WoTC has lost their minds. Sadly, they're not the first company to do this. In Japan, Yu-Gi-Oh cards are sold in packs of 5 and have no guaranteed rare in them. Anyway, this is roughly the same as hanging around after drafts to snitch people's unwanted draft cards. Heck it even has the same odds of getting rares and mythics(I picked up a Traitor King from a pile of draft discards once lol) Except it costs $2. >.<
WoTC has lost their minds. Sadly, they're not the first company to do this. In Japan, Yu-Gi-Oh cards are sold in packs of 5 and have no guaranteed rare in them. Anyway, this is roughly the same as hanging around after drafts to snitch people's unwanted draft cards. Heck it even has the same odds of getting rares and mythics(I picked up a Traitor King from a pile of draft discards once lol) Except it costs $2. >.<
Thing is, that, as far as I know, those were always 5 cards to a booster (which is, as you alluded, is still worse than YGO in the US which gets 9 to the booster, Pokemon which had 11, and Magic's 15). The other thing is that singles in Japan for YGO are pretty cheap compared to the US. At least they're not trying to BS anyone. It's always been "here are the 5 card boosters, you might get something good, but it's probably junk", and people were okay with it. It's a different story when we're used to 15 card boosters, and they now release 6 card ones (yes I know the 15 boosters aren't going away). It's really kind of an insult to the non-casual player, but hey, if it helps business (because I have a hankering that this nonsense was a money thing), I guess it's okay, since it doesn't really affect anyone.
What I haven't seen considered is the pressure Wal-Mart puts on companies to aggressively price their products. Can't remember who (CNN, MSNBC, 60 Minutes, etc) but there was a show a while back that chronicled Wal-Mart's growth and followed a couple who were trying to get their product sold in Wal-Mart stores. The couple had some toy product with stickers you could color with special markers or whatever. The couple jumped through a million hoops, and in the end needed to sell their product to Wal-Mart for $3 in order for them to make a reasonable profit. Wal-Mart liked their stuff but refused to buy it from them unless they made it $2.50 so they could sell it on their shelves for LESS than $5. Their research had shown that that was the cut off point for shoppers buying products like that. The couple in the end agreed because making a little less on each is better than not having your product on the shelves in the first place.
I'm sure Wal-Mart has done some research that shows $4 for a pack doesn't really sell well, but if they manage to get the price down to $2 then ironically, some people might spend more than what they would have before. Thinking like a parent...standing in line...hmm, my kid likes Magic, maybe I'll pick up a booster for him. $4!! I'm not spending close to $10 on that runt, he hasn't even cleaned his room. But at $2, they could just as easily "justify" buying 4 of them for $8 because 4 is more than 2. They don't know the 15 vs 6 issue.
In the end, Wal-Mart is not the best place for knowledgeable players to buy boosters, but its another avenue for WoTC to get product out there. Having some kind of boosters at Wal-Mart is better than none. They do have a store every 10 feet or something.
Wow, I guess a lot of people don't realize what's really happened here.
WotC did not want to make half-pack gravity feeds. Wal-Mart and Target demanded it. They've demanded it for years. Almost every other product that has gone into mass market in the past few years has had to have half-pack gravity feeds, even for games so small that the additional printing cost was extremely expensive for them. Mass market average shelf space for trading cards has gone down, and if you want to get into mass market these days, gravity feeds are it.
The only way Magic has been able to get away with not having gravity feed product for this long is because it's, well, Magic. But it looks like whether it was the recent layoffs, the large decrease in sales from 2007 to 2008, corporate pressure from Hasbro, or just WM and Target finally really cracking down and threatening to remove 15-pack boosters from their stores, WotC has had to finally give in.
So no, these are not made for you. They're not even really meant for Wal-Mart and Target consumers. They are meant for Wal-Mart and Target corporate purchasers so they'll continue to keep Magic on the shelves. Because mass market sales are way, way too big to lose.
Exactly Taky is dead on and people that can't grasp this really need to take a class on business economics.
Companies have a history of bending over backwards to please Target and Wal-Mart. There are many stories of smaller companies being forced into certain price points or certain product creation. Just to keep their products on Target/Wal-Mart shelves.
Wal-Mart is a unstoppable juggernaut of a company and it gets its way over and over again. The potential sales loss for not following their strict demands is extremely catastrophic.
It's that box pictured in the link in the first post of this thread. It's a vertical box of packs with a hole and a tray toward the bottom that stays filled with packs as long as there are more packs on top of them...with gravity.
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"...because without beer, things do not seem to go as well."
Why 6, though? I don't get it. 6 isn't half of 15 (or as close as you can get). Wouldn't 8 have been a more reasonable number, and it would have appealed to more hardcore players as well?
Why 6, though? I don't get it. 6 isn't half of 15 (or as close as you can get). Wouldn't 8 have been a more reasonable number, and it would have appealed to more hardcore players as well?
That's just the thing, though: these aren't meant to appeal to hardcore players. Also, it's cheaper for WOtC to put 6 cards in a pack than 8.
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"...because without beer, things do not seem to go as well."
Its psychological. We went from a nation where everyone was "keeping up with the Joneses" to a nation of "a penny saved is a penny earned"
All reports shows declines in retail sales, luxury big ticket item sales are down. Sales of cheap feel good items are up; make-up and booze.
It is the same thing with those 100 calorie snack packs. If you actually break down what youre paying for and what youre getting you realize what a crappy deal it is, so economically it doesnt make sense. But that doesnt matter its all psychological, people want to feel like theyve done something positive.
"Hey I ate a 100 calorie snack pack instead of a bag of chips!"
"Hey I spent 2 bucks on Magic cards instead of 4!"
But how much? Enough to generate that much less business? I doubt it.
I bet it cost 1 or 2 cents to put 2 more cards in the pack, and it would generate a lot more business.
I'm honestly baffled at the lack of thought on WoTC part, although I guess it's not the only case in which they didn't do the most logical thing.
Being in the manufacturing business 1-2 cents is a BIG deal when looking at budgets and P&L reports.
We manufacture 5000 windows a day (10,000 during better times). We recently sourced a product that saves us .03 per window. 5000 * .05 = 250.00 / day. That is a lot of savings.
You also have WM's & Target's inventory costs to factor in, paying taxes on a 1.99 MSRP pack, is way better than taxes on a 3.99 booster.
If the 1.99 pack is lifted then it is a far lower loss than the 3.99 pack.
Also what most of the people who complain don't understand is that WOTC only sees about 10-15% of the MSRP on a booster.....they have quite a bit of overhead. Including paying Carte Mundi a nice bit to print the cards. Which until recently has suffered the horrible 2 dollars to 1 Euro conversion rates.
It drives me insane that people who have no inkling about true business financials talk like everything WOTC does is a complete cash grab. I'm not going to say some of it isn't but VERY few things are as profitable as the average forum-goer thinks.
Being in the manufacturing business 1-2 cents is a BIG deal when looking at budgets and P&L reports.
We manufacture 5000 windows a day (10,000 during better times). We recently sourced a product that saves us .03 per window. 5000 * .05 = 250.00 / day. That is a lot of savings.
You also have WM's & Target's inventory costs to factor in, paying taxes on a 1.99 MSRP pack, is way better than taxes on a 3.99 booster.
If the 1.99 pack is lifted then it is a far lower loss than the 3.99 pack.
Also what most of the people who complain don't understand is that WOTC only sees about 10-15% of the MSRP on a booster.....they have quite a bit of overhead. Including paying Carte Mundi a nice bit to print the cards. Which until recently has suffered the horrible 2 dollars to 1 Euro conversion rates.
It drives me insane that people who have no inkling about true business financials talk like everything WOTC does is a complete cash grab. I'm not going to say some of it isn't but VERY few things are as profitable as the average forum-goer thinks.
Just my .02 cents.
You didn't read my post in the way I had intended it.
I was getting at the fact that Wizards would make more by selling to a higher percentage of players, while taking a cut in returns.
Thing is, that, as far as I know, those were always 5 cards to a booster (which is, as you alluded, is still worse than YGO in the US which gets 9 to the booster, Pokemon which had 11, and Magic's 15). The other thing is that singles in Japan for YGO are pretty cheap compared to the US. At least they're not trying to BS anyone.
That's because card games aren't serious business in Japan.
It's always been "here are the 5 card boosters, you might get something good, but it's probably junk", and people were okay with it. It's a different story when we're used to 15 card boosters, and they now release 6 card ones (yes I know the 15 boosters aren't going away). It's really kind of an insult to the non-casual player, but hey, if it helps business (because I have a hankering that this nonsense was a money thing), I guess it's okay, since it doesn't really affect anyone.
I hate gravity feeds. They stay full for a long time in my area and I've had the distinct pleasure of having one fall on my sandaled foot. >.< Plus many of they are too high up on shelves to appeal to the kid demographic. Perhaps my area is the exception rather than the rule but there are so many card shops that few people have reason to buy cards, even impulse buy cards, at mass market stores. At the store I go to the packs are $3.50 each or 4 for $11(don't ask me who did that math). Also, online TCG sales keep getting bigger. A parent can only buy so many $4.99 boosters before they decide that it would be cheaper to buy online...or not at all. Wal-Mart is still the king of cheap stuffs. Its just not the king of cheap cards.
I just bought one pack of this thingy of Rise of Eldrazi, here is what I got
Plains (Land)
Eldrazi Spawn (Token)
Skywatcher Adept (Common)
Heat Ray (Commoon)
Unified Will (Uncommon)
Jaddi Lifestrider (Uncommon)
Foil Kozilek's Predator (Common)
ok now... so my random slot probably become an uncommon card, however, is the foil card just randomly replace a card?
This is a horrible idea! Just stick to the normal 15 cards! Wait... you get a basic land also?!? What the hell WotC? This is a horrendous idea and it obviously targeting the beginner and child market.
If you don't understand these things, they aren't for you. As dumb as it sounds, when I first started playing I was 16, nobody knew anything about the game and I would have bought these.
Want proof? Revised boosters were $2.99 at my local hobby shop. Fallen Empires were 5 for $2. My collection consisted of a revised starter deck and 1.5 sets of Fallen Empires. NEver mind that the revised packs had much better cards.
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Out of the blackness and stench of the engulfing swamp emerged a shimmering figure. Only the splattered armor and ichor-stained sword hinted at the unfathomable evil the knight had just laid waste.
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Thing is, that, as far as I know, those were always 5 cards to a booster (which is, as you alluded, is still worse than YGO in the US which gets 9 to the booster, Pokemon which had 11, and Magic's 15). The other thing is that singles in Japan for YGO are pretty cheap compared to the US. At least they're not trying to BS anyone. It's always been "here are the 5 card boosters, you might get something good, but it's probably junk", and people were okay with it. It's a different story when we're used to 15 card boosters, and they now release 6 card ones (yes I know the 15 boosters aren't going away). It's really kind of an insult to the non-casual player, but hey, if it helps business (because I have a hankering that this nonsense was a money thing), I guess it's okay, since it doesn't really affect anyone.
I'm sure Wal-Mart has done some research that shows $4 for a pack doesn't really sell well, but if they manage to get the price down to $2 then ironically, some people might spend more than what they would have before. Thinking like a parent...standing in line...hmm, my kid likes Magic, maybe I'll pick up a booster for him. $4!! I'm not spending close to $10 on that runt, he hasn't even cleaned his room. But at $2, they could just as easily "justify" buying 4 of them for $8 because 4 is more than 2. They don't know the 15 vs 6 issue.
In the end, Wal-Mart is not the best place for knowledgeable players to buy boosters, but its another avenue for WoTC to get product out there. Having some kind of boosters at Wal-Mart is better than none. They do have a store every 10 feet or something.
WotC did not want to make half-pack gravity feeds. Wal-Mart and Target demanded it. They've demanded it for years. Almost every other product that has gone into mass market in the past few years has had to have half-pack gravity feeds, even for games so small that the additional printing cost was extremely expensive for them. Mass market average shelf space for trading cards has gone down, and if you want to get into mass market these days, gravity feeds are it.
The only way Magic has been able to get away with not having gravity feed product for this long is because it's, well, Magic. But it looks like whether it was the recent layoffs, the large decrease in sales from 2007 to 2008, corporate pressure from Hasbro, or just WM and Target finally really cracking down and threatening to remove 15-pack boosters from their stores, WotC has had to finally give in.
So no, these are not made for you. They're not even really meant for Wal-Mart and Target consumers. They are meant for Wal-Mart and Target corporate purchasers so they'll continue to keep Magic on the shelves. Because mass market sales are way, way too big to lose.
Companies have a history of bending over backwards to please Target and Wal-Mart. There are many stories of smaller companies being forced into certain price points or certain product creation. Just to keep their products on Target/Wal-Mart shelves.
Wal-Mart is a unstoppable juggernaut of a company and it gets its way over and over again. The potential sales loss for not following their strict demands is extremely catastrophic.
Feel free to bid on my cards here!
Thanks to spiderboy4 of High~Light Studios for the awesome banner and avatar!
But how much? Enough to generate that much less business? I doubt it.
I bet it cost 1 or 2 cents to put 2 more cards in the pack, and it would generate a lot more business.
I'm honestly baffled at the lack of thought on WoTC part, although I guess it's not the only case in which they didn't do the most logical thing.
Thanks to spiderboy4 of High~Light Studios for the awesome banner and avatar!
All reports shows declines in retail sales, luxury big ticket item sales are down. Sales of cheap feel good items are up; make-up and booze.
It is the same thing with those 100 calorie snack packs. If you actually break down what youre paying for and what youre getting you realize what a crappy deal it is, so economically it doesnt make sense. But that doesnt matter its all psychological, people want to feel like theyve done something positive.
"Hey I ate a 100 calorie snack pack instead of a bag of chips!"
"Hey I spent 2 bucks on Magic cards instead of 4!"
And where do thrifty shoppers shop? ..
Being in the manufacturing business 1-2 cents is a BIG deal when looking at budgets and P&L reports.
We manufacture 5000 windows a day (10,000 during better times). We recently sourced a product that saves us .03 per window. 5000 * .05 = 250.00 / day. That is a lot of savings.
You also have WM's & Target's inventory costs to factor in, paying taxes on a 1.99 MSRP pack, is way better than taxes on a 3.99 booster.
If the 1.99 pack is lifted then it is a far lower loss than the 3.99 pack.
Also what most of the people who complain don't understand is that WOTC only sees about 10-15% of the MSRP on a booster.....they have quite a bit of overhead. Including paying Carte Mundi a nice bit to print the cards. Which until recently has suffered the horrible 2 dollars to 1 Euro conversion rates.
It drives me insane that people who have no inkling about true business financials talk like everything WOTC does is a complete cash grab. I'm not going to say some of it isn't but VERY few things are as profitable as the average forum-goer thinks.
Just my .02 cents.
You didn't read my post in the way I had intended it.
I was getting at the fact that Wizards would make more by selling to a higher percentage of players, while taking a cut in returns.
That's pretty simple, and true.
Thanks to spiderboy4 of High~Light Studios for the awesome banner and avatar!
That's because card games aren't serious business in Japan.
I hate gravity feeds. They stay full for a long time in my area and I've had the distinct pleasure of having one fall on my sandaled foot. >.< Plus many of they are too high up on shelves to appeal to the kid demographic. Perhaps my area is the exception rather than the rule but there are so many card shops that few people have reason to buy cards, even impulse buy cards, at mass market stores. At the store I go to the packs are $3.50 each or 4 for $11(don't ask me who did that math). Also, online TCG sales keep getting bigger. A parent can only buy so many $4.99 boosters before they decide that it would be cheaper to buy online...or not at all. Wal-Mart is still the king of cheap stuffs. Its just not the king of cheap cards.
Plains (Land)
Eldrazi Spawn (Token)
Skywatcher Adept (Common)
Heat Ray (Commoon)
Unified Will (Uncommon)
Jaddi Lifestrider (Uncommon)
Foil Kozilek's Predator (Common)
ok now... so my random slot probably become an uncommon card, however, is the foil card just randomly replace a card?
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G Omnath, Locus of Mana U Arcum Dagsson BUG The Mimeoplasm GW Gaddock Teeg X Karn, Silver Golem
Want proof? Revised boosters were $2.99 at my local hobby shop. Fallen Empires were 5 for $2. My collection consisted of a revised starter deck and 1.5 sets of Fallen Empires. NEver mind that the revised packs had much better cards.