Price Adjustment coming
#1
Posted 2019-January-05, 10:53
Details here.
BBO also announced today that Bridge Master will be free starting Jan 7. Permanently. IMO, that is an incredible act of generosity and a huge boon to bridge players at all levels of the game. Thank you BBO.
#2
Posted 2019-January-05, 11:39
y66, on 2019-January-05, 10:53, said:
Details here.
BBO also announced today that Bridge Master will be free starting Jan 7. Permanently. IMO, that is an incredible act of generosity and a huge boon to bridge players at all levels of the game. Thank you BBO.
I don't like the price hikes. Would it be possible for BBO to disclose the Return on Equity (RoE)?
#3
Posted 2019-January-05, 12:30
shyams, on 2019-January-05, 11:39, said:
This is one of the funniest posts that I have seen in years
#4
Posted 2019-January-05, 13:31
hrothgar, on 2019-January-05, 12:30, said:
Why not? I'm not asking for their financial statements, their profitability, their dividend policies, their income or expense metrics -- just the RoE.
I know the stuff about competition and all, but after BBO recently announced its "merger" with FunBridge, BBO has become a dominant provider. If both companies were in the business of a widely used retail product, I'm sure the competition authorities would have reviewed the merger.
I suspect any such authorities would consider online bridge too trivial to bother reviewing.
So, let me ask again, any possibility of disclosing RoE?
#5
Posted 2019-January-05, 13:35
#6
Posted 2019-January-05, 13:46
shyams, on 2019-January-05, 13:31, said:
Well lets see...
The main reason is that random end users don't have any right nor should they have any expectation that management is going to share financial information with you. The very notion seems farcical.
Coupled with this, it wouldn't surprise me at all to discover the BBO doesn't have a good formal notion regarding the RoE, their hurdle rate, or their discount rate. (I've worked in senior positions at a bunch of large public companies who have trouble measuring that sort of thing)
Quote
Anti trust ain't particularly popular in the US right now. Being a dominant provider is no longer sufficient to bring an anti trust case. You also need to demonstrate that consumers are actively being harmed by the market concentration.
#7
Posted 2019-January-05, 13:47
Instants 32% increase!!
Daylongs 56% increase!!!
Clearly more of a money grabbing exercise than an inflationary necessity!
With the huge % rise on Daylong Fees BBO are hitting the master point collectors hardest - taking a leaf out of the greedy EBU/ACBL handbook?!
A more modest 5 cent increase on each of the above would have been more acceptable.
I wonder if the numbers entering the tourneys above will drop as some players play in less of them or possibly boycott them altogether, so profits will not increase as hoped for and further rises would be needed and so on?!
Was the lack of a Comments Box after this News Feed item deliberate to avoid the likely outcry/anger/negative comments I wonder?
#8
Posted 2019-January-05, 17:06
dave251164, on 2019-January-05, 13:47, said:
Instants 32% increase!!
Daylongs 56% increase!!!
Clearly more of a money grabbing exercise than an inflationary necessity!
With the huge % rise on Daylong Fees BBO are hitting the master point collectors hardest - taking a leaf out of the greedy EBU/ACBL handbook?!
A more modest 5 cent increase on each of the above would have been more acceptable.
I wonder if the numbers entering the tourneys above will drop as some players play in less of them or possibly boycott them altogether, so profits will not increase as hoped for and further rises would be needed and so on?!
Was the lack of a Comments Box after this News Feed item deliberate to avoid the likely outcry/anger/negative comments I wonder?
ACBL robot games were also raised from $1.00 to $1.25 (25% increase) fairly recently. Percentage wise it wasn't the biggest increase, but the $.25 increase is equal to the original non-ACBL game fees.
#9
Posted 2019-January-05, 18:24
I have to eat but I can choose if I want to pay for bridge on here.
#10
Posted 2019-January-05, 19:30
The_Badger, on 2019-January-05, 18:24, said:
I have to eat but I can choose if I want to pay for bridge on here.
It's much more palatable to increase rates gradually than a giant jump. I don't know about ACBL sanction fees that are paid per table or whether they have increased recently (IIRC BBO was going to pay $500K to the ACBL as some kind of sponsor fee). The major programming costs have already been paid for the different robot tournaments so they basically cost nothing to run (or at least, basically the same cost as the main bridge room games). BBO does need additional servers to run the robots, and they may need to be replaced/repaired in the course of business.
I would have increased fees by something like 5-10% this year, with regular increases in subsequent years. Suppose Costco decided to raise the price of their $1.50 hot dog and drink to $2.25 overnight. Still a good value, but there would be a lot of negative responses from members over the large increase all at once.
#11
Posted 2019-January-06, 00:23
DISCLAIMER. I know nothing about the running of either company but am a regular tournament player I will enjoy the Bridge Master since that was prohibitive. Oh, and I will probably play better bridge if the tournaments are more expensive. Win win
#12
Posted 2019-January-06, 10:31
#13
Posted 2019-January-06, 11:49
shif6, on 2019-January-06, 10:31, said:
Apples
Oranges
#14
Posted 2019-January-06, 12:09
hrothgar, on 2019-January-06, 11:49, said:
Oranges
The notice says the price of instant tournaments will go up. The price of those tournaments went from $1 to $1.25 in the last year which is well within the last 15 years. Are you saying the price of these tournaments are not slated for an increase.
#16
Posted 2019-January-10, 13:55
The_Badger, on 2019-January-05, 18:24, said:
I have to eat but I can choose if I want to pay for bridge on here.
man, you have some low card fees then!!!
one session here is something like $12, something like 22 to 27 boards
if you play 3 daylong MPs on BBO, that's $1.17 for 24 boards
https://www.youtube....hungPlaysBridge
#18
Posted 2019-January-11, 09:26
kuhchung, on 2019-January-10, 13:55, said:
one session here is something like $12, something like 22 to 27 boards
The cheapest club around here is $5 -- it's the MIT/Draper club, and they don't have to pay to use a classroom at MIT, and don't serve refreshments. All the other clubs are about $10.
#19
Posted 2021-November-22, 06:59
#20
Posted 2021-November-23, 09:33