Disc + Case: Fourth Shipping Level / Option (Poll and Ideas)

According to a member of the G-Team, there is no real concern on the server load in adding a fourth (Disc + Case) option.

There are, however, two reasons as to why they have not yet implemented it:

1. They have not received enough interest for the Disc + Case option, and

2. They get a sense that three levels are complicated enough for some users to understand and that a fourth may make things even worse (four rows in the trading stats, four options, more levels in the neutral feedback, etc.).  Since they are making an effort in simplifying the use of Goozex, they believe a fourth option would make things more complicated for some users.  It is seen how, for some people, that a fourth option may help, but they have not yet found a solid solution that would allow them to deploy it, and make the site simpler to use at the same time.

That all being said, I had always thought (with the countless number of threads coming up asking for a fourth option), that there was enough interest (and that most people just said "no", because they thought it was a server-load issue).  Especially with there being a Stickied 'Official Shipping Options' Thread.  However, I wanted to see exactly how many people would like to see a Disc + Case option (via the poll).

I also wanted to hopefully generate discussion and/or ideas as to why people might agree or disagree with a fourth option being too difficult to understand / complicated, and perhaps produce some ideas (or even a 'solid solution') on how to deploy a Disc + Case option, while simplifying and making the site easier to use.

Here are the current three shipping options (quoted from Goozex) with the proposed fourth option included:

Full Package: The entire original package, including the case, all manuals and accessories.
Disc + Case: The original disc, case, and cover art. The rest is optional.
Disc + Manual: The original disc and manual. The rest is optional.
Disc Only: Only the original disc. All rest is optional.

Some might argue that adding the Disc + Case option would / could actually make things LESS complicated, since there would be no confusion or issues with people listing Disc + Case games as Full Package (because they “didn’t see an option for Disc + Case”), or those people asking on the forums how to list their game if "they have the disc and case, but just the manual is missing", or people asking “why isn’t there a Disc + Case option - What should I do”, etc… so, some might say adding this would / could actually simplify things!

Your thoughts, opinions, and feedback are welcome!  And word on the G-Street is that zannabianca (G-Team member extraordinaire) is “curious to see further feedback as well”!

Edit: The Disc + Case and Disc + Manual options would be mutually exclusive.  See Comments below for details from zannabianca and myself for details.

Also, please keep in mind that adding the Disc + Case option would increase trading (and decrease wait times) for both buyers AND sellers.

Who determines where it should fall in the matrix?

I think Disc+Manual is > than Disc+Case

 

I'm all for it if they remove the neutral option for receiving less than what was promised and making it a negative. 

Also, address the bundle listing situation

I wouldn't mind it if it wouldn't be too much stress on the servers to impliment, and most of the time I'd rather have the case over the manual, so for some of the games I would request disc+case

As for where it should go I would say

Full Package

Disc + Manual

Disc + Case

Disc Only

cheeznrice:

Who determines where it should fall in the matrix?

I think Disc+Manual is > than Disc+Case

 I'm all for it if they remove the neutral option for receiving less than what was promised and making it a negative. 

Also, address the bundle listing situation

pugmagician:

I wouldn't mind it if it wouldn't be too much stress on the servers to impliment, and most of the time I'd rather have the case over the manual, so for some of the games I would request disc+case

As for where it should go I would say

Full Package

Disc + Manual

Disc + Case

Disc Only

Let's use a Wii game as an example, a manual costs $2.00 to replace on Nintendo.com, however, a case costs $1.50 and the cover art is not available, and is therefore irreplaceable (unless you go buy/request another (full package) game and steal it's cover art, which wouldn't make any sense at all)!  Or you could buy the cover art somewhere on the internet, but it would cost you more than $0.49 cents.  Therefore, the case and cover art are more valuable than just the manual.

Plus you can't "look up" a case online (like you can an instruction manual)!  You want a case to store your game in and keep it safe, or so that your games look nice on the shelf etc... looking at a picture of a case online isn't going to solve those problems.  Most people who want a manual want it to read (or to have for collection purposes/resale value).  For the first part, you can look that up online and it will solve your problem.

dtp11:

Therefore, the case and cover art are more valuable than just the manual.

I'll wait for txa to chime in on that one.  You can't limit your focus to strictly consoles.  I personally place more value in manuals than I do cases.

 

If they can make it so Disc Only gets matched with everything (like it currently does) than this shouldn't be an issue.  Just program don't give any priority to the case or the manual listings.  So, Disc+Manual will never match with Disc+Case and vice-versa.  That way anyone requesting a game with any of these three listings will still be able to get matched to receive a Full Package listing.

With (almost) every listing available, assuming the 4th option gets added, get rid of the neutral.  There should be no reason to send less than what you've listed.  If you do you are clearly abusing the system and you should not be compensated for doing so.

dtp11:

Let's use a Wii game as an example, a manual costs $2.00 to replace on Nintendo.com, however, a case costs $1.50 and the cover art is not available, and is therefore irreplaceable (unless you go buy/request another (full package) game and steal it's cover art, which wouldn't make any sense at all)!  Or you could buy the cover art somewhere on the internet, but it would cost you more than $0.49 cents.  Therefore, the case and cover art are more valuable than just the manual.

I don't dispute that fact, however most of the people will value the manual over the case which is the main reason I say that case should be above disc only. I really don't give a damn anyways where it sits in there though, if people want the case they'll request the case and if people want the manual they'll request the manual regardless where it sits.

Thanks dtp11 for bringing this up again. I'm curious to see where the discussion will head to :-)

As for a little input, the Disc+Case or Disc+Manual are mutually exclusive, and cannot be "prioritized". For example, assume that D.C. > D.M. If a user requests D.M. but the system (rightly) matches him with D.C. would he be happy? Probably not, because he was expecting a manual and received a case instead.

So the "matrix match" would need to change, making the D.C. and D.M. options mutually exclusive, and this would make things a bit more complicate. Also because Goozex would then need to show 4 different stats in the Trading Stats area (rather than the 3 offered today).

If there was a simpler solution I'd say "why not!"... but as of now these are the unsolved concerns.

pugmagician:

I don't dispute that fact, however most of the people will value the manual over the case which is the main reason I say that case should be above disc only. I really don't give a damn anyways where it sits in there though, if people want the case they'll request the case and if people want the manual they'll request the manual regardless where it sits.

Just as long as they can't match with each other I don't see there being an issue.  I don't know how that will impact the site as it seems like more work, but it would cause fewer headaches.

zannabianca:

Thanks dtp11 for bringing this up again. I'm curious to see where the discussion will head to :-)

As for a little input, the Disc+Case or Disc+Manual are mutually exclusive, and cannot be "prioritized". For example, assume that D.C. > D.M. If a user requests D.M. but the system (rightly) matches him with D.C. would he be happy? Probably not, because he was expecting a manual and received a case instead.

So the "matrix match" would need to change, making the D.C. and D.M. options mutually exclusive, and this would make things a bit more complicate. Also because Goozex would then need to show 4 different stats in the Trading Stats area (rather than the 3 offered today).

If there was a simpler solution I'd say "why not!"... but as of now these are the unsolved concerns.

 

I figured it would be difficult to implement because of this reason, I never really expected to see it though it would always be nice. What would also make it nice for someone that has a game with the disc+case+manual, but however doesn't have the extras needed to call it "full package" would then have 2 options to list it under, either disc+case or disc+manual. Though that could hurt them too if nobody was requesting either and the selected the wrong one and got passed over because of it.

 

cheeznrice:

dtp11:

Therefore, the case and cover art are more valuable than just the manual.

I'll wait for txa to chime in on that one.  You can't limit your focus to strictly consoles.  I personally place more value in manuals than I do cases.

If they can make it so Disc Only gets matched with everything (like it currently does) than this shouldn't be an issue.  Just program don't give any priority to the case or the manual listings.  So, Disc+Manual will never match with Disc+Case and vice-versa.  That way anyone requesting a game with any of these three listings will still be able to get matched to receive a Full Package listing.

With (almost) every listing available, assuming the 4th option gets added, get rid of the neutral.  There should be no reason to send less than what you've listed.  If you do you are clearly abusing the system and you should not be compensated for doing so.

True, I forgot about PC games!  And I agree with the neutral not being punishment enough.  Especially for CE/LE/Bundled/Accessory games.

pugmagician:

I don't dispute that fact, however most of the people will value the manual over the case which is the main reason I say that case should be above disc only. I really don't give a damn anyways where it sits in there though, if people want the case they'll request the case and if people want the manual they'll request the manual regardless where it sits.

I don't think most would value the manual over the case and cover art, personally.  Maybe we'll start a different poll for that question!

cheeznrice:

Just as long as they can't match with each other I don't see there being an issue.  I don't know how that will impact the site as it seems like more work, but it would cause fewer headaches.

Agreed - see zanna's quote below... it doesn't matter which is more valuable than the other...

zannabianca:

Thanks dtp11 for bringing this up again. I'm curious to see where the discussion will head to :-)

As for a little input, the Disc+Case or Disc+Manual are mutually exclusive, and cannot be "prioritized". For example, assume that D.C. > D.M. If a user requests D.M. but the system (rightly) matches him with D.C. would he be happy? Probably not, because he was expecting a manual and received a case instead.

So the "matrix match" would need to change, making the D.C. and D.M. options mutually exclusive, and this would make things a bit more complicate. Also because Goozex would then need to show 4 different stats in the Trading Stats area (rather than the 3 offered today).

If there was a simpler solution I'd say "why not!"... but as of now these are the unsolved concerns.

I see, this makes complete sense to me.  If they were equal (mutually exclusive), whether you chose Disc + Case or Disc + Manual, you could only be matched with the option you chose or Full Package.

For example the 2 scenarios would be:

1. User asks to receive Killzone 2 as Disc + Manual.  The Matching Matrix would either match him with the next Seller in the queue whether it be a Disc + Manual or Full Package listing, but NEVER a seller offering Disc + Case.

2. User asks to receive Killzone 2 as Disc + Case.  The Matching Matrix would either match him with the next Seller in the queue whether it be a Disc + Case or Full Package listing, but NEVER a seller offering Disc + Manual.

Someone requesting Disc Only would of course be able to be matched with any of the three other options (Disc + Manual, Disc + Case, or Full Package).

So the complexity issue comes in with the "Matrix Match" and showing four options in the trading stats instead of three...

dtp- you could try, but I think we're in the minority preffering the case over the manual.

I said the second yes. But I think it should not be above disc + manual. It should be at the same level. You want one or the other. I don't think either should be above the other.

I think that this is a great idea,I always keep my mauals but some of the games I buy cheap off of the internet dont include them.

I like the idea of a fourth option because disc with original case is significantly better in my opinion than just a disc alone -- enough to make the option worth using.

I agree that disc+manual and disc+case should be exclusive options.  If that were to happen, would users have to specify yes/no options for all four states when requesting a game?

Sounds like a good idea-and I think the manual is better than the case.  This is because it is MUCH harder to get the manual than the case/artwork.  

Cases are easy to find (just go to (gasp) Gamestop and ask if they have a few empty cases that you could have (except pc games of course).  At my local one, the've always said sure.  PC game cases are extremely easy to find (at least the square ones)- others can be found at amazon/ebay.  Coverwise, go to http://www.freecovers.net/ and see if your game is there, print it out, and you're good to go...

Manuals require buying it from a site, which costs ~$2