I understand that Sam and the staff have been trying to help regulate the HP economy. However, I am currently very frustrated with how things are going.

Lets start with how the economy was not too long ago.

1. Horse tickets were selling for around 500k. 
2. Dog tickets were selling for around 350k.
3. Horse show spots were selling for 1 mill.
4. Dog show spots were selling for 500k.
5. 6 mo. upgrades were selling for around 350 mill
6. 1 mo. uprades were selling for about 90 mill

So, lets go back and see the approximate cash flow that comes with an upgrade. For the sake of this example, we will focus on only owning 1 account.

1. Horse tickets = 500k x 50 tickets = 25 mill
2. Dog tickets = 350k x 50 tickets = 17.5 mill
3. Horse shows = 1 mill x 10 spots x 4 weeks = 40 mill
4. Dog shows = 500k x 10 spots x 4 weeks = 20 mill
TOTAL : 102.5 mill (1 month) **leaving the player with 12.5 million dollars after 1 month of having an upgrade**
TOTAL : 615 mill (6 months) **leaving the player with 265 million dollars after 6 months of having an upgrade**

Now, prices have changed a LOT, but lets see if it acutally adds up.

1. Horse tickets are selling for about 300k.
2. Dog tickets are selling for about 200k.
3. Horse show spots are selling for about 800k each.
4. Dog show spots are sellin for about 400k each.
5. 6 mo. uprades are selling for about 350 mill.
6. 1 mo. upgrades are selling for 100 mill.

Now, here is the same cashflow format, but with current prices.

1. Horse tickets = 300k x 50 tickets = 15 mill
2. Dog tickets = 200k x 50 tickets = 10 mill
3. Horse shows = 800k x 10 spots x 4 weeks = 32 mill
4. Dog shows = 400k x 10 spots x 4 weeks = 16 mill
TOTAL : 73 mill (1 month) **leaving the player with NEGATIVE 27 million dollars after 1 month of having an upgrade**
TOTAL : 438 mil (6 months) **leaving the player with 88 million after 6 months of having an upgrade**

Please also keep in mind that even though the prices have dropped, not all the show spots are selling. Currently, I consider myself lucky if i sell more than 3 spots in a week. And according to both formulas above, I calcualated selling 20 shows per week per uprade. So in all honesty, I'm making even less than what is stated above. For this reason alone, I am considering whether or not to stay on HP. I love every single aspect of this game, excpet for the fact that my RLD are going into a game, that is no where near as rewarding as it was.

I'm apologiing in advance if I come off as short or don't make sense. I'm battling a cold, so I'm just trying to get to my point and not ramble at all so I can go back and lay down, haha.

I'm really sorry that you feel that way, and I really don't want you to quit the game, but we're doing the best that we can to help with the economy. It doesn't fix itself overnight unless we were to pull a stunt like another popular game we won't mention and knock zeros off of everyone's bank account which we are NOT going to do. In the meantime, we are trying, and the economy will take some time to adjust as prices drop (which a lot of upgrade auction pirces have).

The auction prices are controlled by players, not by HP. HP offers the auction system as a courtesy to players who cannot afford to pay real money for an upgrade, and so that the people who can can afford to make a little extra money, but it was never meant to be the "main" way to get an upgrade. We still offer the option to pay USD for an upgrade, which with your system here, would net you quite a bit of HPD.

Besides that, upgrades aren't just about making money on your account, they also offer other perks, which I thought was the main draw for upgrading.

I'm really sorry if you don't feel upgrades are worth the HPD to buy them through auctions, but all I can say is that you can always buy them directly, and I hope you stay around, and that all of the other things HP has to offer will be enough to keep you here.

I don't know.  This is a tough one, because upgrades cost RLD.  We can't really fault the sellers for expecting the same amount of HPD for upgrades when they are spending real money, even though the economy has changed so that HPD has less value in the game.  It is almost like comparing apples to oranges, because we are dealing with "fake" money and "real" money.

I think when buying an upgrade, we should be buying it for the perks (enter all, higher points on animals, etc.) as well as for the potential for more income.  Compared to a regular account, an upgrade is still well-worth the money spent if you snag a 6-month upgrade.  Regardless, you've also had the perks of that upgrade for that time.  I know many SIM games where an upgrade account does not generate any real extra income, it is solely for the ability to board your own animals and train them better/easier/faster.

In your equations, you forgot to add in the extra $250k/week upgrades get from the bank ($1mil/month) and the money saved on boarding their animals, plus potential income from boarding other's animals.  Some upgrades also offer enter-all training in their breed specialty.  Not to mention having that enter all button saves real-life time when entering shows.  And animals of the breed specialty gain more points when they play top 10 in a show, making for better/more valuable lines.

In short, upgrades are about more than extra cash flow.  They have more features than basic accounts, and it is up to each player to decide if those benefits are worth the cost.  It would be ideal if you could make money off an upgrade, but it may not always work out that way. 

Hope that makes sense!

*sneaks in* Upgrades get $400k from the bank. *sneaks back out*

*following*

Sure making money is a little harder than it was when people were buying millions of tickets and show spots, but things will change again at some point. The first step to combating inflation was getting as much HPD as possible out of circulation, and the rest would fall into place. As more money poofs from the game, it's only natural that people start to become less inclined to spend the money they have. I picked an unfortunate time to ticket a dog, because selling upgrades is my main source of income, and at the moment there aren't as many bites as i'd like. But that's okay, I can wait until people are ready to spend again. Changing the economy is a pretty big task and it's not going to happen overnight, and in my opinion, it's all working as expected.

I also agree with what's been said, I think an upgrade should be purchased for the perks that come with it, not JUST the monthly income hike.

Meh, there's always going to be something about the economy that someone isn't happy with, but it would be unfortunate to see people quit over it. I like to think most of us take the good with the bad.

Veri, Kimberly is talking about the EXTRA 250k you get.  Basics get 150k and upgrades get 400k, the difference is 250k ☺.

I agree 100% with what Kimberly and Sam have both posted.  When there are changes in the economy it takes time for eveything to settle.  It's just been in this last week or 2 that I have been seeing big changes.  Upgrade auctions have come down severely.  I just purchased 5 upgrades (6 month) the other day for 250 million.  That's 100 million LESS then what they used to be.

I don't want you to be hasty and throw in the towel after all the years you have played this game!  Just wait it out as everything sorts itself out.  It always does in the end! ☺

*sneaks back in* I knew that, Tron. I was testing your math skills (and now feels like an idiot) *sneaks back out again with duckie at her heels*

I think what awd is coming from is not everyone has the RLD to buy upgrades. A good example is me actually lol. Seeing as I am moving to italy with my lab and cat after Sierra's heartworm treatment (my poor girl ):), paying for their spots on flights, new kennels, the health screening in germany and vehicle tranport we are spending close to $2000 USD! And when 1 months run at 100 mill a piece it isn't worth buying with HPD but I also cannot afford it in RL which is why instead of a sitter for all my accounts I had to find people to train my breeds on their own accounts and when I come back I have to deal with the delema of getting new upgrades somehow.

I have 25 upgraded accts. that I buy for 6 months with real cash whenever they expire, I do it for the perks of being an upgrade, shows, enter all, hpd, etc, I used to sell upgrades for extra hpd but at the moment I cant but that doesnt make me want to quit the game, I really dont think this will last very long, when I started few yrs ago prices went up then down, then back up so Im sure they will again, everyone please just hang in there,

hope this makes sense not feeling to well this morning,

thx for reading

I am sure there are many players who cannot afford upgrades with RLD.  Sam can't give those away.  In any game there will be basics and upgrades; if you can't afford an upgrade, you're stuck as a basic.  At least we do have the ability to play the game for free as a basic, and the ability to use in-game currency to buy upgrades through the auctions, which not every game offers.  Not having an upgrade might make certain aspects of gameplay more difficult, but you can still play.

So far, prices on most things have dropped. Upgrades are the most valuable thing on the game, since you're essentially exchanging your fake HPD for real USD (if buying through the auctions), and therefore, they will be the last thing to drop in price. Soon enough, people won't have enough money to spend 350 mil on upgrades, after which sellers will have to drop their price. This doesn't mean that they are getting LESS for their money.. it just means the value of 1 HPD is increasing, since it's harder to come by than before.

Also, considering upgrades were costing up to 400 mil at one point, 350 isn't bad.. and the recent upgrades I personally have bought have cost between 300 and 325 mil. Prices on EVERYTHING are dropping. It just takes time. And things that are the most valuable will be the slowest to drop in price.

I will most definetly be sticking around. I was just very frustrated last night while typing this. 
I know things will eventually even out, but in the mean time I am beating my head against the wall.
Thank you all for the input :]

There are also other ways of earning HPD on here, like graphics and training!

/fails otherwise at people helpful seeing as math/economics are like greek to her...