Lost in the Woods

I mostly opted out of gachas years ago, but every now and then something comes along that I really want and I’ll spend a ridiculous amount of money trying to get the rare item. I do that with the understanding that this is the only opportunity to get it. Maybe it’ll never be sold again, maybe it’ll become impossible to find, but that’s always been the appeal of gachas. You’re paying for the exclusivity as much as you’re paying for the item itself. That’s how it’s worked for as long as I can remember. Designers have traditionally kept their gacha collections exclusive instead of retexturing them and selling them at a discount a few weeks later.

That’s why I was surprised to see PurpleMoon release a retextured version of the Claudette Dress and Monique Shoes, which debuted at The Arcade just last month, now in The Saturday Sale for L$75. My friends and I spent quite a bit collecting, trading, and chasing those pieces through the gacha. Had we known that the dress and shoes would be available for L$75 less than a month later, I don’t think any of us would’ve spent nearly as much trying to complete the collection.

For me, it changes how I look at the brand going forward. If something new catches my eye, why buy it immediately if there’s a chance it’ll show up in a weekend sale a few weeks later? I’ve always thought of weekend sales as a place for older releases or brand new items created specifically for the sale. I’ve never expected to see a reworked version of a gacha collection that was still practically brand new. I barely had time to unpack mine before another version appeared for a fraction of what many of us had spent.

This isn’t about telling a designer how to run their business. They can sell their products however they like. I’m simply saying that decisions like this affect customer trust. People remember when they paid full price, especially when that full price came from a gacha system designed around chance. If customers start believing they can get the same item a month later for almost nothing, many of them will simply wait. I also wonder if this is happening because so many creators participate in weekend sales that they eventually run out of older products to discount and start dipping into very recent releases instead.

Today’s outfit is a mix of PurpleMoon’s Claudette accessories from last month’s Arcade gacha with the retextured Claudette Dress from The Saturday Sale. Ironically, I actually prefer this printed version over the original solid dress. For anyone who missed the gacha, it’s an incredible deal. I just think there should be a little more consideration for the people who paid the premium the first time around. Gachas aren’t normal purchases. They’re intentionally designed to encourage people to spend far more than an item is worth in pursuit of the piece they really want, and more often than not, that’s the rare one. When that same design comes back almost immediately at a deep discount, it’s hard not to feel like you wasted a lot of money trying to get it in the first place.

Read More “I Thought Gachas Were Supposed to Be Exclusive”