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jonathan1000r
5/11/2008
11:01:47
[ report abuse ] |
 Subject: Cheapest premium membership
Message:
I would like to suggest an analysis to Gameknot, regarding the optimal entry level subscription made available.
I believe it to be currently to high, based on the people around me. Many have indeed been willing to pay for the "special" bronze subscription ($10/year) that was offered at some point last year, but are unlikely to upgrade upon its expiry because the cheapest option is 4 times more expensive.
It is certainly very easy for Gameknot to calculate how many of the "special" subscribers end up paying for a more expensive permanent offer, and if the proportion is low, it means that there is a certain segment of players/customers (students?) with a willingness-to-pay that GK is not tapping into.
If you think GK should consider offering a cheaper basic subscription (for example by making the bronze level a permanent offer), feel free to say so by answering this post, which may be monitored by the people in charge!
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chessnovice
5/11/2008
19:57:18
[ report abuse ] | ...
Message:
Best bang for the buck that's available is the gold membership, in my opinion. It amounts to less than 4 dollars per month, which isn't really all that bad (considering I also paid for MLB TV, which is double the price for less than a year - I don't even use it as much as GK either).
The silver membership is a good idea only if you're testing things out, and don't intend to pay for more than 6 months.
Bronze membership is a greater deal, but you really have to jump on GK's generous moments when they come. Those who bought the lifetime membership made the best investment of all. You're not gonna find cheaper subscription being offered permanently, though. From what I gather from Mike's prior posts here, it is a growing challenge to make ends meet. The only way we MIGHT see a decrease in price is if the site forbids free accounts completely. But even then, I'm not so sure.
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kapwinggreg
5/12/2008
04:51:50
[ report abuse ] | Keep bronze !
Message:
I agree with Jonathan.
As a student, I am not sure that I want to invest a lot in Gameknot now, and I wish I could continue my bronze subscription.
4$ / month is not that much, but the Internet is now full of such offer. You can have your flickr account, your internet access, an account in an information website etc. I am not sure to want such an investment for all my hobbies.
Moreover, this is not 4$ once but until I get bored of chess, which means probably never. I mean I will pay this for years.
Last but not least : I am not always sure about the value : the site is great, everything is smooth. I am sure that are some resources behind it. But I don't feel like that are so much innovation and data transfered which would justify the price.
I love Gameknot, I hope I will remain a bronze subscriber.
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wanstronian
5/12/2008
12:09:42
[ report abuse ] |
Message:
I haven't found a site that gets anywhere near Gameknot for features and slickness (apart from the dodgy postponement cancellation), and am more than happy to continue paying my subs. I hope that any financial difficulties are transient, because I would be gutted if Gameknot closed!
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jonathan1000r
5/12/2008
12:37:56
[ report abuse ] | clarification
Message:
I am not suggesting one should not pay for what clearly is a good service (otherwise we wouldn't be discussing it)
However, i am suggesting the possibility of making it a tad less expensive for the people who have less money to spare on their hobbies. The point is to address the market segment in between "free" and 40 bucks per year. I believe there are many people who currently pay nothing but would consider subscribing if the cheapest option was, well, cheaper.
Gameknot seems to have had a hunch about this too, why else would they have introduced the bronze special offer ? I'm just saying its time to draw the consequences of that experiment!
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lighttotheright
5/12/2008
16:26:28
[ report abuse ] |
Message:
For me, it is not about the money; it is about the time involved. I don't have the time to play 40, 30, or even just 20 games at the same time. Why should I pay for a service that I cannot use?
That's why the bronze membership is so right for me. I can handle 10 to 12 games at the same time...no problem. Even if the cost went up to 12 dollars instead of the current 10 a year for the lower paying membership, it would still be a good deal for me.
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markb56
5/15/2008
10:59:43
[ report abuse ] | How about a COPPER level?
Message:
I like all the features of premium membership EXCEPT there is no way I can play more than 10 games at a time against 1800+ rated opponents (I can barely manage 4 games at the moment). I like having an enlarged avatar, no adds, and having a pawn next to my name is sexy. I would be willing to pay $19.99 for these features and be limited to 12 games at a time, as paying $40 for 40 games when I can only play 6 is excessive. Call this new level COPPER and limit the number of games to 12 and I'll subscribe.
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easy19
5/17/2008
18:33:56
[ report abuse ] |
Message:
I like to have a 3 year premium :) for a good price say pay for 2 years 3th year free..
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sodiumattack
5/21/2008
01:23:02
[ report abuse ] | Why not...
Message:
again lifetime membership? Would be a nice idea! :P
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tim_b
5/21/2008
01:50:32
[ report abuse ] |
Message:
I don't think GK will put the same life memberships on offer again as they said at the time it was only available then; that was part of the enticement. AFAIK, that means gold and bronze has gone.
So if GK puts e.g. silver, or some other specially created life membership on offer in future, I would heartily recommend grabbing it!
Re: cheapest premium membership, I'm sure GK will keep an open mind about jonathan1000r's suggestions; it can only be in their best commercial interests to consider all ways of bringing in customers with varying needs.
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jonathan1000r
5/21/2008
02:00:15
[ report abuse ] | making GK aware of our discussion
Message:
does anybody know how to do that ?
does " gameknot.com; actually work ?
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sodiumattack
5/22/2008
09:58:49
[ report abuse ] | It would be ok for me...
Message:
a premium membership with silver membership benefits. I don't need to play a lot of games at the same time (can't play at a decent level too much games!) nor lots of mini-tournaments or found a team.
Well, let's hope!
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tonguetide
6/03/2008
06:24:13
[ report abuse ] | Copper...I like it
Message:
I would certainly pay $20/year for the "copper" membership level mentioned above by markb56, for the same reasons he adduces.
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flpmdsqd
7/21/2008
17:16:10
[ report abuse ] | Cancelling a subscription
Message:
I've read that my subscription may be cancelled at any time. Does anybody know how? I can't find a link or phone # or anything at all.
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flpmdsqd
7/21/2008
17:16:44
[ report abuse ] | Cancelling a subscription
Message:
I've read that my subscription may be cancelled at any time. Does anybody know how? I can't find a link or phone # or anything at all.
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heinzkat
7/23/2008
04:02:43
[ report abuse ] |
Message:
gameknot.com
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flpmdsqd
7/23/2008
11:29:57
[ report abuse ] |
Message:
Right. The log in and click to cancel method seems to be a problem. I asked Customer Service: “Dear Sir or Ma'am, On July 20th, 2009 I would like my subscription cancelled, and not renewed. If, after one year I wish to renew, and I would like to go through the steps to do this again, and not be auto-renewed. Sincerely”...name, day phone#, username.
Customer service replied essentially, "No." It can't be any clearer or nicer, but I was told to log in and cancel when I want to cancel. This is bad service. It implies I am able to log in (I deploy frequently and cannot log-in for months) and also one must remember all associations and key dates, in order to log-in close to when a subscription expires to not lose time/value, and also not be a day late - or be charged in full.
There is a better way to do business. I truly wish Gameknot would accept customer communications along the lines of mine. I've been through an hour or so of figuring this out a few days ago, could not find a number to call in advance to "simply" cancel whenever I want, and so subscribed (faith in the wind), expecting a welcome message, steps to unsubscribed, etc. Instead I later find a glaring cancel button. Who really wants to push that 2 days after beginning/paying for their subscription? Certainly if a customer has done as much self-service as we have to read the FAQs and figuring all of this out, and furthermore a follow-up to explore cancelling well ahead of the last minute, Gameknot should have a program that accepts customers entering a cancel-by date or streamlined to show "pushing this botton enables cancelling at subscription end of paid period" or "...cancels auto-renew" or have no auto-renew feature at all.
The site is popular for a reason, but like most other companies and persons ( not irreparable) - after success, desire for more things, plus fear-management, a line gets crossed and a company falls for the “business model” that hopes customers make an error, very much like credit-card companies. It is Gameknot's choice to follow the (searching for the word) close-to-despicable internet business model of auto-renew. Here’s hoping for a better way, or at least a letter and request to cancel on a certain date, to be complied with.
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