Another gambling week... 😕

One question: Does the "every 4th card for free" deal still exists? I'm waiting so long for this one. I'm just not interested to "win" a lot of unwanted cards.

Personally I don't think so anymore. There is probably too much people who are willing to pay hundreds of credits for just one card, even though most of them are very unsatisfied with that. iStripper is not a friendly place for people who want to pay fair price for cards anymore. Hopefully more people will start to realize these "promotions" are not promotions at all, maybe just for iStripper crew - almost no one else has any profit from them if you don't want to just throw some money out of the window. But even if you do I think you can find much better place than iStripper for that.

https://www.istripper.com/forum/thread/47400/1

Everything about iStripper / Friends of the Cashback offer

Hi, it is more than half a year we last saw the Cashback promotion. So I think it is a good time to say why I appreciate that offer so much and why I think it should return or at least some similar pr...

That's right, 1200 credits is the amount you need to throw to get this SEC.

Well, my hunch was right. Lost 900 credits to get the SEC on the Slot Machine.

The odds are absolutely TERRIBLE on this game for those of us with full collections.

Unless you're Totem - then "the house always wins".

I sincerely ***** these games, especially when they are so incredibly unfair to collectors. I know a few folks (one or two in particular who seem to know it all) will jump to Totem's defense and say "well don't play then" - because, you know, how dare I want to simply BUY a product at a FAIR price, right?

It's yet another reason I have vowed to NEVER spend another dollar on iStripper. Once my credits are gone, it's goodbye.

Only want to give a support shout out. Have all cards and a huge fan of Rex and totem. But for a collector this card and the way how to get it is useless. Rather buy it for 50 credits then all around. Still love you. no offending. But honest feedback is part of the game.

Another gambling week... 😕

One question: Does the "every 4th card for free" deal still exists? I'm waiting so long for this one. I'm just not interested to "win" a lot of unwanted cards.

Seems to have been withdrawn or put into the freezer, at least, hasn't appeard fro more than 6 months.

@celine do you remember ? It's been a long, long time now....

Darn shame the Virtuagirl Classic cards won't populate the slot machine once all more recent cards have been aquired.
Or maybe, I dunno, populate the machine with gift cards valued at 35-40 credits a piece or something like that, so we can at least spin for ages hoping for a good deal on those to pop up. It'll still cost us way more before a big enough discount to make it worthwhile pops up, but it'd be something to look out for at least?

Seems to have been withdrawn or put into the freezer, at least, hasn't appeard fro more than 6 months.

Too bad. I loved this one. Not every user want to have the whole collection.

Seems to have been withdrawn or put into the freezer, at least, hasn't appeard fro more than 6 months.
Too bad. I loved this one. Not every user want to have the whole collection.

Indeed, it was the best promo for any kind of customer (probably that's why it was withdrawn).

Even better if you bought classic cards or cards priced 8 credits a piece and got the 4th to be a higher priced card, like the oenst we get now for 19...

I have a mantra when buying cards/shows: There is no card I must have. SEC cards are just like any other to me. Cards on my want list are cards I would buy if given the incentive. Not gambling games. No worthwhile promo...no purchase. I'm not *****. If Totem makes good money off gambling games from others and sees no need to offer choice promos, that's their right. I have almost 3,000 cards purchased over the years. That may be enough.

SEC cards are just like any other

Perfect example Angelika Grays SEC - probably her worst card I reckon.

I have almost 3,000 cards purchased over the years. That may be enough.

I'm thinking the same with 3,500 now. Never going to watch them all am I. Crazy really.

It wouldn't be as big of a negative if you could scale the different video clips in small mode I wouldn't mind as much because there are some great clips just is such a huge difference when seeing a 3k clip and then its 100% size of a 720p clip. Wish I could just choose to have the 720p clips default to 50% while others are at 100%.

+1 for this suggestion. Can we have an option to display different quality clips at different ratios

There is a huge library of great cards, but I deactivate them as the size difference is jarring when they play in a list with 3k clips.

SEC cards are just like any otherPerfect example Angelika Grays SEC - probably her worst card I reckon.
I have almost 3,000 cards purchased over the years. That may be enough.I'm thinking the same with 3,500 now. Never going to watch them all am I. Crazy really.

That's a good way to be. For me however, I realised pretty early that I was a "collector" not a "casual buyer". Completion is an important part of that equation - and I suspect why Totem originally used the idea of "Cards" for their shows.

Similar to yourself, I've had to set my limit on collecting now because of these promotions that limit access to cards. I'm sure Totem doesn't care - but I will be leaving iStripper (keeping my collection, but not buying any of the new cards) once my credits are gone.

It's a shame - I would be very happy to keep buying shows - and even paying a premium for the SECs ... but they insist on these unfair and opaque "gambling games" (which in truth aren't gambling at all - since they don't publish any odds despite repeated requests to do so ... I suspect this is because the odds are DYNAMIC and adjusted to maximise their profits - but I digress).

In simple terms, Totem would rather LOSE customers (even big spending ones) than provide a fair product at a fair price. To me, that is the end of the relationship.

And as you say, @wrightsaywow ... I'm probably never going to watch all the shows anyway, so I can be satisified once my collection is "Complete".

SEC cards are just like any otherPerfect example Angelika Grays SEC - probably her worst card I reckon.
I have almost 3,000 cards purchased over the years. That may be enough.I'm thinking the same with 3,500 now. Never going to watch them all am I. Crazy really.
That's a good way to be. For me however, I realised pretty early that I was a "collector" not a "casual buyer". Completion is an important part of that equation - and I suspect why Totem originally used the idea of "Cards" for their shows.

Similar to yourself, I've had to set my limit on collecting now because of these promotions that limit access to cards. I'm sure Totem doesn't care - but I will be leaving iStripper (keeping my collection, but not buying any of the new cards) once my credits are gone.

It's a shame - I would be very happy to keep buying shows - and even paying a premium for the SECs ... but they insist on these unfair and opaque "gambling games" (which in truth aren't gambling at all - since they don't publish any odds despite repeated requests to do so ... I suspect this is because the odds are DYNAMIC and adjusted to maximise their profits - but I digress).

In simple terms, Totem would rather LOSE customers (even big spending ones) than provide a fair product at a fair price. To me, that is the end of the relationship.

And as you say, @wrightsaywow ... I'm probably never going to watch all the shows anyway, so I can be satisified once my collection is "Complete".

I remember the company ***** somewhere that the user retention rate is very low long-term and veteran customers who engage on the forums nd interact are white whales - not because of the spending in the common understanding of being a whale on the internet nowadays, but because we are so rare.

I've also severely limited my amount of purchases (normally I'd have reloaded at least a couple of times between now and Black Friday, but I am still not even 50% done with the credits I got then) and am rewatching older cards, commenting on them and rating them to get to know what I want to keep and what I'm deleting.

I have no problem with not getting all cards, but I can see where a compulsive buyer will be bummed by not having all the cards made available to them. Like @TallandSlimMan said, SEC are no different from other cards (even some normal cards have extra features that SEC don't have, like the Akali-themed Audalove card etc) it's just their artificial scarcity that's driving their price in the eyes of some customers.

I know Totem is appealing to these users and exploiting their desire/want/flaw and I also don't like that.

Cette carte spéciale est accessible par un cheminement connu à travers le jeu pour une dépense de 1200 crédits afin de remplir la barre de points. Ce n'est donc plus un accès aléatoire avec plus ou moins de chance. Et c'est ce que beaucoup demandaient.
Néanmoins le prix semble être important et personnellement j'ai décidé de ne pas vouloir cette carte. Peut-être ai-je moins de difficultés à renoncer a cela, Angelika Grays n'étant pas une de mes favorites. Mais cela est assez frustrant lorsque vous êtes collectionneur et quand la SEC vous intéresse. Cette fois cela sera sans moi même si les jeux ne m'ont pas tenté depuis un bon moment maintenant. Des jours plus heureux à venir, j'espère 😦
This special card is accessible by a known path through the game for an expenditure of 1200 credits in order to fill the points bar. It is therefore no longer a random access with more or less luck. And that's what many were asking.
However the price seems to be important and I personally decided not to want this card. Maybe I have less difficulty giving up on that, Angelika Grays is not one of my favorites. But that is quite frustrating when you are a collector and when you are interested in the SEC. This time it will be without me even though games haven't tempted me for a while now. Happier days to come, I hope 😦

I remember the company ***** somewhere that the user retention rate is very low long-term and veteran customers who engage on the forums nd interact are white whales

Unless you have seen something very different to me they did not *****. The statement regarding user retention was and still is on the web page describing the iStripper affiliates program (which is linked to at the bottom of the main page of the web site). The direct link is

https://affiliates.istripper.com/home.php

this gives the average retention period as a reason to "choose us" - exactly the opposite of *****.

Au contraire, my good old man Emu.

The fact that Totem sees "white whales" as rare, and that promotions are mostly targeted on those who do not have collections suggest the business model is acquisition focused, not retention focused.

In short, new ***** ***** better than old *****.

And that's exactly why I'm shutting up shop when my credits are done. I'll take my business and my money elsewhere - somwhere where long-term customers are treated with respect, not silly "gambling games".

On the matter of the point raised by @Philours, I can see your logic. However, I must disagree. One must gamble 1,200 credits to qualify for that card, and in doing so be prepared to lose all of that - an equivalant of about $120-$150 depending on how many you bought at the time.

Me personally, it cost me $90 worth of credits (900) in the end. And this is why I say these unfair practices just aren't the kind of thing I can support. Have I had wins in the past? Sure. Who is winning on balance, however? Totem by a country mile.

The thing is, there is no INCREMENTAL cost for them to provide the shows to members. All their costs are "sunk ccosts" by and large in the product itself (leaving marketing aside). So, by clawing back credits without offering product it is "free money" for them - when instead they could simply offer a reasonable deal - a fair product at a fair price.

I just can't make sense of it myself.

@wtprivate

What has any of that got to do with either @Alkasyn 's statement that Totem had "*****" about the user retention rate was low or my reply to that post ?

What you are saying is very much in line with what I have also been saying over and over again - the only difference is that I am not surprised by it and do not expect to be given special treatment because I have been a good customer in the past.

Also you should check the meaning of "fair price" - it does not mean what you think it does.