They may not be required for gameplay, but try going without them and see just how far you'll get.

Yeah well someone was buying a very expensive dog... and I guess a few of us have used the chance to get some of the older backgrounds in the cash shop - though I doubt I will ever have enough money to get my missing background. <br /> <br /> However, there won't be such a dog for sale everyday, nor will there be the desire to grab a few more items before the price goers up. <br /> <br /> And yeah, I think to seriously train dogs over 500 TP you need a scholar collar.

Companions are not necessary for game play. By your line of logic, a scholar collar is necessary for game play. This is simply not the case. Yes, it makes training easier, but it doesn't hamper your ability to play to not have these items. <br /> <br /> I think I disagree with the assessment that people hoard more now than before. I've seen about $25,000,000 retired from the game over the past week, or so. <br /> <br /> And I'm sure there are lots of collectors of monthly shop items. You can count me among them :) The fact remains that there is not really an increase in overall price of monthly shop items - we're simply adjusting the bone>Ala$ conversion rate to be more realistic within the economy. Robyn has said $25k per Bone, and I think that's fair. You'll just have to work harder for those monthly shop items :)

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Unfortunately, many companions aren't luxury items, even for non-collectors. The skunks, for example, were a must have for anyone having a training kennel (or just a lot of sessions to use on one dog) <br /> <br /> I agree about the money hoarding, but from what I saw, people hoard more now, not less. <br /> <br /> As for me, I am mainly collecting backgrounds (and foregrounds to a lesser extend) which does include the monthly shop stuff.

<i>then 300tp dogs can win the same amount as 9k tp dogs, just the 9999 dogs are more likely to win.</i><br /> <br /> The problem inherent in this is that people work hard to breed and train high TP dogs. If you take away the incentive for doing so, what's the point? <br /> <br /> I see merit to both sides of this debate, but I have to agree that luxury items are meant to be just that. If they are easy to obtain, they lose their value as luxury items. I do believe that an increase in the cash value of these is in order. Bones don't sell for $10k anymore because it's really not that difficult to make $10k anymore. Back in the beginning, it was difficult to amass that kind of cash. I doubt I even made $10k over the trial life of my first dog here on Ala, who had great TP for the time (a whole 280, haha). <br /> <br /> I also do view money hoarding as a problem... and that's precisely why we're dreaming up new and inventive ways to get those people to spend their money. Increases are only happening in the luxury items to reflect the value of the Bone. Frankly, I'm surprised that the formula wasn't adjusted before this. Main Shops prices are extremely reasonable, so there would be nothing to prevent you from decorating your dogs from there. <br /> <br /> Players have been spending $30k+ on Bones in auctions for months now, so to blame the inflation on Robyn trying to fix the economy is both unfair and untrue. Robyn's response to the crisis came after it, y'know, became a crisis. I'm just going to throw that out there.

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Not feeding your dogs doesn't harm them, never has. I only feed dogs in trials or training unless I am sorting them, which means I need to get rid of the yellow on the kennel page.

I actually, don't trial any low TP dogs because I know they don't last. I feel like if you want to trial dogs, get a trial dog, not a custom that will go so far.<br /> <br /> I'm living on about $100k right now and its easy. My one 1.8k TP dog can make enough money for food to feed my whole kennel. No one is telling you to send the whole kennel out to trial.<br /> <br /> And yea, I agree with Tiger. Food prices are fine. Its because one has too many dogs there is an issue.

Quagga, I've been putting bones up for sale on and off starting at 10k bones for months ;) but people always still buy the ones set much higher..lol<br /> <br /> If someone can't afford to feed your dogs maybe they have to many dogs?

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The increase in food prices has nearly killed my kennels. The only thing keeping them afloat is entering 200+ TP dogs in the dogbert trials. Not only did the food prices rise, but they did <em>right after</em> I spent all my bank savings on a monthly bag in July, so I was essentially forced to find new ways to make money outside selling dogs and playing games from time to time.<br /> <br /> I think the last thing we want to do is raise the prices. We need to keep them low, like Geist said, and restrict how much Ala cash is placed into circulation. Remember pre-WW2 Germany? Their economy was already messed up before the Great Depression and when it hit, they only made it worse by printing billions of German Marks. The more there was in circulation, the closer a bar of chocolate came to costing 1 mil. Marks. If the influx of Ala cash into circulation is not restricted, and prices are only increased, inflation will only get worse and turn away all the newbies, which in the end, will include be our future top donors. It's getting a LOT harder to advance as a player on Alacrity and I don't like it. I appreciate all the effort Rob and the staff have put out to fix the economy, but I think they're focusing their energy in the wrong place.

Tiger-<br /> That's partially what I've been trying to do, actually. xD I've started placing bones at a $10,000 starting price. I noticed a few others putting them lower than 20k as well, now... It's fun thinking that I kind of "started" it (though maybe not really, maybe I'm just one of the firsts, and that I only took part in it). :D<br /> <br /> The fewer the bones, the higher the prices will likely be... Once there get to be people just trying to get rid of bones, they've got to pick reasonable prices to try and sell them for actual profit instead of absurdly high prices like they would want and push for, but no one will buy for.