Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

The Stars FPP bonuses are being 'reviewed' on December 31st. Do you think they'll be replaced? By something better/worse? I prefer cash over items which makes the bonuses attractive, but it sure would suck to blow all my fpp and see them create an even better bonus or more valuable offer after they're reviewed. I can't decide what to do.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

I bet they stick around another year

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

This is like the 3rd time they've "reviewed" them I think. They have remained unchanged with every review and I would suspect there would be a huge uprising if they just yanked them away. And it seems pretty gosh-darned unlikely that they are going to make them drastically better or anything like that.

In short, I'm not worried about and don't think you should be either. Although I also acknowledge that anything can happen and we don't really know for sure until they announce whatever decision. But if they somehow do decide to change it around somewhat I don't think it would be the end of the world.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

Speaking about this, I remember somebody mentioning something similar about the concierge service. That it might be removed as people are taking advantage of it or what?!
Anyone has an official response concerning this?

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I would suspect there would be a huge uprising if they just yanked them away.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT.

Full Tilt would have A LOT of new players if the bonuses disappeared. After all, what would we do with all of our FPP?

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Speaking about this, I remember somebody mentioning something similar about the concierge service. That it might be removed as people are taking advantage of it or what?!
Anyone has an official response concerning this?

[/ QUOTE ]

This was in the "wild speculation" thread and is probably just that.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

RE: Concierge Service

That was me.

Fact: I contacted Stars because I had some questions and was told they couldn't answer them since they were going to review the program in October.

The abuse part was then just wild speculation on my part. I think that people abuse it is obvious from some 2P2 posts. Not sure if Stars will care enough to do anything about it.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I would suspect there would be a huge uprising if they just yanked them away.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
The abuse part was then just wild speculation on my part. I think that people abuse it is obvious from some 2P2 posts.

[/ QUOTE ]
Please explain.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

There was just some comments made in various threads which gave me the impression people were either gathering receipts from friends or just making fake ones.

Like I said that part is wild speculation. I have no idea why or what they are reviewing. I'm getting bored of my car and wanted a new one so I e-mailed them to ask what the deal is for next year and if there is an upper limit on the value you can get concierge. That was when they told me to ask next year since they are going to review the service in Oct.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

right, i seem to recall someone saying something like getting some electronics item or something via concierge and then returning it to the store for the cash or something.
Or maybe you can do this with a WalMart giftcard perhaps. No idea. Seems an awful lot of work for a small increase in value on your FPP's but the potential for weird abuse like this is certainly there....especially since it seems Stars lowered the concierge min purchase from $3k to $500.
Then there's the whole issue of whether Stars wants to continue to review one receipt after another which probably isn't the greatest use of time. But I guess if it makes the customers happy and it works it will continue.
Anyway, I have to think the vast majority of purchases through concierge are legit and the customers love them but it would probably only take two or three abusers for them to raise their eyebrows and realize that maybe it's kind of a problem.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

Which is amazing that anyone would waste 2 trips to a store + the embarrassment of returning something over $110.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

It would be almost like breaking a social contract. Everybody who is trying for SNE probably factors in the per annum 75k from the bonuses. It would be a real screw-over if you had to spend those points now playing Tom McEvoy heads up or whatever. I'm pretty sure they'll stay the course.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Which is amazing that anyone would waste 2 trips to a store + the embarrassment of returning something over $110.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT.

Not worth the hassle.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

it's a joke IMO and def not worth it

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
It would be almost like breaking a social contract. Everybody who is trying for SNE probably factors in the per annum 75k from the bonuses. It would be a real screw-over if you had to spend those points now playing Tom McEvoy heads up or whatever. I'm pretty sure they'll stay the course.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well no. The contract is only with respect to the date they have agreed to make the offer. If they choose to no longer offer that item after the stipulated date then they are free to do so without breaking any contract. Players can't argue reliance since it was clearly stated that the offer was only till date X.

That being said I do expect they will keep them. In the Official SNE thread Scotty said something to the effect that if everyone spent all their FPP on bonus coupons then Stars would be screwed (about a month ago / maybe 6 weeks).

My impression is that they extend the offer 6 months at a time so that they can gauge the percentage of people using them and budget. If the percentage gets too high and exceeds the budget then I can see them changing the terms but not removing them completely.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

"In the Official SNE thread Scotty said something to the effect that if everyone spent all their FPP on bonus coupons then Stars would be screwed"

I want to order a TV from the store as a present for the holidays but it's way overpriced.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

That will always be an issue with electronics. They come down in price so fast that as soon as Stars adjusts the FPP they will be outdated again pretty quickly.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

no the joke is that
1)stars is surprised some people are abusing this
2)they care

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

I don't know how much Stars cares but I know I would. The idea that pathetic individuals end up better off finacially because of their sleazy behaviour rubs me the wrong way.

Unfortunately there is not much that can be done about it. Truth is anyone who cares enough about $110 to go though that much effort and embarrassment probably has a pretty awful life anyway so let them have their extra cash.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
if everyone spent all their FPP on bonus coupons then Stars would be screwed

[/ QUOTE ]


yes, I remember this. I don't think I said so at the time but I really don't see why it should be that big a deal though.
Would it really be so terrible if practically every player spent their points on the bonuses instead of the various other knick-knacks there?

There are still going to be plenty of low-level players who take forever to get to 3k FPP's or something and then have the big decision of which book they want to get.
But even if there weren't and every single player purchased the bonuses which is a worse price than many of the store items I just don't see why that would be such a horrible thing for Stars.

So if more people prefer spending their points on actual cash that typically stays in circulation on their site or replaces losses as opposed to buying books or a PokerStars sweatshirt that suddenly would be a terrible thing?

Maybe the cash stays in circulation so much that people end up depositing less frequently and that is somehow a bad thing. But I think having that ability instead of going broke but at least I have a book to show for it is something that Stars would not want to happen to their players.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
I don't know how much Stars cares but I know I would. The idea that pathetic individuals end up better off finacially because of their sleazy behaviour rubs me the wrong way.

[/ QUOTE ]

I see your point re: concierge, but I don't get it WRT bonuses.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
So if more people prefer spending their points on actual cash that typically stays in circulation on their site or replaces losses as opposed to buying books or a PokerStars sweatshirt that suddenly would be a terrible thing?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think most people cash out the cash so it doesn't stay in circulation. I guess it depends on if someone is a winning or losing player. But if you assume there is a correlation between high volume and winning then most would cash out.

[ QUOTE ]
But even if there weren't and every single player purchased the bonuses which is a worse price than many of the store items I just don't see why that would be such a horrible thing for Stars.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is pure speculation but I think that even on items that are offered at a better price that is when you calculate it with the market price. My guess is Stars gets these items in bulk and pays a discounted price.

[ QUOTE ]
I see your point re: concierge, but I don't get it WRT bonuses.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't follow

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I see your point re: concierge, but I don't get it WRT bonuses.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't follow

[/ QUOTE ]

I can understand how the concierge system can be abused to get a better $/FPP ratio, what I don't understand is how buying bonuses is 'abusing' anything. If stars wants to limit me to a certain # of bonuses, that's fine, I guess, but that's probably something they should say upfront.

Also, what else am I going to spend the points on? 5,000 Mercier posters?

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

I don't think buying bonuses is abusing the system.

My only mention of bonus was that about 6 weeks ago Scotty said something about if everyone bought bonuses Stars would be screwed. I don't know what that means or why they would be screwed but that explains why the bonuses are not permanent but instead are extended 6 months at a time. They obviously are monitoring the volume for some reason.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

Here was Scottyy's response from a previous thread:

[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

------------Was the concern that there would be too much participation in the bonuses, thus detracting from the rest of the fpp store?

Yes, if every single VIPs FPPs were spent on the bonuses, this would be a problem.

Scotty

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

I personally think if there was too much participation in the bonuses that they would raise the price and/or the requirements. And not because they would be getting screwed. They would probably do it because from an economical standpoint they could make more money by doing so.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

i think having conceirge points worth more than bonus points is creating the abuse issue

no reason they shouldn't be worth the same amount of points

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
Here was Scottyy's response from a previous thread:

[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

------------Was the concern that there would be too much participation in the bonuses, thus detracting from the rest of the fpp store?

Yes, if every single VIPs FPPs were spent on the bonuses, this would be a problem.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's possible they have certain minimums with the fulfillment services. But there is a big difference between "this is a problem" and "we're screwed".

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
I would suspect there would be a huge uprising if they just yanked them away.

[/ QUOTE ]

QFT.

Full Tilt would have A LOT of new players if the bonuses disappeared. After all, what would we do with all of our FPP?

[/ QUOTE ]

get chevron gas cards like me [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

I'm going to drive all of 2008 on stars free monies [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
no reason they shouldn't be worth the same amount of points

[/ QUOTE ]

If cash and concierge were the same price, why would anybody use the concierge service?

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
no reason they shouldn't be worth the same amount of points

[/ QUOTE ]

If cash and concierge were the same price, why would anybody use the concierge service?

[/ QUOTE ]

The concierge service made sense when it was for large ticket special items. The idea being Stars would pay for something special and then they could have a writeup about it on the site and maybe even get some media coverage.

When they started doing it on $500 items the service made no sense. They are basically paying a premium to players who consume goods. I don't see how Stars benefits from this.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

it just lets them look at a bunch receipts as far as I can tell.
Personally, I'm not thrilled with sending Stars receipts of the various things I buy. Almost feels kind of nosy.
But I'll be doing it a bit more frequently to get the better rate.

It almost starts to feel like, "we will pay to learn more about your private life/purchases."

I just did it recently to pay for a trip to a wedding.
So now Stars knows all my details of my trip and it just feels strange that they should care about all this dumb crap from my life or that I should have to tell them just to get more money.

don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to be ungrateful and I guess I appreciate the extra cash. And I'm really not that insanely private about my life or anything either.

But they essentially paid an extra $70 or however much more I made via concierge vs points-for-cash just so they could look at my receipts and be able to say:
"Hey Look!! Bob is flying from Florida to Baltimore and then staying at the Hampton Inn for 3 nights and while he's there is renting an Impala and he bought the happy-couple some mugs and a lazy-susan on JCPenny online. Exciting!!!!"

I guess I'm just used to taking my money and then getting to spend it as I choose without having to tell anybody about it....except the IRS somewhat I guess.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

glad you shared your purchasing habits with 2p2 as well

muahahahahahahhaahhaha....we all know your life details now

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

See you at the wedding!!!

Obviously I don't care who knows that I'm planning a trip to Maryland or several other things about me for that matter. It just seems strange that Stars actually pays me for some of that information which really isn't that exciting.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

I really can't see the value they get out of knowing the info. There isn't enough there for it to be useful in anyway.

I was planning on saving my points for a year and then using them to send my GF on a Rodeo Drive shopping spree. Something like that I can see having a marketing benefit. Poker player sends GF on $25k spending spree. Or if someone used their points for a second honeymoon or for their wedding, student pays tuition with Stars points, etc. But it seems that most of concierge is just $500 gift cards and I don't see much value for Stars in that.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

[ QUOTE ]
"Hey Look!! Bob is flying from Florida to Baltimore and then staying at the Hampton Inn for 3 nights and while he's there is renting an Impala and he bought the happy-couple some mugs and a lazy-susan on JCPenny online. Exciting!!!!"

[/ QUOTE ]

Wow, you can do all this through the concierge service?

Maybe for a little extra they will take care of picking out the wedding gift.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

I just sold it to them as "concierging my whole wedding trip" which was really 4 different purchases but was all towards the same overall thing. Total cost was $1300-ish I think.

Re: Stars: Buy the FPP bonuses before it\'s too late?
 

Collect receipts, send receipts... All I want to do is click the buy button in the lobby and have it delivered to my house. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]