just trying to wrap my head around the distinction between people advertising their tournaments--where they make money off us playing--and what power 9 pro is doing (supporting magic players through accessory development--let's face it, the companies out there now fracking suck...like eveyrone knows that ultrapro actually makes more "photo boxes" and "scrapbook supplies" than they do anything else, right? that's not what i can consider a company capable of understanding player needs. --disclousre: use to work there...).
help me understand this so i can stay within the boundaries of the forum guidelines. i'm trying to keep power9pro's focus on the magic community. i mean, i created the company to help bring real value and help to mtg players becuase i am a long time mtg-lover. (i would so make out w/ black lotuses if it didnt' cost me a $1000 to do that...lol). being able to discuss what the company is doing on these forums (and similar) is the only way to really make sure that players understand what we're all about. it's about a dialogue. and i certainly have never read a post from ultrapro (or equivlant) about what we're looking for.
basically, this is a great place to voice what's happening in the mtg community. being the creator and designer of the compnay, every player has a direct access channel to telling _me_ what they need to make game play better.
And yes, no incantatrix for you. Or anyone. That class makes puppies cry. Mostly because they are the former Big Bads who have been Baleful Polymorphed into said puppies. By you. Because you're an incantatrix.
Quote from Yukora »
This is Deraxas we're talking about.
Remember, the girl that just killed an aspect of herself before literally consuming her?
Yeah, I don't see her handling a pissing match in any way other than a duel.
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Yes mistress...
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There are only so many epic, psuedonatural barbarian/blackguard half-dragon akutenshai vampire balor paragons they can throw at you, right?
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I suppose it's true. Though the logistics implied in a human/Great Wyrm Prismatic Dragon pairing makes me shudder.
...Something tells me that even should all arcane casters in the world unite, that the Grease spell would NOT be sufficient.
Dude, your purse-baggy cost $45 plus another $10 for shipping in the US. Tell me it's made by Coach. I say let him advertise all he wants cause nobody is going to buy that thing for that price.
guess the sales would have to argue w/ that. you can keep ignorant and rather stupid comments to yourself. don't care how many posts you have on this site, that's TOTAL troll action. u know it too.
Dude, your purse-baggy cost $45 plus another $10 for shipping in the US. Tell me it's made by Coach. I say let him advertise all he wants cause nobody is going to buy that thing for that price.
math for the "binger":
4x deck boxes @ 3.49 (assuming you aren't the cheapest mo-fo on the planet and you actually get one w/ cool art) = $14 plus tax.
1x crappy ass carrying case by one of the "other manufactures" $20 = $20.
total x. 8% [for tax] === $36.72
guarantee cost...wait, where's the guarantee??? OH THAT'S RIGHT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE FROM THE OTHERS.
cost of replacement because the cheap ass paper-thin deck boxes and nylon bag wear out in two years: $36.72
total is already at $73++
so, yeah. it's made by power 9 pro, b. coach ain't got nuthin on us!! start respektin' or just keep on walkin' cuz you "know what is what, but you don't know what is what, you just strut...what the ****?"
Dude chill, you are going to get yourself suspended or worst, if the guy is trolling you dont address the troll, the fact you get so upset about a troll and have to resort to a "Higher tan thou" attitude doesnt put you OR your company in a good light.
Im also not sure what your last post is about, are you talking about the competition? or are you talking about your own product? because if the cheap ass box from the competition will last me 2 years with repetitive use i cant really complain.
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Call me old fashioned, but an evil ascension to power just isn't the same without someone chanting faux Latin in the background.
Oreo, Glazing people better than Dunkin' Donuts since 2009
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange eons even death may die.
I have the bag that SCG sells, and even though it's nerdy as hell, it appears pretty vastly superior...oh and it's cheaper. Holds 5x of the Ion magnetic deck boxes, dice, paper, everything but my binder. Oh it has a strap too. Plus, I'd rather it say MTG on the side then "Dragon's Egg"...whatever that is.
I wouldn't get so confident.
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I'm bad at magic, you're bad at magic, and Level 4 Pro Ari Lax is terrible at magic.
I had never heard of your website or company before, messels, so I followed the link in your signature. I have several comments for you, hopefully some of which will help answer the questions you have:
These first ones are about your carrying case product:
-What is the meaning/purpose of "Dragon's Egg"? Other than dragons, how does this have any correlation to the realm of Magic: The Gathering? Why am I not at least seeing your "Power 9 Pro" logo on the carrying case product?
-Is that image on the removable deck-case plastic insert standard? What is it an image of? From the picture on your website, it does not look that appealing; again, something more MTG-related would be ideal; card art, etc.
-Your case very closely resembles a lunch box. I have a lunch box myself that shares a very similar design; two compartments, the top one more rounded out, the bottom one square. I can fit decks in deckboxes in the bottom compartment relatively easily. My lunch box is dark blue, has some nonchalant logo on the top left corner. But I would never use it to transport my cards. A few reasons:
-It's not very attractive to carry around; either I'd be dangling it from my hand like a little basket of love, or, if I for some reason decided to attach a shoulder strap to it like you have to your carrying case product, I suppose I could hang it over my shoulder like either a purse or a fanny pack, neither of which sounds like a remotely attractive option.
-While it contains more space for storage than your product, it still does not carry much. Here's what I would normally bring with me to a FNM or prerelease or similar event:
-4 to 5 decks, with sideboards, sleeved
-lots of dice & tokens
-a pad of paper & pen/pencils
-trade cards
-extra room to store whatever product I buy at said event, usually won't take up more than the space of another deck
-sometimes a small snack like a candy bar or a soda
Your product appears too small to support these transport needs. I'd argue it would only have to be about 1/3rd larger probably, but this begs the question, why not design your product in backpack or near-backpack form?
I'd say probably the biggest issue is a lack of space to really store one's trade cards. The audience your product seems to be engineered towards is the more competitive MTG player, who is often all about trading and making good deals. If they have to carry their trade cards separate, and they end up using a backpack to do so (such as in a trade binder), this then introduces the dilemma of "Why not just store everything in my backpack rather than carry it and this extra case dangled over my shoulder?"
-Why is this the only product on your website? Are you a relatively new company? If so, I surely understand, but having only one product on your website immediately makes me much less inclined to purchase it. Why? Because it sends the message that you are either a very new company, a not very successful company, or a temporary "company", whom, if I buy this product from, may very well be unable to answer any product support needs I may need in the future, or provide a replacement product if the one I purchase turns out to be faulty.
Now, you asked for some suggestions of what "we", the MTG players, want in support product for our game, so I will provide you with some of my personal desires:
-A smaller trade binder, like the ones sold already that can fit four cards per page, but without the silly/lame artwork on the covers, and ideally in more of a binder-style with 2 center rings that you can open and insert more sleeve pages (and extra sleeve pages sold separately themselves [a good source of income for a new product ;)]) Note: If it had an archaic or oldschool theme to its appearance, it could be really nifty- the idea of what looks like an old, ancient book of sorts carrying all your valuable trade cards sounds very appealing. The way in which you present your trade cards to your fellow magic player can provide a large influence over their desire to trade with you, and even over how they regard your cards for trade themselves. A trade binder of this size would also be easier to carry in a special, MTG-themed carrying case
-Decent deck boxes with thematic dividers within the deckbox for separating one's deck from one's sideboard
-Sets of two ten-sided dice (spin-down format) used to represent one's life total, among other things, with a decent art theme among the dice.
-Card sleeves with recognized, "Old Masters" artwork on them- of course, this would likely require more legal fees, but having a deck sleeved in the art of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, M.C. Escher, Giger, Salvador Dali... man that would be cool.
-Magnetic counters. Like those little bead counters, though slightly magnetic, so that when you place multiple counters on the same permanent, they stick together for convenience, and you also have much less to worry about stray counters leaking out of your counter bag, or whatever way you intend to transport them.
Anyway, hope this helps you out. I admire your efforts to come accross as a player-devoted MTG support product company, though I am not too fond of your demeanor here in this thread in how you've handled your responses. I will assume you are mature enough to learn from these mistakes though; after all, you invented your own company. But please try to keep things in a healthy discussion atmosphere.
-Magnetic counters. Like those little bead counters, though slightly magnetic, so that when you place multiple counters on the same permanent, they stick together for convenience, and you also have much less to worry about stray counters leaking out of your counter bag, or whatever way you intend to transport them.
QFT. They should look like a casino poker chip, but slightly smaller. I'm thinking colored outer rings, like a chip, with the different colors signifying different types of counters. Think yellow for charge, green for +1/+1, red for -1/-1, a few other colors for a few other types, and artwork in the inlay on one side and text for the type of counter on the other.
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Hey all... I'm retired, not dead. Check out what I'm doing these days (and beg me to come back if you want):
Ooh I like your ideas. I'd go with black for -1/-1 though. White for suspend perhaps? And of course blue for delay counters on Ertai's Meddling (j/k :xd:) Although if we're talking counters similar to poker chips, they would suffer much less of the problems the pretty glass bead counters do that brought me to suggest magnetism. Flat discs don't really roll away from you unless you intentionally roll them away yourself HOWEVER, you could perform neat "magic tricks" if your disc were magnetized with two poles on either facing- you could hold a stronger polarized magnet underneath the table, directly under your magnetized disc counter on the top of the table, then flip your polarized magnet, causing it to repel the disc counter, in turn causing it to flip over. "Ta dah!"
One more thing to point out, messels- you're going to have to decide if you want to create product support for a directly MTG-related audience, or for a wider CCG-related audience. You at first market your carrying case as a MTG-specific product, but then in your youtube video you mention how it can be used for any CCG, and there is no actual MTG imagery or thematic reference on the product itself, which is confusing as your company's title is Power 9 Pro, after all. I would personally like to see directly MTG-related product, but I'd say it's probably wiser from a business standpoint for you to market your products as simply CCG-related rather than MTG-related, though at that point one may argue that you are then no different than Ultra Pro, which you so vehemently despise.
In addition to all the wonderful points Xanth brought up, you might want to lean to use proper grammar, and convey yourself as a well spoken individual.
I know for a fact I would never buy something from an online retailer who's owner can't simply capitalize the first letter of every sentence.
In addition to all the wonderful points Xanth brought up, you might want to lean to use proper grammar, and convey yourself as a well spoken individual.
I know for a fact I would never buy something from an online retailer who's owner can't simply capitalize the first letter of every sentence.
at this i just say, "hahaha, guy is obsessed w/ capitalization. i'm sure we can save a lot of lives and end world suffering if we all capitalized a little more." ;-)
@ everyone else, valid points. i should learn to chill. one of the main things i have ot work on--and _do_ work on. it's acutally why i have the other p9p peeps doing the forum posting more for me. i tend to be super-duper excitable. just ask me any politically motivated question and you'll never hear the end of it. not sure if it's the philosophy background or just coming from a boxitrous household. lol.
2nd product launches in a few weeks--contest going now for a free "one" if you can guess what it is.
@ "no strap." has a strap. some photos were taken sans-strap (but that was the photographer's prerogative...may not be clear but if you click on the image it brings up a "light box"--if y'all know that is ...kinda specific in web programming world where there is an image w/ a strap). <hmm> just flipped over to the site to verify and the first freaking image is w/ the strap so i guess that guy really doesn't know wtf he's talking about...guess i can't adress that really. maybe pay more attention?
anyway, i'm glad i started the thread. there's a lot in there for "player needs."
still...i don't see why we're "allowed" to advert for events designed to suck our $$ away but not for things that will make our lives easier. just askin'.
at this i just say, "hahaha, guy is obsessed w/ capitalization. i'm sure we can save a lot of lives and end world suffering if we all capitalized a little more." ;-)
I still stand by what I said, what looks more appealing.
hi, my name is opposite and i post on the forums here at mtgsalvation. i have a company named widget central, and i sell all sorts of products.
OR
Hello, my name is Opposite and I post on the forums here at MTGSalvation. I have a company named Widget Central, and I sell all sorts of products.
You tell me, but not formatting things properly is sort of an eyesore, it also helps if you don't use abbreviations. I don't, and I'm just a normal guy, this is all up to you, but I'm pretty sure one part of being successful image wise is to at least come off as grammatically savvy.
First of all, I have to point out, messels, that site rules DO say you should have good grammar. Capitalization is part of that. Partly, Opposite is trying to help you keep from getting punished for ignoring it. He's also pointing out that a good businessman, and a good advertiser, will do everything they can to appear professional and appealing. Good punctuation and capitalization is important there too. Many people may see someone that writes like you as a friend or colleague, writing as they do. But they're not going to see you as a person they would want to buy from. If you don't have the time to hit the shift key, do you truly have time to make sure your product is quality? You -may-, but people will think that way.
Second, there's a grand difference between a M:TG event and your product. The first? You know that the majority of the money that is charged is spent paying for the actual event, right? That is, it's spent on renting the space in question, its spent on paying any employees that help (not counting volunteers like Judges), it's spent on buying the product for the rewards, some of the money even ends up as a reward many times. The actual profit margins on an event tend to be rather small.
On the other hand, there's you and your company. Now, making an assumption based on what I know about other companies and profit margins, I can only assume that bag costs less than $20 to make while you charge $40+. You're probably making a good deal on each bag, as opposed to most event owners who don't make that much.
Speaking of making things, there's another fundamental difference between events and your bag. For the event, 'Salvation will probably be talked about there between players who met up through us, which can get us more members and make us a better community. Self-propagating cycle, too. However, 'Salvation gets nothing on your bag, while you get free advertising. Doesn't seem too fair, does it?
Moreso, for most players, they get some guaranteed fun out of the event, have a chance at a prize, get to meet up with friends, etc. With your bag on the other hand, there's no guarantees. And as you can see from threads about the Ads and trades, members tend to put responsibility on the staff when something happens on this site that they don't like. For instance ([b]and this is a hypothetical situation, I'm not making any definite statements about your product), if your bag were to be of poor quality, or break easily, or not be eco-friendly, or have poisonous materials, or ANY NUMBER of other defects, 'Salvation could have people angry with us for allowing someone to advertise such a product on our website.
The last point I'd like to make right now concerns sanctioning. Sanctioning referring to the mother company of our favorite game giving the nod, encouragement, and endorsement to something or other. Usually, the events advertised on this site are sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. They know about the event, since DCI information is usually reported. And, what's more, they approve of the events. However, as far as I could tell about your site, your product isn't sanctioned by WotC. It's not an official product. That's a fundamental difference between the events and your product.
Hopefully this helps with your question. Disclaimer: This entire post is conjecture on the part of the poster (hereafter referred to as Nai) on the interpretation of the rules in reference to the OP (hereafter referred to as OP). Nai reserves the right to be completely wrong about any or all of this post, as decided by fellow global moderators, techies, administrators, or Hannes that may be flowing around.
so i'm just going to make a quick post. i think some people had some great feedback. others simply resorted to disguised ad hominem attacks. i've had this issue in the past on these very forums. i'm interested in discussing a topic, someone makes a snide remark, and rather than disguise my critque or pull a punch, i go straight for the kill, after which point the entire discussion totally diterroriates.
for example, this was the end of any real discussion:
Dude, your purse-baggy cost $45 plus another $10 for shipping in the US. Tell me it's made by Coach. I say let him advertise all he wants cause nobody is going to buy that thing for that price.
there were tons of other examples. there were also tons of examples were nobody was paying any attention ot the facts.
-4 to 5 decks, with sideboards, sleeved
-lots of dice & tokens
-a pad of paper & pen/pencils
-trade cards
-extra room to store whatever product I buy at said event, usually won't take up more than the space of another deck <---because you only win one pack???
-sometimes a small snack like a candy bar or a soda
the dragon's egg does do all of these. i even had one customer email me about how he put EIGHT decks in...not sure what he was doing w/ eight decks (really big guanlet i guess?) but nonetheless, the dragons' egg does all this.
anyway, i had a night to think about it, and i simply can't have real discussions about this topic on this site. too frequently and too quickly people resort to deciding that i want them to "like me"--or so i can only guess. i'm not interested in people siding w/ me...or even having an sliver of like for me. it's simply not a popularity constest of "james" (my real name, btw) vs "power 9 pro". power 9 pro is about the accessories market. the dragon's egg is focused, our next product is focused, and i guarantee that we have high quality. (hence saying we'll replace it if due to manufacturing errors). lol.
last note, to all those who took the time to really discuss what they're interested in and make constructive, helpful comments, BIG THANKS to each of you. if you'd like to continue that discussion, feel free to drop us a line (@power9pro.com) or leave a comment on the blog. we'll get hte note and we can open a topic for this.
to the rest of you, i'm sorry that we weren't able to have a real discussion. it's seriously unfortunate. i think the blame goes in two directions and i'll accept my role in this.
I'm really confused about your post. I mean, as a silent observer, I didn't feel like I saw anything up through there that was part of a "popularity contest". While a couple of the comments may have hurt (like the one you quoted), I think a bigger-of-you thing to do would be to take what you can from that comment; that is, he thinks its overpriced. Now, maybe he's cheap, but I would think as a small business, you should be glad to have that little nugget of free consumer feedback.
Nai had excellent points about why advertising for your business shouldn't be provided for under the same rules that event advertising is. None of them seemed to be popularity; it was all good fair stuff.
Opposite's right about capitalization. In my personal communications with friends, I basically do the same thing as you; I always cut my capitalization. However, as a developer for Magic Set Editor, anywhere that I'm connected to that program, I try to use the best grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and general behavior that I'm capable of. Why? Because if I am lazy about these things, it reflects badly on MSE.
And finally, you got lots of free feedback about what consumers would like to see in a product. That's a fantastic chance to supply it. Now, maybe you feel like your product already does these, but the fact that Xanth didn't realize that also tells you something; your images are poor. Now, I don't mean that as an insult; I didn't even look; I'm going entirely off of discussion here. But if your potential customers don't even realize what your product is capable of, why do you expect them to buy from you over someone else?
Just some thoughts. And more than anything, dettach yourself from the matter, because you're letting good constructive criticism get to you. Try to remain objective, not subjective.
Just checked your site, to be perfectly honest, I like the idea behind the Dragon Egg, I can totally see how you can fit 8 decks there, i mean if you lay them down and take out he plastic thing you totally have more space available.
That raises a point: Is the Plastic divider REALLY that necessary in the design? The bag alone is good enough (design could be altered somewhat but other than that is not that bad), you can then sell deck boxes, Ultra Pro has those horizontal boxes right now out in production, i can totally see 8 of those fitting in the Egg if the plastic skeleton was out and maybe still have space for a few dice.
Do you need to have the outside netting? and does the outer design really have to look like an Egg? It would be much more appealing if it looked like one of those carry bags for laptops or stuff like that.
You know what i would love? A Fabric Deck Box! yeah with a little zipper and a slick and soft design, it would be awesome and i really cant imagine it costing a lot, it would totally be worth the investment.
Of course that would be assuming your product was ever available here, but you are asking feedback.
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Call me old fashioned, but an evil ascension to power just isn't the same without someone chanting faux Latin in the background.
Oreo, Glazing people better than Dunkin' Donuts since 2009
That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange eons even death may die.
so i'm just going to make a quick post. i think some people had some great feedback. others simply resorted to disguised ad hominem attacks. i've had this issue in the past on these very forums. i'm interested in discussing a topic, someone makes a snide remark, and rather than disguise my critque or pull a punch, i go straight for the kill, after which point the entire discussion totally diterroriates.
for example, this was the end of any real discussion:
Only for you. He was being snide about it, but he wasn't being overly malicious and was bringing up a valid point: that $45 is a whole lot to spend on an accessory for Magic. Instead of calmly explaining why it was worth the price, you immediately start slinging insults. That reflects poorly on you and your business.
there were tons of other examples. there were also tons of examples were nobody was paying any attention ot the facts.
the dragon's egg does do all of these. i even had one customer email me about how he put EIGHT decks in...not sure what he was doing w/ eight decks (really big guanlet i guess?) but nonetheless, the dragons' egg does all this.
It looks too small for that. If you have a picture showing one fully loaded, put it on a major page. 90% of your traffic will not look at a gallery, if you want someone to see something, you need to make it more visible than that.
anyway, i had a night to think about it, and i simply can't have real discussions about this topic on this site. too frequently and too quickly people resort to deciding that i want them to "like me"--or so i can only guess.
Ummm.... Wha? If you aren't trying to get people to like you, particularly in this thread, you are doing a poor, poor job of representing your company. We can all see that you don't care if people like you, and that's frankly ignorance on your part. By this thread, it appears that you have little respect for the people you are asking for your help, at least not enough to create business-like posts.
i guarantee that we have high quality. (hence saying we'll replace it if due to manufacturing errors). lol.
Due to the above reasons, your guarantee doesn't carry much weight. Also, I've read your guarantee, and I'm not that impressed. It sounds like it doesn't cover much of anything except blatant manufacturer error (even then, you leave yourself the leeway of calling most manufacturer error "wear and tear"). Not doing anything about broken zippers is kinda disappointing in a "lifetime guarantee" as well.
Summary advice:
-Your website is mediocre at best. You spend too much space at the top of the main page on testimonials, and you probably should put in a sidebar. Make the guarantee page easier to get to, and put in a description of exactly what the bag comes with (including the max length of the carrying strap). You have the dimensions on FAQ page, but I'd put them with the product description.
-Respect the rules of the site, especially when asking for help. Censor evasion and triple posting do not show a respect for our site, which means we have no reason to respect you our your company.
-Be professional in your writing. Normally, I won't even read someone who doesn't use proper capitalization and/or punctuation unless they are directly addressing me or if they get on my nerves (obviously censor-evading, earning red text, etc.). I usually double or triple check my posts, and have been known to spend 40 minutes on a post only not to post it at all. Asking you to hit the shift key once or twice a sentence isn't really asking much.
-Don't be paranoid. Your posts show a slight hint of paranoia, so you need to realize that we aren't out to get you, and most of us don't care about you or your company in the slightest. Most of us will try to be helpful, but you need to meet us half way.
so i'm just going to make a quick post. i think some people had some great feedback. others simply resorted to disguised ad hominem attacks. i've had this issue in the past on these very forums. i'm interested in discussing a topic, someone makes a snide remark, and rather than disguise my critque or pull a punch, i go straight for the kill, after which point the entire discussion totally diterroriates.
for example, this was the end of any real discussion:
there were tons of other examples. there were also tons of examples were nobody was paying any attention ot the facts.
the dragon's egg does do all of these. i even had one customer email me about how he put EIGHT decks in...not sure what he was doing w/ eight decks (really big guanlet i guess?) but nonetheless, the dragons' egg does all this.
anyway, i had a night to think about it, and i simply can't have real discussions about this topic on this site. too frequently and too quickly people resort to deciding that i want them to "like me"--or so i can only guess. i'm not interested in people siding w/ me...or even having an sliver of like for me. it's simply not a popularity constest of "james" (my real name, btw) vs "power 9 pro". power 9 pro is about the accessories market. the dragon's egg is focused, our next product is focused, and i guarantee that we have high quality. (hence saying we'll replace it if due to manufacturing errors). lol.
last note, to all those who took the time to really discuss what they're interested in and make constructive, helpful comments, BIG THANKS to each of you. if you'd like to continue that discussion, feel free to drop us a line (@power9pro.com) or leave a comment on the blog. we'll get hte note and we can open a topic for this.
to the rest of you, i'm sorry that we weren't able to have a real discussion. it's seriously unfortunate. i think the blame goes in two directions and i'll accept my role in this.
cheers.
Reading your posts has convinced me to look for the power9pro name - so I know what not to buy. This is with very little knowledge about the products you sell and here is why:
1) When people offer feedback that is not gushing praise, you attack and dismiss it - which would be understandable if you did not as for feedback and thoughts. It's like the Bill Cosby line, "Women don't want to hear your thoughts. They want to hear their thoughts in a deeper voice."
2) Good grammar is important to convey. I have never met you. I have never heard you speak. The only way I know about you is by what you write, which says volumes in a forum where you can review your posts and edit them afterward.
And yes, using capitalization is important, for both readability and ensuring confidence that you have at least a junior high school education. It's not even that hard; hit SHIFT, or type in a Word document and use the Grammar Check option.
The fact that in the post I copied, you did capitalize "big thanks" and nothing else conveys the message that it wasn't just an oversight; you truly don't care. And if you don't care about appearing professional, then how much can I trust my money to your products?
You may - and based on your behavior so far, probably will - decide that you don't need my business, nor do you want it. But keep in mind that I took the time to type all of this out (and do a grammar check before sending it). How many people made the same decision I did and just didn't type it out?
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Guns don't kill people. Bullets kill people. Guns just make them move really, really fast.
one comment was about the warranty. manufacturing errors are super straight forward: doesn't seal properly, holes in bag, inner shell is all messed up/cracked, etc. we have to be responsible for those. we can't cover something if you "throw the bag" at people or down stairs or any other destructive thing people can imagine. i think that makes sense and i don't see the criticism. calling our warranty weak makes me think you've never read a warranty before. not assumming or accusing, just deducing from your comment.
oh, re: capitalization. we're on a forum. this _has to be_ the most casual environment for discussions available. i don't see any reason to make capitalization. it doesn't help w/ readability imo. that's what punctuation is for. y'all know that capitalization was pretty darn useful when cursive scripting in daily handwriting was the norm, right? that's the only purpose of it. completely unnecessary in typed environs (such as forums, blogs, emails, SMS, and others i'm not thinking of). critiquing someone's aruguments based on capitalization is the most superficial of reasons to ignore content. it's something my grandparents would do, and they're just old and stuck in tradition.
Censor evasion and triple posting
. didn't realize i triple posted. already apologized (to the moderator) for the double post. i thought i was self-censoring by using the **'s. i also thought i was on the "speak my mind" and it was an area to vent--thought i read that in the section heading. lol. "tell us what you're thinking." _this_ is what i'm thinking. hahaha.
again, i am super interested in feedback. it just needs to be constructive--which from reading over the posts about 50% were. the rest...well...i'm really not sure why y'all defend the snide remarks, as though those are okay...
someone was a bit surprised about the 8 decks. this was a surprise to me too. it's desinged for 4 constructed decks plus counters, pens, paper, snack and prize packs. really, we didn't think 8 decks would be put in there. that was just a counter to the "it's too small." i think there should be a huge distinction between "small" and "compact"--which is one major contributor to the shape. not sure where you guys play but there's typically zero space at the tables. y'all can bring your big bags if you want but it's a pain for others.
anyway, thx again to everyone who was willing to discuss the issue and let me know of things you need on the table.
oh, re: capitalization. we're on a forum. this _has to be_ the most casual environment for discussions available. i don't see any reason to make capitalization. it doesn't help w/ readability imo. that's what punctuation is for. y'all know that capitalization was pretty darn useful when cursive scripting in daily handwriting was the norm, right? that's the only purpose of it. completely unnecessary in typed environs (such as forums, blogs, emails, SMS, and others i'm not thinking of). critiquing someone's aruguments based on capitalization is the most superficial of reasons to ignore content. it's something my grandparents would do, and they're just old and stuck in tradition.
You obviously don't get it. You are representing your company on this site and should want to put forth the best possible image at all times. Grammar, spelling, and capitalization are important for this kind of communication. That means making posts with at least above average quality of content and formatting. I can't imagine doing business with you and getting this type of garbage in my inbox.
The link in your signature on this forum was the first exposure I had to your company and product. Think about the first impressions you are making with all the people that didn't know about you until reading this thread. I don't think any of them will be buying your product.
I have examined your product in real life at a store in Orlando; It isn't impressive, especially at that price.
I actually gave you QUITE a detailed post to answer your question, and it's interesting that you completely ignored it. That's not doing good to help your company's reputation when you ignore well thought out posts that respond to you.
Capitalization, to continue on Melendez's post, actually is a big part of the language you're using, as much as proper spelling and punctuation. Capitalization is not only there for old fogeys. It's an indication of respect when used for proper nouns (hence the name 'proper' when we refer to them). It indicates the start of a sentence. It can also be used to indicate a special, non-proper word (see Shakespeare for this in many cases), or to indicate stressing a word or syllable. Capitalization is used for quite a lot.
As I believe I, or someone else at least, said before: if you don't take the time to simply press the shift key while making your posts, why should we be sure you took the time to make your product worthwhile? Not taking this time also states to consumers that you don't respect them, as you don't seem to want to take the time to make your writing formal. This is especially true when you use informal words such as 'y'all' and netspeak such as 'thx'. I, personally, do not feel happy about a person who won't take the time to capitalize and fully spell out their words when they respond to me.
Not that, y'know, you actually -did- respond to me at all.
In addition, this is 'speak your mind', not 'whinge uncontrollably', and not 'vent your feelings'. If you prefer, we could always change the name of this subforum to 'wax eloquently about your concerns' with a subtag of 'Take your time to tell us what you think is problem on our site'. Whinging and venting go in blogs. That's what they're there for.
one comment was about the warranty. manufacturing errors are super straight forward: doesn't seal properly, holes in bag, inner shell is all messed up/cracked, etc. we have to be responsible for those. we can't cover something if you "throw the bag" at people or down stairs or any other destructive thing people can imagine. i think that makes sense and i don't see the criticism. calling our warranty weak makes me think you've never read a warranty before. not assumming or accusing, just deducing from your comment.
I have read plenty of warranties in the past; enough to know that yours is suspiciously vague and limited. Your warranty covers only "manufacturer defect", which only really covers obvious flaws and not damage due to poor design or damage in shipping (not to mention if it does come with a hole/tear in it, you have the ability to call it "wear and tear"). If you had any faith in the product quality, you could offer a better warranty.
For example, if my mother were to crack the big plastic bowl she has been using since I was a child, she could probably get it replaced by Tupperware for free, since they actually have a guarantee that means something. If the bag can't hold up to being tossed or thrown once or twice, it's definitely not worth the $45 price tag. Should you replace the bag if someone takes a chainsaw to it? No. Should you replace/fix it if the zipper comes off its track after a week of use? Probably.
You don't need a strong guarantee, but if you don't have one you shouldn't advertise like you do.
oh, re: capitalization. we're on a forum. this _has to be_ the most casual environment for discussions available.
Wrong. With the notable exception of the Rumor Mill, we really aren't all that casual a forum. While we rarely punish people who don't put any effort into their posts, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't put any effort into them.
Punctuation is often not enough to denote the ending of a thought. A simple period does not stand out enough to always make a sentence break clear (especially when reading quickly), which certainly makes reading a post without capitalization (or paragraph breaks, for that matter - something you did at least do for the most part) much more tedious than it should be.
Also, you seem to completely fail to grasp what it means to represent something else as a public entity. If you don't care enough to capitalize, in our eyes your company doesn't care enough to capitalize. Or, for that matter, inspect the quality of the products you sell or make sure they get sent out quickly.
again, i am super interested in feedback. it just needs to be constructive--which from reading over the posts about 50% were. the rest...well...i'm really not sure why y'all defend the snide remarks, as though those are okay...
Just because we aren't feeding you market information doesn't mean we aren't giving constructive feedback. As previously stated, anybody who reads this thread or notices that you are responsible for the site in your link will use your posts to judge your site.
I personally know that even if I was in the market for a bag for Magic in the $45 price range, I would be very hesitent to buy yours due to the fact that you don't care about your posting and can't take criticism.
Also, just because he was pretty snide with his comment doesn't mean he wasn't being constructive. Or that he wasn't right.
oh, re: capitalization. we're on a forum. this _has to be_ the most casual environment for discussions available. i don't see any reason to make capitalization. it doesn't help w/ readability imo.
Potential customers see this as an issue.
You do not.
This has the likely effect of making those potential customers... no longer potential customers.
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I am no longer on MTGS staff, so please don't contact me asking me to do staff things. :|
This has the likely effect of making those potential customers... no longer potential customers.
QFT. I just wasted 30 minutes reading this thread and I am appalled that you would not take criticism well when representing YOUR company. Are you allergic to money? Regardless, I will not buy a product from you just based on your behavior and I don't think I am alone.
Representing yourself in a positive light is very important. When a company or a representative of a company does something wrong, they need to fix it, not get angry. We may be a magic website, but we have thousands of members and a very strong following within the magic community. Making yourself look ignorant or a prick will lose you customers, even if they don't post in this thread.
I wish you luck and I hope the best for your company.
oh, re: capitalization. we're on a forum. this _has to be_ the most casual environment for discussions available. i don't see any reason to make capitalization. it doesn't help w/ readability imo. that's what punctuation is for. y'all know that capitalization was pretty darn useful when cursive scripting in daily handwriting was the norm, right? that's the only purpose of it. completely unnecessary in typed environs (such as forums, blogs, emails, SMS, and others i'm not thinking of). critiquing someone's aruguments based on capitalization is the most superficial of reasons to ignore content. it's something my grandparents would do, and they're just old and stuck in tradition.
Hes trying to tell you it makes your business seem more PROFESSIONAL, which would be something I would think you would want to strive for, being a business and all right? Also, this thread is probably ruining your reputation (at least in my eyes) because instead of trying to "sell" your product to us, your pretty much saying "Well, if you don't like it, eat a phallus." I hate being told to eat phallus, especially from someone that wants my money.
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help me understand this so i can stay within the boundaries of the forum guidelines. i'm trying to keep power9pro's focus on the magic community. i mean, i created the company to help bring real value and help to mtg players becuase i am a long time mtg-lover. (i would so make out w/ black lotuses if it didnt' cost me a $1000 to do that...lol). being able to discuss what the company is doing on these forums (and similar) is the only way to really make sure that players understand what we're all about. it's about a dialogue. and i certainly have never read a post from ultrapro (or equivlant) about what we're looking for.
basically, this is a great place to voice what's happening in the mtg community. being the creator and designer of the compnay, every player has a direct access channel to telling _me_ what they need to make game play better.
anyway, help me out y'all!!!
jms.
www.power9pro.com
blog: www.power9pro.com/blog
twitter: www.twitter.com/power9pro
office: 415.670.9273
I'm guessing you are trying to avoid getting slapped with sanctions for advertising.
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that'd work w/ me. i really do want this to be about player needs.
is that what you're suggesting i should do???
math for the "binger":
4x deck boxes @ 3.49 (assuming you aren't the cheapest mo-fo on the planet and you actually get one w/ cool art) = $14 plus tax.
1x crappy ass carrying case by one of the "other manufactures" $20 = $20.
total x. 8% [for tax] === $36.72
guarantee cost...wait, where's the guarantee??? OH THAT'S RIGHT THERE'S NO GUARANTEE FROM THE OTHERS.
cost of replacement because the cheap ass paper-thin deck boxes and nylon bag wear out in two years: $36.72
total is already at $73++
so, yeah. it's made by power 9 pro, b. coach ain't got nuthin on us!! start respektin' or just keep on walkin' cuz you "know what is what, but you don't know what is what, you just strut...what the ****?"
Warning for Censor Evasion and Tripleposting
www.power9pro.com
blog: www.power9pro.com/blog
twitter: www.twitter.com/power9pro
office: 415.670.9273
Im also not sure what your last post is about, are you talking about the competition? or are you talking about your own product? because if the cheap ass box from the competition will last me 2 years with repetitive use i cant really complain.
I wouldn't get so confident.
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These first ones are about your carrying case product:
-What is the meaning/purpose of "Dragon's Egg"? Other than dragons, how does this have any correlation to the realm of Magic: The Gathering? Why am I not at least seeing your "Power 9 Pro" logo on the carrying case product?
-Is that image on the removable deck-case plastic insert standard? What is it an image of? From the picture on your website, it does not look that appealing; again, something more MTG-related would be ideal; card art, etc.
-Your case very closely resembles a lunch box. I have a lunch box myself that shares a very similar design; two compartments, the top one more rounded out, the bottom one square. I can fit decks in deckboxes in the bottom compartment relatively easily. My lunch box is dark blue, has some nonchalant logo on the top left corner. But I would never use it to transport my cards. A few reasons:
-Why is this the only product on your website? Are you a relatively new company? If so, I surely understand, but having only one product on your website immediately makes me much less inclined to purchase it. Why? Because it sends the message that you are either a very new company, a not very successful company, or a temporary "company", whom, if I buy this product from, may very well be unable to answer any product support needs I may need in the future, or provide a replacement product if the one I purchase turns out to be faulty.
Now, you asked for some suggestions of what "we", the MTG players, want in support product for our game, so I will provide you with some of my personal desires:
-A smaller trade binder, like the ones sold already that can fit four cards per page, but without the silly/lame artwork on the covers, and ideally in more of a binder-style with 2 center rings that you can open and insert more sleeve pages (and extra sleeve pages sold separately themselves [a good source of income for a new product ;)]) Note: If it had an archaic or oldschool theme to its appearance, it could be really nifty- the idea of what looks like an old, ancient book of sorts carrying all your valuable trade cards sounds very appealing. The way in which you present your trade cards to your fellow magic player can provide a large influence over their desire to trade with you, and even over how they regard your cards for trade themselves. A trade binder of this size would also be easier to carry in a special, MTG-themed carrying case
-Decent deck boxes with thematic dividers within the deckbox for separating one's deck from one's sideboard
-Sets of two ten-sided dice (spin-down format) used to represent one's life total, among other things, with a decent art theme among the dice.
-Card sleeves with recognized, "Old Masters" artwork on them- of course, this would likely require more legal fees, but having a deck sleeved in the art of Da Vinci, Van Gogh, M.C. Escher, Giger, Salvador Dali... man that would be cool.
-Magnetic counters. Like those little bead counters, though slightly magnetic, so that when you place multiple counters on the same permanent, they stick together for convenience, and you also have much less to worry about stray counters leaking out of your counter bag, or whatever way you intend to transport them.
Anyway, hope this helps you out. I admire your efforts to come accross as a player-devoted MTG support product company, though I am not too fond of your demeanor here in this thread in how you've handled your responses. I will assume you are mature enough to learn from these mistakes though; after all, you invented your own company. But please try to keep things in a healthy discussion atmosphere.
QFT. They should look like a casino poker chip, but slightly smaller. I'm thinking colored outer rings, like a chip, with the different colors signifying different types of counters. Think yellow for charge, green for +1/+1, red for -1/-1, a few other colors for a few other types, and artwork in the inlay on one side and text for the type of counter on the other.
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One more thing to point out, messels- you're going to have to decide if you want to create product support for a directly MTG-related audience, or for a wider CCG-related audience. You at first market your carrying case as a MTG-specific product, but then in your youtube video you mention how it can be used for any CCG, and there is no actual MTG imagery or thematic reference on the product itself, which is confusing as your company's title is Power 9 Pro, after all. I would personally like to see directly MTG-related product, but I'd say it's probably wiser from a business standpoint for you to market your products as simply CCG-related rather than MTG-related, though at that point one may argue that you are then no different than Ultra Pro, which you so vehemently despise.
I know for a fact I would never buy something from an online retailer who's owner can't simply capitalize the first letter of every sentence.
at this i just say, "hahaha, guy is obsessed w/ capitalization. i'm sure we can save a lot of lives and end world suffering if we all capitalized a little more." ;-)
@ everyone else, valid points. i should learn to chill. one of the main things i have ot work on--and _do_ work on. it's acutally why i have the other p9p peeps doing the forum posting more for me. i tend to be super-duper excitable. just ask me any politically motivated question and you'll never hear the end of it. not sure if it's the philosophy background or just coming from a boxitrous household. lol.
2nd product launches in a few weeks--contest going now for a free "one" if you can guess what it is.
@ "no strap." has a strap. some photos were taken sans-strap (but that was the photographer's prerogative...may not be clear but if you click on the image it brings up a "light box"--if y'all know that is ...kinda specific in web programming world where there is an image w/ a strap). <hmm> just flipped over to the site to verify and the first freaking image is w/ the strap so i guess that guy really doesn't know wtf he's talking about...guess i can't adress that really. maybe pay more attention?
anyway, i'm glad i started the thread. there's a lot in there for "player needs."
still...i don't see why we're "allowed" to advert for events designed to suck our $$ away but not for things that will make our lives easier. just askin'.
www.power9pro.com
blog: www.power9pro.com/blog
twitter: www.twitter.com/power9pro
office: 415.670.9273
I still stand by what I said, what looks more appealing.
hi, my name is opposite and i post on the forums here at mtgsalvation. i have a company named widget central, and i sell all sorts of products.
OR
Hello, my name is Opposite and I post on the forums here at MTGSalvation. I have a company named Widget Central, and I sell all sorts of products.
You tell me, but not formatting things properly is sort of an eyesore, it also helps if you don't use abbreviations. I don't, and I'm just a normal guy, this is all up to you, but I'm pretty sure one part of being successful image wise is to at least come off as grammatically savvy.
Second, there's a grand difference between a M:TG event and your product. The first? You know that the majority of the money that is charged is spent paying for the actual event, right? That is, it's spent on renting the space in question, its spent on paying any employees that help (not counting volunteers like Judges), it's spent on buying the product for the rewards, some of the money even ends up as a reward many times. The actual profit margins on an event tend to be rather small.
On the other hand, there's you and your company. Now, making an assumption based on what I know about other companies and profit margins, I can only assume that bag costs less than $20 to make while you charge $40+. You're probably making a good deal on each bag, as opposed to most event owners who don't make that much.
Speaking of making things, there's another fundamental difference between events and your bag. For the event, 'Salvation will probably be talked about there between players who met up through us, which can get us more members and make us a better community. Self-propagating cycle, too. However, 'Salvation gets nothing on your bag, while you get free advertising. Doesn't seem too fair, does it?
Moreso, for most players, they get some guaranteed fun out of the event, have a chance at a prize, get to meet up with friends, etc. With your bag on the other hand, there's no guarantees. And as you can see from threads about the Ads and trades, members tend to put responsibility on the staff when something happens on this site that they don't like. For instance ([b]and this is a hypothetical situation, I'm not making any definite statements about your product), if your bag were to be of poor quality, or break easily, or not be eco-friendly, or have poisonous materials, or ANY NUMBER of other defects, 'Salvation could have people angry with us for allowing someone to advertise such a product on our website.
The last point I'd like to make right now concerns sanctioning. Sanctioning referring to the mother company of our favorite game giving the nod, encouragement, and endorsement to something or other. Usually, the events advertised on this site are sanctioned by Wizards of the Coast and Hasbro. They know about the event, since DCI information is usually reported. And, what's more, they approve of the events. However, as far as I could tell about your site, your product isn't sanctioned by WotC. It's not an official product. That's a fundamental difference between the events and your product.
Hopefully this helps with your question. Disclaimer: This entire post is conjecture on the part of the poster (hereafter referred to as Nai) on the interpretation of the rules in reference to the OP (hereafter referred to as OP). Nai reserves the right to be completely wrong about any or all of this post, as decided by fellow global moderators, techies, administrators, or Hannes that may be flowing around.
My helpdesk should you need me.
for example, this was the end of any real discussion:
there were tons of other examples. there were also tons of examples were nobody was paying any attention ot the facts.
the dragon's egg does do all of these. i even had one customer email me about how he put EIGHT decks in...not sure what he was doing w/ eight decks (really big guanlet i guess?) but nonetheless, the dragons' egg does all this.
anyway, i had a night to think about it, and i simply can't have real discussions about this topic on this site. too frequently and too quickly people resort to deciding that i want them to "like me"--or so i can only guess. i'm not interested in people siding w/ me...or even having an sliver of like for me. it's simply not a popularity constest of "james" (my real name, btw) vs "power 9 pro". power 9 pro is about the accessories market. the dragon's egg is focused, our next product is focused, and i guarantee that we have high quality. (hence saying we'll replace it if due to manufacturing errors). lol.
last note, to all those who took the time to really discuss what they're interested in and make constructive, helpful comments, BIG THANKS to each of you. if you'd like to continue that discussion, feel free to drop us a line (@power9pro.com) or leave a comment on the blog. we'll get hte note and we can open a topic for this.
to the rest of you, i'm sorry that we weren't able to have a real discussion. it's seriously unfortunate. i think the blame goes in two directions and i'll accept my role in this.
cheers.
www.power9pro.com
blog: www.power9pro.com/blog
twitter: www.twitter.com/power9pro
office: 415.670.9273
Nai had excellent points about why advertising for your business shouldn't be provided for under the same rules that event advertising is. None of them seemed to be popularity; it was all good fair stuff.
Opposite's right about capitalization. In my personal communications with friends, I basically do the same thing as you; I always cut my capitalization. However, as a developer for Magic Set Editor, anywhere that I'm connected to that program, I try to use the best grammar, punctuation, capitalization, and general behavior that I'm capable of. Why? Because if I am lazy about these things, it reflects badly on MSE.
And finally, you got lots of free feedback about what consumers would like to see in a product. That's a fantastic chance to supply it. Now, maybe you feel like your product already does these, but the fact that Xanth didn't realize that also tells you something; your images are poor. Now, I don't mean that as an insult; I didn't even look; I'm going entirely off of discussion here. But if your potential customers don't even realize what your product is capable of, why do you expect them to buy from you over someone else?
Just some thoughts. And more than anything, dettach yourself from the matter, because you're letting good constructive criticism get to you. Try to remain objective, not subjective.
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That raises a point: Is the Plastic divider REALLY that necessary in the design? The bag alone is good enough (design could be altered somewhat but other than that is not that bad), you can then sell deck boxes, Ultra Pro has those horizontal boxes right now out in production, i can totally see 8 of those fitting in the Egg if the plastic skeleton was out and maybe still have space for a few dice.
Do you need to have the outside netting? and does the outer design really have to look like an Egg? It would be much more appealing if it looked like one of those carry bags for laptops or stuff like that.
You know what i would love? A Fabric Deck Box! yeah with a little zipper and a slick and soft design, it would be awesome and i really cant imagine it costing a lot, it would totally be worth the investment.
Of course that would be assuming your product was ever available here, but you are asking feedback.
It looks too small for that. If you have a picture showing one fully loaded, put it on a major page. 90% of your traffic will not look at a gallery, if you want someone to see something, you need to make it more visible than that.
Ummm.... Wha? If you aren't trying to get people to like you, particularly in this thread, you are doing a poor, poor job of representing your company. We can all see that you don't care if people like you, and that's frankly ignorance on your part. By this thread, it appears that you have little respect for the people you are asking for your help, at least not enough to create business-like posts.
Due to the above reasons, your guarantee doesn't carry much weight. Also, I've read your guarantee, and I'm not that impressed. It sounds like it doesn't cover much of anything except blatant manufacturer error (even then, you leave yourself the leeway of calling most manufacturer error "wear and tear"). Not doing anything about broken zippers is kinda disappointing in a "lifetime guarantee" as well.
Summary advice:
-Your website is mediocre at best. You spend too much space at the top of the main page on testimonials, and you probably should put in a sidebar. Make the guarantee page easier to get to, and put in a description of exactly what the bag comes with (including the max length of the carrying strap). You have the dimensions on FAQ page, but I'd put them with the product description.
-Respect the rules of the site, especially when asking for help. Censor evasion and triple posting do not show a respect for our site, which means we have no reason to respect you our your company.
-Be professional in your writing. Normally, I won't even read someone who doesn't use proper capitalization and/or punctuation unless they are directly addressing me or if they get on my nerves (obviously censor-evading, earning red text, etc.). I usually double or triple check my posts, and have been known to spend 40 minutes on a post only not to post it at all. Asking you to hit the shift key once or twice a sentence isn't really asking much.
-Don't be paranoid. Your posts show a slight hint of paranoia, so you need to realize that we aren't out to get you, and most of us don't care about you or your company in the slightest. Most of us will try to be helpful, but you need to meet us half way.
Reading your posts has convinced me to look for the power9pro name - so I know what not to buy. This is with very little knowledge about the products you sell and here is why:
1) When people offer feedback that is not gushing praise, you attack and dismiss it - which would be understandable if you did not as for feedback and thoughts. It's like the Bill Cosby line, "Women don't want to hear your thoughts. They want to hear their thoughts in a deeper voice."
2) Good grammar is important to convey. I have never met you. I have never heard you speak. The only way I know about you is by what you write, which says volumes in a forum where you can review your posts and edit them afterward.
And yes, using capitalization is important, for both readability and ensuring confidence that you have at least a junior high school education. It's not even that hard; hit SHIFT, or type in a Word document and use the Grammar Check option.
The fact that in the post I copied, you did capitalize "big thanks" and nothing else conveys the message that it wasn't just an oversight; you truly don't care. And if you don't care about appearing professional, then how much can I trust my money to your products?
You may - and based on your behavior so far, probably will - decide that you don't need my business, nor do you want it. But keep in mind that I took the time to type all of this out (and do a grammar check before sending it). How many people made the same decision I did and just didn't type it out?
one comment was about the warranty. manufacturing errors are super straight forward: doesn't seal properly, holes in bag, inner shell is all messed up/cracked, etc. we have to be responsible for those. we can't cover something if you "throw the bag" at people or down stairs or any other destructive thing people can imagine. i think that makes sense and i don't see the criticism. calling our warranty weak makes me think you've never read a warranty before. not assumming or accusing, just deducing from your comment.
oh, re: capitalization. we're on a forum. this _has to be_ the most casual environment for discussions available. i don't see any reason to make capitalization. it doesn't help w/ readability imo. that's what punctuation is for. y'all know that capitalization was pretty darn useful when cursive scripting in daily handwriting was the norm, right? that's the only purpose of it. completely unnecessary in typed environs (such as forums, blogs, emails, SMS, and others i'm not thinking of). critiquing someone's aruguments based on capitalization is the most superficial of reasons to ignore content. it's something my grandparents would do, and they're just old and stuck in tradition.
. didn't realize i triple posted. already apologized (to the moderator) for the double post. i thought i was self-censoring by using the **'s. i also thought i was on the "speak my mind" and it was an area to vent--thought i read that in the section heading. lol. "tell us what you're thinking." _this_ is what i'm thinking. hahaha.
again, i am super interested in feedback. it just needs to be constructive--which from reading over the posts about 50% were. the rest...well...i'm really not sure why y'all defend the snide remarks, as though those are okay...
someone was a bit surprised about the 8 decks. this was a surprise to me too. it's desinged for 4 constructed decks plus counters, pens, paper, snack and prize packs. really, we didn't think 8 decks would be put in there. that was just a counter to the "it's too small." i think there should be a huge distinction between "small" and "compact"--which is one major contributor to the shape. not sure where you guys play but there's typically zero space at the tables. y'all can bring your big bags if you want but it's a pain for others.
anyway, thx again to everyone who was willing to discuss the issue and let me know of things you need on the table.
www.power9pro.com
blog: www.power9pro.com/blog
twitter: www.twitter.com/power9pro
office: 415.670.9273
You obviously don't get it. You are representing your company on this site and should want to put forth the best possible image at all times. Grammar, spelling, and capitalization are important for this kind of communication. That means making posts with at least above average quality of content and formatting. I can't imagine doing business with you and getting this type of garbage in my inbox.
The link in your signature on this forum was the first exposure I had to your company and product. Think about the first impressions you are making with all the people that didn't know about you until reading this thread. I don't think any of them will be buying your product.
I have examined your product in real life at a store in Orlando; It isn't impressive, especially at that price.
Capitalization, to continue on Melendez's post, actually is a big part of the language you're using, as much as proper spelling and punctuation. Capitalization is not only there for old fogeys. It's an indication of respect when used for proper nouns (hence the name 'proper' when we refer to them). It indicates the start of a sentence. It can also be used to indicate a special, non-proper word (see Shakespeare for this in many cases), or to indicate stressing a word or syllable. Capitalization is used for quite a lot.
As I believe I, or someone else at least, said before: if you don't take the time to simply press the shift key while making your posts, why should we be sure you took the time to make your product worthwhile? Not taking this time also states to consumers that you don't respect them, as you don't seem to want to take the time to make your writing formal. This is especially true when you use informal words such as 'y'all' and netspeak such as 'thx'. I, personally, do not feel happy about a person who won't take the time to capitalize and fully spell out their words when they respond to me.
Not that, y'know, you actually -did- respond to me at all.
In addition, this is 'speak your mind', not 'whinge uncontrollably', and not 'vent your feelings'. If you prefer, we could always change the name of this subforum to 'wax eloquently about your concerns' with a subtag of 'Take your time to tell us what you think is problem on our site'. Whinging and venting go in blogs. That's what they're there for.
My helpdesk should you need me.
For example, if my mother were to crack the big plastic bowl she has been using since I was a child, she could probably get it replaced by Tupperware for free, since they actually have a guarantee that means something. If the bag can't hold up to being tossed or thrown once or twice, it's definitely not worth the $45 price tag. Should you replace the bag if someone takes a chainsaw to it? No. Should you replace/fix it if the zipper comes off its track after a week of use? Probably.
You don't need a strong guarantee, but if you don't have one you shouldn't advertise like you do.
Wrong. With the notable exception of the Rumor Mill, we really aren't all that casual a forum. While we rarely punish people who don't put any effort into their posts, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't put any effort into them.
Punctuation is often not enough to denote the ending of a thought. A simple period does not stand out enough to always make a sentence break clear (especially when reading quickly), which certainly makes reading a post without capitalization (or paragraph breaks, for that matter - something you did at least do for the most part) much more tedious than it should be.
Also, you seem to completely fail to grasp what it means to represent something else as a public entity. If you don't care enough to capitalize, in our eyes your company doesn't care enough to capitalize. Or, for that matter, inspect the quality of the products you sell or make sure they get sent out quickly.
Just because we aren't feeding you market information doesn't mean we aren't giving constructive feedback. As previously stated, anybody who reads this thread or notices that you are responsible for the site in your link will use your posts to judge your site.
I personally know that even if I was in the market for a bag for Magic in the $45 price range, I would be very hesitent to buy yours due to the fact that you don't care about your posting and can't take criticism.
Also, just because he was pretty snide with his comment doesn't mean he wasn't being constructive. Or that he wasn't right.
Potential customers see this as an issue.
You do not.
This has the likely effect of making those potential customers... no longer potential customers.
QFT. I just wasted 30 minutes reading this thread and I am appalled that you would not take criticism well when representing YOUR company. Are you allergic to money? Regardless, I will not buy a product from you just based on your behavior and I don't think I am alone.
Representing yourself in a positive light is very important. When a company or a representative of a company does something wrong, they need to fix it, not get angry. We may be a magic website, but we have thousands of members and a very strong following within the magic community. Making yourself look ignorant or a prick will lose you customers, even if they don't post in this thread.
I wish you luck and I hope the best for your company.
Hes trying to tell you it makes your business seem more PROFESSIONAL, which would be something I would think you would want to strive for, being a business and all right? Also, this thread is probably ruining your reputation (at least in my eyes) because instead of trying to "sell" your product to us, your pretty much saying "Well, if you don't like it, eat a phallus." I hate being told to eat phallus, especially from someone that wants my money.