Make it so points can be used toward 100% of the cost of items being purchased, but still have to pay shipping. And no free shipping on purchases paid for in points

That way EF breaks at least even on the products, maybe? Or something along those lines.

I wouldn't mind paying the full cost of shipping if I could still use points to cover 100% of the items themselves. less

In one of the meetings Fred mentioned something about having a "Points Store" where items are put up for sale in a special section where you can use points for them, and I'll quote "cash/credit would not be accepted as payment".

I'm just not sure on the ETA at this time. less

I would be fine with something like this.

I'm not going to read every single comment here, so forgive me if any of this is redundant, but here are my thoughts:

Also, I would personally be fine with cutting out extraneous point earning (forums, sharing, liking, even rating), just to be able to cash in my remaining points. I would also be fine with the split purchasing methods for regular purchases IF we could at least use 100% of our points for buy out reviews. Then we would be doing something in return to give the site better ratings.

Reduce point earning to writing reviews, articles, editing, and the like. Those are the things that matter most right? I mean, the people who have been working hard up until this point are the ones who are going to remain loyal and bring more activity to the site. Reward those who have been working hard for longer periods of time, not those who are just looking for free stuff.

I believe that, as valuable contributors/advanced reviewers, we should be able to use our hard earned points in full. Stop giving free stuff to people who aren't going to be around for very long. Make new members work harder to get to a higher status before reward, and let the rest of us who are already established reviewers, have our benefits back. less

I actually like this idea!

I also think that there needs to be some distancing between the actual retail side and the community. While I love the community it really only takes a few people posting hateful things here to drive potential customers away. less

I actually like this idea!

I also think that there needs to be some distancing between the actual retail side and the community. While I love the community it really only takes a few people posting hateful things here to drive potential customers away. less

Yeah, I agree with you on the subject of distancing these two sides! Also, I would be alright with the "Points Store" thing IF my current points don't have an expiration. I have a lot and waiting around for things I want to go up on the sale might take a very long time. I ended up hoarding a lot of points from editing because I went through a very difficult time with my health and just did not enjoy sex/sex toys, so I stayed away. When I finally came back a couple days ago, it was to find all the chaos on the other threads about the new points rules. I really don't want to give up on the community... please don't give up on us! less

Yeah, I agree with you on the subject of distancing these two sides! Also, I would be alright with the "Points Store" thing IF my current points don't have an expiration. I have a lot and waiting around for things I want to go up on the sale might take a very long time. I ended up hoarding a lot of points from editing because I went through a very difficult time with my health and just did not enjoy sex/sex toys, so I stayed away. When I finally came back a couple days ago, it was to find all the chaos on the other threads about the new points rules. I really don't want to give up on the community... please don't give up on us! less

I just wanted to say, I don't know much about business and how to make it work better in actuality (my thoughts are only of my own theory), but I'm trying to be proactive instead of reactive in this situation... So yeah. I DO know that business is a mutual relationship between it and customers, so thank you, Stormy, for being active in this thread. less

In one of the meetings Fred mentioned something about having a "Points Store" where items are put up for sale in a special section where you can use points for them, and I'll quote "cash/credit would not be accepted as payment".

I'm just not sure on the ETA at this time. less

Would this "points store" also have higher end things also or just things they normally put on sale that no one buys unless it's 40% off and then still sometimes just sits there?

I would agree with this idea if this isn't all just reject stuff that's been sitting for years, going to be discontinued right away, or the kind of stuff that is given away as free items.

Even if it was used with points, I don't want to just fill up my collection with junk I'm never going to use and I'm not going to be happy if the points I earned would only buy me cheap over priced bullets, few glass pieces, and toys that just come already broken.

This could work but not if it's all crap product no one else wants to buy, if that's what this idea is about please save us from another slap in the face. less

My husband and I were talking, and I do not know how this will be recieved.. but what aboVIP members allowed to use points differently, earn points differently, review products in a points discounted mannor. My husband said "I would not mind paying the cost of a DVD subscription every month to even out costs if our points were still usable." VIP memv=bers (or what ever you would choose to call it) would review and earn points usable, while regular community members pay all but the 15% out of pocket.

That truly would seperate theeople who only want to pay with points (farming), and those who enjoyed reviewing and are understanding when it comes to point abuse and that very simply.. this company need rrevinue. less

During the conversation Fred said we were getting new inventory and that some of this would apply. I did not inquire nor did he specify if it was going to be high-end products, but I would imagine it would be a healthy mix of one or two high-end toys and then two or three in the medium-high price range. This would rotate on a pre-decided and or as needed basis. We literally conversed about it for less than fifteen seconds. I'm sure he'll have more details going forward.

I also know the following:

- We have been discussing different ways to implement various tiered incentive programs. Sort of like other rewards programs where X amount of dollars spent per year equaled X amount of rewards.

- The current algos for the ranking system no longer apply. This is because there are others who are more active on site who write excellent reviews and have more "face time" in the community than others who write reviews that are just awesome but are read less frequently either due to the items they were reviewing and or less presence in the forum in general. This needs to be fixed. So any suggestions revolving around rank need to take this into account.

- I want more things that the community can "buy" with their points that aren't necessarily toys. What those things could be, I'm completely unsure of and it would be completely hindered on the community's interests in general.

- Anything that requires programming changes are going to take some time to implement as there are many other projects that are just as important as these that affect the functionality of the site as a whole, not just in regards to the community.

*****

Now, these are just my own personal thoughts. I would love to see ideas on how we can bring more relevant information to the community, more community involvement in forum projects and outreach programs. From sponsoring people to go to certain adult expositions and having them report their experiences back to us and involving the community in more of those aspects of the industry so we can have a more rewarding and informative environment all the way around. If anyone has any thoughts on how we can do these things, I'd love to hear them. less

No worries, I understand what you were saying.

Hmmm...I can't see a lot of people paying a subscription fee just to be able to use points, but I very well could be wrong. Or, what about a monthly membership where once a month you get a free toy within a price range and the value of the membership determines that range?

If I'm grasping at straws here, just let me know! less

No worries, I understand what you were saying.

Hmmm...I can't see a lot of people paying a subscription fee just to be able to use points, but I very well could be wrong. Or, what about a monthly membership where once a month you get a free toy within a price range and the value of the membership determines that range?

If I'm grasping at straws here, just let me know! less

More what we were thinking was those willing to pay the fee would be able to earn a set amount of points per month that are able to be used toward items of there choice. Set amounts of points are the key.

Many people are willing to pay around 10$ a month to shake there pixel buts in a 3D Chat environment, my self included, so why not pay for the priveilege to earn and spend points with perticipation on the site, on things you have desired.

this would of corse have rules, set things you earn points for, and a limit of points earned per month. It would eliminate the need to have them expire, and allow you to make money while they sat on there points for the more high end lingerie, toys and body products. less

Oh and this is an idea originally from Gary...

He suggested having tiers on the forum. I don't remember the specific layout he suggested but what if it went something like this?

- Trial Members would only have access to the Site-related subcategories.
- Regular members would have access to all of the forums except for categories created by members for members of their incentive level.

So, say someone is in a "Gold" category and wishes to converse with those in their "tier" only those who were also Gold could read them and participate.

I was always a little hesitant because many people felt there were cliques and felt excluded and I felt this only served to create more cliques. But there's also a certain attraction to exclusivity. So...any thoughts on this are appreciated as well.

But, I have always felt that the forums should be something that you only have access to if you've created an account as some people reveal very personal information about situations and it makes them feel vulnerable and sometimes less likely to participate in certain discussions. less