Monthly Collectibles, previously known as Donation Items are special items that are released once a month. These items are generally of higher quality than other items, both in versatility and art quality. They are only obtainable by buying "Thank You Letters" via the Gaia Store for a fee of $2.50(USD) each, or by buying them from other users.
History of the Thank You Letter
Between the months of April and May of 2003, Gaia Online users made a thread in the (then) Question & Feedback forum to ease the cost of Gaia Online. The users were aware the Administration pay for Gaia Online out of their own pockets and after deliberation, a donation system was set up.
This option allowed users to donate for the purpose of simply helping Gaia Online out with such expenses. However, the Administration of Gaia Online secretly created a Thank You Letter and manually put them into the donator's inventories. When these Thank You letters were opened, they revealed the first Donation Item, the Angelic Halo.
In 2006, several changes were made to the donation system. The administrators put up a poll about the best time to open Thank You Letters. As a result, as of May 16, 2006 the letters are now openable at the middle of the month.
Currently, the staff are trying out earlier dates for the MCs to be opened. They will be opened on August Eighth of '08, and depending on the response, the date may or may not change again.
On October 30th, 2006, the items were renamed from "Donation Items" to "Monthly Collectibles," the staff citing concerns that since Gaia is a for-profit organization, it shouldn't give the impression of being a charity.
Ways to Buy Monthly Collectibles
PayPal - Gaia has a cap on PayPal donations; donating more than $200 will result in your trading account being frozen.
Debit/Credit Card - Visa, Master card, American Express, or Discover are accepted.
Money Order/International Money Order in USD denominations.
Touchtone Phone.
Mobile Phone.
Gaia Cash Shop.
Touchtone Phone
This method is available via SurfPin which allows users to donate without having to use PayPal. SurfPin is a company that handles "PayByPhone" payment services. A Gaian can dial the 900 number to receive a code from the phone call, then enter the code in the donation page to complete the process. When users donate via telephone, a $2.99 charge will be on the phone bill under the name "SurfPin." A phone line can only accept one phone donation at this time to avoid abuse, but this limit may be changed in the future.
Monthly Collectible Items
Each month, the items are changed and old Monthly Collectibles will never be rereleased. After an item's month has passed, the only way to get an older Monthly Collectible item is to buy it from another Gaian. The only exception to this is to win an item from the Gaia Wheel at Gaia Online booths at anime conventions, which is quite rare.
More news on monthly collectibles later. Gaiapedia©
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