Me too. But I would like to be able to pay the annual fee upfront. My subscription is good until October....I think I'll wait and see if they refine this offer. As for the $30 voucher...yeah, I could spend that in a month in a heartbeat.

Thank you Steve for coming to us and read this thread.

Vouchers on DAZ original content... I, and many of you, just got the $30 voucher for the Mimic deal... I've been scouring the entire store, and honestly cannot find a DAZ orignal item that I really want to pick up..Sure, there are some items that I would maybe use, but overall..nothing that screams to be put in that store basket... DAZ needs to create more original content to make these vouchers worth anything. And of course, your mileage may vary.... But I have what I want now....there are TONS of brokered or PC items I would love to purchase, however.

Lets give them a few minutes to read this thread. They just opened for the day. It's not like waiting for a new SR to a buggy program for months at a time (grin, couldn't help it). First, most of us don't have to renew for some time yet. No changes until we renew. We'd be silly to renew early. Second, Daz will likely come up with another option for payment. I expect a yearly fee based on the total cost of the monthly membership, maybe with a little discount for paying up front. Daz is very responsive to their customer base. I expect that after Dan sees this thread, he'll quickly come up with a yearly payment solution for those of us who don't or won't do a monthly charge. They may already have one, but haven't posted it yet to their page (remember, Daz isn't the best at quick web site updates). As for quality, very few can compare with either the Daz generated or their brokered products. For all we know, we can roll the vouchers up if we don't use them in a month. Sure, sometimes the club has nothing I can really use, but sometimes they have a ton of neat stuff. New members get a great deal with all the older stuff they have in the club, and a lot of the new stuff is worth the price. And don't forget the regular Platinum Club discount. That came in VERY handy wit all the V3 stuff I got. It'll come in even more handy when M3 comes out (Dan, when you read this... hint, hint). Right now Daz is the only company providing high resolution, usable human figures. They provide excellent support, and they're the ones we currently look for to provide the next generation of a Poser style program that actually uses a modern system's capabilities. Don't let a little thing like a payment plan freak you out. Special note to Dan: Good work on everything lately (I can even live with injection posing), but maybe a full year option would be a good thing. And while I've got your attention, Mike 3? Status? Huh? Male posing junkies wanna know.

Ladies and Gentlemn, Let us not forget they cannot charge your credit card without your express permission, through contract or other legel obligations. And I for one have not given out that permission except for purchases made. I don't think DAZ wants to get into a disputed charge card scenero.

Now on Daz's web site Prefer to Pay For Everything Up-Front? If you prefer to pay the original $99.95 price upfront, simply contact sales@daz3d.com to place your order. You will have a full year's access to the Platinum Club, full-access to the Members Only areas of the DAZ3D website, and 30% off all DAZ Original Items. The monthly voucher reimbursements are only for monthly payment plan members however. All memberships purchased for a full year at once must be paid for using Paypal or a money order. Credit cards cannot be accepted.

That seems weird...why would they prefer a monthly payment (and encourage it with vouchers) and discourage an upfront payment? Seems as if they really don't want annual payments. Why would a membership purchased for a full year not be payable by credit card? Weird. I know, I know. Wait for the other thread.

nickedshield Read the finprint on your account page Platinum Club Annual Membership Platinum Club Membership [The above item auto-renews and bills your credit card upon expiration. To cancel your automatic renewal, cilck here.]

Dialyn: Maybe they're planning to change the membership plan again and don't want any legal hassles with those who pay by credit card. It's like the old apartment lease thing. Once you go month-to-month, you're susceptible to rent increases, but with an annual lease they can't jack the rent up on you again.

That has my attention also dialyn. And why then not by personal cheque?

DAZ needs to create more original content, Also needs to be more diverse, Would like to see more products NOT related to Vic3 or Koshina. My voucher will be used at the last minute, nothing there now that I just have to get.

Hold on a minute !! So we can pay upfront $100....and get no vouchers... or pay 7.95/month...which is actually only for 11 months because of the $29.95 sign up fee the first go round...or waived if existing member...which is $88....plus get $5 voucher per month.... geez.... this is getting more of the wall by the second, here...

Well, I hate to "go opposite" of the majority of the posts here but let's not forget something: DAZ, more than any other company, energized the Poser community with HIGH-quality LOW-cost products. Maybe some have forgotten the prices that some companys charged for their products. (once in a while, I see someone post a picture of, say, a baseball that sold for $50 or so!) Also, the Platinum Club is NOT something you are owed. NOT something they MUST offer. I haven't done any calculations (other than reading the above) but what I have read doesn't seem so bad. Personally, I can't understand the complaint about being charged monthly as opposed to people wanting to be charged all at once. If you can't pay off your balance on your credit card each month (anyway), then you wind up paying more interest from a large charge at the beginning of the year (that you can't pay off) than if you got a charge added each month. Do some math. Perhaps DAZ should just cancel the Platinum Club. Then you could really whine! I realize a lot of people don't have the money to buy the 3D products they want to buy. If you are a hobbyist like me, then you need to weigh your money against your desires. I'll have to do that soon, as well (since the government has decided it's better to discard me and hire a contractor in my place). But, I think DAZ does a good job of balancing their business (and profits) while making products affordable to us common types. A DAMN good job!

the price increase is substantial, even without the initial fee (from about $70 to about $90). and if you are a pc member that rarely or never buys in the premium section, then the vouchers don't do squat. and a voucher for $30 is not a refund. that is me still being forced to pay $30 and maybe getting something I wouldn't have bought in the first place in exchange. and basically, after receiving newsletter after newsletter about mimic but no warning about a change in terms of service of the pc, i'm kinda pissed. poserworld has high quality models and textures, costs $50 per year, and has no subsequent fees. runtime dna offers a lot of quality stuff for $2.50 with no membership required. and whether this is still a good deal or not is kind of irrelevant to the fact that they snuck this up on their customers. and frankly, i don't want another monthly fee. i think they should rethink their changes and maybe offer different payment plans rather than forcing people who were willing to pay a yearly fee of $70 on top of the $2 cost per item to pay more and pay monthly.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

Ok, we're about to send out a newsletter promoting the new setup and all the additional privileges gained by having a Platinum Club Membership. If you want to be up on all the latest happenings with DAZ, or get the first scoop on upcoming products, or have full-access to a Members Only Gallery and lots more, then becoming (or staying) a Platinum Club Member is a must for you. The new setup is going to destroy the barrier to entry of $100 that's always been a problem in the past. No one will have to save up $100 to become a member any longer. We feel that's a huge benefit to many of our customers. The ability to pay a much smaller monthly fee of $7.95 a month is much easier for most people to handle in our current economy - if you take advantage of the monthly $5 voucher, than your monthly fee drops to $2.95 a month. It doesn't get much cheaper than that, folks. :) The ability to pay for a whole year up front IS still available, but you may only pay through Paypal and direct money transfers (checks, money-orders, wire-transfers, etc.) due to restrictions placed upon us directly by the credit card processing companies. Those who pay for a year upfront will not qualify for the $5 monthly vouchers, however, that is a benefit for those who sign up for the monthly payment plan. (I'm sorry it wasn't on the page last night, that was my fault that it wasn't there like it should have been) There will be many DAZ Original products coming in the near future, I don't think anyone here wouldn't like to have 30% of Michael 3.0 when he comes out later this year. But, even cooler, in my opinion, are all the extras that Platinum Club Members will soon have available to them. We're going to be launching our own Forum soon, and there will be a special Members Only area with contests and other going-on's specifically geared towards Platinum Club Members. Soon after the Forum launches, there will be an Online Gallery for all Members, voted upon by Platinum Club Members (with some really cool prizes, btw). And as long expected products begin to show themselves, I think everyone will say that being a Member definitely has its privileges *wink, wink*. I hope this answers your questions and concerns. The Platinum Club Membership is really quite simple, pay $29.95 now, and then only $7.95 a month thereafter, and get access to everything at DAZ3D for a full year. With $5 Vouchers to boot. The only hard part left is deciding what to buy with all your discounts and specials once you're a member. ;) We are sorry for the delay in email response that many of you have experienced over the past few weeks. AnneMarie is no longer with us at all, she has decided to just dedicate her time to her family and their newborn, and as a result, we're all juggling quite a bit more than we used to while we make the necessary changes to handle the load she bore for us so well for so long. Any other questions, look for the email that will be coming to your inbox later today, and then please feel free to email us at sales@daz3d.com Thanks, Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.

I don't doubt the value of the models or the membership. I just find the financial arrangement to be odd. Forums and contests and galleries don't mean much to me since it is doubtful I'd have any reason to participate, but the value of the Platinum Club has been worth a lot to me. I just can't figure out why all the incentives are for the monthly payments since that has to be more bookkeeping effort than an annual membership is. Oh well, it's your show. No one is asking me for advice. I'll no doubt renew because it has been one heck of a good value. I hate the monthly payment idea...I prefer to pay my bills upfront and not have to think about it any more. It just seems...well, curious to me. Anyway, thank you for the update. I have till October to ponder it.

Thanks Steve, for the clarification. Pity we can't pay all the $7.95 monthly payments up front, but hey, every company has it's accounting limitations. Very sorry to see AnneMarie go. She was an asset to Daz and to all of us. She will be greatly missed. ...and nice sidestep on the Mike 3 release date... "Later this year" leaves a lot of room (grin).

It just strikes me as odd that the annual membership seems to be the 'red-headed stepchild'. Most places give you incentives to go for the long term plans as oppossed to the short term ones. Right now it's almost as if you're punished if you want to go for the longterm plan. sigh

I think it's a WONDERFUL opportunity. DAZ has expanded the Platinum Club into more of a community while keeping the price virtually the same. Though others might not care about the "fringe benefits", I think it's a nice move/gesture. To do a slight "turn", I wish I could buy stock in their company. I'm sure I'd be better off than with my current "losers"...LOL.

My complaint isn't about the value of the new system, but that it is still unclear whether present members are being forced into this arrangement now, or when they renew. The website is not clear on this other than to mention an "anniversary gift," which vaguely implies that present members are excluded from this new deal until their membership expires. And we all know that DAZ puts out the greatest products otherwise I wouldn't have bought so many of them, and the Platinum Club is a great value especially with all the discounts. I just wish this could have been announced via email to existing members before it was announced on the site. I wouldn't have even noticed it if it wasn't mentioned on Renderosity in this thread.

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

Current members don't need to take any action until the time of renewal for them. No one has a membership that will expire within 30 days, so everyone has plenty of time to consider what route they'd prefer to take.

As for the "pay for a full-year upfront" being a route DAZ isn't pushing, you can blame that 100% on the credit Card processing companies. They are penalizing us like crazy due to the annual memberships. The reason why? They have to carry the weight of having thousands of Platinum Club members suddenly demand their money back if DAZ goes out of business (not going to happen, we're doing fine ;) ) but, they penalize us like crazy while we offer it, so we've been forced to come up with an alternative. We love offering these deals to our best customers, and we definitely didn't want to just drop the program.

Hopefully, the benefits of the program will clear up the other concerns you all have. It really is a no-brainer. Do the math:

If you spent at least $100 over the course of the past 12 months at our store, and weren't a Platinum Club Member, then you lost out on tons of products and savings. $100 in the Platinum Club would buy you 50 products compared to two or three without the membership. Not to mention the 30% off DAZ Products that you could have enjoyed.

Thanks again everyone,

Steve Kondris

• does the math * New members: $29.95 + ( 7.95 - 5.00 ) x 11 = $62.40 per year Renewing members: ( $7.95 - 5.00 ) x 12 = $35.40 per year I don't particularly care to be charged on a monthly basis, but at that price I guess I could live with the inconvenience. Well, no need to worry about it until October.

Thanks for clearing that up. I don't use a credit card, but a CheckCard where it comes directly out of my checking account. I guess the same rules would still apply.

Am I missing something here. Has DAZ cleared up the question: Can you only use the $5.00 coupon for Premier items, or can you also use it in the Plat Club?

Yeah, I was going to ask about using the vouchers in PClub too. Was this perhaps a case of A saying "Shall we put all the PC stuff up?" (thinking of the new system) and B saying "Yes" (thinking of the new products)?

Ok, lemme get one point straight (I think I'm straight on all the others ;o)). Those that ARE PC members are limited to only 3 PC purchases per month? Is that correct? Cause I buy a helluva lot more than that from the PC per month. Laurie

Nope...forget my last post. I think I'm confused. It's three total download tries for each product. Not limit to 3 per month...hehehe. Laurie

All I saw was the existing policy: "Each Platinum Club Membership allows for one purchase of each Platinum Club product at the Platinum Club price. Three downloads are allowed for each Platinum Club product purchase." Where is the part about the three purchases per month?????

Hmm. The vouchers don't sound like a huge bonus to me if they aren't usable on Plat Club items. There are not that many Premium Daz originals that I usually want to buy. My current subscription only cost me 50 dollars or so on sale, which was very reasonable. Not sure I want to pay more a year than that really. :( I would be happy to give up the bells and whistles you want to offer in terms of galleries, etc. for lower subscription rates.

Don't get excited dialyn...LOL. I already corrected myself ;o). I'm just an idiot...hehehe. And easily confused ;o). Laurie

So that's why they no longer let you use vouchers on PC items, because of this new setup. Well I say that stinks...I seldom get premiere items, I don't like having to use a voucher and pay some money on an item I didn't really want. Before I would use vouchers to get PC items and the pay for brokered stuff. I also RESENT being told about it after the fact...I got oodles of ads for mimic, but squat about this stuff coming up. So it doesn't matter whether it's a good deal or not, this was bad and dishonest practice and I am dissappointed with a company that has normally had outstanding service and support.

Sorry, Laurie. I cross posted with you. Sigh.

The only thing about this new Platinum Club system that I'm lukewarm on is the vouchers. Limiting them to DAZ created Premiere content and 30 days seems a bit restrictive. I tend to pick up a few things at DAZ every week or so and I've been a happy member of the Platinum Club since it started. But, aside from upgrading to Mimic 2 Pro, I haven't gotten that much DAZ created Premiere content in the past few months. Most of my purchases at DAZ have either been brokered items or Platinum Club items. If the $5 monthly vouchers either didn't expire after 30 day limit or if they could be used for Platinum Club items then I really have a problem. I'm not crazy about having a monthly $7.95 charge on my credit card but the Platinum Club has usually been worth it so far (some weeks more so than others).

I think y'all are forgetting the Special Interest section of the store. There's a lot of Daz orginals in there that you can use the vouchers on as well. Kate (who is adopting a "wait and see" stance on this one)

So, does this mean that if we have a Pay Pal account via our credit cards, we can't use that either to renew? I'm confooosed now.

I'd like to ditto what jkm said--the new Platinum Club financing system seems good in some ways, but it's really a shame we can't use vouchers on Platinum Club items anymore. After getting that $30 voucher for upgrading Mimic, I was looking forward to loading up on Platinum Club items, but now I'll have to restrict it to some other DAZ item and buy less in the Platinum Club. Membership is still nice because PC items are only $1.99, and the discounts work well for big-ticket items like Mimic 2 and Victoria 3, but since most of my purchases are in the Platinum Club, it would be nice to be able to use the vouchers on them, too.

PayPal is like a checking account. you can deposit money in the account, attach to a checking account to transfer money, or setup a credit card. A lot of venders are going PayPal (or other system) so they do not have to deal with all the banks and credit card companies which slam and make it a lot of work for a vendor. You can use your CC via PayPal to pay for just about anything, it should work to renew the PClub, or even the monthly payment plan either way. PayPal just makes it easyer on Daz, much easyer than dealing with all the CC Companies, now they only need to deal with one system. That's my take on it anyway.

Hm, I've been wondering why I got billed for three Platinum Club items that I bought yesterday while I had a $10 voucher...guess I know why that happened now. :| And I have to agree, there's so much good brokered stuff that I wish I could use vouchers on. LOL...couldn't we use the credit to handle the DAZ half of the item's cost and pay the brokered artist the rest? ;D Thanks, take care. SnowS

This sounds OK for a renewing member like lyself but I agree with the voucher issue. There are simply not that many Permier items issued which you could use them on and they are always more than $5! So you will have to SPEND money to get the saving at all! Besides, I mostly buy Plat Club stuff only. The Loft stuff is occasionally Daz Creation but there is not often stuff I want.

I don't mind PayPal too much, but they are definately not without problems of their own. But I also know that they still get hit with a fee per transaction on a CC that's why I was asking.

I'm not a member, though there are many things I want in there. The price has kept me on the fence, though I've bought way too many things from Daz. And most likely would have saved a bundle in the long run. I've read through all this very carefully trying to see if there is a deal in there. Sorry, but the montly thing bothers me. And you can do the math all you like, but if those vouchers have restrictions, then it's still expensive. I'm a Canuck, so I have to add that wonderful exchange rate. What I'd like to see is the pc items available outside of membership. Of course at a higher cost. But I'd think sales would increase. Like that hooded cape. I love that, but I'm not going to join to get it.

OK, I'm confused! I guess since I don't have a CC I'm simply stuck with $100 a year and no extra benifits? This math is giving me headake. Well, at least I don't have to pay the CC charges or worry about buying more than I can actually afford..

Attached Link: http://www.daz3d.com

Everyone: Anyone can buy a new Platinum Club Membership, or renew an existing membership with any payment method that they wish with the new monthly payment plan. IF someone wishes to pay the $99.95 up front, then you may only use PayPal or a check/money order/etc. Voucher ARE good on ANY DAZ Original Item, whether it be in the Premier, Platinum Club, or Special Interest sections of our store. If you had trouble using your vouchers this way over the past few weeks, it was probably a bug in our new store with the vouchers. Our programmer found a couple of small things yesterday that were related, and we've since tested vouchers and they work fine on Platinum Club items now. This is my last post today as we are about to put out a newsletter with all the information on this just like we did with Mimic. Thanks for your patience, and please do not jump to any more conclusions until you've taken the time to find out the facts and not just the hearsay. Steve Kondris DAZ Productions, Inc.

"please do not jump to any more conclusions" Steve don't know us very well, do he? hehehe Just kidding...or am I?

I don't like the voucher restriction. I have a $10 voucher I'd been saving for over a month and had planned to use it this weekend.

Daz, you need to realize there really isn't enough original stuff to use vouchers on and there really isn't enough new items regularly a month.

(Plus a few of my own.) 1) Do the $5 per month vouchers have a time limit (e.g. 30 days)? 2) Can these $5 vouchers be used only on DAZ original items, or with DAZ and Platinun Card items as well? (I know it won't be good for brokered items.) 3) What payment options are available for the monthly membership renewal? 4) Someone mentioned an anniversary gift for current Platinum Club members. Do you get that gift regardless of how you decide to continue your membership (i.e. monthly or yearly, or is it only for yearly people?) 5) Is there any possibility of putting some of the Platinum Club items in the Premiere area as well (albeit at a higher price)? This would allow people who are not Platinum Members to get some of the great stuff in the Plat Club, would allow us Plats to use the vouchers if the items are DAZ originals, and would open up more business for merchants who create add-ons for Plat items. (Non-Plat people might run out and get the item to take advantage of the add-ons offered.) 6) Can some sort of arrangements be made for people who do not have credit cards to do monthly payments since there is a financial incentive for them to do so? (E.g. they can send a check for 3 months at a time to ensure continuous service?) I'll also toss off an e-mail to DAZ and if I hear anything before they post here, I'll post the answers I received. Did I miss any questions so far? Cheers!

Cross-post with Steve. Hopefully the newsletter will answer the questions above. Of course, I'd also love to know why DAZ always does this just before a big holiday, but I didn't think it would be polite to ask. ;-)

I am glad that Steve has straighten out a few things about the "new" platinum club membership issues. The only thing that I have a problem with is the monthly charge on the card. I might bit the bullet and renew.... still undesided on this.

Okay... now the vouchers are covering the DAZ Original items I wanted to buy from the Platinum Club, but they still aren't being applied to the brokered PC products. And it used to be that all PC items, DAZ Original or otherwise, could be bought with vouchers. Is that going to be fixed too?

Something sooooooo simple and they had to go and complicate it. :( I suggest a flat fee for Platinum at $60/yr or $35/6 months. New members and Renewers pay the same. Renewers who buy a full year get a $20 voucher, 6 mos get $10, for DAZ orig products only. No monthly charges. If the CC processing is costing DAZ trouble and money, okay make us pay for our membership with Paypal or check, etc. Raise the Platinum item prices to $2.50. And where's my newsletter. Haven't seen one for weeks :(