A suggestion to make the surprise boxes better

[lil_goober]

Ok so I understand how the whole idea of the boxes works. The reason we have all the different levels is so we will continue to buy them in hopes of getting the top prizes. But perhaps you can start including items that are really worth the 24 gems and start excluding the dinky little items like "steel roses". I mean you can't tell me that's not a rip off. If you were to just offer those in the design tab it would be like 10 gems max? Because you know if you charged more no one would buy it. Just like that wood stove. I bet you got way less sales from that too because people just didn't think it was worth it. Now I'm all for the surprise boxes and god knows how many couches I own in hopes of trying for a first place prize but perhaps there can be some sort of adjustment that at least makes the items from the box worthy of 24 gems. You know ask yourselves if you were
To just sell those items by themselves if we would pay the 24 gems it is costing us to get them from the box. Because I love having 5 mailboxes and coat racks as much as the next girl but cut me some slack and just let a girl get something worth while. People would still buy the boxes in fact if you actually offered like great prizes like more clothes and accesories and just larger shop items and then still had the amazing prizes as the top level I bet more people would buy them because they know there is no risk of getting some dinky little flower pot that they wouldn't have spent more than 5,000 coins on otherwise. I mean it's just a suggestion but can you really justify those steel roses, or the Halloween roses or those champagne buckets costing 24 gems?? That just seems a little outrageous if you ask me. But either way thanks for all you do TL and hopefully you will take my suggestions into consideration.

[Rachael98]

I quite like it how it is - it's a risk, everyone knows that.
If there's an item you particularly don't want, then you may not want to buy the box.

[lil_goober]

I quite like it how it is - it's a risk, everyone knows that.
If there's an item you particularly don't want, then you may not want to buy the box.

But I can't just not buy he box because I think 1 or 2 of the items are a rip off. I'm just saying that I hink hey should put items in the box that they can honestly justify selling for 24 gems. I mean can you honestly tell me you would pay 24 gems for the steel roses if they were just for sale in the design tab?

[dalula]

Ok so I understand how the whole idea of the boxes works. The reason we have all the different levels is so we will continue to buy them in hopes of getting the top prizes. But perhaps you can start including items that are really worth the 24 gems and start excluding the dinky little items like "steel roses". I mean you can't tell me that's not a rip off. If you were to just offer those in the design tab it would be like 10 gems max? Because you know if you charged more no one would buy it. Just like that wood stove. I bet you got way less sales from that too because people just didn't think it was worth it. Now I'm all for the surprise boxes and god knows how many couches I own in hopes of trying for a first place prize but perhaps there can be some sort of adjustment that at least makes the items from the box worthy of 24 gems. You know ask yourselves if you were
To just sell those items by themselves if we would pay the 24 gems it is costing us to get them from the box. Because I love having 5 mailboxes and coat racks as much as the next girl but cut me some slack and just let a girl get something worth while. People would still buy the boxes in fact if you actually offered like great prizes like more clothes and accesories and just larger shop items and then still had the amazing prizes as the top level I bet more people would buy them because they know there is no risk of getting some dinky little flower pot that they wouldn't have spent more than 5,000 coins on otherwise. I mean it's just a suggestion but can you really justify those steel roses, or the Halloween roses or those champagne buckets costing 24 gems?? That just seems a little outrageous if you ask me. But either way thanks for all you do TL and hopefully you will take my suggestions into consideration.

i agree... 4th place should be the current 3rd place. TL should knock out the 4th place. that floor light and the steel rose is lame

[driftboutique]

I see both sides. It is a gamble, and some items are going to be worth less than 24 gems and some are going to be more. That said, I wouldn't want those steel roses if they were free. I don't mind getting fourth place items, but those items should have SOME value. I don't mind the champagne buckets, the avatar items, etc. But I do mind junk.

[rcb4118]

I completely agree. Or maybe some sort of neighbor trading system would be a good idea.

I'm in my 20s and work very hard for my money and don't mind spending a little of it on games like this. But after my experiences with the surprise boxes (esp the Valentine one) I'm never buying gems again. I can't believe I spent almost $30 in real money for a few crystal flowers.

[lil_goober]

I also think that you should take those who are not as fortunate as others into consideration. I mean you have some players who can't buy gems for whatever reason don't have the extra money or parents won't give them money or an reason for that matter and then they save their gems for months. Ordering all the items over and over to earn those extra gems and then finally they have enough to buy a box and they get a tiny little coffee table? I mean again if that were
For sale by itself in the design tab it would never sell for 24 gems. No way. I jut feel bad for those people. It's not fair to them to not be rewarded with a more valuable prize.

[dalula]

I also think that you should take those who are not as fortunate as others into consideration. I mean you have some players who can't buy gems for whatever reason don't have the extra money or parents won't give them money or an reason for that matter and then they save their gems for months. Ordering all the items over and over to earn those extra gems and then finally they have enough to buy a box and they get a tiny little coffee table? I mean again if that were
For sale by itself in the design tab it would never sell for 24 gems. No way. I jut feel bad for those people. It's not fair to them to not be rewarded with a more valuable prize.

...especially for those who are not lucky with boxes :p (that would be me)

[Rachael98]

I also think that you should take those who are not as fortunate as others into consideration. I mean you have some players who can't buy gems for whatever reason don't have the extra money or parents won't give them money or an reason for that matter and then they save their gems for months. Ordering all the items over and over to earn those extra gems and then finally they have enough to buy a box and they get a tiny little coffee table? I mean again if that were
For sale by itself in the design tab it would never sell for 24 gems. No way. I jut feel bad for those people. It's not fair to them to not be rewarded with a more valuable prize.

As a sidenote, I've only ever bought one gem package, and it was a small one.
I personally like them, and think that if you don't want to take the risk, then simply don't.

[ultrafrog]

Mystery boxes are overpriced for me anyway. It's rare to get a good feeling from opening one, most of the time it's disappointment. Probably half of my mystery boxes were opened by accident anyway.

I've suggested this before but I'll say it again.

It'd be nicer if mystery boxes worked where you got to choose an item within a tier. With 4th place mystery box prize, you could choose any item within that category, 3rd place winner you can pick from that category etc.

There's still the randomness of tiers but at least there is some choice to pick what you like within that group.

The way I see it is that there are a very small percentage of players that spend a lot of money on these games, regardless of cost, a handful of casual gem buyers, and the majority are free players. At basically 5 US dollars a pop, mystery boxes are not very accessible for a randomized virtual item I might not even like. It's above the threshold of casual spending for me at least. In my opinion they'd be better off lowering the prices so more people could enjoy them.

[lil_goober]

Oh I think that's a great idea including a little bit of choice in the matter. I mean you get to verify all your other purchases so why not the boxes too? I mean I understand what the other side is saying if you don't like it don't buy it. But that isn't what I'm saying. All I'm saying is after spending $50 I should be able to have the item I want. Or perhaps a neighbor tradin system. We can send gifts so why not items too? i don't know. I highly doubt it actually will change but I'm just getting tired of the disappointment.

[driftboutique]

I do think a neighbor trading system would be cool, but I don't think we'll ever see it happen. One, I suspect TL makes a decent bit of cash off people trying desperately to get a particular item from mystery boxes. Two, they would have a responsibility to monitor a potential secondary economy where players charge each other real money outside of the games in order to trade items. It's a shame, because I would love to be able to give someone a bunny sofa or two (or three or eleven) but I think it's unlikely.

[ultrafrog]

Yep. I don't see it as being in TL's best interest to have any kind of trading system. They'd have a huge headache on their hands.

Look at their support system now. They say that they're not able to reverse player transactions. Imagine all the players contracting support saying they have been scammed and want their trades reversed. TL gets no benefit out of allowing player trades.

[shakiba]

i agree... 4th place should be the current 3rd place. TL should knock out the 4th place. that floor light and the steel rose is lame

duh. Exactly. I mean... the coat rack in the valentine box is like the same thing as the one that costs for 10 gems. The little floor light is worth 24 gems comparing to the bigger and more shinier light. I also understand the whole concept of the boxes, but at least make the 4th level stuff more valuable.

[katysue311]

I've suggested this before but I'll say it again.

It'd be nicer if mystery boxes worked where you got to choose an item within a tier. With 4th place mystery box prize, you could choose any item within that category, 3rd place winner you can pick from that category etc.

There's still the randomness of tiers but at least there is some choice to pick what you like within that group.

I LOVE this idea! I have never purchased a mystery/surprise box myself. I don't have great luck and I know I would get stuck with something I resented.
If I could choose an item from whichever tier I 'won', I would definitely consider it. But it is too risky for me as the current system is structured...

[TimeForACuppaTea]

Mystery boxes are overpriced for me anyway. It's rare to get a good feeling from opening one, most of the time it's disappointment. Probably half of my mystery boxes were opened by accident anyway.

I've suggested this before but I'll say it again.

It'd be nicer if mystery boxes worked where you got to choose an item within a tier. With 4th place mystery box prize, you could choose any item within that category, 3rd place winner you can pick from that category etc.

There's still the randomness of tiers but at least there is some choice to pick what you like within that group.

The way I see it is that there are a very small percentage of players that spend a lot of money on these games, regardless of cost, a handful of casual gem buyers, and the majority are free players. At basically 5 US dollars a pop, mystery boxes are not very accessible for a randomized virtual item I might not even like. It's above the threshold of casual spending for me at least. In my opinion they'd be better off lowering the prices so more people could enjoy them.

I've been saying the exact same thing. Still leaves some randomness, but it would cut down on getting duplicates/triplicates of things you don't want. And I think people would be happier overall if they had a better chance getting something they like. I've stopped buying them completely, rarely get what I want and then I instantly have buyers remorse. So won't be doing it anymore.

[TheHelpfulPlace]

duh. Exactly. I mean... the coat rack in the valentine box is like the same thing as the one that costs for 10 gems. The little floor light is worth 24 gems comparing to the bigger and more shinier light. I also understand the whole concept of the boxes, but at least make the 4th level stuff more valuable.

I like the coat rack better than all the third and 4th prizes o_o

[digital_ghost]

It would be slightly more worthwhile to me if they made the boxes like a game within the game.
What I mean is you purchase the box and instead of a prize coming up right off you get a 'choose your adventure' type scenario. You would work your way up the four tiers. If you answered wrong the first question, first place prize and so forth down the line. Now these wouldn't be questions with right and wrong answers but instead like mini stories if that makes sense. Take the valentine theme - your trying to go on a successful date with brad. Should you wear the sapphire outfit or go punk instead. Am I making any sense at all? Lol

[shakiba]

I like the coat rack better than all the third and 4th prizes o_o
lol, I like the dress for avatar, and I like the heart as the third prize... but the coat rack is better than any of the ofurth prizes... ugh i hate my heart tights :(

[dalula]

lol, I like the dress for avatar, and I like the heart as the third prize... but the coat rack is better than any of the ofurth prizes... ugh i hate my heart tights :(

you make them look good! what are you talking about? i hate my coat rack. :( i wanted the tights! this is when the ability of trading prizes comes in handy