My vote is definitely just for less-expensive genes. The rest of the gem economy seems all right, I guess... $2.50 for a fam, $2 for a dragon background...a buck or two for most apparel items. $6 for a forum vista is a little steep but if you really love it, ok, it can be an important part of your forum identity. $5-7 typically for a usermade skin, that's reasonable, comparable to a CW here. But then it's like, whoa, twenty whole US dollars for a breed change or single gene for ONE dragon; what are they thinking?! If you could only own like five dragons total, sure, that would make sense, but most of us have 100+ and I'm sure we'd love to spend more on genes for all of them if they were a reasonable price. I don't know if they've conducted market research but I have to believe they'd make more due to increased sales volume if they reduced the prices.

I always kind of forget that buying them from users for treasure is an option because I'm perpetually too poor for that lol, but I'm almost as far as I can go with buying familiars so I'll be able to start saving up soon.

I hate to do it, but I'm actually considering moving most of my dragons to the hibden permanently. They eat too much and I'm burnt out on coli so my resources are dwindling. If I do that, I'll have lots of room to adopt more dragons, I just have to let go of the notion that they are being neglected if I put them in the den (lol I know they aren't, it's a weird hangup I have, idk)

I always think so when I put them there, too, yet with lair space, you don't have a chance, LOL

It bothers me to think that no one will ever see them if I hide them away in the den but then I remember no one looks at my dragons anyway so it really doesn't matter lol

You really would wonder at how many players spend time to look at other lairs! I got a friend request yesterday bc the player felt in love with my dragons and it wasn't the first time. So your work IS appreciated, be sure! ^-^

Yeah but I don't get such friend requests or comments very often at all (usually just reciprocal politeness when I compliment theirs), and very few likes unless my dragons happen to show up on the front page, so maybe not so much in my case. X'D It's probably because I don't post in the forums often and I don't write lore so people just don't notice me or have any reason to look.

I don't post often in forums, too, perhaps 2 times per year, LOL. I don't write lore mostly, too, only explain the names. I love your dragons, they are very unique! <3

Well, you are at least better at networking than I am. I spend 99% of my time actively hiding from everyone and 1% wondering why no one ever notices me lmao

Aw thank you, I really appreciate that! 💚

Favs of yours are Aether, Polaris and Hibiscus. I would have a lot more Faes if lair space wouldn't be so hard to come by.

:D Polaris is especially dear to me since he's the one offspring of my progens that turned out good so I kept him. I yeeted their other babies to Spacedad and I kind of regret it now but eh.

I never really want Faes exactly, but there are a lot of really great Fae skins that I end up needing dragons for so I have several. Maybe I like them more than I think lol

I love them, they remind me of the small Firefly dragons in Pern!

Btw, great Noc collection in your hib!

Heh, thanks! I had to hatch a bunch of eggs looking for my Radioactive baby and I haven't decided what to do with all those others. I think I got some decent hatches but I'm kidding myself if I think I'm ever going to buy genes for that many dragons. I still have more Nocturne eggs and I've never sold any, I always want to hatch all my eggs, but I should probably stop doing that and start selling them.

They go for 300 gems outside of Noc Weeks

Dang, I could actually quit whining and just go buy some genes if I sold my eggs lol

Haha, yes, I sold all of mine in autumn, LOL

I'm definitely with you on that one. I don't know what in the world they were thinking. I guess people keep buying them because they haven't decreased the prices for those genes >_< I had actually been thinking recently, how in the world will I get gems when I'm done bonding with the familiars I have? Because that's honestly my main source for getting gems at the moment. I should probably sell things more often but it's such a hassle lol

I should sell my eggs more often but I have too much fun opening them to see what I get 😂

I know there'd be some outrage from previous buyers if they lowered the prices now but that really shouldn't stop them. As an example, most early purchasers of electric vehicles knew they were paying more to help subsidize lower prices in the future and I don't think they're too mad about it, especially since they had the use of those vehicles the whole time. People should understand that, (I'm supposing) early on, cash items were priced higher to help get the site off the ground but it's not new anymore and it has enough users to drive higher sales at a lower price point now. But I don't know, I'm not in marketing or sales, I just know what I'm willing (and not willing) to pay as a customer. X'D

Me too, hatching eggs is by far the most fun activity for me on FR, but definitely not the most satisfying...such highs of excitement and imagined potential followed immediately by "Oh...tomato/dirt/splash, lovely, well off to the hibden with you." lol

Wise words! I wish they would hear them and they won't get lost in the wind, LOL

No, they won't hear them, I'm too chicken to go post any of this over there lol. I don't feel like criticism (even well-meaning/constructive) is particularly well-received there. (By the way, I promise I really do enjoy FR and I think it's a swell place, that's why I want to see improvements made instead of just being like "well this kinda sucks" and quitting.)

I am totally with you there. I think more people would buy cheaper genes and all in all, the site would earn more than few people buying more expensive genes!

I'm really glad I'm not alone with this opinion! :) If I'm right, hopefully they'll figure that out on their own eventually and change their price structure. I don't want to sound too whiny though, I'll survive and keep playing either way.