Fairness with Suprise Theme Boxes, Baskets, Jars, etc.

[MissHKNY]

 Please Team Lava, carefully take each this into careful consideration and generous understanding. 

Most wanted of all - is with the surprise boxes, baskets, jars, etc. Is to pretty please have the fairness of opening each and being able to get every item available for each theme once before receiving multiples. Or even the fairness of receiving 2 max of each item? I know of games that have that programmed within. It really gets me upset to spend real money in a game and I am not saying I don't like surprises. But why do I need 10 bunny sofas in Fashion Story and not even a fair chance of getting a horse carraige or lolita display? Or 10 giant lollipops in Bakery Story and not even a fair chance of getting the carousel? I am sure you get my point. So why make some of us unhappy? We are going to purchase the gems either or because we love the games. So please please please consider this change and label it top priority for your most loyal costumers!

Thank you for your time.*

[jennabug5]

AGREED!!!!!! I have two **** bunny sofas...And like 5 giant lollipop displays in BS. I'd like to see it more randomized.

--Jennabug5

[misspoo]

I've got a question ... I purchased the surprise box today and as soon as I purchased it FS went off-line.
Now I can't see the surprise box but I did receive a blue swirling changing room. So the question is, is the
surprise box supposed to be invisible? And why? That's annoying.

[kooky panda]

I've got a question ... I purchased the surprise box today and as soon as I purchased it FS went off-line.
Now I can't see the surprise box but I did receive a blue swirling changing room. So the question is, is the
surprise box supposed to be invisible? And why? That's annoying.

No you should still see the box. Restart your device to see if it comes back.

[MFAcct]

I have opened all 3 boxes, and gotten a groovy necklace, groovy dress, groovy shoes, diva clutch, diva top, pink choker, 3 groovy changing rooms, a groovy mannequin, a quad pink sofa, a white cotton sofa, and a pink ottoman. I had hoped to get an aesthetic fountain or even groovy display, and a horse carriage but with no luck. Next time I spend over 250 gems though I would like the chance of getting something rare, and think the "receive each item once" idea is wonderful for those of us who have tried so many times.

[Mogwai4111]

I think it would be next to impossible to both prevent duplicates AND keep the most rare box item at 1% chance. They would have to put 100 different items in every box.. which would take a LOT of time :eek: especially to maintain the level of quality they've given us so far.

[LCAHEARTS]

I feel totally conflicted about the boxes.

I just feel like...in the Surprise Box, it makes sense to have "chances" on getting certain things, that's the element of surprise. But for all other boxes, seriously? Why can't we just choose what we want. We're still paying the stupid 24 gems. THAT'S $5 AT REGULAR PRICE. $5 FOR SOME GAME PIECE. Which is why I comprehend no one who purchases several boxes, but that's just me. For that very reason though, I have never bought a box [no matter how badly I want some things, like the bridal mannequin]. If TL allowed me to choose what I'll get....I'd have to be honest and say I'll buy quite a few because I get to have what I want and PAID REAL MONEY FOR. However, working with chances/luck/duplicates with REAL MONEY is not something I'm fond of.

The way I see it, they could at least allow coin purchases for the boxes just like they do for expansions. Even if it's one million per box in coins, anyone who really plays knows it takes a lifetime to get to a million. You'd at least be dealing with "fake" money, we don't have to buy coins if we don't want to [though that coins for gems system sucks too, about $20 IN REAL MONEY FOR 100,000 COINS? Really?] I know I got a little off topic but I agree, we should be able to see or choose, something! But it would also make the percentage chances complicated.....I don't see the boxes getting any better than what they currently are.

[Hawaiianmomma]

I Think TL Should just market their new designs in the Store. Reality For Most Women We Do Like Surprises on Birthdays, Holidays, Special Occassions And Just Because's. But As Seen In Fashion Story The Changing Room Is A Clue And Key To The Female Perspective. We Like to Try Things Out Before We Buy. We like to See What Fits Our Personal Tastes. Sales In This Particular Arena Is Different From Example: Food Advertising, Basic Commodities Are Essentials To All Thus Showcasing This Kind Of Products Benefits, Ingredients,etc. Are Key To Making Sales. I Believe You Would Bank More Buck And Have Happier Consumers If You "Ad" It Out In The Store. Most of Us Come Up Here To Check Out The New Stuff Put Or Go To A Neighbor Who Purchases Regulary To See If We Want It. I See This Type Of Marketing Gets ALOT of Flack Up Here About The Magic Boxes. A Better Approach Would Be To Include All Customers The Ability To Purchase To Their Liking. Not Everyone Likes To Visit Vegas and Sit At The Craps Table

[hectorloch]

It's a recurring debate. This is how TL funds its costs in running the games - by selling gems and encouraging players to spend those gems so that the probability is they will buy more gems. Entirely normal concept. What makes the blood boil a bit is (a) the remarkable ease and speed with which the game pop ups swallow those gems and (b) the random boxes (which is where this thread started) delivering poor odds. With regard to (a) there are no "Are You Sure ?" warnings and, not surprisingly, a very large percentage of new threads on this Forum contain within their title the word "robbed" - after a while you need hardly read beyond the title as you know already what it''s about. There is in fairness one "Are You Sure ?" warning which is when you actually come to buy gems but one guesses that is Apple imposed and not a TL function. With regard to (b) a lottery where everyone gets a prize is by industry standards quite good, no ? You buy a lottery ticket, scratch card etc in any country - your odds are x millions against getting anything. So, why the fuss here ? Like the lottery ticket, you needn't buy. So, there is nothing wrong with the lottery - assuming you accept it ought to be a lottery in the first place. The real answer here is not the entitlement to make money but the method by which TL goes about it, that is by making the more desirable items gem only purchases or by "take your chances in the lottery". Unless TL changes that approach, the subject matter of this thread will appear again and again on this Forum. But, as has already been pointed out, you needn't buy a box - many don't, or, as in my case, don't again after experiencing the disappointment of having done so.

As to getting recurring items, TL has introduced something that reduces the risk of getting the same item on multiple buys (but only in the same buying session - i.e. it doesn't remember the next time you come to buy a box. What it also doesn't do is reduce the chance of getting the lowest level of prize - just the likelihood of getting the same bottom prizes. As Mog has said already, it's arithmetically impossible - if there are 10 items and only one of those items is a 1% possibility, then it has to follow that the remaining 9 (in ascending risk down the remaining three levels) get awarded 99% of the time. I have to say these are still good odds in a lottery. Understanding these figures may reduce the blood pressure - and of course the better you understand them, the less likely you are to buy a box. They say, mathematicians never enter the lotteries because they understand the odds are equivalent to meeting Elvis. On the other hand, that's why mathematicians never win the lottery :)

[Hawaiianmomma]

I respect Your View But Still Believe There Would Be Less Displeasure To Their Target MarketFemalesLots of Prominent News Articles Out There On The Web About It. And Here In Hawaii We Don't Have A Lottery System Thus Las Vegas Is Coined The 9th Hawaiian IslandIt Still Does Cohesively Service Their Target Market

[Hawaiianmomma]

I Meant Doesnt

[Hawaiianmomma]

And I Wholeheartly Agree With Your View Of Pop Ups, as Currently My RS Continues To Shut Down Every 5 Minutes Because Of Current GemPromo

[hectorloch]

I respect Your View But Still Believe There Would Be Less Displeasure To Their Target MarketFemalesLots of Prominent News Articles Out There On The Web About It. And Here In Hawaii We Don't Have A Lottery System Thus Las Vegas Is Coined The 9th Hawaiian IslandIt Still Does Cohesively Service Their Target Market

Don't doubt it for a moment. But the question is what method sells more gems ?

btw, where do all the 's in your posts come from ?

[di1975]

10 surprises...even if you limit them to one of each prize, people are still going to spend $50 real money to get that final prize. I don't play fashion but I know in RS or bs I would be tempted to try and get mighty oven, ect...I would tell myself I would try once. But when I didn't get it, I know the chances are higher with the second. So I would try again, ect. As a mathematician, even I would be sucked into spending real money this way. The may I would get it for 24 gems/cash instead of the guarantee I would get it at 240 gems/cash.

[Hawaiianmomma]

My Friends Turned Me On To EmojiRead The Reviews In The App Store First There's Some Poorly Designed Ones Out There. Also There Are Lots That Are Quite Perfect For Free DownloadI Think if Mr.P.Tam Got More Insight It Would Benefit All Of Us

[kooky panda]

btw, where do all the 's in your posts come from ?[/QUOTE]

this is a iphone, ipad emoji program. I see boxes when on my computer, but I can see the pictures when I am on my ipad.

[Hawaiianmomma]

My Places Are Gemmed Out So Much So A lot Of Things Are In Storage as Like Wise With Most Of FriendsWe Would Spend More If It's Readily Available For Purchase. Unicorns, Llamas, Dragons And Pandas Are Higher Ticket Items But More Would Purchase If It Was Price Adjusted Slightly. 50 gems-$9.99

[hectorloch]

btw, where do all the 's in your posts come from ?

this is a iphone, ipad emoji program. I see boxes when on my computer, but I can see the pictures when I am on my ipad.

Thanks, KP. I was on my main machine but I've switched to iPad and see them now. Interesting. picked this up on looking it up -

"While Japanese emoji was only meant to be available on iPhone in Japan, a hack back in 2009 blew this wide open, allowing anyone to activate and use emoji. As it stands [neither] Mac OS X Leopard, nor Snow Leopard, has support for these special characters. Instead, when you try to use them you often get a  symbol in place of the real character. Of course, if you’re reading this from your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, the character will look as intended."

I never knew where it came from. However, the new news is that OSX Lion does support emoji. So, to enjoy Hawaiianmomma's posts on the wide screen, I'm off to investigate cost.

[hectorloch]

OSX Lion is downloading as I type and you read. 29.99 USD and 20.99 GBP - I've seen worse exchange rates with Apple ! Once upon a time it was identical numbers even when it was two dollars to the pound !

If anything more of interest on the emoji issue arises, I'll report again - perhaps on another thread I've already taken this off track :)

[ladyjane217]

Obviously this is going to have to end in some sort of compromise. TL funds itself with the money we use to buy gems, so asking to make everything free is out of the question.
Letting us know a bit more about what we are buying would be an obvious good start. Instead of just putting 'you can find something here that you can find nowhere else' a description of the objects inside would be helpful. Another thought would be to give us the ability to choose 1st, 2nd,3rd, and 4th place. Each place could be priced accordingly. The last thought I have is to give us the ability to sell duplicate or not wanted surprise objects for gems instead of the few coins we now recieve.

[misspoo]

No you should still see the box. Restart your device to see if it comes back.

Thx for responding. I've restarted since then but I still don't see it nor have received any surprises.
Where is it supposed to go after you purchase it?

Ps. Sounds like I may have to contact the support team huh?

[kooky panda]

Thx for responding. I've restarted since then but I still don't see it nor have received any surprises.
Where is it supposed to go after you purchase it?

Ps. Sounds like I may have to contact the support team huh?

yes, the box should still be available to you even after you purchase from it. If you have not already done so, delete the game and redown it from the app store.
then if nothing, contact support.

[fosfora]

The issue of fairness in this regard cannot be estressed enough. The cheer number of waste of $$ in useless duplicates is ridiculous. I believe TeamLava is seriously hurting its bottom line, even if it doesn't apppear so. It is were more fair, more people would buy the boxes.

[mcgee22]

Obviously this is going to have to end in some sort of compromise. TL funds itself with the money we use to buy gems, so asking to make everything free is out of the question.
Letting us know a bit more about what we are buying would be an obvious good start. Instead of just putting 'you can find something here that you can find nowhere else' a description of the objects inside would be helpful. Another thought would be to give us the ability to choose 1st, 2nd,3rd, and 4th place. Each place could be priced accordingly. The last thought I have is to give us the ability to sell duplicate or not wanted surprise objects for gems instead of the few coins we now recieve.

I agree w that idea & I have proposed in the past that after a while the items in the boxes be put out to be bought at least for a special day for gems is fine. I would love to get some of the items but while inside of the surprise box I am not buying it. So I'm not spending money to buy gems for surprises even if I really really like them. Thats why I was so happy that the swimsuit mannequins were not a surprise and for those I spent money and bought gems.

[misspoo]

No you should still see the box. Restart your device to see if it comes back.

Thanks for replying Kooky. I've followed your advice and the surprise box is still nowhere to be found nor have I received any surprises, but my gems sure are gone. Where does it go once you purchase the box? This will help plead my case with tech support. It seems like I may have to contact tech support.

[kooky panda]

I agree probably support at this time. depending on what you get out the box. some items are for your avatar, so they would be in your closet.
Other items go into the store.. they would be under one the decoration tabs.

You should still see the box .. you can purchase out of any of boxes unlimited times.
support is support@teamlava.com

Give them your storm ID and when this happened.

Good luck. This is a mystery!! Please keep me posted....

[LCAHEARTS]

The issue of fairness in this regard cannot be estressed enough. The cheer number of waste of $$ in useless duplicates is ridiculous. I believe TeamLava is seriously hurting its bottom line, even if it doesn't apppear so. It is were more fair, more people would buy the boxes.

I absolutely agree! It could also be a system like that of Mermaid Resort/Tap Resort...

Exclusive items every week, about 8 of them. You pay 15 shells to spin the wheel, if it lands on something you didnt want, you can spin again for only 5 shells. Obviously you could then land on what you wanted and have only spent 20 shells, instead of 30. Or maybe you didnt land on it, but got your 2nd or 3rd most wanted prize, again for only 20 shells, not 30. TL could for sure do something of that nature for the boxes. DO PEOPLE REALIZE THAT 24 GEMS IS $5! I am forever blown away by that. So anyone who ends up with say, 3 bunny couches sees it as 72 gems but it's really $15....REAL MONEY, FOR BUNNY SOFAS IN A GAME! The system has got to get better. Until then, I will never buy a box and have thankfully never hit it accidentally because anytime I expand I slooooooooowly tap in that section.

PS - Also, Mermaid Resort has reasonable prices. 50 shells for $1.99? That's do-able any day considering 70% of their shell costing items are only 10-15 shells per item. I think TL just needs to be a little more considerate.

[sallylee123]

I agree. I understand a business setting prices that are competative with similar businesses but thats not what their doing in my opinion. I used to play a game on fb and they charged 2 and 12 points for surprise items. I wasted 24 gems on a box in farm story and got a bush??? Not a set of bushes but one bush! What can I do withthat?? Sorry for the little rant but I refuse to spend gems on the surprise boxes unless they change the system. I really enjoy playing fashion story but I don't think a bunny coach is worth 24 gems! they should lower the price to something more reasonable and no duplicates.

[misspoo]

No you should still see the box. Restart your device to see if it comes back.

Thx for replying. I've followed your suggestions and I still don't see the surprise box. In which view should I be able to find it.
This will help me plead my case to tech support. :-(

[misspoo]

Disregard post 29. Thanks for all of your help. I will f/u w/you to let you know where this goes. TTYL


I agree probably support at this time. depending on what you get out the box. some items are for your avatar, so they would be in your closet.
Other items go into the store.. they would be under one the decoration tabs.

You should still see the box .. you can purchase out of any of boxes unlimited times.
support is support@teamlava.com

Give them your storm ID and when this happened.

Good luck. This is a mystery!! Please keep me posted....

[pbrigitte]

I got the Lolita Mannequin out of my first box, but I think it said it was 2nd place?

[818209]

Does anyone know how much the Lolita mannequin sells for?

[143Blue]

but i like duplicates.. well sometimes maybe max 10 of the same items? cuz i want 5 blue swirly changing rooms lol but i keep getting the 3rd and 2nd prizes lol i never thought i would want the 4th prizes:P

[ange1976]

Well, something needs to be done before I purchase any more mystery boxes. I learned my lesson in fashion story, 12 coffee tables, 8 cash registers, 5 bunny sofas, etc,etc I subsequently, will not risk purchasing them in bakery or restaurant, too scared of getting multiples, at $5 a pop, no thankyou! I'm especially annoyed that everything we buy with coin, when we sell it we get coins, but buy it with gems, u don't get even 1 gem back.
I tried it, was devastated that for one of the green coffee tables that cost me $5 real cash earned me a measly 750 coins when I sold it! :(

[mamareader02]

I would love to be able to get an item for my place when I do a surprise box,but all I get are annoying avatar items!there should be a an avatar surprise box for those who want those items,I really think its a rip off to charge 24 gems for a choker ,and two blonde (I'm a brunette)hair-do's!

[ariesblu]

I would love to be able to get an item for my place when I do a surprise box,but all I get are annoying avatar items!there should be a an avatar surprise box for those who want those items,I really think its a rip off to charge 24 gems for a choker ,and two blonde (I'm a brunette)hair-do's!
That's actually a good idea. And it's also a reason why I didn't buy from that box (I believe the groovy one?). I am not blond, and wouldn't want that hairstyle as my prize anyway.

[mamareader02]

It's not just the groovy box-I've tried them all and got an avatar item for each!waste of gems

[mamareader02]

Why do I seem to get only avatar stuff when every other shop I see has cool stuff?!its like my id has bad luck,team lava,you gotta make it a little more fair,I'm through with surprise boxes!and do the mediator shops only get the rare stuff,they seem to be the only ones who have loads of the good stuff

[kooky panda]

Why do I seem to get only avatar stuff when every other shop I see has cool stuff?!its like my id has bad luck,team lava,you gotta make it a little more fair,I'm through with surprise boxes!and do the mediator shops only get the rare stuff,they seem to be the only ones who have loads of the good stuff
If you mean moderators, - there are no in game moderators.

If you mean forum moderators, no we do not have any special advantages over anyone else in the games.
I have alot of neighbors that seem to always get the 1st prize. I may sometimes, but not all the time. It is completely by chance.

[mamareader02]

Sorry if I've offended you,it's just really frustrating to spend real money in hopes of getting something for my shop when all I get is avatar stuff,and see all the cool stuff everyone with better luck has won.i have used an embarrassing amount of gems to no avail,and even if I did want to buy gems,I get none of the sales-only once on fashion during the whole sales blitz,while on restaurant and bakery I'm constantly getting the sales,it's just a little frustrating,even to a grown adult!

[circoit]

Someone came up with a really cool concept for the surprise boxes - they suggested that you get awarded a certain prize level "Congratulations, you won 3rd prize", but then, you get to choose which prize from that level that you want. You may get 3rd prize 6 times in a row - but at least you can choose which ones you want duplicates of, or if you want one of each, etc. I love that idea because there are some items I do want duplicates of (like in bakery story - I have 4 different, unmatching bouquets of flowers)

[easby06]

I have a simpe solution that I'm quite sure TL will never consider (money matters) but will work for the millions who play these games world wide.

Allow neighbors to gift these items as they do those boring clothes and accessories. I would rather prefer what I want than declining everything but the shoes my neighbors gifts.

TruBlu

[laVirtualCloset]

Someone came up with a really cool concept for the surprise boxes - they suggested that you get awarded a certain prize level "Congratulations, you won 3rd prize", but then, you get to choose which prize from that level that you want. You may get 3rd prize 6 times in a row - but at least you can choose which ones you want duplicates of, or if you want one of each, etc. I love that idea because there are some items I do want duplicates of (like in bakery story - I have 4 different, unmatching bouquets of flowers)


Love this idea!!