Skill Bundles: Why Do Bigger Packs Offer No Better Value? An Economic Suggestion

I went to the EVE Store today ready to buy one of the larger Skill Training Boost Bundles. I am a believer in paying for good value, and my grandfather used to tell me “they are cheaper by the quart.” Bulk pricing is one of the oldest principles in economics because it rewards larger commitments with proportionally better returns.

After looking closely at the bundles, I noticed something surprising. Every package from the smallest to the largest provides the exact same number of skill points per dollar. There is no scaling benefit, no bulk incentive, and no reason to choose a larger bundle except convenience.

Here is the breakdown:

Bundle Price Total SP SP per 1 USD
Undock Boost (1x) 16 USD 648,000 40,500
Afterburn Boost (3x) 48 USD 1,944,000 40,500
Warp Boost (6x) 96 USD 3,888,000 40,500
Jump Boost (12x) 192 USD 7,776,000 40,500

As someone who made straight A’s in economics, this stood out immediately. When all tiers offer identical marginal value, the largest package is not a true value tier. A rational buyer simply purchases the minimum needed or bypasses the bundles entirely in favor of other methods.

That is exactly what I did. Instead of purchasing the large package, I used PLEX in the NES to pick up the skills I needed because there was no incentive to buy the bigger bundle.

I do not think this is intentional. Many online games use bulk pricing successfully because it encourages stronger investment and makes buyers feel rewarded. Even a small efficiency bump for the larger bundles something as small as three to five percent would create a clear price signal and make higher tiers feel like the correct economic choice.

At the moment, all tiers are mathematically identical. The math says “buy small” when good pricing design would encourage “buy big.”

I am posting this respectfully and in good faith. I would love to see bulk incentives added so that larger bundles genuinely feel like larger value.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. I will attach a screenshot showing the uniform pricing for reference.

2 Likes

You’ve missed one very important part: you can buy each bundle once.

Then again, if you are paying RL money for skill points, you are playing this game wrong. Just my 2 cents.

You’re right that the bundles are limited to one each, but that doesn’t really change the math problem I was pointing out.

As for the “you’re playing the game wrong” bit… look, everyone plays this sandbox differently. I’ll keep it polite since the ISD has a fast draw, but let’s just say opinions follow the same universal rule: everybody’s got one.

I’ll spend my money how I want, you’ll spend yours how you want, and New Eden keeps spinning.

Here’s the reasoning behind the pricing decisions: https://www.eveonline.com/news/view/mastering-new-value-packs