NC expiration

[Blue]

In the advent calendar thread, it was mentioned (reminded?) that NC expires 1 year after purchase, which also likely applies to the free NC given away a while ago.

Does anyone remember when the NC was given out originally? Like most things Neopets, I tend to horde it all. My SDB is full of stuff and I have 350 NC (150 free, won 150 from the expellibox and another 50 from some other freebie - not the AC this year though )

Anyway, if it's going to expire I'll probably waste spend it on something, but will wait until the last possible day to do it just in case I get some more free NC. However, I don't know when that first epiration day is... Does anyone remember?

Thanks!
-Blue

[Siniri]

To see when you got your points, in the mall on the left hand side (yellow sidebar), if you click on "NC Account," you'll get the choice for "NeoCash log" -- that'll tell you when you got your points. I won some from Expellibox on 11/30/07 (I think within a month or two of Expellibox's release -- haven't won any since). On 4/10/08, I got "free NC" (first giveaway, I think).

Note that as metalmario pointed out (in the AC thread), it doesn't mention which you have already redeemed -- you'll have to do some math to figure that out. For example, I currently have 175 NC on hand. I received 150 from Expellibox, 150 in April, and 50 from the giveaway recently (which isn't in the log!!!), for a grand total of 350 NC. So I've spent:
350 (total received) - 175 (on hand) = 175 NC. In other words, I've spent all 150 I received from Expellibox and 25/150 from the April giveaway.

Hope this helps!

[Blue]

Thanks. Helps a lot! I never really looked at that yellow area. My free 50 NC isn't there either, but I at least know when my first 150 expires. (I haven't bought anything yet).

Thanks!
-Blue

[May]

I've already submitted a question to the editorial about the free NeoCash (the NeoCash that comes from Expellibox and Advent Calendar) and its expiration. To me, it doesn't make sense for that to expire as the person that has it never technically bought it, though with TNT, they never cease to surprise me.

[varii]

They also neomail you before your NC expires, so you won't be totally caught off guard and just be missing it.

[Siouxper]

Yeah, TNT sends a mail about unused Neocash a month or two in advance so you have some time to spend it.

[Mongrel]

It's strange that NC expires. Is there some legal reason for this?

[Siouxper]

I think TNT doesn't want users holding onto it for long periods of time; kind of like gift cards from real life stores?

[May]

What's strange though is that Nexon helped Neopets develop their cash store system. I don't remember Nexon cash expiring at all. The items do in Nexon games, but I don't think the cash ever actually disappears. I still have cash on Maplestory from at least a year ago.

[B55B55]

To see when you got your points, in the mall on the left hand side (yellow sidebar), if you click on "NC Account," you'll get the choice for "NeoCash log" -- that'll tell you when you got your points. I won some from Expellibox on 11/30/07 (I think within a month or two of Expellibox's release -- haven't won any since). On 4/10/08, I got "free NC" (first giveaway, I think).

Thanks for explaining this, I didn't realize that that was a feature.
I suppose i need to start planning a purchase to use up the free neocash I have that will expire in April of next year.

As to why they set up the expiration rate I would assume it's to make sure that they can know all cash purchased by X date would be out of the system a year from that date. That might make it easier for them to change how NC is purchased or something like that. It also lets them limit how much free NC is in the system at once (not considering the Expellibox) so that users who dont' buy cards will never have enough free money to buy certain items. It might also make it easier for them to shut the mall down at some point.

I do think it's a shady business practice though, particularly since the cards are sold in round number denominations so you have to buy 500 NC to purchase a 350 nc item and then you'll have money left over that expires and can only be redeemed in the NC mall.

[varii]

Also, when your neocash expires (if you have not yet spent it) they give you random items worth the amount of your expired neocash. My mom let 500 of her expire on accident and they gave her a bunch of random neohome furniture.

[Pudding]

Also, when your neocash expires (if you have not yet spent it) they give you random items worth the amount of your expired neocash. My mom let 500 of her expire on accident and they gave her a bunch of random neohome furniture.

Good to know; that makes it somewhat less horrible than I thought.

It's actually much better than other sorts of giftcards that way. $8 billion worth of giftcards go unredeemed every year in the US alone, according to the New York Times. Despite the accounting hassles that they create (having money in their coffers that could be either an asset or liability, depending on whether the cards are redeemed), retailers love selling them because they frequently won't have to exchange any merchandise for that money.

Of course, TNT doesn't have to worry about that, because they're selling pixels and could give us 10,000,000 pixels for every unredeemed card and it wouldn't hurt their bottom line at all.