Server owners: What do you offer in-game for real life cash?

[Siigari]

I've noticed a lot of people have donation shops that run servers. We just got a server and are working very hard to make it the best that we can! As such we'd enjoy to see some form of cash flow come back to us to pay the server bills. As it stands I think we're averaging just the server bill each month which is something like $110 or something.

At some point donations are always appreciated to keep the staff and server running. A server can have a game running but without healthy and motivated staff it can quickly grind to a halt.

That being said, what are things you would pay for or see people offering for cash? I flitted through a few big server sites. I saw people spending as much as $110 or more in a week. So I mean, I know there are people out there handing out money, but for what?

Thanks a lot!

 

[DZCreeper]

Depends, do you care about the server or making your money back? You could easily sell lategame items and blocks for cash and kids would buy that. Or you could just run a chat message over 60 minutes saying "Help the server out by donating" followed by a donation link.

Dedicated players have no problem donating to good servers when they can afford it but they certainly don't want to play on one that sells the lategame stuff they are working towards.

 

[Redruzerkruzer]

It depends on many things, including what modpack and how you want your community to be run. I know that with my network community we have people spending anywhere from $10 for a simple donation rank with extra homes and building supplies with a mining world, to a couple spending 250$ in a single day for some end-game items and lots of kits, homes, and other stuff. Although the community generates a lot of money from donations, it all gets cycled back into the community, and the players see what we do with it. Feel free to click my website in my sig and check out my shops for some ideas. If you want to have a server for profit, sell endgame items and restrict people so they need to donate for important things (This will make the community "sour", meaning it is pay-to-win). Or do what i do, and everything available in the shop is available for players in-game in some way. Make it so they get some basic perks and items in return for helping the server out, tends to make a nice community.

 

[HaoSs]

i give to my donators groups up to admin,( with a strict set of rules ) and Personal mystcraft worlds ( where the item ban list does not apply ) . Also if you get donations via paypal. make sure to log the conversation with the name and IP of the donator.

 

[Phyrax]

@HaoSs A solid TOC should do well and proof of delivery. Most people freak out when a charge back hits, just have your bases covered and it's usually fine.

Donators can usually be broken down into three categories (personal opinion, not fact):

Pay to Win:
These players are more than willing to shell out cash just for that leading edge over the competition. Be it for self gratification, bragging rights, or just your average troll. Late game items are perfect for these types of players.
Lazy:
Players that aren't willing to work hard, and aren't concerned with 'the edge' or just want to have that one quantum generator for their village because they don't want to make a reactor. Players like this tend to buy small/large items that are hard to make. In the past we've even had players buy superconductor wire from Greg Tech because they just didn't want to make it.
Helpful:
These are the players I like playing with, just personal preference. They're not concerned about getting the edge, and aren't lazy to build something overly complex. They just want to help out the server because the community is what they enjoy. Players like this usually just buy to help out the server, or have the occasional lazy spurt and know they can make the item, but instead want to help out the server.

All in all, it really depends on your server style, like creeper said. If you're in it for money, then I'd say late-game and large/complex items. If you want a long-standing community, don't offer late-game items and force people to work for it. Appeal to the lazy and helpful players.

 

[HaoSs]

I'm not familiar with the " TOC" abbreviation

 

[Phyrax]

Sorry I messed that up thinking of TOS (Terms of Service), I meant Terms and Conditions