Get Penumbra Collection for close to nothing!

[jens]

Hey,

We are working on a new payment system and to test it out we would be grateful if some forum users could help us a little bit by making purchases.

The new store is here http://mobile.frictionalgames.com. It is not a store for mobile phones, rather it is a store where you use your mobile phone to buy stuff that are then charged on your monthly bill or prepaid amount. So you do not need a credit card or paypal or anything like that to purchase our games!

For this testing session we are setting the lowest available price possible, the way the mobile phone market works we can not decide exactly what amount to charge. Different countries and different operators offer different prices one can sell for. But in general it should be around 0.5-1 USD/EUR it will cost you and for this you get a full version of Penumbra Collection.

We are mainly interested in getting feedback on technical difficulties or problems you have completing a purchase, but any feedback is of course welcome!

[Tzajof]

I just initiated a purchase and am waiting on the text message to my phone. I'm not sure if this is a problem with their service or if it's just my provider being unreliable as it sometimes is, but hopefully it'll come through soon.

One disappointing thing is that the Australian price is $2.55, despite the current exchange rates being almost dollar-for-dollar. Maybe there are other reasons for this but it'd be nice if they could be a bit more current with their price matchings. Of course I don't mind paying an extra $2 but that could possibly be worse on pricier packages.

Overall sounds like a cool idea though! I just hope I'm not inadvertently selling my soul to these Zong people.

[jens]

Keep us updated on how it goes, when I tested i got my text message within 10 seconds, but when Thomas tested it took 2 minutes. Not sure if it is due to provider or Zong yet.

The prices are a fun story:
Different countries and providers have different laws and "price points". So it is not a currency issue, it is that there is no price lower offered to sell for by the provider, so we have to take what they offer and sell at that price. This aspect of the mobile phone industry is really something that feels dated, but hopefully as this way of purchasing items gets popular the situation improves!

[aykito]

I have tried to purchase it from Germany.
Zong does not allow international numbers (field is limited to less numbers), so I have entered the German number without prefix.
I'm still waiting for the sms since 10 minutes ago, I will keep you informed.

[Bro]

Just bought the game by hearing about it off /v/. Definitely a great buy, It is downloading now and it was easily bought and configured. Thanks Jens for the heads up on this great offer.

Can't wait to play!

[aykito]

SMS received and everything was ok. I've got the link and the receipt, and I'm downloading it now. Nice to have the game for 0.49€ :-)

[jens]

(10-26-2010 12:19 PM)aykito Wrote:  I have tried to purchase it from Germany.
Zong does not allow international numbers (field is limited to less numbers), so I have entered the German number without prefix.
I'm still waiting for the sms since 10 minutes ago, I will keep you informed.

Did you make sure that the store had Germany selected before you made the purchase? So the Zong window had a german flag icon and text in german when typing in the phone number? It is correct that you do not type the international part, as it should already know that you are from Germany based on your IP.

I'll see if it can be made more clear to be sure to check so that the correct country is selected (as it can fail to lookup the IP correctly).

What service provider do you have? Are you the same user as on Facebook that is also from Germany and is not receiving the sms?

--edit
ah sorry did not see the second message about receiving the sms! still interested in know the service provider though to see if there is a problem with a specific provider or more a general "lag issue"

[aykito]

(10-26-2010 12:44 PM)jens Wrote:  

(10-26-2010 12:19 PM)aykito Wrote:  I have tried to purchase it from Germany.
Zong does not allow international numbers (field is limited to less numbers), so I have entered the German number without prefix.
I'm still waiting for the sms since 10 minutes ago, I will keep you informed.

Did you make sure that the store had Germany selected before you made the purchase? So the Zong window had a german flag icon and text in german when typing in the phone number? It is correct that you do not type the international part, as it should already know that you are from Germany based on your IP.

I'll see if it can be made more clear to be sure to check so that the correct country is selected (as it can fail to lookup the IP correctly).

What service provider do you have? Are you the same user as on Facebook that is also from Germany and is not receiving the sms?

--edit
ah sorry did not see the second message about receiving the sms! still interested in know the service provider though to see if there is a problem with a specific provider or more a general "lag issue"

My provider is O2, the SMS arrived a couple of minutes after writing the first entry, I would say between 10 and 15 minutes.
The shop had selected Germany by default, and the Zong window was written in German (that's why I assumed the telephone number should be without international prefix), so everything was ok.

--edit
The code received via SMS was a 6 number code, instead of 4 numbers (as described in the window), that was the only little issue. I entered the 6 numbers and I went forwarded to the download link.

[Tzajof]

Well, I think I've got it all sorted now.

I didn't receive the SMS, but I saw the little note at the top of the window giving me the code I can send to their number in order to confirm the purchase. Figuring the message wasn't gonna come, I went ahead and sent it anyway, and I got the purchase confirmation message.

At this point though the online service didn't change at all. I tried texting for their HELP service but got no reply, so instead I clicked on "Register a Failed Purchase". This seems aimed specfically at cases where the purchase has been confirmed but the rest of the order isn't completed, so I entered my number, it found the order, and I gave it my e-mail and now it's all good to go.

So admittedly, the system seems a little temperemental at least in my case, though it might not be Zong's fault for all I know. I already own Penumbra on Steam anyway, but I thought I'd give this a try anyway to help out and even contribute just that little bit of more money to you guys.

[jens]

aykito: "The code received via SMS was a 6 number code, instead of 4 numbers (as described in the window), that was the only little issue. I entered the 6 numbers and I went forwarded to the download link." Do you know what window this was in? Was it in the little window that is from Zong, or was this in a help message in our store? Our store is the whole site and Zong is the window that appears and you enter the phone number into and then go through some steps until it closes and returns you to our store.

Tzajof: Glad to hear our backup solution worked nicely for you It seems Zong is in the middle of upgrading their system, so could be because of that there are some delay and failed process at the moment.