Xbox Live Gold Price Increase 11/1 - Subscription Deals Inside

mine comes with a bj....'s coupon book for extra savings on hundreds of items!

My live accounts runs out in 10 days. I really need a $30 deal from dell again. Come on Dell!
 
[quote name='Number83']$35 for a haircut?!? I pay $17 from an old school Italian Barber.[/QUOTE]
$35?! Holy shit, I only pay $15 for my haircut + goatee trim, and the barber does a damn good job. Now its time for me to get back on topic:

As far as for subscription vendors raising their discounted card prices, I'm perfectly cool with that as long as I'm not paying more than $45-50 a year. I can almost guarantee that Microsoft will continue to have special advertisement deals scattered throughout 2011 that will allow us to renew our subscription at or near $40 a year.
 
[quote name='Apostle22']I've heard rumblings that MS may do away with stores carrying the cards. This makes much more sense and will earn them much more money than the $10 increase ever would. Think about how much money they have lost because people like us have been getting cards for around $30 every year instead of paying MS $50 directly. Getting rid of the cards is the best decision MS could have done. Either that, or they will charge stores so much, that discounting them would be pointless for them.[/QUOTE]

Got a source for this? Because it's patently ridiculous...It would be moronic for MS to do away with the cards at retail. Absolutely, completely moronic from a Product Management and Retail standpoint. That would basically eliminate anyone from ever being able to give a physical gift of a subscription, or points, or whatever. Live would have no retail shelf space. I can't stress enough how ridiculous that scenario is...
 
[quote name='Master Troll']$35?! Holy shit, I only pay $15 for my haircut + goatee trim, and the barber does a damn good job. Now its time for me to get back on topic:

[/QUOTE]

I can get mine for $9 with tips, and the people did a great job. Even less if I go to more shady places.
 
[quote name='Ronin317']Live would have no retail shelf space.[/QUOTE]

But what does "retail shelf space" really mean for Live, anyway? In and of itself, it's not a console seller -- people may well buy an XBox in part because they like what Live offers, but that card on the shelf isn't going to sell it to them. Likewise, existing XBox owners aren't likely to pick up a Live subscription card as an impulse purchase -- other than the relatively small percentage of people who stock up during those $30 sales, people generally only buy a Live card when they want/need to renew their subscription. And it's not like the reminder wouldn't be there -- Live features are the first thing that users see every time they turn on their XBoxes, and if nothing else, Live users would certainly notice if their subscription ran out when all of the features suddenly went way. As for gifting, as long as there is an electronic method of doing it, that would more than likely cover most people's needs.

I'm not sure that the cards are going away (I haven't seen these "rumblings" anywhere myself), but really, it would make perfect sense. If Microsoft could just flat-out make $60 (or even $50) off of each Live subscription, rather than the much lower cut they take after retailers make their profit (imagine how low that cut must be if retailers can afford to put the cards on sale for $30 and still profit), they would make a lot more money off of Live (even if it put off a small percentage of potential customers with the change). People who want Live would buy it regardless. So I don't see why you'd call the idea "patently ridiculous".

(On the other hand, I don't see point cards going away, because they probably do sell a lot of those as impulse buys, but that's a totally different issue.)
 
I am with Halluzinationz. Why not better justify Gold vs. Silver. Wouldn't it be nice for Gold to be loaded with FB, Twitter, ESPN, etc. Then Silver is for us who really just want Online play and maybe Netflix. Does anyone actually go Silver?
 
[quote name='Apostle22']
I currently own a PS3 and 2 360s. One is my sons and the 360 has always been my online console of choice. Now, I'm selling the 360 and getting him a second PS3. I simply cannot justify paying 100-120 a year for two live accounts. People love to use the "its only .xx cents a day" argument. Sticking with that logic, buying a ps3 is still cheaper in the long run. Lets say there are 4 years left in this gen. A ps3 would run me $300. 4 years for 2 live services would run me $480. Throw in the fact that I can sell my 360 and recover half the cost of a ps3, that sure looks like a much better deal for this cheapass.[/QUOTE]
Couldn't have said it any better myself. +1 (Although I won't be getting a PS3 anytime soon.
 
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[quote name='Apostle22']What on earth would make you think anyone would sell them cheap just to dump their stock? Its not like they expire. If anything, someone with a ton of stock knows they are not sitting on a gold mine.

This was my issue with everyone saying to relax because you can always find the same old deals we've been getting.......Those deals are done....If anything, you will probably be paying $10 more than the average deal from years past.....

I've heard rumblings that MS may do away with stores carrying the cards. This makes much more sense and will earn them much more money than the $10 increase ever would. Think about how much money they have lost because people like us have been getting cards for around $30 every year instead of paying MS $50 directly. Getting rid of the cards is the best decision MS could have done. Either that, or they will charge stores so much, that discounting them would be pointless for them.

I currently own a PS3 and 2 360s. One is my sons and the 360 has always been my online console of choice. Now, I'm selling the 360 and getting him a second PS3. I simply cannot justify paying 100-120 a year for two live accounts. People love to use the "its only .xx cents a day" argument. Sticking with that logic, buying a ps3 is still cheaper in the long run. Lets say there are 4 years left in this gen. A ps3 would run me $300. 4 years for 2 live services would run me $480. Throw in the fact that I can sell my 360 and recover half the cost of a ps3, that sure looks like a much better deal for this cheapass.[/QUOTE]

Please think about what your writing before you quote someone,...If a product hasn't been selling for awhile, which before this price hike, how often do people buy 12 M cards, yeah maybe they thought let's cash in on this. So, they discount the product and guess what, it sells like hotcakes.
A PERFECT example is Dell JUST did this by offering their 12 month cards at around $30 and if you bought two you got free shipping. They also completely cleared out there stock of 12 month cards in around an hour. So, maybe it's not obscure, but Dell just did what I said exactly.
As for your off topic PS3 paragraph, I'll just leave that one alone. :roll:
 
[quote name='Pauler']I am with Halluzinationz. Why not better justify Gold vs. Silver. Wouldn't it be nice for Gold to be loaded with FB, Twitter, ESPN, etc. Then Silver is for us who really just want Online play and maybe Netflix. Does anyone actually go Silver?[/QUOTE]
A tiered system would be nice. Turn current silver to bronze. Put online games, fewer ads and maybe a couple perks at silver. Gold would have everything and even fewer ads.

The only problem with that is that probably most gamers would then flock to silver, because a lot of that extra stuff is useless to gamers or superfluous with computer access. But if all this bloat is causing a subscription fee increase, it's hurting people that only want to use the most basic function of XBox Live.

Stop the bloat Microsoft. Thanks.
 
[quote name='DeathBringer']Lots of pissing and moaning and no DEALS![/QUOTE]

This.

It's the deals thread folks, not the "lets moan about how Live is now too expensive" thread.
 
[quote name='arcane93']But what does "retail shelf space" really mean for Live, anyway? In and of itself, it's not a console seller -- people may well buy an XBox in part because they like what Live offers, but that card on the shelf isn't going to sell it to them. Likewise, existing XBox owners aren't likely to pick up a Live subscription card as an impulse purchase -- other than the relatively small percentage of people who stock up during those $30 sales, people generally only buy a Live card when they want/need to renew their subscription. And it's not like the reminder wouldn't be there -- Live features are the first thing that users see every time they turn on their XBoxes, and if nothing else, Live users would certainly notice if their subscription ran out when all of the features suddenly went way. As for gifting, as long as there is an electronic method of doing it, that would more than likely cover most people's needs.

I'm not sure that the cards are going away (I haven't seen these "rumblings" anywhere myself), but really, it would make perfect sense. If Microsoft could just flat-out make $60 (or even $50) off of each Live subscription, rather than the much lower cut they take after retailers make their profit (imagine how low that cut must be if retailers can afford to put the cards on sale for $30 and still profit), they would make a lot more money off of Live (even if it put off a small percentage of potential customers with the change). People who want Live would buy it regardless. So I don't see why you'd call the idea "patently ridiculous".

(On the other hand, I don't see point cards going away, because they probably do sell a lot of those as impulse buys, but that's a totally different issue.)[/QUOTE]
Look, I'm sorry, and I'm not trying to be rude here, but you're wrong on this. Simply put. In-store merchandise will always play a role. The shelf presence, particularly paid space, is
huge for MS.
 
[quote name='bigredvan14']Supply and demand is a bitch.[/QUOTE]

Economics has no place in a bitching thread! I say good day, sir.

-------

If Microsoft created a tier that didn't have 13 year old boys screaming in my ear and yelling racist shit, I'd pay $100 a year for that. I seriously would. Can you imagine how create live would be?
 
[quote name='Ronin317']Look, I'm sorry, and I'm not trying to be rude here, but you're wrong on this. Simply put. In-store merchandise will always play a role. The shelf presence, particularly paid space, is
huge for MS.[/QUOTE]

And I'm not trying to be rude here (and I'm not sure why it's rude to disagree anyway ;)), but why? Rather than just saying I'm wrong, tell me why I'm wrong.

I will certainly agree with you that shelf space for the XBox is hugely important -- for consoles, games, and accessories (i.e. physical goods). But that tiny little rack of Live subscription cards buried in there in the middle of all of that? From the simple visibility point of view that you seem to be arguing, they wouldn't be missed.
 
[quote name='arcane93']And I'm not trying to be rude here (and I'm not sure why it's rude to disagree anyway ;)), but why? Rather than just saying I'm wrong, tell me why I'm wrong.

I will certainly agree with you that shelf space for the XBox is hugely important -- for consoles, games, and accessories (i.e. physical goods). But that tiny little rack of Live subscription cards buried in there in the middle of all of that? From the simple visibility point of view that you seem to be arguing, they wouldn't be missed.[/QUOTE]

Where have you purchased your Live subscription codes? You can't be serious you bought them all through your Xbox. So they were in some type of retail space, either online or B&M. I know I personally have never bought one through my xbox. I have on the other hand grabbed plenty of Xbox Live cards and Point Cards in B&M stores. Do you now get the idea?

[quote name='arcane93']Given that there already is a deals thread for Live subscription cards, it's really not clear why this is a deals thread anyway. What exactly are you looking for this thread to provide which that one doesn't? [/QUOTE]

I said the same thing lots of pages ago. This thread was originally in the Xbox 360 forum and moved into the deals thread.
 
[quote name='lordopus99']Where have you purchased your Live subscription codes? You can't be serious you bought them all through your Xbox. So they were in some type of retail space, either online or B&M. I know I personally have never bought one through my xbox. I have on the other grabbed plenty of Xbox Live cards and Point Cards in B&M stores. Do you now get the idea?[/QUOTE]

You're completely missing my point. Sure, we've bought all of our subscription codes through cards up to this point. As CAGs, we certainly should have, since that's where the deals are. However, are you seriously telling me that if Microsoft told you tomorrow that you had to buy your subscription through your XBox, no choice, you would stop subscribing rather than doing so?

I'm not talking about what I want to see happen -- I certainly prefer that the cards be available, so that we see competitive deals on them. However, look at it from Microsoft's point of view -- if they stop selling cards and only sell subscriptions through the console, they would make the entire profit off of the subscription, rather than having to share it with the retailers, and most (if not all) Live subscribers would continue to subscribe as they always have.

Really (here, let me make the real argument for the cards for you), about the only reason for the cards, from Microsoft's point of view, would be that not everyone has a credit card available.

[quote name='lordopus99']I said the same thing lots of pages ago. This thread was originally in the Xbox 360 forum and moved into the deals thread.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, but people keep bitching about it, so it's worth reiterating. ;)
 
[quote name='arcane93']And I'm not trying to be rude here (and I'm not sure why it's rude to disagree anyway ;)), but why? Rather than just saying I'm wrong, tell me why I'm wrong.

I will certainly agree with you that shelf space for the XBox is hugely important -- for consoles, games, and accessories (i.e. physical goods). But that tiny little rack of Live subscription cards buried in there in the middle of all of that? From the simple visibility point of view that you seem to be arguing, they wouldn't be missed.[/QUOTE]

I can't buy points and Live membership through my Xbox using cash or store credit. I'm sure there's a way to give them as a gift electronically, but that's beyond most peoples' desire or abilities.

Eliminating physical cards would cut off a large segment of potential customers.
 
[quote name='benjamouth']Yeah good point, I'd not checked and assumed this thread was the deals one, this thread really is completely pointless.

Time for a mod get rid I reckon.[/QUOTE]

No, time for a mod to move it back to the 360 discussion forum, where it belongs. But since we're 23 pages into it and it hasn't happened yet, we probably shouldn't count on anything.
 
Not entirely on-topic, but here's something I've never quite understood, I'm curious if anyone knows -- why do they even have separate Live subscription cards anyway? Why not just consolidate the cards and charge 4000 points (or, 4800 points at the new rate I guess) for a year subscription?
 
Time to move this thread back to the 360 forum. Copied some of the other info to the other thread in the VGD forum.

EDIT: Sorry, forgot to re-open this once I copied it back into the 360 forum.
 
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QUESTION:

I just bought a 12-Month Xbox Live pre-paid Subscription Card a couple months ago for the regular price, but don't plan on using it until December (for their Gold Member December sales) a whole month AFTER the price increase takes effect.

I should still be fine using that pre-paid card come December right?
 
[quote name='KingBroly']You can use it right now since they stack.[/QUOTE]
True, but I'd like to use it much later so that it expires later.

That way instead of using it now, I'd just use it in Dec 2010 for the sale, then won't have to renew again next Dec 2011 since it's still active.
 
[quote name='Ratchet & CAG']QUESTION:

I just bought a 12-Month Xbox Live pre-paid Subscription Card a couple months ago for the regular price, but don't plan on using it until December (for their Gold Member December sales) a whole month AFTER the price increase takes effect.

I should still be fine using that pre-paid card come December right?[/QUOTE]

It should be fine.
 
[quote name='Ratchet & CAG']QUESTION:

I just bought a 12-Month Xbox Live pre-paid Subscription Card a couple months ago for the regular price, but don't plan on using it until December (for their Gold Member December sales) a whole month AFTER the price increase takes effect.

I should still be fine using that pre-paid card come December right?[/QUOTE]You can stack up to three years worth of Live from today's date. If you're going to expire in December, you can use it now and be extended out until December 2011, if you'd like.
 
[quote name='shrike4242']You can stack up to three years worth of Live from today's date. If you're going to expire in December, you can use it now and be extended out until December 2011, if you'd like.[/QUOTE]

I suspect he means that he just has a Silver membership now, and doesn't want to "go Gold" until December?

Yeah, you should be fine. I can't imagine that Microsoft will do a mass expiration of the old codes when the price goes up. That would cause a riot.
 
[quote name='arcane93']I suspect he means that he just has a Silver membership now, and doesn't want to "go Gold" until December?

Yeah, you should be fine. I can't imagine that Microsoft will do a mass expiration of the old codes when the price goes up. That would cause a riot.[/QUOTE]
Exactly. Thanks for the clarification.
 
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