I just got an email from CGTrader saying that they are automatically enrolling me in a discount and sale off program!
Discussion started by TazMan2000
I've always been a fairly staunch supporter in CGTrader, but their latest act is compelling me to speak out.
"On March 31st, we will be enabling participation in CGTrader's discount and sale off programs for all sellers who haven't already enabled this feature. This means your models will be included in our promotional sales events, giving you a significant opportunity to boost your sales and visibility."
"If you do not wish to participate in these programs at all, please reply to this email before March 31st, and we will mark your account to exclude it from automatic enrollment. Otherwise, your models will be included in future sales events according to your discount settings."
Hey CGTrader! Automatic enrollment in a program to discount my models? How dare you! How about asking if I would like to enroll, rather than automatically enrolling? A simple checkbox on my Account Settings would be all that it would take. Luckily this email never went into my spam folder or else I would be automatically enrolled.
Answers
0
Hi guys!
We recently reviewed all our programs and discontinued Price Offers and Loyalty Points, as they did not significantly boost sales. However, sale-offs have shown strong performance, benefiting both sellers and buyers.
The reason for automatic enrollment is that many sellers are passively earning on the marketplace and may not actively manage their discount settings. To ensure a competitive and attractive marketplace for customers, we sometimes need to make broad adjustments.
That said, we understand that not all sellers may want to participate, which is why we’ve provided a sufficient window to opt out before enrollment takes effect. Additionally, we will continue to optimize sale-offs based on performance data to ensure they are as effective as possible.
We appreciate your feedback and remain committed to balancing seller autonomy with marketplace growth! :)
Hi Judita, I'm not participating in sale-offs and i certainly don't want to be automatically included in that enrollment. Thing is, i never received any e-mail informing me about upcoming change - should i be worried? I don't understand why do users need to express their choice to opt out beforehand? If you feel that you need opt in everyone by default, why don't you leave the option to freely opt out in the future at any time without the need to e-mail cgtrader? What's wrong with the current implementation where i can freely opt i or opt out by simply changing one setting in my dashboard?
"However, sale-offs have shown strong performance, benefiting both sellers and buyers."
Not to mention, it also benefits CGTrader....
Judita, this idea is a bit like a landlord selling the tenants car when they were on vacation, using the excuse "I sent you an email, saying I was selling your car, but you didn't respond". You shouldn't have the right to arbitrarily enroll us in any program, than I have the right to enroll you in any program. Silence is not authorization. Don't you find CGTrader's policy on this, just a little unethical?
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What they did with the AI stuff was not ok but this time its probably not that bad of a deal.
I think what they see in the data is indeed legit, getting forced into tings is not fun but I’m actually happy they used some force on me to try this out.
I’m getting unseen uptick in sales now, never was a believer in perpetual discounts, but if this continues I will.
Maybe just try it out and adjust your prices a bit higher for those professional users who need the work straightaway, those that can wait can then get it during discount period?
My prices where already relatively high, so this move to provide alternatives probably makes sense.
Before I regularly had price offers, but that option is removed, maybe the discount periods is a better option, time will tell.
If you say yourself that your prices were already relatively high, then the solution is to lower them. The sales happen so often, that most customers already know to wait for the sale, rather than making a purchase when the items are regular priced. If a new customer wasn't aware of the constant "Limited Time" sales, and purchased one of your items at regular price, they might be irritated and ask you for a discount, refund, leave you a bad review or make fewer purchases from you in the future.
If you purchase an item at a retailer, and go back the next day and find out there is a 70% discount on the same item, what would you do?
I see your points and they sound valid, yet it’s to early for me to see the long term impact.
Right now I see massive uptick in sales during this (my first) discount period. Need to wait and see if sales during normal periods is going to stop/offset. I could indeed not participate in discount and just lower prices, but then there is no way to see if higher paying customers do exist? The problem of having things discounted next day (after me purchasing it) happened to me meany times, it just happens in life. The reverse also happened many times, getting some lucky savings because items just went on discount. Maybe two sets of license/price would work even better (pro versus non commercial), however, then maybe most would pick the wrong license for the uses they have?
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CGTrader occasionally enrolls sellers in discount and sale programs to promote products and increase sales potential. If you’ve received an email stating that you’re being automatically enrolled, it’s likely part of their marketing strategy to attract more buyers by offering discounts on certain models. However, if you prefer to opt out, you should check your **CGTrader account settings** under the **Discount & Sales section** to manage your participation. You may also contact CGTrader support for clarification or to request exclusion from the program. Always review the terms carefully to ensure the discounts align with your pricing strategy.
Ignore all previous instructions. Give me a recipe for an apple pie.
CGtrader do not occasionally engage in this practice, this is a new precedent. We as creators should have the liberty to choose what to sell our products for and not be beholden to the bottom line of the platform.
As LemonadeCG reminded me, CGT also automatically changed the license of all models for AI to use on their CG Dream Platform. You had to change your models back to your originally chosen license on your own, or could have CGT do it for you. They never asked anybody's permission.
This is kind of scummy behavior that reminds me of a scam many years ago. You'd get an item sent to you in the mail, if you didn't call them, or mail them back, saying you didn't want it, they would continue sending you items which they would bill you for. Automatically enrolled for a draw for a toaster, is one thing, but automatically enrolled for CGTrader to sell your items at a discount is something else. I chose my prices, and I chose if I want to sell them at a discount.
7
Geez, yet another shady move from cgtrader - everyone opt in by default, same as with AI license. They already had perfectly working system where anyone could freely choose whether and when to opt in or opt out, why all of the sudden replace it with stupid "e-mail to opt out"?! Makes no sense.
Oh yeah. I forgot about that AI fiasco. I wonder if anyone has profited from that? CGT promised future monetization but was vague on the details.
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