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Limited Edition Pet Store - your questions answered

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  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    Post didn't go, having to post a second time to get it to show, this is a site fault and it would be goo if it could be fixed, it's happening to loads of people.
  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    Third attempt
  • Simul8orStimul8orSimul8orStimul8or Posts: 108
    edited August 2011
    Jarsie9 wrote:
    SimGuru Semedi, I've been posting this suggestion on another thread, but I just want to clarify this. I've worked in retail before, namely a national chain bookstore, and it's been my experience that the store I worked with got its product from the corporate center, but we were also given leeway to order product specific to our region.

    EA is being accused of discriminating against its European customers because apparently some countries' stores are not carrying The Sims 3 Pets Limited Edition. My question is: Whose responsibility is it to stock the game? EA's or the retailers? In other words, is EA deliberately withholding this product, OR is it that the retailers aren't ordering the product for sale in their stores?

    Well, both are responsible for it. The retailer has to order and store it, but to be able to order and store it, EA has to offer it to him.

    I went to a quite big and well known retailer more than a week ago and ask about the LE as DVD-version. Well, we had some time for chatting. They are a quite big company in Germany and other countries and trade partner of EA Germany, getting promotional stuff and so. When I told him about the LE, he was suprised, because EA has only offered them the standard version. They had no info about a LE.

    Well, he called the purchasing department for more info. They didn't had any information about it either. Therefore I didn't get any further and have to wait until the GamesCon is over. Hopefully, more information is available then. Interesting is, that the US and Spanish store are selling the LE as DVD, other countries like UK or Germany were not offered the LE until now.

    That's not how retailers work; employees that worked under me at a gaming retailer often didn't know specific things until the information was passed down to them. EA makes the money no matter who buys it; the LE is an incentive for customers therefore it is an incentive for retailers.

    A retailer who misses the chance at an LE is failing. If a customer wants it, they'll buy it from EA, but if a customer came into a retailer, said hey I want to buy this, and got told they didn't have it, well that is the retailer's fault. I know when I had the ability to purchase stuff if this scenario had happened, and my boss had caught wind of it, I would have been in major trouble. That would have been a lost sale, and I would have had to explain why I decided not to get the LE.

    Publisher/retailer relations are oddball things; it's possible they don't know about it, but it's generally not a publisher issue - with all of the conventions, meetings, marketing etc it's very hard to miss stuff like this, and very hard for a publisher not to communicate it to retailers.

    Which is why, your best course of action is to make it known to retailers. Posting here on the board really doesn't accomplish much (though that's not always the case because places like amazon.com have had issues) but as you said, you went to a retailer and talked to them about. That's the correct step, so now you have a better chance at getting it!
  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    Which is why, your best course of action is to make it known to retailers. Posting here on the board really doesn't accomplish much (though that's not always the case because places like amazon.com have had issues) but as you said, you went to a retailer and talked to them about. That's the correct step, so now you have a better chance at getting it!

    Agreed. Of course if EA has already given an exclusive to one retailer in your country, then there is nothing you can do about it and you can request till the cows come home, they will not be able to stock it as one retailer has an exclusive on it.

    Sadly my own preferred retailer did want to stock this LE, but they were unable to due to EA giving the exclusive to play.com.

    I have deja vu now
  • Mimine17Mimine17 Posts: 2,166 Member
    edited August 2011

    Questions & Answers


    Q: Does the Limited Edition cost more than the standard edition?
    A: No, the Limited Edition is the same price as the standard edition.

    Good news every one, the Limited Edition in available in France in Amazon.
    So I just quote the interesting part of the opening post in this case, because here is what I found :

    "Normal" Edition : 36,99 euros
    http://www.amazon.fr/Les-Sims-3-animaux-compagnie/dp/B005ER4GF4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1313579451&sr=8-7

    Limited Edition : 39,98 euros
    http://www.amazon.fr/Sims-Animaux-Cie-édition-limitée/dp/B005ER4GH2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1313579490&sr=8-7


    So it seems that it's not what retailers are doing... Maybe the opening post need some correction like "Same price only for US residents" or something like that.
  • yanti68yanti68 Posts: 19,017 Member
    edited August 2011
    Since Limited Edition is not available in Belgium I was thinking of buying it in Holland or U.K. (play.com). My question is, whether an English or dutch version of the game will work in my computer? Do the game have regional codes which prevents the game from running if you buy it from another country?
  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    Yanti, I asked that a few pages back for you but haven't been answered from anyone in EA. I also started a whole thread on it last week but that slipped past with only vague comments from members.

    The question is more on whether the Origin rules will allow you to access the limited edition content, as the Origin terms of service do mention regional availability. Basically you have to download the additional content and that would be through Origin, so the Origin TOS then comes into play. The TOS for the disc an Origin are a bit different so who knows what rules apply.

    I suspect EA are just looking for someone to do an exclusive on this in Belgium and you will eventually get it. This whole idea of exclusives has thrown everyone for six and I think it's well out of order.

    Yanti, here's hoping we'll get an answer now that both of us have asked, though the answers seem to have dried up lately. I think this issue really needs to be addressed though.

  • Simul8orStimul8orSimul8orStimul8or Posts: 108
    edited August 2011
    Mimine17 wrote:

    Questions & Answers


    Q: Does the Limited Edition cost more than the standard edition?
    A: No, the Limited Edition is the same price as the standard edition.

    Good news every one, the Limited Edition in available in France in Amazon.
    So I just quote the interesting part of the opening post in this case, because here is what I found :

    "Normal" Edition : 36,99 euros
    http://www.amazon.fr/Les-Sims-3-animaux-compagnie/dp/B005ER4GF4/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1313579451&sr=8-7

    Limited Edition : 39,98 euros
    http://www.amazon.fr/Sims-Animaux-Cie-édition-limitée/dp/B005ER4GH2/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1313579490&sr=8-7


    So it seems that it's not what retailers are doing... Maybe the opening post need some correction like "Same price only for US residents" or something like that.

    It's not for US residents either if we get it from an outside retailer. You're buying it from amazon there, whereas if you bought it from EA it would be the same price.

    Retailers can essentially sell it for whatever they want. This is why it is so imperative you draw a line in the sand as to what is EA's authority and what is the retailer's. Something more along the lines of "Dependant upon retailer" might be a bit better.
  • Mimine17Mimine17 Posts: 2,166 Member
    edited August 2011

    It's not for US residents either if we get it from an outside retailer. You're buying it from amazon there, whereas if you bought it from EA it would be the same price.

    Retailers can essentially sell it for whatever they want. This is why it is so imperative you draw a line in the sand as to what is EA's authority and what is the retailer's. Something more along the lines of "Dependant upon retailer" might be a bit better.

    Someone told me it was the same price for US residents on something like gamescon, and I just checked in amazon.com, there is only one version for preorder at 39,95 dollars (which is way cheaper by the way).

    They said that ALL copies preordered will be Limited Edition, and I found that in France this is not the case, as well as it is not the same price. It seems that the info given on the first post is not accurate..

    And I agree that retailers can do whatever they want, but EA HAS it responsibility to propose to amazon.fr BOTH editions to preorder.. How can you preorder something which is supposely not available if EA do not give it to amazon?

  • Simul8orStimul8orSimul8orStimul8or Posts: 108
    edited August 2011
    Mimine17 wrote:

    It's not for US residents either if we get it from an outside retailer. You're buying it from amazon there, whereas if you bought it from EA it would be the same price.

    Retailers can essentially sell it for whatever they want. This is why it is so imperative you draw a line in the sand as to what is EA's authority and what is the retailer's. Something more along the lines of "Dependant upon retailer" might be a bit better.

    Someone told me it was the same price for US residents on something like gamescon, and I just checked in amazon.com, there is only one version for preorder at 39,95 dollars (which is way cheaper by the way).

    They said that ALL copies preordered will be Limited Edition, and I found that in France this is not the case, as well as it is not the same price. It seems that the info given on the first post is not accurate..

    And I agree that retailers can do whatever they want, but EA HAS it responsibility to propose to amazon.fr BOTH editions to preorder.. How can you preorder something which is supposely not available if EA do not give it to amazon?

    It's the same price because retailers kept it that way, that doesn't mean it HAS to be.

    Amazon has the LE; they have issues with it and aren't communicating it correctly in many different areas. Amazon had issues with the LE in the states.

    EA is communicating the LE, but frankly as a retailer, if you're missing out on it, that's the retailers fault, not EA's. If retailers want to dip their hand into the pot and make some money off of it, they will be sure to have it.

    Despite this, Simgurusemedi said it was amazon's issue which EA asked them to fix. This is when it was an issue in the US, so it may be an issue in France as well.

    If you can't preorder something from Amazon it is because they have chosen not to stock it, not because EA did not offer it.
  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    Someone told me it was the same price for US residents on something like gamescon, and I just checked in amazon.com, there is only one version for preorder at 39,95 dollars (which is way cheaper by the way).

    They said that ALL copies preordered will be Limited Edition, and I found that in France this is not the case, as well as it is not the same price. It seems that the info given on the first post is not accurate..

    And I agree that retailers can do whatever they want, but EA HAS it responsibility to propose to amazon.fr BOTH editions to preorder.. How can you preorder something which is supposely not available if EA do not give it to amazon?

    Of course you are right on all counts. On the original post for this thread it does say everything you are saying here. I think one of the main problems we are facing here is how some people think it should work (which we agree with, we also know how it should work) and how it really is working. You and I are in the position of seeing how it really is happening.

    When we raised these issues of the announcements on the first post of this thread, we were told that the post only applied to those in the USA and that it would be different across the rest of the world.

    It also states that we can walk into a shop and buy this LE, we were also told to contact our favourite retailers and ask them to stock the LE, which many of us did. Despite this, an exclusive was given to play.com in the UK. This was the problem we had with it, that we were not able to go into a shop and get that LE.

    So yes, you are right, it does say all those things and you are also right, the Q&A on the first post DOES only apply to those in the USA.

    I agree that in this case the retailer might getting greedy and adding to the price, but if EA have given them a recommended price, then they should price it accordingly, certainly not go over it.

    I took the liberty of doing the sums and converting to dollars

    The normal edition is costing you 36.99 euros, an equivalent of 53.1239 USD
    The LE is costing you 39.98, an equivalent of 57.4180 USD.

    As far as I'm aware in the USA the price on Origin is 39.99 usd. In the UK we are paying £27.29 for the LE, which is an equivalent of 45.0154 USD

    You are paying $12 more than in the UK and $17.43 more than the USA. We are paying $15 more than the USA. It has always been like this, they just get it cheaper than us. I do agree though, that if EA has set a recommended price then it should not go over that.

    A good test for you to see if Amazon is doing this is to go to the Origin page and see how many euro's they want for it. If Amazon are below those figures then there's nothing you can do. What I mean is, they could be discounting the standard version as opposed to raising the price on the LE.

    We can get the standard version for £24.99 right now in the UK through Game UK, when I pre-ordered my sons standard version with Game, I got a price of £19.99. So I will pay £19.99 for his and my own from play.com (LE) will cost me £27.29.

    I hope you get what I mean here.

    I do agree that a company should not be charging different prices for the standard and the LE, but if the lower price for the standard is a discount, then that's not a bad thing. It's only if the LE is being overcharged that EA could contact them about it.

  • betelgeuse6742betelgeuse6742 Posts: 148 Member
    edited August 2011
    That's some pretty sound advice from @Fluttereyes, for all countries/retailers.
  • kuroi_nekomatakuroi_nekomata Posts: 817 Member
    edited August 2011
    So, yesterday news about the LE in Germany came up. They will not be an extra LE-version of Pets, but if pre-ordered by specific retailers, a download code is with the order. At the moment the retailers are still not known, but Amazon.de will be one of the retailer. It will be available in the next weeks.

    I hope that it will be available for the other countries too.

  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    That's some pretty sound advice from @Fluttereyes, for all countries/retailers.

    Thought you were in hiding for a bit there girl! hahaha
    So, yesterday news about the LE in Germany came up. They will not be an extra LE-version of Pets, but if pre-ordered by specific retailers, a download code is with the order. At the moment the retailers are still not known, but Amazon.de will be one of the retailer. It will be available in the next weeks.

    I hope that it will be available for the other countries too.

    I'd be willing to bet that Amazon will get the exclusive on this in several EU states, just as play.com has the exclusive in the UK. I think the delay in information is due to EA looking for exclusives for this LE. This means they haven't taken the customer feedback from the UK on board.

    Good luck to all who are still waiting for news on the LE availability.

    The download code thing is for everyone, basically you will have to download something, one way or another through Origin, whether it be the full disc, or the LE content. I did request further information on that but no answer came, we've to learn about it the slow/confusing way.

    Now if Amazon UK had got the exclusive here, there would have been less issues.

    Post edited by Unknown User on
  • Loveheart2120Loveheart2120 Posts: 44
    edited August 2011
    Conorsim wrote:
    Thanks for clearing all this up. I really don't care about the Limited Edition, as if it is available in my area I won't be able to get it anyway, but I have a question: (a dumb question?)

    Why don't you just allow the Pet Shop features in every game, and not just the Limited Edition? From what you claim, the Limited Edition will cost the same as the Standard Edition. So... you won't be getting more money if you include the Pet Shop or not, so why not enable it to everyone? I hope you understand what I'm trying to say, because I sure don't understand the mechanics behind this Limited Edition.

    Thanks. :) (and I hope what I said makes sense!!)

    I completely agree I mean 🐸🐸🐸🐸! :thumbdown: :hunf: :|


  • tallcoolonetallcoolone Posts: 6,918 Member
    edited August 2011
    duped post
    My Page https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/tallcoolone
    Send me a friend request for Simport

  • tallcoolonetallcoolone Posts: 6,918 Member
    edited August 2011
    Which is why, your best course of action is to make it known to retailers. Posting here on the board really doesn't accomplish much (though that's not always the case because places like amazon.com have had issues) but as you said, you went to a retailer and talked to them about. That's the correct step, so now you have a better chance at getting it!

    Agreed. Of course if EA has already given an exclusive to one retailer in your country, then there is nothing you can do about it and you can request till the cows come home, they will not be able to stock it as one retailer has an exclusive on it.

    Sadly my own preferred retailer did want to stock this LE, but they were unable to due to EA giving the exclusive to play.com.

    I have deja vu now


    I didn't read all the detail, but I saw the suggestions that this was all on the retailers. Like someone would believe that this was offered to everyone abroad and they didn't want it. LOL You MIGHT have an idea who posted that, anyhow, I knew it was ridiculous, and THIS is what happened. LOL SILLY move EA, you REALLY have NO clue what made this game number 1.
    My Page https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/tallcoolone
    Send me a friend request for Simport

  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    Both copies are the same price, standard and LE. Now if a retailer is willing to stock the standard, then it stands to reason they would have stocked the LE if they had access to it. It's not like it was costing them more, or was it?

    There would be no reason why a retailer like Game UK wouldn't want to stock it and as Amazon are stocking it in other countries in Europe, then I'm sure they'd have been willing to have it in the UK too.
  • Mimine17Mimine17 Posts: 2,166 Member
    edited August 2011

    Of course you are right on all counts. On the original post for this thread it does say everything you are saying here. I think one of the main problems we are facing here is how some people think it should work (which we agree with, we also know how it should work) and how it really is working. You and I are in the position of seeing how it really is happening.

    When we raised these issues of the announcements on the first post of this thread, we were told that the post only applied to those in the USA and that it would be different across the rest of the world.

    It also states that we can walk into a shop and buy this LE, we were also told to contact our favourite retailers and ask them to stock the LE, which many of us did. Despite this, an exclusive was given to play.com in the UK. This was the problem we had with it, that we were not able to go into a shop and get that LE.

    So yes, you are right, it does say all those things and you are also right, the Q&A on the first post DOES only apply to those in the USA.

    I agree that in this case the retailer might getting greedy and adding to the price, but if EA have given them a recommended price, then they should price it accordingly, certainly not go over it.

    I took the liberty of doing the sums and converting to dollars

    The normal edition is costing you 36.99 euros, an equivalent of 53.1239 USD
    The LE is costing you 39.98, an equivalent of 57.4180 USD.

    As far as I'm aware in the USA the price on Origin is 39.99 usd. In the UK we are paying £27.29 for the LE, which is an equivalent of 45.0154 USD

    You are paying $12 more than in the UK and $17.43 more than the USA. We are paying $15 more than the USA. It has always been like this, they just get it cheaper than us. I do agree though, that if EA has set a recommended price then it should not go over that.

    A good test for you to see if Amazon is doing this is to go to the Origin page and see how many euro's they want for it. If Amazon are below those figures then there's nothing you can do. What I mean is, they could be discounting the standard version as opposed to raising the price on the LE.

    We can get the standard version for £24.99 right now in the UK through Game UK, when I pre-ordered my sons standard version with Game, I got a price of £19.99. So I will pay £19.99 for his and my own from play.com (LE) will cost me £27.29.

    I hope you get what I mean here.

    I do agree that a company should not be charging different prices for the standard and the LE, but if the lower price for the standard is a discount, then that's not a bad thing. It's only if the LE is being overcharged that EA could contact them about it.

    Thanks fluttereyes for you detailed opinion :) At least someone is agreing with me :)

    I just checked on Origin, and they are selling the LE at the price of 39.99 Euros... so Amazon is offering a 0.01 euros on LE and a few euros on the standard edition !! yay ...

    I think they have the exclusivity in France because I checked other online retailers that are not offering it, and I believe I didn't see it neither on the shops near my place.

    I didn't do the conversion euros-> dollar, and seing it made me feel so bad.. such a ripp off!! 57 dollars :shock: for something people will pay 40... :roll: :evil:

    I am glad you were able to get a deal for your son at leat !
  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    It's all about knowing the facts and you were right.

    At least you now know that you are getting it cheaper than you would have on Origin. If you had came back and said it was more expensive on Amazon, it would have been different. EA is always the highest price as they sell at their recommended price, the retailers can afford to cut the price down slightly by reducing their profit.

    I run two businesses and have to take a loss on the profit side at times, so that I can have increased sales, that's just how it works. That's why EA take a cut now and then in the store by doing daily deals. I wish they'd cut the prices altogether more and see the sense in selling for less profit but gaining in sales. That's one of the first rules in running a business, don't out price yourself or you limit the amount of customers who will buy.

    The problem with exclusives is that it gives the company with the exclusive free reign with prices, they have nobody to compete with so they don't need to lower their prices. The only loser there is the customer.

    We pay more than the Americans because of shipping costs and tax. Our own governments hit the price up a bit. It's unfair, but it's our governments to blame and not EA.

    Though when it comes to store stuff, we still pay more than the Americans and that isn't taxed, so they have no excuse. You don't get goods in your hand with the store, so there are no shipping costs or tax. It's all down to laziness to do the currency conversions on a regular basis, they should have someone doing them every day as markets fluctuate daily.



  • Mimine17Mimine17 Posts: 2,166 Member
    edited August 2011
    Yes I never understood why they didn't decrease store price to increase sales neither... less people should be tempted to get the stuff illegally moreover if it was cheaper.

    I totally agree to pay shipping + tax if it applies, but on Origin, same price for a hard copy or a digital download... I would like to have digital download cheaper than hard ones then :) (yeay I know I can dream ;))

    And for the conversion, even if it was not daily, at least something weekly or monthly should be so much better....

    But EA in the end is still caring about US fans and not other one, this is always the same issue.

    So finally , not so bad for France : we get the LE edition and standard one at a price which is probably exclusive at amzon but cheaper.
  • HatingHating Posts: 86
    edited August 2011
    I've pre-ordered mine and I don't think I got the limited edition,, When I go get my sims 3 pets expansion pack will I be able to change to the limited edition?

    another question

    Can you please List ALL of the pets that are going to be in there?
    also the other day I heard that's there's going to be dragons and Unicorns,, is that true?

    thanks btw
  • fluttereyesfluttereyes Posts: 2,337 Member
    edited August 2011
    I've pre-ordered mine and I don't think I got the limited edition,, When I go get my sims 3 pets expansion pack will I be able to change to the limited edition?

    Not unless your retailer is an official stockist of the LE. I'd cancel that if you're sure it's not the LE. Though if you said where you're from and what retailer you are attempting to get it form, we might be able to help more.
    Can you please List ALL of the pets that are going to be in there?
    also the other day I heard that's there's going to be dragons and Unicorns,, is that true?
    There are plenty of posts on this board that will answer all your questions, just take a look.

  • tallcoolonetallcoolone Posts: 6,918 Member
    edited August 2011
    As developers, we're very fortunate to have such a vocal group of fans who are so willing to share their thoughts and opinions with us. We're confident that we’re developing an outstanding expansion pack that everyone will have the opportunity to enjoy. We’re very excited to be developing Pets for the fans that have been so passionate in asking for it.

    LOL

    I just need to know if we're getting cornered AGAIN gameplay wise with creatures/fantasy elements that we don't want.

    Looks like a full retail simulator might never happen, given y'all thing this is compelling. LAME compared to TS2



    I shouldn't have pre-ordered, hopefully I'll find out more before it's release so I can cancel it if this is a creature/fantasy/celeb virus/mood swing/reputation takeover, as THE REST ARE!

    Y'all don't know what made this game great.
    I don't care if you put a million creatures and fantasy elements in the game, TRIPLE the price, I WOULD JUST LIKE THE OPTION TO TURN IT OFF!

    No answer, no surprise, if this EP is a creature takeover, I'm done with this game.

    And before you all tell me, I know YOU DON'T CARE, but EA might since I've been a fan and purchased and recommended this game for more than 10 years.
    My Page https://mypage.thesims3.com/mypage/tallcoolone
    Send me a friend request for Simport

  • VintageConverseVintageConverse Posts: 1
    edited August 2011
    Conorsim wrote:
    Conorsim wrote:
    Thanks for clearing all this up. I really don't care about the Limited Edition, as if it is available in my area I won't be able to get it anyway, but I have a question: (a dumb question?)

    Why don't you just allow the Pet Shop features in every game, and not just the Limited Edition? From what you claim, the Limited Edition will cost the same as the Standard Edition. So... you won't be getting more money if you include the Pet Shop or not, so why not enable it to everyone? I hope you understand what I'm trying to say, because I sure don't understand the mechanics behind this Limited Edition.

    Thanks. :) (and I hope what I said makes sense!!)

    what you said completely makes sense, but what EA is doing makes no sense what so ever!! whoever came up with this 'scheme' should be fired

    Phew :XD: Seriously though... I fail to understand what they're doing behind it all. So, I believe there's a part here they're not telling us. No? I mean, c'mon. They wouldn't just give a whole new game feature pretty much for free. :lol:
    well, you never know with EA I really do wish that they would just include it in the 'normal' edition of The Sims 3 Pets 'cause you have a really good point there!
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