Getting priced out of this hobby
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I haven't bought one of those cause gotta convert work out how much extra gotta pend to get it for example if I want say $50 to spend here gotta think how much it is in my money, usually when I buy a pro bundle it is an extra 30-$40 on top of price
The new character release deals have been pretty good. And often you get more bang for your buck with a pro character release than you do other ways. Look at today’s discount for example. The boys is close to a character release (hair, multiple characters, outfit, and poses), but it’s definitely more expensive than a regular pro-release even with the discounts.
J
...most models of real life and branded products have what is called an "editorial" licence which which restricts use to journalistic and news media use. Any expanded rights usually need to be negotiated separately with the intellectual property's owner (not the model's creator or Turbosquid) which may or may not involve additional fees or royalties. This is what stopped me more than the 124$ price for the Kawai 9' concert grand piano they have there. To use that model in a published work, I would have to contact Kawai Musical Instruments to make arrangements for the rights.
I managed a pizza place back in the day. The reason they could be profitable was because food cost was about 10% of the price per sale and labor about 25% . Waste was another 15%. The rest of the money went to corporate accounting, which paid the lease and came up with clever ways to avoid showing a profit...so as to keep the bonuses low. I was always amazed at how I could send in a quarterly report showing a good profit and have accounting send back their version, showing a loss. All my numbers were correct. But, carry over losses from previous management and up chain expenditures would be allocated to those stores that were operating in the black. It was quite disheartening.
I might be more inclined to get gift cards on sale, if they were just a simple sale - not "buy two of these releases" to get the discount. Once I've got two releases....which can be $25...I don't have money left to get a gift card.
I'm in the same boat as what everyone is saying - I can no longer afford to shop here. My PC membership expired last month and I simply didn't have the money to renew - for the first time n 5 years I don't have PC membership. And without that, I was looking at prices and there's no way at all that I can afford to buy without that membership. I haven't made a purchase in over a month, and here's the weird thing...the urge to buy has decreased.
We're on a fixed income - there simply is no money for a content budget for me. That plus no PC membership has meant I no longer buy from daz. At all. And the biggest thing? Currency conversion. Yeah, $45 sounds a brilliant price for a new pro bundle - IF you have PC membership to get the extra discount...but that $45 that sounds so great? Is actually closer to $70+ for me once US is converted to Aussie currency. So nope. Can't do it. I'm out. The only time it burns is when they do that "get a G3 pro bundle for free" with it LOL.
But fixed income, no PC membership and currency conversion....and I'm done. No buying at all for this little black duck.
I was awfully happy to see the Historical Hair for G8 + G3. Finally, Daz made new models for the 18th century genre! But a look at the prices left me sobered. $ 17,47 ($ 24,95) each - and no bundle?! Please, Daz, think twice! We all have bills to pay, and cannot spend all our money on our hobby.
I received this too, but the green banner dissappeared and I haven't spent it. Does anyone know what it is or what to do about this?
You should also have the message in your account -> Messages -> Exclusive offers
You should see the offers you have here: https://www.daz3d.com/notifier/inbox/offers/
Gift cards are an idea if you don't have to buy stuff to get the discount on them. My budget was down to $50 a month due to the dog. It doesn't go back up to $100 a month until October. I can't really buy much. But this is a hobby for me. I don't make money off of this. What I make is for my own walls and house. At $100 a month I don't whine and I was able to get deals last year but I'm not so sure with all the stacking stuff this year. This year I felt like I had to use my coupons. My basic library of stuff has lots of stuff in it and this year I filled in some huge gaps with lighting and such. I think picking certain items and artists and not buying anything I don't want just because it amounts to $2 or $5 with some sale is where I am going with it next year. But I have come to understand that if I really want the morphs and skins to make my own characters, things to fit clothing easier and use that V4 stuff, Vicky whatever is going to cost me dearly. I won't budget to do this every two years. When you have committed to wait for G9 before considering upgrading, it stinks for you. I got the G8 clones for G3 and it really helped my moral. This is an important product to keep people like me on a 4 year upgrade cycle from tuning out totally. I am also going to buy in spurts next year. I am going to save up my allowance and watch for artist sales and then dump a pile of cash onto items I really want.
An interesting side note for the DIY crowd, Manuel Bastioni's Blender add-on is an amazing tool.
I urge everyone to check it out, not gonna add a link as moderators here might not like what they find when going to the site.
I find as prices rise, I avoid "new" G8 versions of characters I have and as for variation, time and morphs solve that.
what is this 32% discount for gift cards thing you speak about?
Well I priced what it would cost me just for G8F, Vicki and what I'd call the basics, its over $200 today and some stuff is on sale. Now would I rather use G8F and spend that or buy content that I want to use instead? Then do I want the male? What about my G3F content like makeups and other stuff I have for G3F? Anyway, I think I can assume it would be pretty easy to spend $400 just souping up G8F&M. So no, not this time, I want to spend that on content for G3F if I have it to spend.
oh yeah ..PC+ expires today, so that will put me out of purchasing here totally..losing that immediate 30% discount ... there is no way I can afford the full price.
Well, I guess I will have to render some stuff for awhile instead of shopping.
the PC club is actually free, if oyu look at the fact annual is 70 or %.833 per month ...but you get 2 $6 coupons ... per month. and at least 1 free model per week. so if you buy here at all, its really a no brainer , if you can afford it, to grab the PC+ ... I will probably do so at the next time its discounted and try to save a few bucks along the way.
I was looking at the new releases today..for sure pricing has jumped. I hadn;t noticed it as much previously, but since that March Madness its been quite a hike I think ...
Yes, I've been using it since version 1.10. FYI, the dev is the maker of MakeHuman. I, too, recommend it for DIY crowd.
Only hair meshes are from Daz. Can't really beat the value on hair meshes on Daz store.
It's a matter of prespective.Compared to TurboSuid stuff here is dirt cheap n most the stuff on the very first page is priced at what you would spend at Micky D's.or a few pack of cigarettes.I can't tell DAZ prices has gone up but fuel n cigs I can tell.
Recently there were at least 2 different sales giving discounts on GC when buying specific items. One required buying new items from a given day and the other buying several "new" items without other restriction, so it was possible to get a combined discounts when buying several items from the qualifying day.
This is the most expensive hobby I have! I feel guilty about that. With all the money I spent here, I could have traveled to Asia or have parts of my house remodelled.
Not sure whether this is the most expensive hobby. Time consuming though if you go DIY route.
Photograpgh equipment costs a lot.
Some of us are not in your level yet, otherwise we could be content creators and make profit.
Well, the thing is, you have choices in this area.
I don't think there is a choice in Photograpgh.
I would agree but 3D still images are not as attractive as digital painting or other forms of art. I sell my art together with photographers and they get more than most of us.
I used to buy something almost every day. (usually really discounted stuff). Now, its not unusual for me to not buy for several weeks. A. there isn't much I need anymore 98% of everything is a want, not a need. B. I recently saw how much I spent last year. C. The prices have gone up significantly (I'm not saying the work isn't worth it by any means) and I can't justify buying things at those prices on my budget. D. I have enough stuff to render something new every single day for the rest of my life and then some.
I check out the commercial forums to see if there is anything coming that interests me, and then I wait for that to come out. This helps me to not spend so much on impulse as well.
Well, they have one thing in common.
Light, that's the most important thing in both photo and 3D renders.
I had been using a cheapo point & click camera for 7 years until recently. Then got me Eos t6i. Boy, the difference was day and night. Then I needed more equipment: more lens, LED light, more tripod...
In 3D, I can make up for efforts.In photo, nope, you can't avoid not buying it.
I dare saying I equally enjoy 3D modelling & photogrraph.
I am not a photographer but I see the comparison now. Photographers do a lot of marketing in most social media platforms in order to sell and get recognized. Some even donate their images for free just to attract potential buyers to their site. Yup, photography equipment alone is expensive on top of photography courses and photoshop lightroom software. I did a lot of photomanipulation using free images from public domain and it's cheaper than 3D but resources are limited. Daz provides characters, wardrobe, environment, and the rest. They are getting close to photorealism and more practical than photography if budget and cost cutting is the issue.
Ah, OK, you sound more beliebable then I would for example expect 'hypothetical huge giant fast food / internet mail order corporation' accountants to be with the IRS.
It's not against the rules as they aren't commercial competitor:
http://www.manuelbastioni.com/manuellab.php
My monthly budget is $18 a month which keeps me from tossing out the $6 off $18 in purchases coupon from the PC+. Some months I spend more like the Edie 8 Pro Bundle but I definate never could afford to buy every pro bundle DAZ releases.
I don't do subscription models, unless I want to "not use it", so I don't mind PC plus; I've let it expire a few times. I bought just three months last time I wanted something. It will expire soon, and it's to my advantage to not have it; my store credit will be fine without use for a bit.
I buy photoshop for full price. No intention of paying a monthly fee to rent it.
I wonder how expensive a full price is nowadays.