Diamonds aren't all they're cracked up to be.

The somewhat-elusive Royalty club, the Dollmails about upcoming Stardoll events/activities weeks to a month before the official release date, the accessibility of certain features on Stardoll, etc. All these are the benefits of being a Royalty member. Sure, the little diamond border on your dollie's icon sure looks all nice and sparkly, but does it mean anything anymore? Did it ever?

 

Such are the questions of the users of Stardoll that think Royalty is overrated, and in my opinion, they're pretty damn right. You can practically buy a Royalty membership now, being that the requirement is to be a member of Stardoll for at least a year. It is possible to purchase a 12-month membership, and there you go: instant Royalty status. Convenient.

 

Lots of Royalty members themselves think it is overrated, due the comments I've seen all over the blogosphere as well as Stardoll forums in general. Personally, I think it's ridiculous--the "so-called benefits" that are received through becoming an elusive Royalty member aren't too shabby, although I've been on Stardoll without them for about four years now. I think I'm OK.

 

More often than not, I've been noticing members of Stardoll that have practically no in-game experience as members in general, and to be quite honest with you, I don't think they deserve the Royalty status (not that it really meant anything anyway, due to this fact.)

 

If Royalty were to work the way many other users see it, it would be based solely on dedication. Members from last year really don't deserve the benefits they're receiving from paying $59.40 for a 12-month Royalty status, which gets stripped from you the second your money runs out and you can no longer afford to pay for a membership. I think it's petty and obnoxious, just because they want your money. But they have every right; Stardoll does need to make money, just the same as we need to eat. So as much as my opinion is my own, so they should be able to bribe us with a not-so-special virtual diamond in order to rake in about a $60 profit from each and every Royalty member, which according to the amount of users in the club as of right now, is estimated at about $3,731,580 for all the current members for one year of payment. (If those statistics are wrong, please feel free to correct me. I'm not very good at mathematics.)

 

So in order to wrap this up, (mainly because I'm hungry and I should probably finish my schoolwork that's been piling up on my table next to me) Stardoll's Royalty membership status is overrated and a waste of money. If you're going to pay that much, then go ahead, and I have no qualms about it, but what I can't stand is the fact that Stardoll practically lords it over all their non-Royalty members that the Royalties are an "elite squad" according to their club presentation. So elite that pretty much anyone with $60 to spare can get in. Joy.