Just some ideas off the top of my head based on somethings I've seen said by you and others in this thread.

I love Apollo, but as you and others have stated, not many merchants are supporting him outside of you and others at RDNA. It's a shame too, because he is a great figure and very easy to work with. Heck, I managed to do a whole pose from head to toe from zero pose, my very first try, something I've never been able to do on a V3 or M3.

I think the reason that V3 and M3 are highly supported is because they have been around a long time. I would imagine that when they first came out that not much was available for them either, and that it took time for people to move away from the standard Poser figures like Posette and Judy.

I really like Apollo, but from a new user stand point, and please, I don't mean to upset you by saying this, but from a new user stand point Apollo is more of an advanced figure to work with only because there isn't much out there for him just yet. The new user is looking to get their feet wet. With V3 or M3, they can do that rather cheaply because the bases are free and there are hundreds of free items out there that can be used for them. Even if they don't have the body and head morphs, they can still use the character addon textures that they can find free or relatively cheap in the stores.

I do like RDNA, but they are quite a bit higher priced than any of the other Poser stores, and like it or not, cost is a factor for most of us. Some of us use poser purely as a hobby. Some of us have families with only one income, others are on reduced income due to disability. So price really plays a huge role in what people buy.

Now for some of my ideas that I've been toying with:

1. Have you considered cutting down the base Apollo package and charging less for it? You could make al-a-carte packages instead of giving so much in the initial package. Most people are looking at the price of $100.00 for the product, they aren't looking at the contents of that package.. especially newer users. They see $100.00 and go "OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

If you break it to them gently by having the figure for say $30.00, and a few packages for $20.00, in time people will buy them as they can afford. It's easier to swallow spending $30.00 than $100.00.

In my opinion it's better to sell 10 Apollo Maximus packages for $30.00 each plus whatever a-la-carte packages, than to only sell 3 at $100.00.

With a lower price you get more people buying it, then there will be more of a market for other Apollo items.

2. Have you considered giving the Base Apollo to some merchants in the Poser community so that they have the figure and would be more apt to produce Apollo clothing, textures etc? I saw a merchant above state that they can't afford to buy the figure, so they can't make or sell Apollo items. Yes, you cut into your profits by giving Apollo (the very basic figure that you can), to some merchants, but you are also expanding Apollo's chances of having more support.

3. I read above that RDNA is by "invite only" to sell, and that it's hard to sell Apollo products elsewhere. Is there a way that they would allow merchants to sell just their Apollo Maximus wares through RDNA? This would encourage merchants to make products for him, and give them a reliable place to market these items too. What better place to sell Apollo items than at the site that sells Apollo himself?

Anyway, those are just some of my ideas that I had that could possibly help get Apollo onto more computers and to spark more interest in him and products for him.

I would love to see Apollo succeed and see a Venus come into being too. It makes me sad to see this figure dissed, and Anton unhappy about it all :(

Message edited on: 12/02/2005 23:10

"It is good to see ourselves as others see us. Try as we may, we are never
able to know ourselves fully as we are, especially the evil side of us.
This we can do only if we are not angry with our critics but will take in good
heart whatever they might have to say." - Ghandi