Hi all, I just wanted to share this email i send to daz3d and the response i got, coz it kinda confuses me... -------------------------------- I wrote: Hi, Why is it that Victorias Clothing pak 1 contains 20 objects when Michaels Clothink pak 1 only only has 9 (or 7 if i count'em) when they're both 35$? Is it harder making clothes for michael or do you think artists working with michael have more money to spend on clothes or...? Jesper What i got in response: Jesper, You Have a good question! Sorry I don't have a valid answer.. All I can say is Women usually have more expensive and lavish wardrobes over men!! Thanks, Emily Robinson Sales/Account Manager -------------------------------------- I mean, we are talking about the number of meshes you get for 35$.....

Yet it's true - the market drives much more development for Vicky than Mike.

Well, she does have a point. Although they could have thrown in some casual items for michael, guys usually wear a shirt and a pair of pants (which, in this case, can be morphed from casual to dress), whereas women wear short/long/medium skirts, dresses, slacks, halter tops, blouses, sweaters, etc etc etc etc. I still think they should have added a sweater, tshirt and more morphs for the pants though.

beatone, let me say right off that I have a very high opinion overall of the work that Daz does. I think they do their best to take care of their customers. However, on this one, I think you got the proverbial "blow-off." It is a common tactic of trying not to answer a legitimate question by being "cute." InBlack, hit the point. They could have -- should have -- included some useful items, needed items such as those he mentioned to bring the Michael pack up closer to the monetary value of the Vicki pack. I had to go to a third-party for a useable suit for Michael. They didn't think that Mike might want to spiff up for a date with Vic? It doesn't change my opinion of Daz. I still think they're a great bunch of people. But I was disappointed that they didn't seem to take your query seriously. On a somewhat depressing note, your query and Emily's answer made me realize one fact... I've spent more money on clothes for my Poser population than I have for myself this year. ;-) Then again, they look better than I do... :-0

beatone, your question is a valid one. It seems to me that Michael's clothing pack either should have had more meshes, or been cheaper.

Oh, I wouldn't say his question was blown off. In fact Emily's response was "You Have a good question! Sorry I don't have a valid answer.." While you may not care for the answer I suggest she can't get more honest than that.

Let's face it. It's not just clothes. There's more of everything for Vicki than Michael. There's a ton of hair for Vicki and just a few for poor Mike. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that someday someone will realize what a gold mine it will be to create items for Michael.

While you may not care for the answer I suggest she can't get more honest than that.<<< I did not care for the answer because it was not an answer at all. Sorry, jval, I was taught and I later taught that if you did not know the answer to a customer's question you either found it or found someone who knew the answer. If you didn't, you have "blown it off" as unimportant. The bottom line is that a customer had a query that remains unanswered. That is not good and it is not good customer service. I expect that from Corel, not from DAZ.

Casamerica, I guess we just have to disagree and I'm sure that by your standards you are correct. I view "good" answers and "correct" answers as two different things- a "good" answer being one that the questioner will like. Emily was not at all evasive but immediately stated she had no "good" answer and offered no false pretense of justification. You can't always satisfy every unhappy customer. When you can't it is best to be honest about it and she was. The Michael package is the way it is because it's the way it is. DAZ3D goes to great pains to show you exactly what their packages contain. If someone buys it despite obvious aspects that may make them unhappy I think there is little room for complaint. In previous instances where something was actually flawed DAZ3D has gone to great lengths to remedy things at no charge. This is clearly unlike Corel who regularly introduces defective products and then makes us wait an eternity for patches that may or may not work. As far as I know DAZ3D has always had a policy that provides a refund if one is unhappy with a purchase so I don't see the problem. If you don't like it don't buy/keep it. Oh well, we've both offered our two cents and they still don't add up to a nickel.

While thinking about the apparent discrepancy between the V and M clothing packs a thought occurred (I try not to let it happen too often but sometimes one sneaks through.) Back in the days of Zygote they once mentioned that each product was "costed" out based upon their estimated sales. Basically they wanted a minimum rate for their work and the final price was based accordingly. Theoretically, items with high potential sales would be somewhat cheaper than items thought to sell less frequently. I would not be surprised if many of the clothes models are based on previous models in order to reduce modeling time and effort. Certainly there are far more V clothes to base such models upon. Based on the images we see it also appears that V is far more popular than M which suggests that clothing for her will be a bigger seller. This would mean that although the M pack contains less clothing the net profit to DAZ3D would be about the same as for the V pack. The corollary is that if we want cheaper M clothing we have to buy more first. I am not privy to DAZ3D's secrets so all this is pure speculation although based upon many years of business experience.

Hmmm... in rereading my posts I seem to make Beatone sound like a complaining whiner. I did not intend that at all and apologize if I have given that impression. The comment was a complaint but also a legitimate observation.

Casamerica, I guess we just have to disagree and I'm sure that by your standards you are correct.<<< Naw, not necessarily correct... just different. >>>I view "good" answers and "correct" answers as two different things- a "good" answer being one that the questioner will like. Emily was not at all evasive but immediately stated she had no "good" answer and offered no false pretense of justification.<<< This is where she should have found someone who could have provided an answer. >>>You can't always satisfy every unhappy customer.<<< Agreed... boy, do I agree. But I'm not sure beatone was necessarily an "unhappy" customer as much as wondering why Michael's package so was priced as it was for what one received. >>>When you can't it is best to be honest about it and she was. The Michael package is the way it is because it's the way it is.<<< Well, I'm not questioning Emily's honesty. Not at all. Nor would I ever question the honesty of anyone at DAZ. They have never given me reason to. If I am questioning anything, it is the manner in which a customer service question was handled. She didn't know, stated so and then dropped it. That is not the way, IMO, it should have been handled. But when you look at it, you are most likely correct in that "The Michael package is the way it is because it's the way it is." >>>DAZ3D goes to great pains to show you exactly what their packages contain.<<< Agreed. >>>If someone buys it despite obvious aspects that may make them unhappy I think there is little room for complaint.<<< jval, there is ALWAYS room for complaint. Anyone who has ever worked in retail knows there is ALWAYS room for complaint... just watch customers do it. ;-) >>>In previous instances where something was actually flawed DAZ3D has gone to great lengths to remedy things at no charge.<<< I agree totally. >>>This is clearly unlike Corel who regularly introduces defective products and then makes us wait an eternity for patches that may or may not work.<<< I could not agree with this more... but I'll try. ;-) >>>As far as I know DAZ3D has always had a policy that provides a refund if one is unhappy with a purchase so I don't see the problem. If you don't like it don't buy/keep it.<<< DAZ is perhaps one of the few ESD vendors who know and accept that a customer does not forfeit their rights just because they have chosen to buy an item that is delivered via the net. What I like about DAZ is that they do not try to hide that fact. In fact, they make it clear that if you are unhappy with a product you are entitled to a refund. Now, if one abuses that policy, DAZ has the right to refuse future service. But DAZ does not try to deny a consumer or credit card purchaser their legal right to a refund on an ESD purchase. And that is very commendable. >>>Oh well, we've both offered our two cents and they still don't add up to a nickel.<<< Yea, but we're gettin' closer! ;-) Take care.

Thank you all for letting me know what you thought of the email. In the meanwhile Emily has replyed to my email again and here's what she has to say... --------------- I wanted to give you a valid answer to your question.. I've inquired some of the production team that were around at the release of Michael and Victoria, and here is a two-part answer to your question.. A) It's deceptive to think of Michael's Clothing Pak 1 as only a few items, as we added quite a bit of morphing-versatility into these items (particularly the shirt). We figure this is more valuable to the user (as well as more costly to develop) than just "regular" clothing items. B) Victoria and her accessories usually sell more than Michael and his accessories. As a result, we can often drop the price lower on Victoria related items than we can on Michael's stuff. (Supply and demand, you know?) So, here it is.. It's a supply and demand issue.... Guess what holds true in the virtual world also holds true in the real world.. --------------------- I think she's been here to pick up a few pointer on how to reply to my email...nah maybe not, but this is anyway the answer i was hoping to get in the first place.

I see jvals and casamericas points, but my view is different again. Emilys first mail seemed helpful in that she did try and be as open as she could. Daz does show you what you are getting, and it stands to reason that if they are gonna sell 1000 michael sets and 5000 vicki sets then it is worth them spending more time on the vicki ones. also if they ever do a antarctic explorer mike, then it will be one suit and cost $35 again because only 10 people will buy it. These guys have to eat. Also, whilst it would be ince in customerserviceville to be able to answer everything, in a technical frame it is unreasonable - I would love to ask microsoft a lot of questions, half of which would sound critical, but they wouldnt answer so i dont bother. Go to one of your retail outlets and ask if and why the bread dough is or isnt microwaved in the bakery, or why they use this modulator in this TV instead of this one or how its radiation interacts with your cellphones'. they wont know, the people making stuff are too busy to answer questions like that. But if someone disagrees, then what I personally would love to ask Daz - maybe I will - is why V2s breasts look glued on - there is a very distinct angluar bit at the edge, which makes cleavage look odd to me. Maybe I'll ask Emily because again I thought she sounded very helpful. Marketing, I did think it odd how I bought V2 for $50 then found I couldnt afford the $100+ that a small wardrobe of clothes would cost. So she has PhilCs bikini on and std P4 stuff. But again if Daz cant sell enough they have to charge more. Wish we could all buy all of it and then they could do it all for $50 for everything Daz on a CD and sell 100,000 of them...

Adminags, >...I did think it odd how I bought V2 for $50 then found I couldnt afford the $100+ that a small wardrobe of clothes would cost. I think we can count ourselves lucky to be 3D consumers at this time. $50 + another $100 might sound expensive to many of us but you should see how it was before. You would have found it difficult to find something the quality of Victoria for much less than $1,500! And clothing? Forget it. Poser and DAZ3D have created a new mass market that has made these relatively low prices possible. As the market grows prices will undoubtably drop. Good times indeed. (Of course, then just everybody will be doing this stuff but that may be a good thing too, don't you think?)