2: Sometimes its hard to tell if items are for V4 or Genesis or Daz or Poser

    3: I have to repeatedly sign in to the site. Annoying.

    4: The download options are now just mind boggling... one item I bought recently had 6 download files! all different with different names and codes... which is the one I need to load the item into Poser on a MAC??? So I buy the product I have no faith it will work...

    So in short... I don't spend here, even though there are some good products its a pain in the neck and I spend at other sites instead.

    I cannot be alone... this must be costing Daz money.

    yep, just you, LOL.

    1. it's called personal responsibility. i keep track of what i buy so looking up something i am not sure i have already purchased, either here, or elsewhere isn't a biggie.

    2. i don't have problems knowing what is what. I use genesis mostly, but have a big collection of V4 stuff and still buy V4 addons to use on genesis.

    3, no problems with logging in or using the store.

    4. have to agree, the different files are a bit confusing, but far from keeping me from purchasing anything...yet.

    I have a pretty good idea of what kinds of things i need for my projects, so i am selective in what i buy and from whom, but i do like getting a good deal and always check things out to see what deals i can get. Love fast grab.

    Clearly not just me LOL!

    1: Yea personal responsibility is fine however I don't have the problem at renderosity and never used to have the problem at Daz for 10 years until now. maybe I should travel back in time and tell myself that DAZ wont bother to have this failsafe anymore and make notes of the 280 pages of purchases I made in the past.

    2: Fine if you use Genesis/Daz but I don't.

    3: yea its just an annoyance.

    The issue is really that this is reducing a number of customer's spend at DAZ, I don't really care that much as its not my business that is being affected but if I was an owner/shareholder or vendor at Daz I would be concerned.

    Retailers that make the buying experience less user-friendly tend to suffer in the middle to long run. History is littered with great company names that die because they forget the customer.

    I used to love shopping at Daz. Now I don't, so I don't. I hope they recover and make things easier.

  • larsmidnattlarsmidnatt Posts: 4,511
    edited December 1969

    I don't spend as much anymore either for a variety of reasons. love me some genesis though, just seems like I got everything I need. And I have a ton of V4 stuff i got before i switched over I still haven't used...

    So to each his own. But not spending isn't a bad thing like some would make it out to be.

  • WindamyreWindamyre Posts: 175
    edited December 1969

    Hi...

    I have just checked and my spend in DAZ has dropped by 80%.

    This is not just due to me not spending on Genesis... but also due to the fact that I find the new store a pain to shop in.

    1: If I have already bought an item the shop no longer checks and I have to manually check over 2000 previous purchases from over the last 10 years and there is no way to search the previous purchases except page by page. this means I cannot trust the shop not to let me repeat buy an item.

    2: Sometimes its hard to tell if items are for V4 or Genesis or Daz or Poser

    3: I have to repeatedly sign in to the site. Annoying.

    4: The download options are now just mind boggling... one item I bought recently had 6 download files! all different with different names and codes... which is the one I need to load the item into Poser on a MAC??? So I buy the product I have no faith it will work...

    So in short... I don't spend here, even though there are some good products its a pain in the neck and I spend at other sites instead.

    I cannot be alone... this must be costing Daz money.

    I have to agree with most of your points.
    Point 1: This is probably my biggest problem. I'm still new to 3D work and it's pure hobby for me, so I don't spend nearly the money a lot of other people do, but going through pages of previous purchases is a pain. And as for "Personal Responsibilty", that's like saying there shouldn't be "Wrong Way" signs on the road. Yea, I should know, but make it easy - especially if you want my money.

    Point 2: This only bugs me if I don't know if the item is antiquated. Shaders and such for Daz 2 or 3 may not work, or they might, can't tell.

    Point 3: Yea, Daz doesn't remember me, but my browser has the username/password logged. No biggie for me.

    Point 4: Strongly agree. I don't need legacy and PC downloads, give me an option to filter. Again, make it easy for me to spend my money, and you'll get more of it.

    Just my 2 cents. Thanks for listening. :)

  • kyoto kidkyoto kid Posts: 40,501
    edited December 1969

    ...that is one of the main reasons I have GenX and the "legacy" shapes. I can get better joint bends and am able to mix a wide array of morphs/figures while still using all my favourite figures, characters, clothing, and hair content.

    I that way, Genesis is a success for me.

    ...and as many may know, I was a real skeptic about all this.

  • Satira CapriccioSatira Capriccio Posts: 523
    edited December 1969

    Absolutely not alone.

    When I had to reinstall everything on my computer, I pulled all the records of my purchases from DAZ (back when it was easy to get your history) and the other stores. I maintain those records, but it's still an annoyance to have to check whether I've purchased something.

    The amount of money I spend at DAZ decreased dramatically because of Genesis, and I don't see that changing all that much ... even with DSON. I did pick up the basics for Genesis during the PC sale, but I'm not satisfied with Genesis in Poser. If I need better bending than V4 offers, I'd rather use weight mapped V4. She works far better than Genesis as I don't get the odd shoulder crumpling I get with Genesis. Converting clothing to fit weight mapped V4 clothing results in better fitting clothing than the DSON clothing for Genesis.

    Then too, I don't use weight mapped V4 all that much either, since the problems with standard V4 are easy for me to fix /shrug.

    Even though some vendors still support Gen 4, and I do appreciate that, most of what's produced is not different enough from what I've already purchased. So, I tend to wishlist rather than purchase now, and primarily purchase when those products that interest me are on a 50% or more off sale.

    I agree the store is still an obstacle ... even though there have been some improvements. Unfortunately, the checkout procedure hasn't been improved at all and is a great annoyance to me.


    Still, I don't really mind all the inconveniences and the lack of products that interest me. I'm still a few months short of my savings goal. Once I reach that goal, I'm sure I can think of another goal. After all, I still have my eye on a Prius ...

    Hi...

    I have just checked and my spend in DAZ has dropped by 80%.

    This is not just due to me not spending on Genesis... but also due to the fact that I find the new store a pain to shop in.

    1: If I have already bought an item the shop no longer checks and I have to manually check over 2000 previous purchases from over the last 10 years and there is no way to search the previous purchases except page by page. this means I cannot trust the shop not to let me repeat buy an item.

    2: Sometimes its hard to tell if items are for V4 or Genesis or Daz or Poser

    3: I have to repeatedly sign in to the site. Annoying.

    4: The download options are now just mind boggling... one item I bought recently had 6 download files! all different with different names and codes... which is the one I need to load the item into Poser on a MAC??? So I buy the product I have no faith it will work...

    So in short... I don't spend here, even though there are some good products its a pain in the neck and I spend at other sites instead.

    I cannot be alone... this must be costing Daz money.

  • PendraiaPendraia Posts: 3,591
    edited December 1969

    Genesis is huge for me. I really don't want any of the older stuff anymore. =-)

    Ditto...don't shop at the other places much anymore as they don't have a lot for Genesis. Occasionally at Rendo but that is it.
  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,704
    edited December 1969

    Hi...

    I have just checked and my spend in DAZ has dropped by 80%.

    This is not just due to me not spending on Genesis... but also due to the fact that I find the new store a pain to shop in.

    1: If I have already bought an item the shop no longer checks and I have to manually check over 2000 previous purchases from over the last 10 years and there is no way to search the previous purchases except page by page. this means I cannot trust the shop not to let me repeat buy an item.

    You can use this to search your history, it can also check for duplicate purchases (doesn't include bundles yet, but I'm working on it).

    It's for Windows, but there is also a version (not available on the download page yet) that will run on a Mac if you're using Wine or CrossOver.

    http://taosoft.dk/software/dazhm/

  • MistaraMistara Posts: 38,675
    edited December 1969

    i haz weakness for A3 stuff. and i still buy M4 stuff. and tempted by nice scenery stuff. and if it's a great sale price, i might buy in case of future need.

    the sale at rdna has completely tapped me out this month.

  • ErdehelErdehel Posts: 386
    edited December 1969

    Pendraia said:

    Genesis is huge for me. I really don't want any of the older stuff anymore. =-)

    Ditto...don't shop at the other places much anymore as they don't have a lot for Genesis. Occasionally at Rendo but that is it.

    Same here. DAZ is the shop I check daily and rendo only every now and then. And I spend a lot of money here... ;)

  • SilvheSilvhe Posts: 787
    edited December 1969

    I used to spend 30-50 $ a month here, but since the launch of the "new and improved" site I think I've spent no more the 10 $ in total.
    Also, I didn't renew my Platinum Club Membership because the new coupon system that can't be used on PA items.
    Shopping here isn't fun anymore, I don't know if I already have the item, I have to figure out what file I need to download, I don't know if it requires DS4.5 or I can use it in previous versions. There were other problems with the store software, like the cart not working or the downloads not appearing in the account, that I think (and hope) are now solved, nonetheless when I add something to the cart I find myself thinking "what will go wrong this time?". No, it isn't fun anymore...
    (Apologies for my bad english, I hope that what I wrote makes some sense :) )

  • DzFireDzFire Posts: 1,473
    edited December 1969

    Cheaper here then what I used to spend at Turbo Squid o.O

  • PennamePenname Posts: 343
    edited December 1969

    i haz weakness for A3 stuff.

    Me too!

  • DanaTADanaTA Posts: 13,060
    edited December 1969

    DzFire said:
    Cheaper here then what I used to spend at Turbo Squid o.O

    Well, that's not difficult to do! :lol: Even Stonemason's stuff is cheaper than that! :lol:

    Dana

  • DanaTADanaTA Posts: 13,060
    edited December 1969

    Taozen said:
    ...doesn't include bundles yet, but I'm working on it.


    http://taosoft.dk/software/dazhm/

    Way cool! Be sure to make a big announcement when that happens. I hope your server can handle all the download hits it will get at that time! :-)

    Dana

  • sfaa69sfaa69 Posts: 353
    edited December 1969

    I for sure have reduced what I'm spending. I have trouble finding anything I want to use my monthly coupon on, mainly because I pretty much have the DAZ Originals I want. Years ago I learned never to buy anything from Sears unless it was on sale, since everything eventually went on sale, and I think that's how I'm looking at DAZ now. And I agree that the new store is not as fun as the old, but I'm not sure why, since I think it is better organized and allows more filtering. The main thing I use this website for seems to be reading the forums! Unless something changes drastically, I am not planning on renewing my PC membership when it expires in March.

  • 3d-username3d-username Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Even with my reduced spend I get burned on at least one item with every purchae.

    I find it amazing that DAZ would let a vendor sell a "skin resource" kit that has an 810k file for the head/face texture, now i was not expecting 60mb PSD's to work with but an 810k near pixilated file as a source for new skin textures is next to useless.

    "SKIN RESOURCE" Texture

    Sensual Skin Resource for V5:
    face: 810k
    limbs: 816k

    Sample END USER textures

    M5PhillipFace: 3,041k
    M5PhillipLimbs: 4,835k

    V5BreeHead3M: 2,907k
    V5BreeLimbsM: 3857k

    SP5_Michelle: 5,390k
    SP5_MichelleL: 4,449k

  • ZaarinZaarin Posts: 356
    edited December 1969

    I'm spending a lot less for a lot of reasons--one being simply that I need to spend less. :P But yeah, I find a lot of my business going to Rendo and RDNA these days. That said, I did just spend $18 at DAZ, so it's not like I'm not spending here or boycotting DAZ or anything. The new site and a lack of interest in Genesis*, as you said, are a lot of why I'm shopping elsewhere.

    *I have spent a little money on Genesis since it's been Poserized, but I have a large content for Gen4 and Gen4 just fits my workflow better.

  • DoricDoric Posts: 80
    edited November 2012

    It wasn't long after ds4 came out and the vendors started to drift rapidly to the new shiny that I stopped to look, weigh cost against benefit, and the PC lost big And, I have never visited the new store so I won't comment on that. I don't feel the need to go looking for clothing through a ton of things I won't use, so PW has become even more important to me. But I'd guess in the last three months, maybe more, my expenditures at DAZ has totaled zero.

    So, no, you're not alone.

    D.

    Post edited by Doric on
  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,704
    edited December 1969

    DanaTA said:
    Taozen said:
    ...doesn't include bundles yet, but I'm working on it.


    http://taosoft.dk/software/dazhm/

    Way cool! Be sure to make a big announcement when that happens. I hope your server can handle all the download hits it will get at that time! :-)

    Dana

    For current users of the program it will come as an auto-update. :)

  • TaozTaoz Posts: 9,704
    edited December 1969

    DzFire said:
    Cheaper here then what I used to spend at Turbo Squid o.O

    Definitely. But when people have become used to a certain price level, anything above that becomes "too expensive". All is relative.

  • LeatherGryphonLeatherGryphon Posts: 11,123
    edited November 2012

    Taozen said:
    ...

    You can use this to search your history, it can also check for duplicate purchases (doesn't include bundles yet, but I'm working on it).

    It's for Windows, but there is also a version (not available on the download page yet) that will run on a Mac if you're using Wine or CrossOver.

    http://taosoft.dk/software/dazhm/

    It's good that there is a work-around available and I'm sure it comes in very handy.

    However, it's like General Motors selling cars without window glass, under the reasoning that "they're not essential and besides you can cut a piece of plexiglass and wedge it into the hole" 8-o

    Post edited by LeatherGryphon on
  • ManStanManStan Posts: 0
    edited December 1969

    Not just you. Since the release of studio 4 and genesis my shopping at DAZ has dropped to 0. I used to spend a couple of hundred a year; all I could afford to. I used to save money for the for the October sales, where I usually spend 1/2 of what I spent at DAZ in a year. But DAZ is selling very little I need now.

    I'm not a big fan of genesis, and even if I was with auto fit and well stocked runtimes I don't need to buy clothes. And that is just it, I have well stocked runtimes, tons of stuff I haven't used. Right now there is only 1 thing I think I need but I am not spending $60 just to find out if it will solve an issue. I uninstalled studio 4 weeks ago, just wont do what I need it to, and could do in studio 3. If it still worked I'd probably be buying every bit of dynamic clothes that came up on sale.

    As it stands I am just reworking old scenes I never finished because I got wrapped up in the DS-carrara dynamic clothing.

  • Joe CotterJoe Cotter Posts: 3,258
    edited November 2012

    Taozen said:
    DzFire said:
    Cheaper here then what I used to spend at Turbo Squid o.O

    Definitely. But when people have become used to a certain price level, anything above that becomes "too expensive". All is relative.

    It's not just relative to everyone. I have a price point at which I decide whether I'd be better off doing it myself or purchasing it, and that is balanced against the likely use I will have for the item. With the discounts I'm sure many people like I purchase items we aren't even sure when we'll use because the price is right and we figure it will average out in the end by giving us much more flexibility in what we can choose from at any given time in creating a piece. So for me at least, and I'm guessing many others, it totally changes how we purchase and what we base our purchase decision on. Turbo Squid has been around forever. I've not bought a single thing there.

    Post edited by Joe Cotter on
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