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Changes to the payments section of the game (Updated on July 31)


semyonkirov
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+1 Yet again.

 

Many "buyers" aren't spending money right now because of the high prices and the so-called "Flash to Unity transfer" rumors. The decrease in prices almost encouraged me to change my mind, but now that they decided not to do anything, I'm keeping my word, and many other "buyers" are doing the same. Not a cent more.

This is what I don't understand about their thinking. I had a boss like this once - he owned a second hand computer store.

 

He insisted on a 50% margin on all used items - whenever I sold something for less than a 50% margin I got hella grief for it.

 

His thinking: a customer who walks in to buy a $400 used computer - he must make $200 (or more) on that sale.

My thinking: a customer who walks in to buy a $400 used computer - if I sell it for $350 it's $150 more than the store had before the customer walked in, and, that customer likely will buy more in the future.

His thinking: better to make $0 than offer a discount.

In the span of about 10 years his sales declined from $75,000 per month to less than $15,000. And he was clueless why that happened.

 

If you and I refuse to buy at $99 for 350,000 crystals but are willing to buy a $50 for the same amount then it's $100 in profits Tanki won't get otherwise. At $99 they get nothing, but, at $50 they get $100.

 

The difference between the example I posted about my experience in the computer store is that that used computers did have an investment in purchasing them. Crystals cost nothing.

 

One would think that by selling volume they could make lots of money from selling crystals.

 

But it seems they would rather price them too high and alienate people.

 

Profit is profit and earning a smaller profit is better than earning no profit at all. The very essence of capitalism.

 

I just don't get it.

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This is what I don't understand about their thinking. I had a boss like this once - he owned a second hand computer store.

 

He insisted on a 50% margin on all used items - whenever I sold something for less than a 50% margin I got hella grief for it.

 

His thinking: a customer who walks in to buy a $400 used computer - he must make $200 (or more) on that sale.

My thinking: a customer who walks in to buy a $400 used computer - if I sell it for $350 it's $150 more than the store had before the customer walked in, and, that customer likely will buy more in the future.

His thinking: better to make $0 than offer a discount.

In the span of about 10 years his sales declined from $75,000 per month to less than $15,000. And he was clueless why that happened.

 

If you and I refuse to buy at $99 for 350,000 crystals but are willing to buy a $50 for the same amount then it's $100 in profits Tanki won't get otherwise. At $99 they get nothing, but, at $50 they get $100.

 

The difference between the example I posted about my experience in the computer store is that that used computers did have an investment in purchasing them. Crystals cost nothing.

 

One would think that by selling volume they could make lots of money from selling crystals.

 

But it seems they would rather price them too high and alienate people.

 

Profit is profit and earning a smaller profit is better than earning no profit at all. The very essence of capitalism.

 

I just don't get it.

Exactly.

 

Also, as a side note, if Tanki Online truly is running low on profits (which I doubt is the case), I must say that they're not at all using every tool that they could to improve that.

 

Their marketing plan, if they even have one, is complete rubbish. You don't have to look further than the referral banner to see that. I personally tested their "referral banner" on a technology blog of mine, which gets ~1,900 views a day, and few ever clicked on it. I've tried this with other games, whose referral banners are much more engaging, and have managed to get a much more substantial amount of referrals.

Sales are a quarterly thing at the most nowadays. Even just a small weekly or monthly bonus sale/event would drastically increase player interest. Did you notice that during the x5 battle funds, the server load graph came the closest to the 100,000 mark since early spring? What if Tanki chose a random day every month to do x2 funds or a small discount on one or more items? Many more players would be checking, and most likely playing, the game every day.

 

And I'm not making any suggestions, but if necessary, I wouldn't mind seeing an advertisement or two while I'm loading into a battle. Since hundreds of thousands of battles are loaded on Tanki every day, and each takes about 7-15 seconds, there would definitely be a profit boost for the company. I really don't like ads, but I wouldn't mind them if they caused the crystal prices to decrease.

Edited by general_abrams

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I have been traveler of the world in the past so one of the things I dealt with was exchange rates, etc. - along with being very knowledgeable about world affairs (I actually spent a good deal of time studying the Soviet Union when I was in school - now I feel really old!).

 

I also know that Russia depends heavily on energy exports (especially Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug where much of Russia's production takes place). It's painfully obvious that the decline in oil prices has hurt the Russian economy.

 

Still, if you are having issues with income the last thing you want is the perception of raising prices.

 

I don't think you guys are looking at the big picture. If we don't buy anything then you earn nothing. Getting us to buy something means you end up with more money than you had before. Having such a major difference in crystal packages doesn't make people want to buy.

 

Wouldn't management rather get $50 US for 350,000 crystals than nothing at all?  There is no justification whatsoever for us having to pay double what Russians pay because crystals are an intangible item - you guys are not making them or producing them in a factory. The value is 100% controlled by Tanki. There is no competition; there is no other entity selling crystals for use in Tanki.

 

When the economy is bad it is a buyer's market - it is never a seller's market. Only when the economy is strong can a seller demand higher prices.

 

Upon careful revision, we realized that implementing the measures in question all at once would have affected the game’s economy negatively

 

So the economy of the game, people are not buying a good turret, hull or paint, they are buying an advantage. That’s what all these kind of games come down to, an advantage over the other guy.

 

Now if I spend money, I want an advantage. I did spend money on the game and within a few weeks what I bought was nerfed,  I got a slap on the hand that day and I learnt my lesson.  I still had my shiny turret and hull so I should have been happy but I obviously wasn’t because the advantage I had purchased was now gone.

 

If you spend money on the game, you are purchasing an advantage, now if that advantage is priced too low then everyone or at least a lot more people will pay but then the advantage is lost. So why pay?  It is a little bit like drugs, they are great when the other guy doesn’t have them but if you are both drugging, the advantage is gone but you are still losing drugs, so you are now drugging purely to maintain  equilibrium, not good. So no longer would Tanki be selling an advantage, they would  just be offering you parity and people want an advantage, human nature.

 

Also  If crystals are devalued too much then battle rewards become insignificant and one of the games key motivators is lost.  I was in a battle a while back, the battle fund was huge, it was a 999 ctf battle, hours and hours of play, I got about 40k crystals. Which is about $20 worth, now would I be willing to play for hours and go psycho (lol) when other team starts making a comeback for $10 worth or $5 worth? probably not.

 

Should I be buying crystals at the same value as Russian players? No, I don’t think so. The average monthly wage for en community is about 2k a month, I think Russia is around 500 a month. The exchange rate is an exchange of currency, not earning/purchasing power. It would give en community a real term advantage over Russian community. which I think already exists.

 

So while I like your reasoning I think it is slightly flawed, they didn’t say revenue streams, they said the games economy. But this is only my current opinion based on limited knowledge of events and I can be corrected.

 

Also I think Semyon Kirov does a good job, I have worked in jobs  where you are put on the front line and there to deliver the bad news and take the flak for other peoples decisions, it’s where you earn your money and I think he does it well.

 

 

i'm not sticking up for Tanki, I have given them a piece of my mind before lol but I do like fairness.

Edited by Satans-Rotweiler

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If you spend money on the game, you are purchasing an advantage, now if that advantage is priced too low then everyone or at least a lot more people will pay but then the advantage is lost. So why pay?  It is a little bit like drugs, they are great when the other guy doesn’t have them but if you are both drugging, the advantage is gone but you are still losing drugs, so you are now drugging purely to maintain  equilibrium, not good. So no longer would Tanki be selling an advantage, they would  just be offering you parity and people want an advantage, human nature.

 

Also  If crystals are devalued too much then battle rewards become insignificant and one of the games key motivators is lost.  I was in a battle a while back, the battle fund was huge, it was a 999 ctf battle, hours and hours of play, I got about 40k crystals. Which is about $20 worth, now would I be willing to play for hours and go psycho (lol) when other team starts making a comeback for $10 worth or $5 worth? probably not.

 

Should I be buying crystals at the same value as Russian players? No, I don’t think so. The average monthly wage for en community is about 2k a month, I think Russia is around 500 a month. The exchange rate is an exchange of currency, not earning/purchasing power. It would give en community a real term advantage over Russian community. which I think already exists.

 

So while I like your reasoning I think it is slightly flawed, they didn’t say revenue streams, they said the games economy. But this is only my current opinion based on limited knowledge of events and I can be corrected.

 

Also I think Semyon Kirov does a good job, I have worked in jobs  where you are put on the front line and there to deliver the bad news and take the flak for other peoples decisions, it’s where you earn your money and I think he does it well.

 

 

i'm not sticking up for Tanki, I have given them a piece of my mind before lol but I do like fairness.

Actually all crystal buying does is enable progress to be faster. I still have earned 200,000 on my own in the last two months or so, thus, whether I bought them or earned them makes no real difference. Had I bought them instead the advantage would have been the ability to upgrade a turret or hull faster. As it is now I'm just sitting on my earnings because of the annoyance of how hulls/turrets get nerfed too often.

 

Also I disagree about pricing. In a national economy everyone usually pays the same price for an item. Whether a person is a billionaire or barely earning minimum wage the price of a loaf of bread or a pair of shoes is the same for both people. Manufactured goods sold by international companies tend to sell for the same price everywhere in the world. An iPhone doesn't sell for less in China or India simply because their average earnings are less. In my recent trip to Taiwan the price of computer hardware was exactly the same as it is in the United States despite the huge difference in per capita earnings.

 

So whether a player is Russian or American or Chinese or Sri Lankan I don't really see why the price of a bundle of crystals should be much different. If there's a cost of exchanging currency then that would be fair - but - even then it should really be no more than a 5% surcharge.

 

Whether or not I earn 4x or 10x the amount a Russian might earn becomes irrelevant when the perception is that the pricing is unfair. By using that way of thinking Tanki is not earning what it potentially could.

 

Finally I do not criticize the job Semyon has. One isn't going to win a popularity contest by constantly pushing bad news on players.

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Main post says I can purchase the 358,000 crystals package in 69.99 Euros, but why then this? I have to pay 95+ Euros now?

 

iz0wpd.png

 

 

This is odd, like you said at first page it is writen 358 000 crystals for 69.99 EUR and that is true

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I dont get it....is it 95.64 EUR or 69.99 EUR?

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hm....99.99 USD ---> 91.36 EUR in Banca Intesa conversation chart

 

 

Can we pay in gold bullions / ducat it is much easy that way? :) just joaking

 

Edited by Phoenix.Raised

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well why u guys reduced crystals on sms???

 

we guys are from india and we are small in age

 

we dont have credit and debit cards

 

all is we have only mobile phone so that we can send sms and buy crytals?

 

now according to our currency for 100rupees we use get 3000 crystals

 

and now u guys changed it to 110 and only 300

 

this is bad :(

 

is this update permanent?

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This is odd, like you said at first page it is writen 358 000 crystals for 69.99 EUR and that is true

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I dont get it....is it 95.64 EUR or 69.99 EUR?

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hm....99.99 USD ---> 91.36 EUR in Banca Intesa conversation chart

 

 

Can we pay in gold bullions / ducat it is much easy that way? :) just joaking

 

Not only the 358,000 crystals package got it wrong, but others are also wrong. :(

 

Somebody in TO admin clearly need better glasses.

 

Meanwhile in Russia, they get a better discount and probably no one over there complained.

Edited by Phoenix.Rising
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Not only the 358,000 crystals package got it wrong, but others are also wrong. :(

 

Somebody in TO admin clearly need better glasses.

 

Meanwhile in Russia, they get a better discount and probably no one over there complained.

 

Yes, we know that the Russians get twice more crystals for the same price.

 

But they also complain - why I do not know. Pay attention to this

:

 

 

Let me explain. The Thursday's update made the rates fair, this meant that you could buy the same amount of crystals for the same amount of money, not matter what currency you paid in. However, this decision to make the RUB and EUR/USD rates the same in one update turned out to be too fast, and has put the game's economy at risk.

 

This is why the decision was made to roll back the currency rates to what they were before the update, and make the same changes as originally planned but in a gradual way, step by step.

 

I know it looks stupid and I fully understand the fact that you are not happy at all. However, this is the only way to go — to make crystal/currency rates fair in several minor steps instead of one major one. 

 

I am sorry for any inconvenience caused, and assure you as the lead CM of TO that I will do my best to make sure this does not happen again.

 

I just wonder when it will be. When people already pay crystals because they lose patience (?)

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I have been traveler of the world in the past so one of the things I dealt with was exchange rates, etc. - along with being very knowledgeable about world affairs (I actually spent a good deal of time studying the Soviet Union when I was in school - now I feel really old!).

 

I also know that Russia depends heavily on energy exports (especially Khanty–Mansi Autonomous Okrug where much of Russia's production takes place). It's painfully obvious that the decline in oil prices has hurt the Russian economy.

 

Still, if you are having issues with income the last thing you want is the perception of raising prices.

 

I don't think you guys are looking at the big picture. If we don't buy anything then you earn nothing. Getting us to buy something means you end up with more money than you had before. Having such a major difference in crystal packages doesn't make people want to buy.

 

Wouldn't management rather get $50 US for 350,000 crystals than nothing at all?  There is no justification whatsoever for us having to pay double what Russians pay because crystals are an intangible item - you guys are not making them or producing them in a factory. The value is 100% controlled by Tanki. There is no competition; there is no other entity selling crystals for use in Tanki.

 

When the economy is bad it is a buyer's market - it is never a seller's market. Only when the economy is strong can a seller demand higher prices.

So what your saying is:

"Something of something is something, something of nothing is nothing"

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Yes, we know that the Russians get twice more crystals for the same price.

But they also complain - why I do not know. Pay attention to this

:

 

 

 

I just wonder when it will be. When people already pay crystals because they lose patience (?)

I do hope it will be before September sales at least. People are probably just buying now due to limited time product kits and drugs kits. They should really stick with the orginal plan and deal with it.

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^

So,Semyon, when are the prcies then going to be the same :) ? Before the Septembers sale?

Thank you for an answering!

 

That's not gradual, but I understand the frustration cuz it costs me far more currently than with the full update.

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So what your saying is:

"Something of something is something, something of nothing is nothing"

The very basics of capitalism.

 

I suppose what I'm saying is that most people I know would feel spending $50 on a game is reasonable. $100 is not.

 

There is no logical justification whatsoever why non-Russians should pay double the price for crystals.

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//"The large majority of our players never pay anything to play our games," Zynga told CNET, and that those who do account for only a "small percentage."

One of those players in the small percentage we'll call Katie S. She told CNET her daily FarmVille routine consists of waking up around 10 a.m. and proceeding to play the game until well past midnight, though her sessions can often go longer.

"I've been known to stay up all night until at least 5 or 6 a.m. if a new feature is out, and I'm excited about it," she said.

Since beginning to play the game last August, she's reached an unusually high level 111 in the game--40 levels beyond where the game offers incentives in the form of newly unlocked features. And she's spent about $2,000 on in-game currency expenses--roughly $100 a month.

"I justify this as being my only source of entertainment, and I'm forgoing movies and dinners out, so it's OK," she told us.//
- http://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-farm-games-absorb-real-money-real-lives/

 

And I've heard from others (in person) I know who have spent hundreds of dollars on that game.
I never spent any real money on it and I got sick of it basically never ending and that I'd have to constantly sign in and check to see if my harvest of agriculture or shrubbery was ready, or else it would be all a waste by either of those getting rotten or bad.


There are other online games I've been told that people spend typically over $100 - $ thousands! (I haven't, though if I keep this up for another year then I may get close to half of that...edited that because I now remembered), especially the ones that are free to start and do basic playing!

 

 

CONCLUSION:

- in short, there is a demographic here for Tanki to financially tap into for paying gamers to do better than nonpaying ones

Edited by ChineseTankMan

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I do hope it will be before September sales at least. People are probably just buying now due to limited time product kits and drugs kits. They should really stick with the orginal plan and deal with it.

 

Then lets wait September and we will see.

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//"The large majority of our players never pay anything to play our games," Zynga told CNET, and that those who do account for only a "small percentage."

One of those players in the small percentage we'll call Katie S. She told CNET her daily FarmVille routine consists of waking up around 10 a.m. and proceeding to play the game until well past midnight, though her sessions can often go longer.

"I've been known to stay up all night until at least 5 or 6 a.m. if a new feature is out, and I'm excited about it," she said.

Since beginning to play the game last August, she's reached an unusually high level 111 in the game--40 levels beyond where the game offers incentives in the form of newly unlocked features. And she's spent about $2,000 on in-game currency expenses--roughly $100 a month.

"I justify this as being my only source of entertainment, and I'm forgoing movies and dinners out, so it's OK," she told us.//

- http://www.cnet.com/news/virtual-farm-games-absorb-real-money-real-lives/

 

And I've heard from others (in person) I know who have spent hundreds of dollars on that game.

I never spent any real money on it and I got sick of it basically never ending and that I'd have to constantly sign in and check to see if my harvest of agriculture or shrubbery was ready, or else it would be all a waste by either of those getting rotten or bad.

 

There are other online games I've been told that people spend typically over $100 - $ thousands! (I haven't, though if I keep this up for another year then I may get close to half of that...edited that because I now remembered), especially the ones that are free to start and do basic playing!

 

 

 

CONCLUSION:

 

- in short, there is a demographic here for Tanki to financially tap into for paying gamers to do better than nonpaying ones

Your point is true.

 

There are many mmo games out there which are constantly changing the pricing packages to reflect the exchange rates.

 

But whats wrong with tanki in my point of view is the fact that u buy crystals for purchasing items from in-game shop a.k.a "garage".

 

They say there is a base crys/currency ratio but no consistent pricing in packages.

 

The garage mention "purchasing" of equipments. But the past rebalance and the recent uncertainty bout progress transfer on unity makes it some sort of "lease/rent" a equipment.

We dont have control on what we buy. When u buy something in a real world store, shopkeepers don't force fully change ur product specs saying urs is too OP without asking for permissions, But tanki does. even after paying money, we get no control.

 

Take an example of Amazon. i m from india i can purchase a product from amazon.in at local prices but when i decide it to buy with a seller at amazon.com i will have to pay some addtional charges (exchange rates/delivery charge/other tax). Which doesn't add up to more than 5-8℅, I'm perfectly ok with it. But 50-60℅ is whole another story.

 

The part where u ask for incentives for buyers is just... this is a free-to-play game, its solely ur choice to buy. So stop asking for incentives. I say this while being a buyer myself.

If u didn't noticed take a look at crystal packages they already include free crystals, the reward for buying. :)

 

I was gone spare some bucks before the announcement of price revision but now i will only buy when its clear where all this is going. Unity to be specific.

 

To clarify these are my views only.

Edited by itsJaswinder

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Your point is true.

 

There are many mmo games out there which are constantly changing the pricing packages to reflect the exchange rates.

 

But whats wrong with tanki in my point of view is the fact that u buy crystals for purchasing items from in-game shop a.k.a "garage".

 

They say there is a base crys/currency ratio but no consistent pricing in packages.

 

The garage mention "purchasing" of equipments. But the past rebalance and the recent uncertainty bout progress transfer on unity makes it some sort of "lease/rent" a equipment.

We dont have control on what we buy. When u buy something in a real world store, shopkeepers don't force fully change ur product specs saying urs is too OP without asking for permissions, But tanki does. even after paying money, we get no control.

 

Take an example of Amazon. i m from india i can purchase a product from amazon.in at local prices but when i decide it to buy with a seller at amazon.com i will have to pay some addtional charges (exchange rates/delivery charge/other tax). Which doesn't add up to more than 5-8℅, I'm perfectly ok with it. But 50-60℅ is whole another story.

 

The part where u ask for incentives for buyers is just... this is a free-to-play game, its solely ur choice to buy. So stop asking for incentives. I say this while being a buyer myself.

If u didn't noticed take a look at crystal packages they already include free crystals, the reward for buying. :)

 

I was gone spare some bucks before the announcement of price revision but now i will only buy when its clear where all this is going. Unity to be specific.

 

To clarify these are my views only.

 

I fully understand, although:

 

- Tanki`s developers initially made mistakes  so they later try to rectify them by nerfing the too powerful equipment and hardening the too weak ones...cuz originally they didn`t have it balanced (which was their fault) and so they try to rectify that afterwards

- mind you, most games that I know of, keep the original mistakes and then try to make new versions without those mistakes (that could be what Tanki is doing with Unity)

 

To be fair yet again, Tanki is in a tough situation I am seeing.

1- Either they allow there to be one or more unfair imbalances in the game (not all imbalances are unfair, or else criminals and infants should be allowed to do everything the sane mature innocent person can) but replace the whole game with a new one that doesn`t have those unfair imbalances

2- or they keep the current game and rebalance the game as they bring in new equipment options.

...neither will please everyone and I don`t envy Tanki for having to choose which of those for us.

 

BTW: I did not ask for incentives for either buyers or non buyers. I was quoting someone else. Please reread.

 

Edited by ChineseTankMan

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I fully understand, although:

 

- Tanki`s developers initially made mistakes so they later try to rectify them by nerfing the too powerful equipment and hardening the too weak ones...cuz originally they didn`t have it balanced (which was their fault) and so they try to rectify that afterwards

- mind you, most games that I know of, keep the original mistakes and then try to make new versions without those mistakes (that could be what Tanki is doing with Unity)

 

To be fair yet again, Tanki is in a tough situation I am seeing.

1- Either they allow there to be one or more unfair imbalances in the game (not all imbalances are unfair, or else criminals and infants should be allowed to do everything the sane mature innocent person can) but replace the whole game with a new one that doesn`t have those unfair imbalances

2- or they keep the current game and rebalance the game as they bring in new equipment options.

...neither will please everyone and I don`t envy Tanki for having to choose which of those for us.

 

Okay

 

But we buy just to get advantage over others, it may be a kit, a turret or hull. But since tanki keep on tweaking there's no advantage left.

Even if u want to tweak. Do it for the those who haven't bought it. But respect the existing buyer.

 

Every two-three weeks i have a notification saying "its been 2-3 weeks since we made these changes, use poll or feedback form blah,blah,blah."

 

I don't wanna sound rude but now is the time to switch tanki online from a game to research firm. Thats what u do best, every single day. And u won't face any economical crisis. Becoz as management ur decisions are childish.

Plus the famous help@tankionline.com every single reply we recieve is automated. No matter what u ask u'll get the most relevant answers from keywords in ur email text. Even if it isn't relevant at all.

 

Tanki loves to have control on every thing. If u forgot ur email/pass u'll have to convince them to do something. A personal interview is what i call it. While other websites offer 3-4 more steps including security questions, 2 factor auth, Alt email, new location login alert. Tanki lacks any security. PI is the last step on any website.

But they do have MODS. to bring u to justice. Can block ur acc forever but cannot refund even 1℅ of the money u invested to u via the method u bought it, atleast for SMS/PAYPAL/CREDIT CARDS after blocking.

 

U may think i hate Tanki. But its a fact that if everything stays as is then unity is going to be a failure. Tanki may get a fresh batch of tankers but tanki will surely loose us.

Edited by itsJaswinder
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Thats what u do best, every single day. And u won't face any economical crisis. Becoz as management ur decisions are childish.

Plus the famous help@tankionline.com every single reply we recieve is automated. No matter what u ask u'll get the most relevant answers from keywords in ur email text. Even if it isn't relevant at all.

 

 

In case you didn't realize it yet:

 

- I do not work for Tanki

- nor am I a volunteer for Tanki

...I simply am a fellow tanker but who (apparently) strongly has opposing views to the great majority of forum commenters.

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