TOPIC: Dissatisfied!

I paid $125 for a mystery box saber + $5 for the blade + $5 for a blade color + $5 for a 32" blade + $5 +$10 for a battery charger. Total dollar value down $150. and just received a Sentinel shoto saber valued at $60.00 What in the name of all that is Just & Right is up with that??? I do believe I read at the time of purchase (changed now...) that we were guaranteed to get a saber valued more than we paid for it. Am I the only person that read this? I feel so cheated!

Unless it was just an empty hilt, the real cost, if you bought a Sentinal Shoto with an LED, would be $160. If it has sound, then the value goes up to $210 $310. So, near as I can see, you are already $10 to the positive side, and if it does indeed have sound, then you are $60 $160 to the positive side. All of that is before tax, and shipping of course.

**Edit** to correct for incorrect for misquoted prices on the original.

Brax wrote:
Hey Brax not to be the Math Police but a Shoto with sound is $60+$250=$310 (unless you can get me them for $210 then you'd be my hero)

Yeah, you're looking at a $160 saber at least.

They cant all be big winners, and we can't all be big whiners.

Blue Wielder wrote:
Ha! Would that I could! No, this was just me being in a hurry and adding wrong in my head. Original post edited to correct senior moment.

Brax wrote:
Always wondered (I'm a noob so "always" is a short time for me) if the mods (cuz you guys do so much for the community) get sweet deals from SF. Such as seeding units, first looks, FAT FAT discounts, birthday gifts, and sick swag. If it were me I'd totally do it for you guys. We do it all the time at work for influential people in the community.

A Warrior tier Sentinel Shoto with a 32" blade would be $170, because that blade length is $10 extra in the Shotos. So, you paid $20 less than you would if you had bought the saber on the Shoto order page.

Also, you can't really blame SF for the extras you chose. Someone else may have paid only $125 for that same Mystery Box with random everything and gotten that same saber.

jusKar1 wrote:
Some of this isn't adding up. You have the blade listed 3 times. Did you order LED color for blade color, a blade plug and a 32" blade? You're price listing for the battery/charger isn't adding up either. Take a moment, breathe, and double check what you wrote. The whole purpose of the Mystery Box is randomness. Basically, they'll send you whatever they have laying around. If you start specifying things, that's labor time to change it, so the price goes up. By being so specific, you kind of negated the savings of randomness. My first Mystery saber was a Warrior Oracle. The only extra I spent was $5 for the covertech wheel. $130 before shipping. I'm waiting on my second Warrior box. Additional selections were $15 for a shoto blade, (i want to check one out as I already have short sabers) covertech, and random blade plug. Total before shipping $140. Still coming out ahead.

This is why I've never liked that SF shows the price of the empty hilt on the main listing. It tends to confuse people more often that not.

As the others have stated, you did not receive a $60. You received at least a $170 saber.

After looking into it further it was me misunderstanding what was included in the mystery box vs what a $60. shoto saber comes equipped with... (nothing but the saber) A major overlook on my part. Although it would be nice to not have the blades pictured with the hilt/base.

I bought a warrior mystery box, I'm happy with my purchase, but I do agree that it's not the most amazing value proposition vs. just buying the saber you want.

One issue is that things that come standard with sabers are extra. With a warrior saber you get a blade plug, covertech knob, and battery, which is $20 extra with the box. In my opinion, the battery is not optional since most people don't have a stack of 18650 Li-ions sitting around. I would put the realistic cost of a mystery box at $145 to be comparable.

The real kicker is when you consider that the mystery box is not eligible for discount codes. If you buy a shoto+$10 blade upgrade with 15% off code, you're looking at (160+10)*0.85=144.50. To be fair, it looks like mystery box extras do get the 15% discount, so I'll put mystery box with equivalent extras at 142. Similar math on an apprentice saber with discount is 148.75.

These numbers are all close enough together for me to say that during a sale, you get about what you would have paid, but not necessarily more. You get a chance to get a higher tier saber, which adds potential value The randomness can be a lot of fun, and you arguably pay for that. Lottery tickets cost money, even if you don't win. Some people like playing the lottery, some people don't. The odds of getting a better saber is obviously higher than the lottery.

My recommendation to SF would be either to include the extras that normally come with regular sabers for free (batteries!) and only charge more for not randomized options. Alternatively, let discount codes apply to mystery boxes.

I got a hilt that I really like and would probably not have bought on my own, so I consider that good luck on my end. I can understand how someone could be disappointed.

jusKar1 wrote:
First, if I forgot to welcome you when you first arrived, my apologies. Welcome!

Believe me when I say that, nobody here was being malicious when articulating points you originally might have overlooked when you made your original post; and it was big of you to come back and let us know that you had reconsidered your original assertion of disappointment.

Let me be the first to extend an invitation to socialize with us, and hopefully in that process, perhaps to learn a bit more about how Saber Forge does things. Between the written information available in the FAQ, and the vast array of knowledge possessed by the members around here; all you need to do is ask if you have a question about anything. Our sincere hope in doing so, would be make help make the most informed purchases in the future, and a new friend along the way.

That is kind of why a place like this exists.

Xylite wrote:

I believe the only thing that they really "promised", was that you would get more value than what you straight up paid for. They tried to make it clear that some would get a LOT more than what they paid, and some would get just a little more value than what they paid. But, everyone got more value. I believe they lived up to their promise.

I grant you that the ones that ended up with Warrior shoto sabers, especially models they did not find appealing, might have been better off just buying what they really wanted straight-up. However, as you pointed out, they all rolled the dice in the hopes of being one of those that scored big! There were definitely folks who did! I saw Hero tier sabers being shown by Mystery Box participants. Obviously, they were overjoyed. Those who ended up with something just nominally more valuable had to decide if it was a "keeper" or something they might want to sell to raise funds for something they really wanted.

In the end, all in all, I believe it has been a good promotion, and something I hope they do again.

I'll offer my apology if my somewhat abrupt post offended you and I'll echo a welcome.