T-RackS 5 (5.0.1 update,information about free CS version, release date countdown added)

[kj.metissage]

Nope, still blurry as hell.

But I trust they'll get it right.

[braj]

You can also use gear credits to buy jam points

lolwut? i think it's the other way around - you can use jam points to get discounted price on gear credits. you can't "buy" jam points - they're only added to your account once you activate a product.

Yeah, sorry, got that backwards.

[kgdrum]

You can also use gear credits to buy jam points

lolwut? i think it's the other way around - you can use jam points to get discounted price on gear credits. you can't "buy" jam points - they're only added to your account once you activate a product.

Yeah, sorry, got that backwards.

This is just my opinion:
IK's store architecture is convoluted,unintuitive and imo ultimately counterproductive.
Set a price,allow a customer to purchase with money.
Having a sale? discount and allow the client to simply purchase at the discounted price w/ money.
Want to issue loyalty coupons do it and allow customers to add the coupon at checkout.
Every other vendor sets up their store basically this way,no one else has Gear Credits(and makes clients take the extra step) to purchase credits to buy a product.Jam Points (30% nonsense).
I suspect this system of Credits and Jam Points probably confuses and frustrates enough users that IK probably lose business.

[braj]

Yep, it is frankly stupid. Just all the support requests it creates must be huge and cost something too. It leaves customers not trusting prices and value. Not to mention gear credits forces you to spend more than you need to to get enough credits to cover something. Imaging having to buy a cup of coffee that way, for a $4 cup of Joe you need to invest $25. If you don't understand how to play the game with IK, you will spend more than you should.

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Except that people get very deep discounts on Gear Credits - either via bulk purchase or some great promos we've had with them - and use them to purchase gear (especially a la carte which is a big part of why they exist - buy in bulk, and still get a great deal on a la carte gear when buying outside of Collections). Also, almost all of the orders I see from repeat customers use JamPoints so I'd say most people don't consider them "nonsense" at all.

[braj]

They are a necessary part of getting reasonable prices from IK. But they are annoying and I've had instances were I end up with 49 gear credits and need to spend $25 more just for that extra dollar I need to buy something. That is a big drag.

[soulone82]

If you don't understand how to play the game with IK, you will spend more than you should.

That´s the reason IK uses such a crappy system. They don´t want to reward their customers. Otherwise they would have adopted a system like PSP´s or Sknote´s.

Remember their slogan? IK Multimedia, Marketing first.

[kgdrum]

What's actually funny is if IK announced:
We listened to our clients and went back to the normal way every other vendor structure their purchasing model for their stores.
Wow! I can buy with money!!!

I suspect their sales would increase.
Probably some marketing honcho at IK is too stubborn to admit the model is flawed and detrimental to sales, so they continue with the Gear Credit/Jam Point marketing disaster.

lol carry on IK

[braj]

Anyhow Peter, if you want to defend it because you are a IK representative, that's fine. As a repeat IK customer, I can tell you, your system is confusing, frustrating, and annoying.

[Harry_HH]

Except that people get very deep discounts on Gear Credits - either via bulk purchase or some great promos we've had with them - and use them to purchase gear (especially a la carte which is a big part of why they exist - buy in bulk, and still get a great deal on a la carte gear when buying outside of Collections). Also, almost all of the orders I see from repeat customers use JamPoints so I'd say most people don't consider them "nonsense" at all.

What makes the IK "jampoints" less lucrative, is the fact, that a) its limited only to 30 % of the product price, and b) when buying from the IK store, you pay VAT. This annuls the value of the "jampoints", comparing the purchase from the dealer. Doesn´t sound a very good deal to me.
To make the "jampoint-thingy" really generate value to the customer, IK should either increase the share one can cover with the "jampoints", or let the customer use "jampoints" in the dealer shops, too.
Its not any rocket science...

[Peter - IK Multimedia]

Anyhow Peter, if you want to defend it because you are a IK representative, that's fine. As a repeat IK customer, I can tell you, your system is confusing, frustrating, and annoying.

I'm not really defending, I'm presenting specific data showing that there are a large number of users (a majority) that find these opportunities to save very useful and not hard to use (especially JamPoints). Could it be improved? Of course, anything can and we will surely do so over time while still providing the opportunity for our customers to save.

[kgdrum]

Except that people get very deep discounts on Gear Credits - either via bulk purchase or some great promos we've had with them - and use them to purchase gear (especially a la carte which is a big part of why they exist - buy in bulk, and still get a great deal on a la carte gear when buying outside of Collections). Also, almost all of the orders I see from repeat customers use JamPoints so I'd say most people don't consider them "nonsense" at all.

OK if we can agree KVR is a microcosm of the buying public,let's see how many people post that they prefer the Gear Credit/Jam Point system opposed to simply buying w/ money.

Yes Peter you can buy credits in bulk to save sometimes considerably but you always have some left over........
That's why other vendors have sales,and loyalty coupons.

Let's see how many people post that they prefer the Gear Credit/Jam Point system opposed to simply buying w/ money.

[Burillo]

i prefer Gear Credits. i've bought 1500 credits almost three years ago, with a 50% discount. still haven't run out, got A LOT of stuff for "free" (or very cheap with them), including T-Racks 5 upgrade, lots of T-Racks gear, Amplitube Mesa/Amplitube 4, and most likely will get the Leslie collection as well. if you count the discount on credits, discount on amount of credits, and discounts on gear i bought with gear credits, some of the gear i bought with what works out to be a 90%+ discount. so, yeah, Gear Credits are awesome. they're also easy to understand, if you divorce yourself from the notion of "Gear Credits == money". it's just that a lot of people stubbornly refuse to do so, and keep thinking of gear credits in terms of their monetary value. "how much is one gear credit" is a question that shouldn't come up, yet it does, over and over. get it through your head already. it's like buying a bundle, only you get to pick which products you want as part of that bundle.

[kgdrum]

early count
1 like GC/JP 4 don't like GC/JP


@ Burrillo what happens if IK goes the way of Cakewalk,Camel Audio,Roger Nichols etc.....or does a Bankruptcy?


$1500? WOW!

[Selfik]

For EU customers shopping from their site is really not a good idea...with added VAT prices are a bad joke.
Jam points and gear credits are totally useless for me...worst system ever.