I feel ripped off...

[Cardinal Ape]

I am a big fan of Spiderweb games, more than willing to drop $20 on Avadon 2 as soon as it was available. I did so last night. Now this morning I see a Steam advertisment for Avadon 2 for $8, then I look closer and GoG is selling it for $7.50.

 

Man, a couple of dollars is one thing, but more than double the price.....WTF! So my enthusiasim, excitement, and impatientence to play this game costed me $12 extra? Not cool man!

 

(and yes, I am poor enough that $12 makes a difference)

[mouton]

I am a big fan of Spiderweb games, more than willing to drop $20 on Avadon 2 as soon as it was available. I did so last night. Now this morning I see a Steam advertisment for Avadon 2 for $8, then I look closer and GoG is selling it for $7.50.

 

Man, a couple of dollars is one thing, but more than double the price.....WTF! So my enthusiasim, excitement, and impatientence to play this game costed me $12 extra? Not cool man!

 

(and yes, I am poor enough that $12 makes a difference)

All previous games were more expensive on spiderweb than on Steam/GoG. You were not ripped off, you jsut didn't do any research. The main site option is for those true believers who voluntarily want to pay a bit more to support Jeff and his crew.

 

Perhaps you could ask for a refund and repurchase it elsewhere?

[Cardinal Ape]

I did do some minor research. I bought the game at 3am central time, I searched Steam, it wasn't there, nor did Google come up with anything other than Spiderweb as a place to buy. Yeah, I know it is my own fault for not waiting till morning to purchase this game but still, I should not have to seach for something like 'Does Spiderweb charge 2.5 times the price of other outlets?'

 

However, I spent $20 because I know I will get more than $20 enjoyment out of the game. I don't know yet if I will ask for a refund. It's not like I bought something that doesn't work. I just feel a bit taken advantage of. Argg. Grumble. Rabble. Fnord.

[Dikiyoba]

One of the advantages of buying directly from SW is the guarantee that it's yours forever, so that you can e-mail SW and get a new copy of the game if you lose yours somehow or you need to switch platforms (this is, admittedly, less important now that it's on Steam, but Steam can be a hassle in its own right). Still, if that $12 is important to you (and it can be, when money is tight, there's no shame in that), Spiderweb does have a refund policy. E-mail them at spidweb@spiderwebsoftware.com, explain your situation, and get your money back. (You have a full year, so no rush.)

 

Dikiyoba.

[...]

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Edited June 27, 2023 by ...

[Randomizer]

Also there have been complaints that Steam versions of games don't work and customer support just tells you to bug the game developer when the problem lies with Steam.

[mouton]

I just feel a bit taken advantage of. Argg. Grumble. Rabble. Fnord.

But I honestly feel you weren't. You just made a mistake and picked the wrong option and they clearly mark other venues on their webpage. Neither you nor spiderweb are a malicious party here - it is a misunderstainding. They are an indie studio that cares about their customers so they just might give you a refund if you explain the situation as it is - although of course I cannot guarantee it, don't know who handles this kind of stuff there.

Also there have been complaints that Steam versions of games don't work and customer support just tells you to bug the game developer when the problem lies with Steam.

My Steam version works flawlessly. Their computers are broken, they need new ones.

[Cardinal Ape]

I am not accussing Spiderweb of being malicious. Absolutely not. If I did not respect an independant developer working hard to put his kids through school I would not have bothered with this thread and instead went straight to the refund request.

 

I recognize that my gripe is self induced because I wanted to get my hands on this game ASAP. When I ordered it it was not yet available on Steam or GoG, so no prices to compare to. I just assumed that the price would be the same regardless of the outlet. Three different prices from three different outlets on the first day of release is weird. But seriously, I thought cutting out the middle man and going direct to the source would be cheaper, not 2.5 times more expensive. I don't find that idea to be crazy or illogical. That is why I feel a bit uncomfortable with my purchase.

 

A bit off topic: If Spiderweb wants to get more out of their hardcore fans with extra cash then maybe they should add a donate button instead of overcharging for games on their site. When I did search for Avadon on steam I did see that the original was $10 as oppossed to the $20 here. In all honesty I thought the price difference was because Spiderweb was slacking on their site maintnence as I was unaware of it being a half donation method.

[Lilith]

Seriously, I promise none of us will judge you if you choose to use the refund option and buy the game cheaper elsewhere. Spiderweb's staff seldom read the forums, so at the moment you're complaining to a bunch of people who don't have the ability to solve your problem, instead of emailing the person who can.

[Randomizer]

I think Jeff is aware that people want to save money buying from third party sites and in the past didn't release it to them until after the game was only available here for almost a year. He has commented in his blog that buying an older game for less made sense.

 

Jeff would rather that you buy the game somewhere than not having a sale where he gets some money.

[Cardinal Ape]

Seriously, I promise none of us will judge you if you choose to use the refund option and buy the game cheaper elsewhere. Spiderweb's staff seldom read the forums, so at the moment you're complaining to a bunch of people who don't have the ability to solve your problem, instead of emailing the person who can.

 

Yeah, thanks. Its just not a great feeling when you need to be a cheap bastard and ask a good guy to return your money.

 

I'm in this kind of trivial moral dilema. I want to support Jeff. My job keeps cutting my hours. $20 is a fair price. $8 seems like a steal for more than 40 hours of fun. $12 can send my nephew to see Ender's Game. Sorry Jeff, I think I will have to be a cheap bastard.

[nikki.]

If it's any consolation, I'm probably going to buy it on Steam too, rather than from Spiderweb. Jeff seems to be a decent guy - he's not going to be annoyed that you're asking for $12 back. He's probably more likely to be happy you're playing at all.

[Lilith]

Yeah, thanks. Its just not a great feeling when you need to be a cheap bastard and ask a good guy to return your money.

 

I'm in this kind of trivial moral dilema. I want to support Jeff. My job keeps cutting my hours. $20 is a fair price. $8 seems like a steal for more than 40 hours of fun. $12 can send my nephew to see Ender's Game. Sorry Jeff, I think I will have to be a cheap bastard.

 

Think of it this way: Jeff is willing to lose a few dollars for the sake of customer satisfaction. That's why the refund option exists in the first place.

[mynameismudd]

I always buy the game through the site, later on I buy it from gog and thats it. I usually buy through spiderweb because I like to talk to Mariann and Jeff when getting on the phone. I wanted to get into game design so Jeff and them are all like my heroes. Ive only spoken to Jeff twice and he's awesome. Also I guess it might be useful to have it from the main site.

[Cardinal Ape]

Solved.

I got my refund without any problem. Re-purchased it on Steam. I'm very thankful to Spiderweb for accommodating my mistake.

[happybjorn]

Also there have been complaints that Steam versions of games don't work and customer support just tells you to bug the game developer when the problem lies with Steam.

 

 

My Steam version works flawlessly. Their computers are broken, they need new ones.

 

Since there is a known compatibility issue with OpenGL and several common video cards (and they have OpenGL support), I wouldn't be surprised if most of the Steam-version-doesn't-work complaints relate to this. If you have to blame someone though, I suppose Steam is the problem here since I believe it only comes with the OpenGL version of the game. One nice thing about getting a game directly from Spiderweb is there is no hassle in using the Directx version instead.

 

On a similar note, I'm certain Steam determines sales for their site (both when they happen and how much price is reduced) and probably has enormous influence over what the the normal price is for a game on Steam. There is no conspiracy.

[Lilith]

On a similar note, I'm certain Steam determines sales for their site (both when they happen and how much price is reduced) and probably has enormous influence over what the the normal price is for a game on Steam. There is no conspiracy.

 

My understanding is that while Steam doesn't direct set prices or straight-up put games on sale without permission, it does strongly encourage publishers to get on board with sales in exchange for promotion. Often this is a good deal for the publisher, but not always.

[Majex]

It's funny how we humans will spend any amount of money for our pleasure. It is FANTASTIC to find alternate prices for same!!! Living in Arctic Canada (yeah we do exist, barely, up here) I just paid over $700.00 in diesel to heat my home for the month of Oct/Nov - no alternative - and that does not include gas for vehicle - costs more than diesel - again - no alternative. I absolutely chose to pay the higher price to Jeff to, hopefully, give him more and more incentive to light my life:) Deepest thanks Jeff and co.!!!!

[Edgwyn]

I am curious how many of the folks who are debating the $20 versus $8 for 40 or so hours of enjoyment pay $4 for 15 minutes of enjoying a (insert five adverbs here) latte or cappuccino at Starbucks. That said, while the MSRP is always higher then the sticker price, this markup does seem a bit extreme.

[Dikiyoba]

That said, while the MSRP is always higher then the sticker price, this markup does seem a bit extreme.

That's actually Spiderweb's usual price, long before they got on Steam and GoG. So it's more like the discount is pretty extreme.

 

And ew, Dikiyoba hates Starbucks.

[Triumph]

In fact, Spiderweb's prices used to be HIGHER than $20 ($25 or $30, depending on the game).

 

Also, the notions of MSRP and markup can't really apply to the prices on the Spiderweb site since Spiderweb is the actual producer of the games.

[Alorael at Large]

I think Spiderweb's pricing is still in flux. Jeff was very afraid of lowering prices and not increasing sales for a long time. The combination of efficient third-party distribution (Steam, GoG) and their customer bases' demands for lower prices hit a sweet spot. And the fact that iPad customers also expect reduced cost just added pressure. Jeff has been doing well, but it's hard to let go of the higher prices of the past.

 

—Alorael, who also has seen Jeff say very different things about it, but he gets the impression that Jeff would rather have a customer, especially a potential repeat customer, at any price rather than someone not buying and not playing his games. He wants to put his kids through college but he doesn't seem the type to begrudge your kids college (or movies).

[Randomizer]

It's been a few years since Jeff has given a sales breakdown by distribution and now the price points for the distribution platforms for a specific game. In the past Jeff was happy selling 5000 games a year at his site prices. Now as his total sales expand especially his older games where they represent pure profit, he is a bit less concerned about price per game.

[Meneldil]

To be honest, I bought Avadon: TBF for 2€ or so, during a sale on Steam. I've always been curious about the game, but would probably not have picked it up without the sale (especially since I have Arcanum on GoG and Eschalon books 1&2 on Steam).

 

Since I liked it, I bought Avadon: TC for 8€ on Steam. And since I like this one too, I'll buy A: EftP at full price on Spiderweb's website. Hopefully, it will be "registrable" on Steam. I probably won't buy all future Spiderweb games at that price, but I consider it a "reward" for keeping me entertained for 80 hours or so, so far, for a mere 10€.

[Randomizer]

Games bought at the Spiderweb site aren't registered at the Steam site since Jeff has a limited number of Steam keys to give out.

[Valdain the King]

I didn't much like this sequel. The 1st game I could get through but I am really a Geneforge fan at heart. If the game gives me a few problems then I delete it from hard drive and move on. I also don't really like very very long battles which irks when you get a few moves wrong. I'd prefer medium battles where 1 move you die-less time. If King Vogel can make another game like Geneforge then I am all for it. As for all other games they can't compare with Planescape Torment and Baldurs Gate at least in my book.

[springacres]

I always buy the game through the site, later on I buy it from gog and thats it. I usually buy through spiderweb because I like to talk to Mariann and Jeff when getting on the phone. I wanted to get into game design so Jeff and them are all like my heroes. Ive only spoken to Jeff twice and he's awesome. Also I guess it might be useful to have it from the main site.

It usually is. I bought it off Steam when it was on sale for $8, but there's a patch out now which their version has not yet gotten, so I had few qualms about plunking down another $20 to buy it through Spiderweb's store. This way, I have access to patches as soon as they're released, rather than waiting for Steam to get the patch.

[wherezmytofu]

screw that. i buy all my games direct. every so often people lose thier stem account and stuff like that. then BAM its gone. One time i moved and lost my exile 3 cd, i emailed one guy and he sent me a new key like the same week!

[BenS]

Given the vast number of enjoyable hours I get from these games (and I play them 2x), I had no problem paying the $20 at this site rather than a reduced price elsewhere. I even bought the (now digital only) tip book just to give Jeff more $. Given it'll be a year or two before I can play the next one he puts out, I feel it's the least I can do to support him making these fun games.