BEWARE: 50% off Premium Accounts Very Misleading

Zebadiah Zerundi · July 29, 2013

BEWARE: 50% off advertisement is misleading

LL 50% Off Premium Accounts (quarterly payments only)

Advertisement is misleading as presented in the LARGE print.

Granted the fine print indicates that you only get the discount on the first quarter (see bleow), but the ad states "USD 11.25 per quarter" The fine print contradicts the "per Quarter" price quoted!

This is truly not a 50% off on the membership. Quaterly payments of 22.5*4 = USD 90 [50% would be 45 not 78.75=11.25+(22.50*3), which comes out to 12.5%, not 50%]. The annual payment method is still the better option from a value standpoint.

Shame on LL for taking advantage of the less informed.

Premium

"Quarterly Membership USD 11.25 per quarter"

THE FINE PRINT:

† TERMS & CONDITIONS FOR 50% DISCOUNT This limited-time discount offer is available only for memberships on the Quarterly billing plan. Discount will be applied to the first quarterly billing cycle only, and all future charges will be at the regular Premium price; price will return to USD 22.50, excluding VAT where applicable. To qualify, Second Life members must have an active Basic account or create a new Second Life account. Discount offer starts Friday July 26, 2013 at 12:01AM (PST) and expires Sunday August 11, 2013 at 11:59pm (PST).

Maelstrom Janus · July 29, 2013

Im suprised Lindens didnt say the offer was only open to anyone over the age of 55 and their membership application had to be countersigned by their grandparents... ( offer only available in leap years)

Maelstrom Janus · July 29, 2013

Lets face all I can say about lindens 'offers' is that they are absolutely useless to long term sl users and freebies in cereal packets are better.....

Zebadiah Zerundi · July 29, 2013

Yes and then follow it up with the "fast-talk" like on a auto radio commercial (US reference, sorry to those outside the US). :matte-motes-big-grin-wink:

Qwalyphi Korpov · July 29, 2013

On the other hand your post is very misleading. Because in your large print you say it's very misleading. Then in your fine print you explain that it would be misleading if it said it was a full year discount in large print & then said it was a single quarter discount in the fine print. Which it doesn't.

The LL could have been clearer by proclaiming "50% of of 1st quarterly payment, full price following that." However they clearly didn't say 50% off forever. So you have to read beyond the lead to understand what is being offered.

Now regarding the better deal - One quarter at $11.25 (half price) followed by annual payments of $72 is a better deal than simply signing up for annual payments. So your statement that annual payments is a better deal from a value point of view is wrong. Or - should I say Very Misleading?

Zebadiah Zerundi · July 29, 2013

I respectfully disagree Qwalyphi, I do not believe I was misleading in any way. . In fact, it does say in the main advertisement in large print , "11.25 PER QUARTER." But only applies the discount to the FIRST QUARTER (NOT PER QUARTER as it states), that is what I find misleading... Only in the "fine print," with the "† " does it state that the discount only applies to the FIRST QUARTER. I honestly don't see where I was misleading or misrepresenting what LL had advertised. Sorry.

However, you make a good and valid point about taking the initial Quarterly premium payment at the discount of USD 11.25 for only one quarter and THEN going to annual makes financial sense as being the best option indeed. I'd not considered that. But I am not certain you can convert from quarterly to annually that easily, can you?

Peace

Paula001 Goldschein · July 29, 2013

althooo.. it's usually the first payment *only* whenever there is a deal on long term memberships or contracts. you are supposed to always read the fine print anyway. but mhm, if you don't have much life experience yet, it can be misleading.

Perrie Juran · July 29, 2013

I was just noticing it doesn't say first time Premium Sign Ups.

Someone who had downgraded could re-up, take the money and run.

Perrie Juran · July 29, 2013

Paula001 Goldschein wrote:

althooo.. it's usually the first payment *only* whenever there is a deal on long term memberships or contracts. you are supposed to always read the fine print anyway. but mhm, if you don't have much life experience yet, it can be misleading.

Amazingly after the last couple of rounds for this promotion we never had any one come screaming at the end of the first quarter saying, "Where'd my discount go?"

However we have had people ask where their $1,000L bonus was before the 45 days had passed.

That fine print was linked to further down the page.

Ceka Cianci · July 30, 2013

Zebadiah Zerundi wrote:

However, you make a good and valid point about taking the initial Quarterly premium payment at the discount of USD 11.25 for only one quarter and THEN going to annual makes financial sense as being the best option indeed. I'd not considered that.

But I am not certain you can convert from quarterly to annually that easily, can you?

Peace

you can change your payment length at any time..

like if you get the deal for the 50% quarterly..

then a day later decided you wanted to pay annual..

you would have the 50% off quarter run then your annual would pick up after that was over..or you could look at it as a full 15 month run..

the annual would pick upafter the 1st quarter was finished..or you could drop to monthly..

you can always switch..but it will always be after the arrangment made already..

just as if you were to drop from premium to basic.itwould start as soon as the period you paid for would finish..

if that is what you were asking.

Zebadiah Zerundi · July 30, 2013

Yes, Ceka Cianci, thank you for that clarification. I'm sure it will benefit many who have been following this post or those who may stumble upon it in the future.

Qwalyphi Korpov · July 30, 2013

Zebadiah Zerundi wrote:

I respectfully disagree Qwalyphi, I do not believe I was misleading in any way. . In fact, it does say in the main advertisement in large print , "11.25

PER QUARTER.

" But only applies the discount to the

FIRST QUARTER

(NOT

PER QUARTER

as it states), that is what I find misleading... Only in the "fine print," with the

"† "

does it state that the discount only applies to the

FIRST QUARTER

. I honestly don't see where I was misleading or misrepresenting what LL had advertised. Sorry.

However, you make a good and valid point about taking the initial Quarterly premium payment at the discount of USD 11.25 for only one quarter and THEN going to annual makes financial sense as being the best option indeed. I'd not considered that. But I am not certain you can convert from quarterly to annually that easily, can you?

Peace

I could perhaps be convinced that the ad is slightly misleading if I could see the actual ad. You don't present it or link to it. I have seen the offer in several forms. None of them have the 11.25 per quarter wording you show. The only place I've found that is on the Dashboard/Account/Premium Membership page. There the per period charges are listed for per month, quarter & year. So in context it's consistent to list one charge per category. A bubble immediately to the right explains that the discounted rate is for a limited time. The "fine print" is immediately below rather than buried at the bottom of the page. So once again I'm thinking you're being misleading if you're calling the premium membership signup page an ad.

50% offer.PNG

Zebadiah Zerundi · July 30, 2013

Qwalyphi.....In fact, I did link to the page in my original post (multiple times). You posted it as an image so I guess you found it without too much trouble. If you fail to see the "USD 11.25 per quarter" stated in the ad, I cannot help you, it is plain as can be, smack dab in the center.

Perhaps it is a language issue?

Per defined: click HERE

per

[pur; unstressed per]

preposition

1.

for each; for every: Membership costs ten dollars per year. This cloth is twodollars per yard.

Therefore for this example, the price would be "for every" quarter.

Qwalyphi Korpov wrote:

Zebadiah Zerundi wrote:

I respectfully disagree Qwalyphi, I do not believe I was misleading in any way. . In fact, it does say in the main advertisement in large print , "11.25

PER QUARTER.

" But only applies the discount to the

FIRST QUARTER

(NOT

PER QUARTER

as it states), that is what I find misleading... Only in the "fine print," with the

"† "

does it state that the discount only applies to the

FIRST QUARTER

. I honestly don't see where I was misleading or misrepresenting what LL had advertised. Sorry.

However, you make a good and valid point about taking the initial Quarterly premium payment at the discount of USD 11.25 for only one quarter and THEN going to annual makes financial sense as being the best option indeed. I'd not considered that. But I am not certain you can convert from quarterly to annually that easily, can you?

Peace

I could perhaps be convinced that the ad is slightly misleading if I could see the actual ad. You don't present it or link to it. I have seen the offer in several forms. None of them have the 11.25 per quarter wording you show. The only place I've found that is on the Dashboard/Account/Premium Membership page. There the per period charges are listed for per month, quarter & year. So in context it's consistent to list one charge per category. A bubble immediately to the right explains that the discounted rate is for a limited time. The "fine print" is immediately below rather than buried at the bottom of the page. So once again I'm thinking you're being misleading if you're calling the premium membership signup page an ad.

50% offer.PNG

You are welcome to your opinion, as I am to mine. I am not concerned that you are not convinced, that is not my objective. And, at this point it seems to me you are being argumentative solely for the sake of arguing (or to raise your posting stats) and so I will no longer respond. :manfrustrated:

Peace be with you

Qwalyphi Korpov · July 30, 2013

Zebadiah Zerundi wrote:

Qwalyphi.....In fact, I did link to the page in my original post (multiple times). You posted it as an image so I guess you found it without too much trouble. If you fail to see the "USD 11.25 per quarter" stated in the ad, I cannot help you, it is plain as can be, smack dab in the center.

Perhaps it is a language issue?

Per defined: click HERE

per

[

pur;

unstressed

per

]

preposition

1.

for

each;

for

every:

Membership

costs

ten

dollars

per

year.

This

cloth

is

two

dollars

per

yard

.

Therefore for this example, the price would be "for every" quarter.

Qwalyphi Korpov wrote:

Zebadiah Zerundi wrote:

I respectfully disagree Qwalyphi, I do not believe I was misleading in any way. . In fact, it does say in the main advertisement in large print , "11.25

PER QUARTER.

" But only applies the discount to the

FIRST QUARTER

(NOT

PER QUARTER

as it states), that is what I find misleading... Only in the "fine print," with the

"† "

does it state that the discount only applies to the

FIRST QUARTER

. I honestly don't see where I was misleading or misrepresenting what LL had advertised. Sorry.

However, you make a good and valid point about taking the initial Quarterly premium payment at the discount of USD 11.25 for only one quarter and THEN going to annual makes financial sense as being the best option indeed. I'd not considered that. But I am not certain you can convert from quarterly to annually that easily, can you?

Peace

I could perhaps be convinced that the ad is slightly misleading if I could see the actual ad. You don't present it or link to it. I have seen the offer in several forms. None of them have the 11.25 per quarter wording you show. The only place I've found that is on the Dashboard/Account/Premium Membership page. There the per period charges are listed for per month, quarter & year. So in context it's consistent to list one charge per category. A bubble immediately to the right explains that the discounted rate is for a limited time. The "fine print" is immediately below rather than buried at the bottom of the page. So once again I'm thinking you're being misleading if you're calling the premium membership signup page an ad.

50% offer.PNG

You are welcome to your opinion, as I am to mine. I am not concerned that you are not convinced, that is not my objective. And, at this point it seems to me you are being argumentative solely for the sake of arguing (or to raise your posting stats) and so I will no longer respond. :manfrustrated:

Peace be with you

I see now what the problem was. I thought you had an ad you were complaining about.

jwenting · August 1, 2013

Zeb, you're the only one here misleading anyone. If you fail to read the details of an offer, that are clearly listed, that's YOUR problem for not being a responsible adult.

What's next, complaining that LL don't call you on your landline to confirm that you indeed want to do this because you might inadvertently sign up for it and change your mind later?

Phil Deakins · August 1, 2013

I haven't been reading this thread but I just read the last page and I agree with what you posted on the page The graphic shows that the wording is definitely wrong. The word "per" means "for each" - always more than one. The bubble, although technically correct, could very easily be misunderstood as meaning that the offer of a discount is time-limited - encouraging people to grab it while it's there..

At the very least, the two of them together ("per" and the bubble) are confusing, and could very easily lead some people to believe something that isn't true.

Is it intentional? Imo, it probably is.

Qie Niangao · August 1, 2013

Much fuss about nothing, if you ask me. The "per" wording for the quarterly special offer seems clearly aligned with the "per year" and "per month" prices above and below it. And considering how much that quarterly price differs from the others, if it were a recurring number, why would they even bother to offer either of the others, and who would be daft enough to take them?

To find misleading something as simple and obvious as this, one would have to be awfully easily mislead. It would help to be dumb as a post.

Phil Deakins · August 1, 2013

I beg to differ with you Qie, which is something I rarely do.

I don't think it would be difficult at all for some people think that the offer is for multiple quarters. Not permanently, but more than one quarter. I do think it's misleading. It would have been very easy to change the word "per" to something that's actually true. At the very least, the way they've done it can be misleading.

Perrie Juran · August 1, 2013

I don't think it is intentional but rather on par with LL's sloppy communication skills and the failure to think things through all the way.

The ad as shown should read "first quarter," not "per quarter."

It could be considered a classic example of Marbles In The Soup advertising.

A complaint could be filed with the FTC, but it would be doubtful if any thing more than a slap on the hand would result if they'd even bother to look at it.

On the other side of the equation, anyone who is actually old enough to sign up should by that time in their life know that they should ALWAYS read the fine print.

Zebadiah Zerundi · August 1, 2013

jwenting wrote:

Zeb, you're the only one here misleading anyone. If you fail to read the details of an offer, that are clearly listed, that's YOUR problem for not being a responsible adult.

What's next, complaining that LL don't call you on your landline to confirm that you indeed want to do this because you might inadvertently sign up for it and change your mind later?

jwenting

I am not selling anything to anyone, only pointing out to those who might be a little too quick on the submit button to read furhter. I don't see how voicing my opinion on this and my attempt to call out LL on the wording is in anyway misleading. (

You must be on the LL team or a 'shareholder' to post what you did in an attempt to discredit my opinion

). Verily, I think that anyone who argues that I am the one misleading people simply want to argue or maybe attempt to bully on the forums in persoanl attacks. Otherwise why not just read it and move on?

Holding a seller to higher standards of integrity and ehticacy in advertising is what responsible consumers (you can replace the word consumer with adult if it helps you) should do. It is what I am attempting to do with this post. Maturity and intelligence are not age dependent; adults do stupid things sometimes or don't think before they act. Or, it could be a language issue getting lost in translation (if English is not the first language). Doesn't matter what the reason if the advertisement has integrity, is clear and truthful on the 'wrapper' as it is 'in the box.'

Again, just my two cents.

Zebadiah Zerundi · August 1, 2013

Phil Deakins wrote:

I beg to differ with you Qie, which is something I rarely do.

I don't think it would be difficult at all for some people think that the offer is for multiple quarters. Not permanently, but more than one quarter. I do think it's misleading. It would have been very easy to change the word "per" to something that's actually true. At the very least, the way they've done it can be misleading.

Thanks Phil, exactly my point

Zebadiah Zerundi · August 1, 2013

Perrie Juran wrote:

I don't think it is intentional but rather on par with LL's sloppy communication skills and the failure to think things through all the way.

The ad as shown should read "first quarter," not "per quarter."

It could be considered a classic example of

Marbles In The Soup

advertising.

A complaint could be filed with the FTC, but it would be doubtful if any thing more than a slap on the hand would result if they'd even bother to look at it.

On the other side of the equation, anyone who is actually old enough to sign up should by that time in their life know that they should ALWAYS read the fine print.

Right on Pierre!

Yeah, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) have bigger fish to fry. That is why it falls on the consumers in forums such as this one to bring attention to the lack of integrity (or laziness) of the provider. I also sent a message to LL but have yet to get a reply. No surprise there, I'm not a "premium" member...

"Woulds, Shoulds and Coulds" don't protect the consumer, regardless of age. There is no intelligence test in registration :matte-motes-nerdy:

Qwalyphi Korpov · August 2, 2013

Phil Deakins wrote:

I beg to differ with you Qie, which is something I rarely do.

I don't think it would be difficult at all for some people think that the offer is for multiple quarters. Not permanently, but more than one quarter. I do think it's misleading. It would have been very easy to change the word "per" to something that's actually true. At the very least, the way they've done it can be misleading.

It's possible for a reader to think it might be for more than one quarter. They are clearly told that the 50% off is a limited time discount. So after seeing the bubble they would have to wonder what number of quarters is covered by this limited time. They would have to read futher to determine the number of quarters. They would find out quickly that the number is one. Anyone thinking it will be 12 quarters or 3 quarters or whatever is guessing wrong. There is no suggestion in the 'ad" that there is any specific duration until you read the actual duration.

While some people may insist that the term 'per' always means more than one that isn't in the definitions I've seen. In examples given you will see things such as "The cloth was x dollars per yard." In which case the cost of a single yard of cloth is x. There is no requirement to buy multiple yards of cloth by the way. Even though it is priced per yard. That doesn't imply that only multiple yard purchases are available. If I pay $11.25 for one quarter and then downgrade to basic what rate did am I pay per quarter?

It turns out that the discounted quarterly rate is a good deal for almost anyone who wants to begin a premium membership. Of course the secret to the best deal is knowing when your going to leave. Here's a little spread sheet showing the running cost of premium membeships month by month. For the first 18 months going quarterly starting with the discount is often the best deal. I don't go into all permutations but then who knows when they're going to leave in advance.

Premium running cost by month e.PNG

Madelaine McMasters · August 2, 2013

Qwalyphi Korpov wrote:

Phil Deakins wrote:

I beg to differ with you Qie, which is something I rarely do.

I don't think it would be difficult at all for some people think that the offer is for multiple quarters. Not permanently, but more than one quarter. I do think it's misleading. It would have been very easy to change the word "per" to something that's actually true. At the very least, the way they've done it can be misleading.

It's possible for a reader to think it might be for more than one quarter. They are clearly told that the 50% off is a limited time discount. So after seeing the bubble they would have to wonder what number of quarters is covered by this limited time. They would have to read futher to determine the number of quarters. They would find out quickly that the number is one. Anyone thinking it will be 12 quarters or 3 quarters or whatever is guessing wrong. There is no suggestion in the 'ad" that there is any specific duration until you read the actual duration.

While some people may insist that the term 'per' always means more than one that isn't in the definitions I've seen. In examples given you will see things such as "The cloth was x dollars per yard." In which case the cost of a single yard of cloth is x. There is no requirement to buy multiple yards of cloth by the way. Even though it is priced per yard. That doesn't imply that only multiple yard purchases are available. If I pay $11.25 for one quarter and then downgrade to basic what rate did am I pay per quarter?

It turns out that the discounted quarterly rate is a good deal for almost anyone who wants to begin a premium membership. Of course the secret to the best deal is knowing when your going to leave. Here's a little spread sheet showing the running cost of premium membeships month by month. For the first 18 months going quarterly starting with the discount is often the best deal. I don't go into all permutations but then who knows when they're going to leave in advance.

I generally interpret "limited time offer" to mean that the offer will be available for a limited time, not that the offer's advantage persists for a limited time.

On the same page as that offer, I find the following grammar errors...

"Linden Homes are ready-to-move-in homes that belong to a themed community and available only to Premium Members."

"Join friends in an fun jungle..."

I'd say that LL's wording of the offer is consistent with other evidence of their competence.

Qwalyphi Korpov · August 2, 2013

Madelaine McMasters wrote: