[Question] Why do you get more diamonds per dollar on PC than on Mobile?

[DeletedUser]

I have recently noticed that when purchasing diamonds $4.99 will buy you 250 diamonds on PC but only 220 when purchased through the apple app store (on a US server with the same account). Could someone explain to me why mobile users are being discriminated against in such a way?

Edit: This same concept of getting less diamonds for the same dollar value applies to all purchases from $4.99 to $79.99 (11,000d on PC, 10,000d on mobile).

 

[DeletedUser25273]

My first guess is that the mobile stores may charge a higher fee for the transaction then the vendor they use for the direct purchase. Just like the mobile offers a lower price point purchase too, probably because the mobile fee structure probably works better for small purchases than the direct on-line system (mobile games often want to make it easy to do very small transactions, so the games stores pushed to get a fee structure to support that)

 

[DeletedUser13261]

Speaking of diamonds, why did the Canadian diamond cost increase by $20.00 for 11.000 diamonds? It is not like Inno are mining the things. I see greed creeping in over entertainment value. Hope this does not continue.

 

[DeletedUser]

I understand the fee structure may be different but this is a digital commodity not a physical one. That is to say that whether you are producing 1 diamond or 1 billion diamonds the production costs remain the same. Therefore it would better benefit a company seeking to expand its mobile user community to ensure parity of the mobile version of its product with other versions than to give preference to one or the other. After all a consistent product is one of the keys to success in every industry.

I suppose those who read these message boards regularly would not be surprised by this since by all accounts I have seen so far Inno games is more interested in the short term bottom line than the long term welfare of the company.

 

[DeletedUser]

A good example of how to think about this would be a simple thought experiment.

Imagine you go to a bar and order a $5 beer, you can either pay with a credit card or you can pay with apple pay (which uses the same credit card). If you pay with a credit card you will get a full pint (16oz) while if you choose to pay with apple pay you will only get a short pour (12oz).

If a bar, which has real production costs associated with every oz poured is willing to give you the same amount of product regardless of payment method, why shouldn't diamonds (which again have no production costs associated with them) be treated the same.

 

[DeletedUser25273]

The flip example is that some places will give you a discount for paying with cash!

 

[DeletedUser]

Speaking of diamonds, why did the Canadian diamond cost increase by $20.00 for 11.000 diamonds? It is not like Inno are mining the things. I see greed creeping in over entertainment value. Hope this does not continue.

If your talking about an increase of $20 Canadian it is likely because the Canadian dollar is worth less than a US dollar

 

[DeletedUser]

The flip example is that some places will give you a discount for paying with cash!

In my experience discounts for paying cash are in place because the business providing the discount has no intention of claiming that revenue for their taxes. The aforementioned examples are made with the assumption that all parties are compliant with the law of the land.

Edit: or are giving you the percentage they would save by not have to pay a transaction fee when they accept a credit card.

 

[DeletedUser25273]

i don't know about that. They still ring it up on the register so the record is still made (yes, under the table transactions get different).

 

[DeletedUser]

At the end of the day getting a discount for cash is irrelevant to this discussion as diamonds in FoE cannot be purchased with cash in so far as I know.

 

[DeletedUser]

your assumption of no production cost isn't accurate, the coding to do so is a production and a cost, there is supply and demand, which to use your example of beer may cost $5 on Thursday and $7 on Friday and then back to $5 on Monday or even $5 for ladies and $7 for men, as someone else already stated perhaps there is a "middleman" for the mobile diamonds and rather then eating the cost Inno has decided to let the consumer pay for the convenience.

Also confirming the Canadian dollar makes me sad

 

[DeletedUser]

Granted it may cost Inno games a dollar or two of a programmer's time to change a few bytes of code, when you divide that "cost" across a projected net increases in the number of purchases of diamonds at a given price point, this change will have cost you a tiny fraction of a penny to make per transaction. So yes there is a production cost involved but it is negligible. While beer prices will may vary over time or for special occasions (such as ladies night) they will not vary because of payment method.

Having said all that (cause I can't help but nitpick) I must ultimately agree with your final statement; this is a case of a business passing on the cost of convenience to the consumer rather than accept that since April 15, 1955 the company that makes their product conveniently available without increasing their prices is the one that wins.