not to throw in the wrench so early, but 250 is a big investment....what happens if the company fails? What we'd end up with is an expensive toy that doesn't work anymore.. they really ought to look at allowing downloads or use to buy kinda deal
AEBN's a very successful company with their video on demand theater, RealTouch division aside, so I really can't see THAT happening. I suppose if it didn't sell or something there might be a problem, but hopefully that won't happen - I would think with a product this innovative they should see pretty great initial sales...
I also can not see that happening.
You must not watch much porn. I agree $250 is a decent investment, but actually pretty good compared to other high end sex toys. Here's an example:
The Perfect Ass Cyberskin Natural Pussy and Anus. Sure, it'll work regardless of what happens to the company, but what do you get for the price compared to the Realtouch? It's just two cavities, no movement, no variable pressure, no lubrication, no video integration, and yet it's the same price as the Realtouch.
No, I think the $1 per hour video fee is a much bigger deal. For $250 a month at that rate, you can watch just over 8 minutes of content a day. And that's per month for as long as you continue to use the product. The impact on your wallet the initial purchase will have pales in comparison to the impact of its continued use, especially if you're trying to actually enjoy yourself and not just squeeze out a quickie.
Would it sweeten the deal if there was a package rate? Such as 50 bucks for 50 minutes and 60 normal V.O.D. minutes?
(05-19-2009 01:39 AM)Haptic_Encoder Wrote: [ -> ]Would it sweeten the deal if there was a package rate? Such as 50 bucks for 50 minutes and 60 normal V.O.D. minutes?
Would it make the purchase more compelling? Yes, somewhat, but I'm not sure it's the best approach. It seems to me that offering that sort of package is similar to saying "we know our product costs too much, so we'll give you these regular minutes so you don't have to use it all the time". I'm just really having a hard time wrapping my head around all this. Essentially, Realtouch is asking me to spend over $12,000 dollars a year on software. Do you know any other company that does that? Because that's essentially what I'm paying for, isn't it? The videos are already there, I've already bought the actual device, so I'm paying the extra 92 cents a minute for the intermediary between the device and the video.
This is just not something I have ever seen before. I'm a 3d modeler, and we've got some really expensive software, software that costs upwards of $6000 even, but that's a one time fee, with which you get a piece of software that is going to be perfectly acceptable and useful, at least for the next few years, and you don't even have to upgrade at all if you don't want to. The Realtouch, by comparison, is going to cost me $36,000 over the course of a few years. I'm not sure how is responsible for determining pricing, whether it's the Realtouch company, or whether it's AEBN, but I'm not really sure where their head's at.
It seems like they're thinking, "Okay, we've spent so many millions of dollars on this product, what is the best way we can recoup all this money in a year?" That's just not a reasonable expectation, that's just the opposite of what you'd expect from a huge wealthy company like AEBN. They should understand that they may take a loss in the first couple of years, but as more people use the product and are satisfied with it, profits will continue to increase. As it stands, some people may buy it, but as they use it and discover they can't afford it, use will drop, reviews and referrals will suffer, and while they have made some extra money in that first year, it seems like the product will inevitably fall into disuse.
I just got an iPhone not too long ago, and that thing is annoying, you have to pay a fee for just about every bit of functionality and you've already referenced the dollar songs from iTunes, but as I'm sure you understand, the major difference is ownership. iTunes has limitations on ownership, to prevent you from transferring your content, this sucks, but I would be fine with the same sort of limitations on the Realtouch. I would also be fine with being sold DVDs that I could own for 5-10 times their normal cost, as that would still be less than half of my monthly bill and I would own something for my troubles. I'm sorry, but I just can't afford what you're selling.
Re the package deal idea, it might make it *slightly* more appealing, but to me that's very little incentive and frankly probably wouldn't affect my purchase decision *at all*. I can already get a really great deal on VOD minutes... I'm not going to be thinking about normal VOD minutes when I want minutes to use with the device. I'd much rather bonus DEVICE minutes depending on how many minutes you buy. Now, if AEBN wants to sell me 1000 *normal* VOD minutes and allow me to make 250 of those to RealTouch minutes since I'm an owner, I'd be all for something like that...
I think Phetter's thinking is very similar to mine. I'm not worried about AEBN going under - I think the parent company will be fine and is likely doing quite well for itself. But I don't think the proposed RealTouch pricing is sustainable (let's all keep in mind the final product is not out yet, so there may be some differences hopefully). I'm just worried they'll shoot themselves in the foot in the long-term.
All adult companies are at the mercy of the credit card companies, and their fickle ways.
With "card not present" sales, every transaction is high risk.
The ever increasing pressure, and greediness of the credit card banks, and indeed MC/Visa themselves make it a risk for any adult business to survive.
AEBN has a good reputation in the industry, but the web is littered with good companies that folded because they lost their ability to make transactions.
Let me illustrate a point.....
There was man named "King Gillette." (Yes , his real name)
in the day, almost all men wore beards, or went to their barbers daily for a shave. It wasn't practical to have a straight razor, and your own sharpening equipment in your house. It was also difficult to shave with a straight razor.
Gillette wanted to find a better way, and spent years developing a personal shaver. When he told a local university he wanted to make a thin steel blade that held an edge, they told him it was impossible. The idea of a razor handle, and throwing away a razor blade sounded crazy to everyone.
But he persisted, and eventually, the razor, with the replaceable handle was born.
But the genius of the story was the marketing. Gillette knew that after they owned the handle, and found how easy and convenient it would be, he'd have them.
It was a good product, but expensive. He could try to make sales with an expensive handle, but knew this would be a problem.
So he came up with a better idea. He all but gave away the handle, and first set of blades. That got him a customer. Even if he broke even, or lost money, he knew he's have them forever, because they had to keep coming back for the blades. That's where he made the money. From the captive customer.
An empire was born, and today, you just throw the whole thing away, and buy another.
It's harder to sell now, and they need new tricks. Gillette is not the only Razor.
But they still got you.
Look around......More than one razor on the shelf. Just because they spend the most money advertising it, doesn't mean it's the best, or the best terms.
Personally, I use an electric razor.
:-)
Razors are a major rip-off which many people still happily pay for, but there is still a gap between the viability of a set of 3 razors, an important part of maintaining your appearance for work or romance, which can last about a month, being sold for $10 and that same $10 paying for 10 minutes of simulated sex.
when will they be available?