New online store, new prices, new credits!

[Robc]

With the recent upgrade to a secure server comes the opportunity to greatly streamline the buying experience for our customers and I have not wasted a moment to implement changes.

New online store

Here is a link to

When you want to buy label credits you will no longer be swooped off to some archaic 'website store'. The old TBG store was cumbersome for you, cumbersome for me (and expensive too), and turned off too many players who might otherwise have added to their label stash. Also with our upcoming migration to a mobile friendly site it is critical for us to have a payment platform that is mobile ready. To that end I have contracted with a new payment provider "Stripe" to allow seamless and very fast credit card transactions easily from your desktop computer or mobile device. It is so fast and easy to get credits now that I think it will astound those of you who managed to navigate through the old store. You also still have the option to pay by credit card or other methods through Paypal if that makes you more comfortable. The difference is that we are connecting directly to Paypal now and not going through any kind of middle man so that too is faster and easier.

If any of this gives you security heartburn it shouldn't. First of all we are now working through a secure SSL certificate so all interaction with TBG's server is encrypted and very secure. Interestingly enough our secure site is just icing on the security cake and really doesn't even matter. That's because both Stripe and Paypal have arranged things such that security for your transaction is even more robust than we could ever provide. Your credit card information is never even transmitted to TBG's server, we will never see it, store it, hold it, or know anything about your credit card. Your browser sends the credit card info directly to the payment provider (skipping TBG entirely) and then on to your bank or card provider. If TBG's servers never touch that data then it can't be stolen or compromised by anything we do or anyone who attacks us. So rest assured (as I do) that we are providing the best security for your transaction that is available.

New prices
Label credits now cost about the same as a single beer at your local pub at $3.99 each! How cool is that!? And as before we also have even greater discounts for buying a bunch of them at the same time. As we prepare to move into the mobile game world TBG comes up against some very low priced games. On the one hand we can never compete with most game aps on price simply because we have a much smaller audience to sell to. On the other I don't want to turn away players who feel that they are not getting value for their money. The new prices should make it easy for players to dip their toe in and test the game and even easier for our long term fans to add to their label count and keep older labels that they might otherwise retire. Cool looking virtual beer labels are the best marketing tool I have and one of the most fun elements of the game, these new prices should make sure we always have a lot of them to choose from!

New credits
The downside of lowering prices is that players who recently bought credits might feel like they got jipped, "if I had only waited!" Well, I'm not going to let that happen. Any player who bought label credits (using real money) since March 1, 2014 will get the same deal. In the next day or two I will add credits to your account to make sure you get as many credits as if you had bought them under today's prices. And I am taking this one step further. If you have ever purchased label credits using real money and have any of those credits left then I will add one new credit to match each one you have left. The premise here is that you originally bought those in advance for use later and I don't want to punish you for planning ahead and paying early. There is one big caveat to this last gift though. The new credits I am adding have a 1 month expiration. You must use them prior to June 1, 2014 to add or renew labels (or do something else) or they will expire and be lost.

Thank you so very much for supporting the game!

[Tools]

Nice Rob! I got just one thing to say about it. With the new credit prices I feel like buying a label credit is the same as buying you a beer, a real beer that is! And there is no doubt in my mind that you deserve a couple of those for all the work you put into this website. So I'm going to buy you a couple beers just on principle alone. Cheers!

[Robc]

Aw shucks Tools, giving me goosebumps you are! Very shortly I will be given the green light by my Doc and then I can start drinking again so I'll save the money and I will in fact buy myself that beer you are offering!


Anyway, to everyone... I have now completed the posting of all the "price drop" credits for players who recently purchased credits or who had 'paid' credits on the books. By all means shout if you think you were missed or didn't get your fair share. Players who received credits also got a an email directly from me. Cheers!

[Beerwench]

Agree with Tools. I'll buy you a beer Rob for all the virtual beers you have bought me.

[ShoreWoodBrew]

Pretty cool Robc,

I bet this spurs on more labels in virtual brewery-land. Heckuva deal!

Thanks!