RE: Need More Booster Packs? Do The Smart Thing And Save 20% On Packs! (Deprecated!)
I told you in my earlier reply that I would stop discussing, as I considered it pointless. However, I believe you slightly misunderstand some things about this particular case.
You could just as easily buy in bulk to get a bulk discount, and participate in the affiliate discount.
The thing is that they are "merchants", which allows them to get a 10% merchant bonus, whilst us, normal people, get a 5% affiliate bonus. We most definitely can't offer what they are offering without losing money (unless we use the packs we got through playing, of course, which is the only reason you can still buy packs for so cheap on the SM-Discord)
These guys are offering it AT COST. They aren't even making a profit on the 20% off.
Incorrect, they are definitely not offering it at cost. They are making a profit, even on packs they're selling for $1.60. I can show you, if you wish.
And as with any market, healthy competition will always drive the prices of a product down. That's how free markets work.
Yeah, Healthy Competition is good. This, however, is not healthy competition. This is just a merchant getting a twice as big affiliate bonus without any proper explanation for how one would become a "merchant", which is literally nothing more than an affiliate with a higher affiliate bonus.
I was unaware of this fact. Please illustrate to me so I can be informed.
As you can see in block 27407018, SmartMonsters sends 1,281.314 STEEM (at that time worth $1000) to buy 575 packs (500 regular + 75 bonus):
A couple blocks after, in block 27407022, SmartSteem gets its Merchant Bonus of 128.131 STEEM (at that time worth $100), exactly 10% of the funds sent to purchase the packs:
That means they sent $1000, got back $100, so it cost them $900 to buy 575 packs.
Dividing the cost by the amount of packs gives: 900/575 = $1.565/pack. Selling at $1.60 gives them $0.035 per pack sale.
For smaller pack purchases, their profit margins only go up of course.
Wow. You did a great job explaining. I like the work you did. Thanks for taking the time.
I do happen to think that's a smart business strategy of them. And I am inclined to hold to my original position still, but this is interesting information, and I'm willing to hold off judgment until I see what they actually do.
OK. I've modified my opinion. If you read my comment on down the page, you'll see that I may actually agree with you, at least when it comes to the commission, if not with other items as well. They are basically behaving like a wholesaler, and as a general rule, wholesalers are not allowed to undercut their distributors. These types of contracts have different terms than the public. So, yes. You are right. A merchant commission should have terms and MSRP regulation, for several reasons, including artificially monopolizing the market, and artificially deflating the product value.
So this is what I came up with. Again, not an expert. Just finding out what I can. Let me know if this is what you were getting at.