I will try to explain my concerns....
edit:
To end, let me quote 7bit:
While I think the answers of Hashbaz and 7bit sort of encompass my own thoughts on the matter I do not think it would be fair to you, Sinis, to leave it at that.
To skip straight to the point: I completely agree with you that this buy is taking away from the strength of GB4. Plain and simple that is spot on. However, I also feel that this buy is only doing a little bit more than what has been done in the past in terms of breaking off. If the past three months are examined we can see that the following buys have been diverted from GB4:
- Shamrock
- VIM
- Starcraft2
- RGB (Aggiejy)
- Portal (Added to GB4 after)
- A new RGB (Hashbaz)
All of the previously listed buys, when looked at in conjunction with the one in which we are having this discussion about now, take away from the overall strength of 7bit's Round Four. The justification for these buys, however, comes from two things: either consciously or sub-consciously from the need for one thing: micro transactions and from the desire for faster results.
The offerings in 7bit's buy are fantastic. However, they are also being done on a scale that nobody has ever imagined trying to match. As an example of how this affects someone we can look at what I was considering from GB4 back in September. Before I had bought the RGB from Aggiejy, the SC2 kit from Ragnorock, and the keys from this current buy, I would have been looking at around $100-200 in sets/kits. However, over the last two months, I was able to break these purchases down into smaller, bite-size transactions that are easier to cope with on the budgeting level.
The piece to this argument is the speed in which keys can come in via smaller buys/transactions. Individual kit buys often have a time-frame of two to three months from the beginning of the interest check to the delivery of the keys. Unfortunately, because of the magnitude of Round Four, the time-frame has not yet been determined based on changing opinions of kits and an unfortunately lacking of interest for some of the main kits. Group Buy patrons, while they would love to get all of their items in one place, also seek a sense of speed in the buying process and because of this will turn to these smaller buys when possible.
The aforementioned reasons, while entirely justifying the slow breakdown of 7bit's buy, as you placed it, give some light as to why I find these types of buys for the community. I hope these thoughts can give some sort of indication of where I stand on the matter.