The Indie Gala bundle!

[Yanksfan]

Yes, yet another indie bundle, but like the Humble Bundle, you can set your own price and donate to charity as well. The games only register on Steam, but that won't be a problem for most here. You get a key for each individual game, so you can gift whatever you do not personally want if you feel like it.

http://www.indiegala.com/

Legend:

Spoiler

- Steam

- Android

- Desura
GG - GamersGate
- DRM-free

Indie Gala Dwarves

Start Date: March 20, 2013
End Date:
Total Raised:
Total Purchased:
Average Price:
Group Buy thread: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325538

Games Offered:
Nosferatu - The Wrath Of Malachi Wikipedia Entry
GG Street Racing Syndicate

Gettysburg: Armored Warfare

Unlocks 2nd Week

Beat the Average:
GG Guilty Gear Isuka
GG Gun Metal

A Game of Dwarves

Warlock - Master of the Arcane

Unlocks 2nd Week

Unlocks 2nd Week

===============================================

Happy Hour guidelines:

*Happy Hour happens at random times: sometimes as early as 4 days after the bundle going live, but most often during the second week of sales.

Happy Hour! Double Gifts! During Happy Hour time New buyers for every gift purchase get a 2nd bonus gift for free (2x1)! All gifts are doubled! Remember to check 'IS IT A GIFT'! *If you have not purchased the current Indie Gala yet, you can buy two for one during happy hour

And if you are an early buyer the deal is EVEN BIGGER!

Yes! If you already bought the current indiegala bundle, you get 2 bonus gifts for free for every gift purchased ( 3 x 1 ) *If you have already purchased the bundle, but you did not purchase it in the first week, you can buy three for one

And if you bought it in the first week you get 3 bonus gifts for free for every gift purchased ( 4 x 1 ) *If you already purchased the current bundle and did so in the first week of the current bundle going live, you can buy four for one

Remember to check 'IS IT A GIFT' ! if you want to take advantage of Happy Hour. You have to check this also if, after purchasing a bundle for yourself with your own email address, you want another additional bundle for you. If you don't, transactions amount will sum on your original email account and you can upgrade your purchase, obtaining more bonuses if you previously didn't unlock it, or more galapoints.

REMEMBER: (Gift purchases are not upgradable and don't contribute to upgrade your personal account for unlock new content.)

***For Happy Hour, you MUST use the same e-mail you used when buying your first bundle, and you MUST check the gift option below the payment method. You have to buy again during Happy Hour to receive gift copies.

===============================================

CAG Group Buy Hosting FAQ

Q: I see all of these CAGs hosting group buys for people. What's that all about?
A: It's a way for CAGs to help each other get the best deal. One person will buy the bundle during the first week, then they will buy four gift copies at the highest tier during Happy Hour. This person is referred to as the host. They then try to sell these to participants for a fraction of the price of buying the "beat the average" bundle individually, plus some extra to distribute the cost of the initial bundle purchase in the first week. The host gains money back, and the participants get the full bundle for a fourth of the cost. Everyone wins.

Q: How do I host one?
A: To host a CAG group buy, you must first purchase the Indie Gala full BTA (beat the average) bundle in the first week (this has been changed since the previous bundles). This will allow you to purchase four additional bundles for the price of one during a Happy Hour, as stated in the Happy Hour post above. Now, it does matter how much you initially spend, as you must purchase the full bundle in order to purchase full bundle four-packs during Happy Hour. Then, once Happy Hour starts, you buy a gift copy for the current "beat the average" price, which will be listed on the Indie Gala page. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK "IS IT A GIFT" TO GET FOUR GIFT COPIES.

Q: It's asking me for multiple e-mail addresses. What do I do?
A: Just skip that part. The links to the gifts will be added to your account page (which is another reason why you must always use the same e-mail address when ordering from Indie Gala). Most hosts will send out the gift URLs to their participants in a PM.

Q: Is it hard to do?
A: No, it's very quick and easy. Just keep track of which gift URLs you have sent to which people, and you will be fine.

===============================================

Past Galas


Indie Gala I

Spoiler

Start Date: December 5, 2011
End Date: January 6, 2012
Total Raised: $84,513
Total Purchases: 45,635
Average Price: $1.81

Games Offered:

Saira (Nifflas Games, 2010)

Zombie Shooter 1 (Sigma Team, 2007)

Zombie Shooter 2 (Sigma Team, 2009)

Your Doodles Are Bugged (Spyn Doctor Games, 2011)

inMomentum (Digital Arrow, 2010)

Hacker Evolution: Untold (Exosyphen Games, 2010)

Hacker Evolution: Duality (Exosyphen Games, 2011)
Vizati (Different Pixel, 2011)

Music Offered:
"Terra Firma EP" - The Flashbulb, 2011
"Love As Dark Hallway" - The Flashbulb, 2011
"Good Luck " - Robot Science, 2011
"Doodads" - Robot Science, 2010
"Reptilians" - Starer, 2011
"inMomentum OST" - Gareth Coker, 2011

Indie Gala II

Spoiler

Start Date: February 4, 2012
End Date: March 20, 2012
Total Raised: $132,735
Total Purchases: 32,483
Average Price: $4.08

Games Offered:

Roboblitz (Naked Sky, 2006)

Greed Corp (Vanguard Games, 2010)

Zombie Shooter 1 (Sigma team, 2007)

Fortix 2 (Nemesys Games, 2011)

Critical Mass (Manic Games, 2011)

Bunch of Heroes (NGD Studios, 2011)

Zombie Shooter 2 (Sigma Team, 2009)

Your Doodles Are Bugged (Spyn Doctor Games, 2011)

inMomentum (Digital Arrow, 2010)

Hacker Evolution (Exosyphen Games, 2010)

Hacker Evolution: Untold (Exosyphen Games, 2010)

Hacker Evolution: Duality (Exosyphen Games, 2011)
Postal (Running with Scissors, 1997)

Fruitblitz (Rubicon Development, 2011)

Music Offered:
"Beautiful EP" - The Numbers, 2011
"Fit The Paradigm" - Jack Butler, 2011
"Good Luck" - Robot Science, 2011
"Doodads" - Robot Science, 2010
"Squares" - Robot Science, 2011
"inMomentum OST" - Gareth Coker, 2011

Indie Gala III

Spoiler

Start Date: March 24, 2012
End Date: April 15, 2012
Total Raised: $88,563
Total Purchased: 25,234
Average Price: $4.69

Games Offered:

Flatout (Bugbear Entertainment, 2006)

Twin Sector (DNS Development, 2009)

Trapped Dead (Crenetics, 2011)

Grotesque Tactics: Evil Heroes (Silent Dreams, 2010)

Greed: Black Border (Clockstone, 2010)

Future Wars (Radon Labs, 2010)
Gear Grinder (Headup Games, 2010)

Music Offered:
"Chiptune Hero" - DJ Cutman, 2011
"All Night Party" - Electric Children, 2011
"Viper EP" - F-777, 2011
"Re-Motion Vol.2" - F-777, 2010
"Squares" - Robot Science, 2011

Other Bonuses:
Sonia The Cruel - Part 1 (comic)

Indie Gala IV

Spoiler

Start Date: April 24, 2012
End Date: May 15, 2012
Total Raised: (info needed)
Total Purchased: (info needed)
Average Price: (info needed)

Games Offered:

Steel Storm: Burning Retribution (Kot-in-Action Creative Artel, 2011)

A.R.E.S.:Extinction Agenda (Extend Interactive, 2010)

Spoiler

Free code from Blade. Say thanks if you redeem it! 5N3EH-AVYXQ-BTK6Q

Alien Shooter (Sigma Team, 2003)

Disciples II: Gallean's return (Strategy First, 2005)

Altitude (Nimbly Games, 2009)

Really Big Sky (Boss Baddie, 2011)

Alien Shooter 2: Reloaded (Sigma Team, 2009)
Wake (Boss Baddie, 2010)
Lunnye Devitsy (Boss Baddie, 2009)
DEADEND - Cerebral Vortex (MEMBRANOS Interactive Media Studio, 2011)

Music Offered:
"Really Big Sky OST" - MrPineapple Band, 2011
"Tormishire OST" - MrPineapple, 2012
"Pretty Things EP" - Giraf$$$e, 2011
"Opus At The End Of Everything" - The Flashbulb, 2012
"Arboreal" - The Flashbulb, 2010
"Im Cwazy" - Dubstep'n'Stuff, 2012
"ReMotion - Vol.1" - Kr1z & F-777, 2010
"Comfort" - Giraf$$$e, 2011

Indie Gala V

Spoiler

Start Date: May 27, 2012
End Date: June 14, 2012
Total Raised: $90,958.80
Total Purchased: 25,817
Average Price: $5.62

Games Offered:

Making History: The Calm & The Storm (Muzzy Lane, 2007)

Beat Hazard (Cold Beam Games, 2010)

Razor2: Hidden Skies (Invent4 Entertainment, 2012)

Ironclads Collection (Totem Games, 2008-2011)

Space Empires IV Deluxe (Malfador Machinations, 2000)

Bad Rats: the Rats' Revenge (Invent4 Entertainment, 2009)

Disciples II: Rise of the Elves (Strategy First, 2003)

Puzzle Kingdoms (Infinite Interactive, 2009)
Battle Mages: Sign of Darkness (Targem Games, 2005)
WRC: FIA World Rally Championship (Milestone S.r.l., 2010)
Ninja Blade (From Software, 2009)
SBK X: Superbike World Championship (Milestone S.r.l., 2010)

Music Offered:
"The Last Seduction" - Baron Von Luxxury, 2012
"Biggest Failure Of All Time" - Losers Come From Above, 2012
"YOU Are" - Electric Children, 2011
"Deadmau5 - Strobe (Gameboy Remix)" - DJ Cutman & An0va, 2012
"Powerglove (It's So Bad)" - DJ Cutman feat. Benjamin Briggs, 2010

Indie Gala Mobile

Spoiler

Start Date: June 18, 2012
End Date: June 24, 2012
Total Raised: (info needed)
Total Purchased: (info needed)
Average Price: (info needed)

Games Offered:

Cardinal Quest (tametick, 2012)

Great Little War Game (Rubicon Development, 2012)

Legends of Yore (Coke and Code, 2012)

Smiles/Smiles HD (Mike Kaszprak, 2012)
Pitri 1977 (ilikescifi Games, 2012)
Manor of the Damned (Milestone, 2011)

Turba (Binary Takeover, 2010)

Music Offered:
"Soundtracks for Everyday Adventures" - Lullatone, 2012
"Smash It" - F-777, 2012

Indie Gala VI

Spoiler

Start Date: June 25, 2012
End Date: July 10, 2012
Total Raised: $75,261.80
Total Purchased: 19,631
Average Price: $6.24

Games Offered:

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines (Pyro Studios, 1998)

The Void (video game) (Ice-Pick Lodge, 2008)

Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty (Pyro Studios, 1999)

Commandos 2: Men of Courage (Pyro Studios, 2001)

Ion Assault (Coreplay, 2009)

Air Conflicts: Secret Wars (Games Farm, 2011)

Cargo! – The Quest for Gravity (Ice-Pick Lodge, 2011)

Commandos 3: Destination Berlin (Pyro Studios, 2003)

Trauma (Krystian Majewski, 2011)

Music Offered:

"Elevator Music" - Lullatone, 2011
"Trauma Soundtrack" - Martin Straka, 2011

Other Bonuses:

The Void - Bonus Content (parts 1-5)

Indie Gala Mobile 2

Spoiler

Start Date: July 18, 2012
End Date: July 25, 2012
Total Raised: $20,425.83
Total Purchased: 4,028
Average Price: $6.24

Games Offered:

The Lost Souls

Battle Group

Ichi

Xelorians

Call of Cthulhu: Wasted Lands

Little Stars for Little Wars 2

Tiny Plumbers

Spin Deluxe

Cute Things Dying Violently

N-Back (BTA)

Music Offered: (all BTA)

"Little Stars for Little Wars 2 OST" - Trevor Golas, 2012
"Arcade" - Im Cwazy, 2012
"Viper EP" - F-777, 2012
Tiny Plumbers OST
"Spin Deluxe OST" - IZucken, 2012

Indie Gala 7

Spoiler

Start Date: July 27, 2012
End Date: August 12, 2012
Total Raised: $90,373.89
Total Purchased: 25,409
Average Price: $6.29
Group Buy thread [subject to change]: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325538

Games Offered:

Rig N' Roll
Reign: Conflict of Nations
Space Rangers
Unlocks Second Week Unlocked Theatre of War 2: Africa 1943

Beat the Average:
Death to Spies
Death To Spies: Moment of Truth
King's Bounty Armored Princess
UFO Afterlight
Unlocks Second Week Unlocked Star Wolves


Secret Bonuses: (all BTA)

NONE

Indie Gala 8

Spoiler

Start Date: August 28, 2012
End Date:
Total Raised:
Total Purchased:
Average Price:
Group Buy thread: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=325538


Games Offered:

Dangerous Waters
Battle Mages: Sign of Darkness
Sentinel 3: Homeworld
Superstars V8 Racing

Beat the Average:
Ghost Master
Dark Fall: Lost Souls
Space Empires V
Sacred Gold
Achtung Panzer: Operation Star


Secret Bonuses: (all BTA)

Unlock Second Week

 

[asheskitty]

Yep $2.10 is within my expected range.

 

[Blade]

WTF? It's happy hour, but their price manipulation has reached all time lows (or highs).

BTA price jumped from $5.90ish to $9.12!!!

HH bundles would be $2.10 right now.
Are people still interested?

Not interested based on principle. And there's nothing that great here given all the Amazon bundles and other bundles we've seen in the last year.

Total payments: $76,098.74
Purchases #: 13,174

$76,098.74/13174 = $5.77
$9.12 - $5.77 = $3.35 inflation

Not happening for me.

 

[stupidproz1]

I got Indie Gala June happy hour bundles for $2.50 each. Don't wanna get a big group buy because I got stuck with like 10 indie gala dwarve bundles >< PM if interested.

 

[spoderman]

I got Indie Gala June happy hour bundles for $2.50 each. Don't wanna get a big group buy because I got stuck with like 10 indie gala dwarve bundles &gt;&lt; PM if interested.

Well considering you usually overcharge by at least 40-50 cents, and Fox almost always does groupbuys for close to the exact cost of the group buy.. I can understand why you'd be stuck with 10 bundles. Why would anyone buy from you when Fox is cheaper

 

[melted77]

Sure I'll go in for a HH bundle Fox.

 

[udolpho]

Still keen for 1!

 

[CheapLikeAFox]

Alright, well they just ended HH early before I was able to buy in.  According to their Tweet 42 minutes ago, it was supposed to last an hour, but I guess they are not very good at math.  I will go ahead and buy in the next time to cover my group.  If anyone in my group feels the $2.10 price is too high just PM me or post in this thread: http://www.cheapassgamer.com/topic/291059-indie-gala-group-buy-thread/page-33#entry10837872

I will take you off the list, no prob.

Thanks. 

Coincidentally the second HH ended, the average dropped back to under $6. 

 

[stupidproz1]

Also Fox is a saint doing happy hour bundles for nothing, it takes like 2-3 man hours to distribute 20-40 bundles. (He also got stuck with indie gala dwarve bundles =P)

 

[Mooby]

Hmmm, beat-the-average prices magically raise.  Time distortions change an hour into forty-two minutes.  Oh those wacky Gala peeps.  Didn't the happy 'hours' used to last like four hours or more?

 

[M_F_A_H]

Hmmm, beat-the-average prices magically raise. Time distortions change an hour into forty-two minutes. Oh those wacky Gala peeps. Didn't the happy 'hours' used to last like four hours or more?

Time gets wasted during happy hour just like everyone else. You're a little... um... old fashioned, aren't you?

 

[mombbsmj]

Count me in, still a decent bundle with games I don't have.

 

[darksurtur]

I'd like to get in if there is another happy hour.

 

[AVacuousSmile]

Is their generally more than one happy hour?

 

[spoderman]

Is their generally more than one happy hour?

Yes, there's almost always several happy hours.

 

[AVacuousSmile]

Is their generally more than one happy hour?

Yes, there's almost always several happy hours.

Oh cool, count me in for the second HH!

 

[Detruire]

Also Fox is a saint doing happy hour bundles for nothing, it takes like 2-3 man hours to distribute 20-40 bundles. (He also got stuck with indie gala dwarve bundles =P)

If he pushes enough copies, he's probably making enough that he considers it worth his time.

I know that when I was buying Sims Medieval copies for CAGs (and asking cost) most people would throw in an extra few cents - in the end, I was up ~$5 and had received a lot of "Thank You"s.

 

[awestover89]

Do they announce Happy Hours anywhere? I subbed to their facebook to receive notifications thinking I would get an announcement but no such luck. Not that I would have been awake anyway. 

If a CAGer does another HH I'd be in.

 

[M_F_A_H]

Do they announce Happy Hours anywhere? I subbed to their facebook to receive notifications thinking I would get an announcement but no such luck. Not that I would have been awake anyway.

If a CAGer does another HH I'd be in.

There's a lot of people dropping "CAGer" lately. Isn't that an epithet for CAGs? It offends me.

 

[awestover89]

Do they announce Happy Hours anywhere? I subbed to their facebook to receive notifications thinking I would get an announcement but no such luck. Not that I would have been awake anyway.

If a CAGer does another HH I'd be in.

There's a lot of people dropping "CAGer" lately. Isn't that an epithet for CAGs? It offends me.

Think it is short for CAGerian, from the Latin CAGerius, definition: frugal to the point of awesome obsession.

 

[spoderman]

Also Fox is a saint doing happy hour bundles for nothing, it takes like 2-3 man hours to distribute 20-40 bundles. (He also got stuck with indie gala dwarve bundles =P)

If he pushes enough copies, he's probably making enough that he considers it worth his time.

I know that when I was buying Sims Medieval copies for CAGs (and asking cost) most people would throw in an extra few cents - in the end, I was up ~$5 and had received a lot of "Thank You"s.

Yeah, Fox has mentioned to me that he gets tipped by people.. so he does end up making some profit from that in the end.

The initial bundle you bought is also free whenever you're doing group buys.. so you can easily profit without really trying to.

 

[The End]

The BTA price manipulation on Indie Gala really bugs me. I wish they'd just be upfront about it and say that during happy hours, you're gonna have to pay a 20-50% surcharge. That surcharge is there whether they admit it or not.

Oh and my personal vote on the Happy Hour group-buy is to wait until we're a little bit closer to the end of the bundle. They usually jack up the BTA for the first HH or two. Towards the end of the bundle is usually where the best buys are. I'm sure I'm probably gonna be a lone voice in the wilderness on this though, because people don't wanna take a chance that there won't be another HH. But once they've done one happy hour, they always do several others.

Don't take me off that list though. Unless of course, you have a plan to do a second group buy for people who wanna roll the dice that there will be a better price for the group buy in the final few days of the bundle.

 

[Blade]

Well, I never used to have a problem with getting rid of extra copies when I used to host. I'd always buy extra packs and sell them off after the sale was over; there are always people who wait until it's over and say "oh I missed it!" That was even when everyone else began hosting, and I'd refer the requests I couldn't fulfill out to you guys when I ran out. I'm with The End on this one, but I'm throwing out that tidbit that buying cheap extras in the last hours of HH when the price is low is never a bad thing.

 

[asheskitty]

I feel similarly to The End.  ~50% hamfisted price manipulation doesn't sit that well with me.  Historically the late HH is lower.  I'm willing to join The End in waiting for a late HH.

 

[stupidproz1]

Also Fox is a saint doing happy hour bundles for nothing, it takes like 2-3 man hours to distribute 20-40 bundles. (He also got stuck with indie gala dwarve bundles =P)

If he pushes enough copies, he's probably making enough that he considers it worth his time.

I know that when I was buying Sims Medieval copies for CAGs (and asking cost) most people would throw in an extra few cents - in the end, I was up ~$5 and had received a lot of "Thank You"s.

Yeah, Fox has mentioned to me that he gets tipped by people.. so he does end up making some profit from that in the end.

The initial bundle you bought is also free whenever you're doing group buys.. so you can easily profit without really trying to.

I talk with Fox all the time on Steam. People do tip sometimes but it's really not as often as you'd think unfortunately, if I'm going to be buying a 20-40 person group buy for the community and spending a couple hours of my time splitting it and sending it to everyone, double checking PayPal payments, making sure they left there names in the PayPal memo area, messing with a spreadsheet and then leaving good feedbacks afterwards. I want a little something out of it, and not just at the whim of a couple nice people that decide to throw me a ltitle extra.

 

[spoderman]

I talk with Fox all the time on Steam. People do tip sometimes but it's really not as often as you'd think unfortunately, if I'm going to be buying a 20-40 person group buy for the community and spending a couple hours of my time splitting it and sending it to everyone, double checking PayPal payments, making sure they left there names in the PayPal memo area, messing with a spreadsheet and then leaving good feedbacks afterwards. I want a little something out of it, and not just at the whim of a couple nice people that decide to throw me a ltitle extra.

I also talk to Fox all the time on Steam.. he actually started adding a tip to the price of each bundle sold, which is no more than 10 cents per bundle (I think it was around 3-4 cents per bundle for IG June). I think that's fine.. but when you're trying to make like $20 profit from selling indie gala bundles, it's obvious you're mostly doing it for profit and not for the community, especially considering someone is nearly always doing group buys for less than you.

Not that it matters much, if you can profit off of that then more power to you.. but I think it's silly to say you're doing it for the community..

 

[stupidproz1]

Well it's a community group buy.. Doesn't mean I don't get a Steam game for doing it =P

 

[CheapLikeAFox]

OK, let me respond to the whole pricing thing just to clear things up and not to vilify Stupidproz1.

I first started hosting a group buy out of necessity because Spoderman gave my slot in his group to someone else (#fukspoderman).

Initially, I would host one five person group buy (before another CAG pointed out you could do 20 person group buys).  Then I started doing one 20 person group buy.

The way I would calculate my price was the initial price of the bundle to qualify for HH (Let's say $5.50 for example) plus the price of the group buy (say $24) and divide it by 20 ( so in this example 24 + 5.5/20 = 1.475).  Then I would round it up, so it would be $1.50 in this example.  Using this method I would end up getting my bundle for free as the host and some people would tip, which is really nice of them to do so.

At the time, we had several CAGs each hosting their own 20 pack, but for whatever reasons as time passed less and less CAGs were hosting group buys.  When that happened, my 20 pack would fill up quickly and then I would start getting PMs from CAGs who were looking for a group buy and couldn't find one.  I started hosting a second and sometimes a third group buy.  The issue though, was that these second and third group buys could potentially be cheaper because the initial price of the bundle ($5.50 in the example above) was already paid for in the first group buy.  I found this unfair for two reasons.  One, I didn't think it fair to have some people paying more than others for the same thing.  Two, this would undercut anyone else hosting a 20 pack because if they still had to take into account those $5.50, they would have to charge more and potentially be stuck with bundles when they were trying to do CAG a favor by hosting.  Because of this I decided it only be fair to charge any subsequent group buys the price paid for by the initial group buy.  In this case, the second and third group would still pay $1.50.  This keeps it fair IMO and doesn't prevent anyone else from hosting a group buy because I am selling them super dirt cheap. 

Now, of course, what ends up happening here is that I get that extra money ($5.50) per every additional group buy and I get my bundle free.  It's not a lucrative job and I surely don't make even minimum wage for the time I put into hosting these, but there is some money left for me.  I usually use the money left to cover extra group buys for family and friends (though they probably don't even play any of these games, lol).  Sometimes, if a bundle is a hot seller and I think there is a market, I will buy an extra group buy if there is a late HH and sell that afterwards for $2 a bundle. 

To lay out the math for IG June, I paid $5.85 for the initial BTA and the cheapest the group buy last night was $35.43, so 5.85 + 35.43/20 = 2.064 and I rounded it up to $2.10 to come to the price of my bundles.  That's the price the first group buy is going to pay and the price every other group buy is going to pay. It keeps it fair and it keeps it open for someone else to host their own group buy later if they wanted to. 

I usually have to tie up my own money hosting these (though the pre-pay this time around has prevented that and I appreciate it greatly), I spend hours sorting through PMs, emails, sending out bundles, etc., and on occasions I have to take losses on things like paypal fees for refunds. 

I'm not complaining and I don't mind doing it, but I just wanted to put this out there so people can know where my price comes from and the work involved.  If Stupidproz1 charges a little more to make up for his time, it is definitely understandable. 

 

[seamoss]

I usually have to tie up my own money hosting these (though the pre-pay this time around has prevented that and I appreciate it greatly), I spend hours sorting through PMs, emails, sending out bundles, etc., and on occasions I have to take losses on things like paypal fees for refunds.

I'm not complaining and I don't mind doing it, but I just wanted to put this out there so people can know where my price comes from and the work involved. If Stupidproz1 charges a little more to make up for his time, it is definitely understandable.

This is the big thing, which is why I apreciate anyone (including Fox &amp; Proz) hosting group buys and always try to tip a bit. The amount of time doing this must take *hugely* outweighs the few cents that they may charge over the absolute minimum. Thanks guys!

 

[M_F_A_H]

Back when the happy hours were only, what, 4 to 6 bundles at a time? I was hosting and didn't get tips like a Chippendale dude, but I got thank yous from everyone and participated in involuntary community service. That's good.

I didn't suggest tipping because CAG isn't like some of those seedy forums but, if they want to,  that's A OK. 

 

[Foxhack]

Um, fighting aside, could I get in on one of these happy hour bundles, please?

Also, the Indie Gala people are thieves. Someone at GOG pointed out their scamming methods and they promptly banned him from Facebook...

 

[Mooby]

Stupidproz is union -- so you get higher costs~

 

[stupidproz1]

Um, fighting aside, could I get in on one of these happy hour bundles, please?

Also, the Indie Gala people are thieves. Someone at GOG pointed out their scamming methods and they promptly banned him from Facebook...

Could you link the article you're talking about indiegala scamming people, I'm curious to what they were doing. The happy hour last night seemed WAYYY shady, happy hour went on, price went up to like $9.50 for tier 3... Then happy hour ended, price went down to normal..

 

[Eldredpe]

Someone at GOG pointed out their scamming methods and they promptly banned him from Facebook...

IndieGala controls Facebook?

This goes all the way to the top!

 

[Foxhack]

Um, fighting aside, could I get in on one of these happy hour bundles, please?

Also, the Indie Gala people are thieves. Someone at GOG pointed out their scamming methods and they promptly banned him from Facebook...

Could you link the article you're talking about indiegala scamming people, I'm curious to what they were doing. The happy hour last night seemed WAYYY shady, happy hour went on, price went up to like $9.50 for tier 3... Then happy hour ended, price went down to normal..

http://www.gog.com/forum/general/bogus_average_pricing_on_indie_gala_bundles

IndieGala controls Facebook?

This goes all the way to the top!

What better way to hide the truth than to ban people from your Facebook page?

 

[Eldredpe]

Uhm...

IndieGala bumping up the average a bit during Happy Hour, basically forcing you to pay $2 for your bundle rather than $1.60 is hardly being "thieves."

It's shady that they still call it "the average," because that isn't what it is anymore. It's just a price they set it at. But that's really a question of semantics.

It's still a good bundle, and absolutely worth $2.10.

Frankly, I think the fact that they have "happy hours" is insane and seems like a terrible way to run their business model.

Obviously they think so too, so rather than abolishing them they're asking you pay just a little bit more than you used to.

I think that's fair, considering a little bit more is about $0.40 - $0.50. 

I just don't see what the outrage is here.

I thought when you called them thieves and scammers there would be something more conclusive to prove it.

 

[awestover89]

Uhm...

IndieGala bumping up the average a bit during Happy Hour, basically forcing you to pay $2 for your bundle rather than $1.60 is hardly being "thieves."

It's shady that they still call it "the average," because that isn't what it is anymore. It's just a price they set it at. But that's really a question of semantics.

It's still a good bundle, and absolutely worth $2.10.

Frankly, I think the fact that they have "happy hours" is insane and seems like a terrible way to run their business model.

Obviously they think so too, so rather than abolishing them they're asking you pay just a little bit more than you used to.

I think that's fair, considering a little bit more is about $0.40 - $0.50.

I just don't see what the outrage is here.

I thought when you called them thieves and scammers there would be something more conclusive to prove it.

The outrage, as I understand it, is the fact that they vehemently deny that they are doing anything to change the price and when people point out the (obvious) facts they tend to get angry and defensive. If they would just admit the fact that there is a surcharge or convenience fee during HH I don't think there would be so much outrage. But calling it an average isn't just a matter of semantics, it's an outright lie.

I agree with you that the HH is an excellent deal, and I personally don't care that they jump the price up as long as it is less than double. The problem is the manner in which they do so.

 

[Mooby]

They never expected people to mass buy the HH.  They figured people would just gift a couple to friends.  Of course now that's the primary way they make their money so they can't get rid of them.  Instead they just jack up the prices.  Not that it matters.  Getting those games for $2 is still a crazy bargain.

 

[CheapLikeAFox]

I don't ever have a problem with the price.  I think it's a good deal.  I do think their regular pricing is usually never that great of a deal given the quality of games.

As pointed out above, my main problem is with calling something an average when it's a manipulated price.  It's just semantics, but it's just a little deceptive.  If they just admitted that they have a messed pricing model in place and they need to alter the "average" during HH to price their bundles at a price they want to sell at I would have no issue.  That said, it's not a huge deal, just an annoyance I have with them. 

 

[Eldredpe]

But calling it an average isn't just a matter of semantics, it's an outright lie.

I guess I would disagree with this, as I think the idea of "Beat the Average" has expanded beyond a literal average purchase price into a term used for the (possibly) arbitrary point that signifies the next tier of games.

Indie bundles have been playing fast and loose with "Beat the Average" for some time, and when I see it used I don't necessarily expect it to be the mathematical average of anything.

Would it be more or less shady if they manipulated their sales statistics to represent the new price? Or just didn't disclose those numbers to begin with?

EDIT: I'm not saying that Gala's actions are totally justified, and I think that Fox's suggestion of greater transparency would have made all of this a lot more palatable, I just think that the argument that "You say average but it isn't actually average" is less compelling given the history of indie bundles than it might at first seem.

 

[CheapLikeAFox]

I mean, in a way this is no different than when devs or notch  pay a ton of money on HiB to inflate the price or HiB setting their initial BTA price to a point to sort of dictate where the average will fall.  IR's pricing model is also a bit odd, to say the least.  I think the only place with a clear cut pricing structure is Groupees.

 

[asheskitty]

Basic point: If the price isn't worth it for me, I don't buy.

But calling it an average isn't just a matter of semantics, it's an outright lie.

I guess I would disagree with this, as I think the idea of "Beat the Average" has expanded beyond a literal average purchase price into a term used for the (possibly) arbitrary point that signifies the next tier of games.

Indie bundles have been playing fast and loose with "Beat the Average" for some time, and when I see it used I don't necessarily expect it to be the mathematical average of anything.

Would it be more or less shady if they manipulated their sales statistics to represent the new price? Or just didn't disclose those numbers to begin with?

EDIT: I'm not saying that Gala's actions are totally justified, and I think that Fox's suggestion of greater transparency would have made all of this a lot more palatable, I just think that the argument that "You say average but it isn't actually average" is less compelling given the history of indie bundles than it might at first seem.

Humble Bundle started the Indie Bundle Scene, and they started off with real-time info on bundles sold, $/platform made -- a model for transparency. HIB averages are real averages (sure, my hot F5'ing action typically sees 10-20 buys before the start of the bundle) induced by real forces. The price of their bundles fluctuates a lot when few bundles are sold, as more bundles are sold the price fluctuates less (as mathematically expected).

Other bundles are somewhat transparent (Groupees comes to mind) listing the number of bundles sold and the dollar amount sold. IG pricing has always been odd. Before I joined IG HH I'd only buy the occasional IG, if it appealed to me, and if I could slide the donation slider (the one with Sacred Gold for example). Seeing the blatent price manupulation on this last IG HH (suddenly dropping at the short-end of HH) disgusted me. Average is a mathematical term that most people understand (median and mode, less so), so I take particular offense to them calling the price to beat, an "average". If they just presented it as, "play more than $X.YZ to get these games" I wouldn't take issue. That said, with the standard quality of IG games, HH is the only way to go.

 

[Genocidal]

I wonder what it would take to get a CAG Indie Bundle up and running. If IndieGala, IFK, and all these other sites can do it, I'm sure we have the expertise and contacts to pull it off. Serious question/curiosity here.

 

[The End]

I wonder what it would take to get a CAG Indie Bundle up and running. If IndieGala, IFK, and all these other sites can do it, I'm sure we have the expertise and contacts to pull it off. Serious question/curiosity here.

You know it's funny, I actually suggested that very same thing about a year ago. I even sited the same inept bundle outfits as an example of how it can be done by pretty much any group of idiots. Main difference between your post and mine was that I was pretty much kidding and had no intention of following through on the suggestion.

I can't imagine that it takes a lot though. You need somebody to contact publishers/indie devs and convince them that we can pull it off, and that we're not con-artists. Then you'd need somebody to draw up some contracts between all parties involved. You'd need somebody to get a payment system and a bundle/key delivery system in place. Then you'd need somebody to design a website for the bundle. After that, you'd only need a way to get the word out to people that the bundle exists.

Am I missing anything?

Convincing the dev/publishers that we could do this and that we weren't not gonna steal their keys is probably the hardest part.

EDIT: I still have no intention in following through on any of this.

 

[seamoss]

Convincing the dev/publishers that we could do this and that we weren't not gonna steal their keys is probably the hardest part.

Now *that* would be a hilarious conversation:

"Hi, I'm from Cheap Ass Gamer and we'd like to host a bundle with your games - we promise we'll sell lots of bundles!"

"Er, you are from where?!?"

Maybe the name of the site should be kept out of the conversation...

 

[Eldredpe]

Convincing the dev/publishers that we could do this and that we weren't not gonna steal their keys is probably the hardest part.

Now *that* would be a hilarious conversation:

"Hi, I'm from Cheap Ass Gamer and we'd like to host a bundle with your games - we promise we'll sell lots of bundles!"

"Er, you are from where?!?"

Maybe the name of the site should be kept out of the conversation...

I'd think if you were to put together a slick package and got Cheapy to endorse it or sign off on using the name of the site it would actually help as far as lending credibility and getting the name out.

 

[seamoss]

Convincing the dev/publishers that we could do this and that we weren't not gonna steal their keys is probably the hardest part.

Now *that* would be a hilarious conversation:

"Hi, I'm from Cheap Ass Gamer and we'd like to host a bundle with your games - we promise we'll sell lots of bundles!"

"Er, you are from where?!?"

Maybe the name of the site should be kept out of the conversation...

I'd think if you were to put together a slick package and got Cheapy to endorse it or sign off on using the name of the site it would actually help as far as lending credibility and getting the name out.

Even more hilarity ensues:

"I'm serious! Here, CheapyD, our Head Cheap Ass, has endorsed this!"

and it's all downhill from there...

In all seriousness, I'm only (half) kidding. But putting together a bundle is a *lot* of work and probably a full time job for more than one person (not that I'm trying to discourage anyone).

 

[Blade]

I wonder what it would take to get a CAG Indie Bundle up and running. If IndieGala, IFK, and all these other sites can do it, I'm sure we have the expertise and contacts to pull it off. Serious question/curiosity here.

You know it's funny, I actually suggested that very same thing about a year ago. I even sited the same inept bundle outfits as an example of how it can be done by pretty much any group of idiots. Main difference between your post and mine was that I was pretty much kidding and had no intention of following through on the suggestion.

I can't imagine that it takes a lot though. You need somebody to contact publishers/indie devs and convince them that we can pull it off, and that we're not con-artists. Then you'd need somebody to draw up some contracts between all parties involved. You'd need somebody to get a payment system and a bundle/key delivery system in place. Then you'd need somebody to design a website for the bundle. After that, you'd only need a way to get the word out to people that the bundle exists.

Am I missing anything?

Convincing the dev/publishers that we could do this and that we weren't not gonna steal their keys is probably the hardest part.

EDIT: I still have no intention in following through on any of this.

I think we've just found a new method of fundraising for Child's Play. He had that giveaways section that didn't really take off, but they did give away a ton of PC gaming codes, including ones for Saints Row The Third DLC. I imagine adding in something like this on an already successful forum with hundreds of thousands of members would only be a benefit to the site as a whole. I'll notify Cheapy about the idea, and maybe we could legitimately start doing this.

 

[asheskitty]

In all seriousness, I'm only (half) kidding. But putting together a bundle is a *lot* of work and probably a full time job for more than one person (not that I'm trying to discourage anyone).

I'm not saying it's not a good bit of work, but if Groupees-Jonny can do it...

 

[Genocidal]

I think we've just found a new method of fundraising for Child's Play. He had that giveaways section that didn't really take off, but they did give away a ton of PC gaming codes, including ones for Saints Row The Third DLC. I imagine adding in something like this on an already successful forum with hundreds of thousands of members would only be a benefit to the site as a whole. I'll notify Cheapy about the idea, and maybe we could legitimately start doing this.

Honestly, I don't know that he's a big enough PC gamer to make it a big success if he were to be involved in any more than a supervisory, endorsement, or key contact role. As mentioned, I am fairly serious about this; it would be prudent to do some of the groundwork first so the idea doesn't come off as half-baked. I reckon that any serious outreach or attempt to work with devs should probably wait until after the Summer Sale when they aren't busy counting their Steam Money Hats™

 

[MrNinjaSquirrel]

Well even though this is still in pipe dream land, I'm rather curious: realistically, what would your bundle consist of, and what would the pricing structure be?