Unsolicited Advice to SL Merchants

[Monti Messmer]

First i agree to the OP next...

SL just follows RL no surprise. Online shops like Ama...n and whoever taking away the sales from old-style shops next door. I wouldn´t mind, but the backdraw is they do the sales of dozens little shops with just a few workers. (I seen the charts about parcel service and .... how many people needed to support online shops but thats not the same!)

Now we could blame the customers for buying online - save time and often some money, delivered next day to your front door

or

shop-owners closing shops and force ppl to shop online - cannnot afford the rent or live from the income at all

but it´s just the evolution of shopping.

 

Monti

[Josh Susanto]

After working at McD for 5 years, I tend to credit consumers both positively and negatively for almost everything that is decided about what to sell and how to sell it.

I credit business operators for providing whatever options they provide to consumers (more options is almost always better), but after that, it's sort of up to consumers to decide what they want more of and what they want less of, and at what price.

Consumers continue to use both the Marketplace and the in-world shopping options, and I think that's reasonable because each has certain advantages and disadvantages. But if one thing is producing less revenue per operational cost than is the other, the difference is probably best explained in terms of the utility it provides to consumers as a shopping medium. 

Of course, seeing only half the picture on this point would seem to be consistent with the thinking of anyone politically affiliated with an organization that cherry-picks from the US Constitution in order to provide an ad-hoc constitutional "basis" for its immediate agenda.

Case in point: spending 2 years trying to deprive Hawaii of it's 10th Amendment right to certify births in the absence of any relevant federal legislation. 

OT? Fine. Who opened that can of worms?

[Czari Zenovka]

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Josh Susanto wrote:

But our responsibility as merchants is more to consumers than to each other. 

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Not getting into the debate of having or not having an in world store, but this statement is really the bottom line, imo.  Merchants working together, such as trying to troubleshoot this MP fiasco, etc., is wonderful and I am so glad this forum exists for an exchange of ideas that can be beneficial to all of us.  Many fellow merchants are also customers.  As a content creator, I enjoy thinking of things to sell and honing my building skills.  As a merchant, my first priority is my customers.

[Ciaran Laval]

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Amethyst Jetaime wrote:

Saying that merchants are responsible for SL's downfall because they don't have an inworld store that bleeds them is unfair.  The blame goes on LL for the technical and financial issues that make an inworld store not viable. Actually I'm beginning to wonder if the undisclosed long range plan is to move most commerce out world and focusing soley on residential and entertainment in world.  Other VW's are like this and seem to do ok.

 

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The marketplace has many positives, but there is a distinct lack of thinking holistically regarding what it does to inworld ventures, and I'm not just talking about stores themself here, I'm talking of the arts, roleplaying, entertainment ventures that in the past would be partially subsidised by inworld stores.

Tier in Second Life is way too high for entertainment ventures to thrive inworld. Developments such as Pathfinding could very well create potential for more fun inworld activites, but they won't thrive whilst tier is this high.

In the past people complained that we had too many malls, but that's how the money trail worked, that is changing, partially due to the marketplace but by no means the only reason.

The Marketplace is most definitely a sensible choice for merchants, it makes perfect business sense, but for other developments to enrich Second Life, Linden Lab need to look at the tier issue.

[Jacki Silverfall]

Whats the difference between looking at a photo of a item on MP or one on a vendor? Which is where most products are, on a box, a vendor. Seriously.

 

[Peggy Paperdoll]

The atmosphere.....that illusion of being in a store.  The fellow shoppers (or browsers or tourist).  I've met quite a few friends (some good some real jerks) while shopping.  It's not the same as meeting people at a club.....it's so much more spontaneous.  That's mostly gone now.  And it hurts SL a great deal.....who can you chat with on Market Place when you're shopping? 

Cirian had the most sensible answer so far.....though I really don't think tier is the main reason.  Tier hasn't changed in years....it's not like it's an expense that has increased.  SL used to be so unpredictable......you'd meed some the nicest people unexpectedly.  LIke a said, meeting people shopping used to be a joy......if I even see anyone shopping now days, they are dead silent.

[Calamari]

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Jacki Silverfall wrote:

Whats the difference between looking at a photo of a item on MP or one on a vendor? Which is where most products are, on a box, a vendor. Seriously.

 

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Jacki I agree with your point,  but there is a big difference, on the market place its not just one image there can be up to 8 and on the marketplace you can get a full description, send it as a gift, get a demo, see related items, and save it to your favorites list.   This is exactly why I don't maintain a cheap shop inworld on a 512sqm lot, with just simple boxes to sell out of.  Inworld I just don't like the time, expense, and lag of using a more advance vendor system. 

Does shopping in a big box with just flat images on the wall really make SL a better place.  Which is why I all ways build my shops to be an interesting experience even if there was nothing in it to buy, but that takes a lot more space then I can afford with low inworld sales. 

[Pamela Galli]

I agree about buying clothing to a certain extent -- not that I shop for clothing very often -- but I do like to go to a store because I can scan all the pics more easily than I can on the MP. On the MP it is just a page at a time of thumbnails -- if I want to see an enlarged pic I have to open the listing and then click on the pics. Tedious.

I am pretty much forced to keep 4 sims because although a lot of it is on the MP, many ppl want to see it, sit on it, walk around in it, etc. And ppl don't like to flip through vendors, either -- they want it rezzed and ready to look at (except some of the houses). It is a very high overhead business.

[Sassy Romano]

One factor that I haven't seen mentioned is those who visit an inworld store and then buy off MP. I hope the merchants closing their stores have suitably cross correlated their sales on MP against visitors?

 

Sometimes I will buy like this, if its a new merchant to me and I have no experience of any customer service that might be needed then I have the review option.

 

I don't wish to support dormant merchants.

[Jacki Silverfall]

Hi Sassy!

As it was in my case, I had maybe one visit a month to compare to the MP sales.

Didn't take long to do. LOL

 

[Sassy Romano]

Definitely nice and easy yes

[nikita Jefferson]

My inworld store visitors have dropped drastically, i am down to less than 10 a day and thats a good day, lately is been about 4 a day.

I am in search, so looks to me shoppers are using MP more than inworld, of couse if i wanted to spend 490.00 US a week to be top in classifieds (for skins) then i spose i might do better but i can't afford almost  $2000 US a month for advertising and unless one spends a lot then your just way down in classified.

I can understand merchants closing their stores, why pay for land for a shop when you can get a free one on MP.

I won t close mine, i like my shop and it does help pay the island tier, but the island is mainly for my love and i to have our privacy, and race our cars on our sim wide track  and shoot each other down in our jets.So the island has always been more for personal use than just a shop

But it is disappointing to watch visitors dropping so drastically

[Czari Zenovka]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

One factor that I haven't seen mentioned is those who visit an inworld store and then buy off MP.

I hope the merchants closing their stores have suitably cross correlated their sales on MP against visitors?

 

Sometimes I will buy like this, if its a new merchant to me and I have no experience of any customer service that might be needed then I have the review option.

 

I don't wish to support dormant merchants.

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(Emphasis mine.)  I've mentioned this on several threads in this forum, albeit from a merchant point of view.  99% of my sales continue to be from the MP but a good percentage of those sales are customers who also show up as having been in my in world store per my visitor counter, but then purchase from the MP.

[Rya Nitely]

My shop is made up of 3 sims where people can sail boats and explore. I love it and it's also my home. So it serves a dual purpose, which makes it worth having.

Occasionally, I get talked into renting space and a number of prims in malls, but these have never attracted a single sale so I always end up shutting it down.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Rya Nitely wrote:

My shop is made up of 3 sims where people can sail boats and explore. I love it and it's also my home. So it serves a dual purpose, which makes it worth having.

Occasionally, I get talked into renting space and a number of prims in malls, but these have never attracted a single sale so I always end up shutting it down.

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My shop parcel is about to become my home parcel as well due to my sales having taken a dive at the beginning of "The Great SL Marketplace Disaster of 2012."  I can't pay rent for the home parcel where I've lived for the greater part of 5 years plus pay my shop rent; thus will be giving up my beloved home parcel at the end of this month and living on the store parcel.

Owning even one sim sounds like heaven...but considering my RL/SL financial situations atm, even rent on relatively small parcels is too much.  Ok, I really need to start creating more items.

[Sweet Valentine]

closed my shops up just have one small one and that may go soon too....who needs land when u can use premium sandboxes and get a free 512 ....feels great not to have to pay LL 300 US dollars plus fees for worthless land and crappy service anymore..also stuff being grey more than 5 minutes maybe your connection not the store

[Perrie Juran]

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Czari Zenovka wrote:

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Sassy Romano wrote:

One factor that I haven't seen mentioned is those who visit an inworld store and then buy off MP.

I hope the merchants closing their stores have suitably cross correlated their sales on MP against visitors?

 

Sometimes I will buy like this, if its a new merchant to me and I have no experience of any customer service that might be needed then I have the review option.

 

I don't wish to support dormant merchants.

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(Emphasis mine.)  I've mentioned this on several threads in this forum, albeit from a merchant point of view.  99% of my sales continue to be from the MP but a good percentage of those sales are customers who also show up as having been in my in world store per my visitor counter, but then purchase from the MP.

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I am one of those rare creatures, a Male who actually enjoys shopping with my friends.  So i do a lot of my shopping In World.

But I keep getting tempted more and more to make my purchase on the MP so I can leave a review.  Both praise and in a few recent incidents so I could slam dunk the Merchant.

I recently had trouble fitting an item with a resize script to my avatar. I sent the Merchant a screen shot of my problem.  She asked me if my shape was 'transfer.'  I sent her my shape and she sent me the item perfectly sized to fit my Avatar.  I wish I could leave my praise on the MP now but can't.  She has moved to the top of my recommended stores list.

[Czari Zenovka]

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Perrie Juran wrote

I recently had trouble fitting an item with a resize script to my avatar. I sent the Merchant a screen shot of my problem.  She asked me if my shape was 'transfer.'  I sent her my shape and she sent me the item perfectly sized to fit my Avatar.  I wish I could leave my praise on the MP now but can't.  She has moved to the top of my recommended stores list.

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Yes, I really wish there was some way to review in world purchases as well.

[Perrie Juran]

Dear Merchants With In World Stores:

A.  Please make sure it is clear where the entrance to your store is if the landing point is outside of your store. 

B.  If you have doors at the entrance, please make them automated or phantom.  Please don't make me stop walking in order to turn the door knob (click on them).

Thank you in advance for these courtesies.

[Paige Parx]

I use the marketplace as a jumping off point, it's a place to find new merchants I might not otherwise know about which then leads me to their inworld store. I'm a bit put off at times when I find there's zero inworld presence, it tells me they've essentially "checked out." It may not be so but that's the impression. The MP is also fantastic for sellers I'm familiar with and trust. I can buy their items in minutes without having to go see it first, bing-bang... I'm getting on with SLife.

As for marketplace shopping, I find it a godsend. I've got the patience of a crackhead when it comes to finding stuff in world; rez waits, bad landmarks, wierd layouts, scripty-blinky-buzzy stuff.. guh!!! So on the flip, it's also just as irritating to find people who have no MP presence (which I found lately is alot.)

Personally I have an inworld store and am on the marketplace and I would say the split is about 50-50 but as for commenter who remarked that the MP is ruining SL?... not for me. I've enjoyed and seen more of the world than I ever have in the last 4 years because I'm not spending an eternity sifting.

[Whitney Deka]

I really appreciate hearing your thoughts and complaints. I currently only have a MP store. My brief experiment with an in-world store only brought me a couple of sales, and was time consuming to set up; it didn't seem worth it to keep around. However, if there are a lot of shoppers who look for items on the MP and then go in-world to get a better look, that means that the lack of in-world store could also be negatively impacting my MP store sales! Food for thought, so thank you! :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2:

[Czari Zenovka]

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Rufferta wrote:

 

Is your space set up so that your customer can move around and maintain a calm sense of body ownership? Some examples: store fixtures oversized so that customers feel like Alice in Wonderland unless that was your intention); merchandise packed together so tightly that an avatar can't 'walk around' (One store was not only cluttered, but had merchandise stacked in front of the doors. While I was outside using my camera to see things, a number of customers dropped in and hovered just below the ceiling - guess they'd been there beore).

Another store had gaping holes in the floor and falling beams - help!

 

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(Emphasis mine)  I've been going around to more stores lately to see how other merchants set up particular types of merchandise, price ranges for merchants who sell products comparable to mine, etc.  I was in one very nice store today - excellent products, very well laid out store but...

The store was 500m in the air, which wasn't the issue.  Personally I like homes/stores up high - I find less lag than at ground level.  Of course that's dependent on sim, personal PC specs, etc.  Anyway...this store had an interesting hot tub.  I'm not particularly a SL hot tub fan - I think I saw way too many poorly made free ones when I first began SL...lol...so if one "beckons" to me, it has to be something special.  I make myself comfy in the hot tub (pillows were provided as well as a "TV" to watch).  Was thinking how clever the build was, then stood up to leave and promptly fell through the tub and through the floor of the shop!!!  To do that, both the hot tub bottom and floor would have to be phantom I would think.  Fortunately I quickly went into fly mode, flew back up, cammed into a chair in the store and sat to return and continue looking.

Beware of beckoning hot tubs. *Nods*

[Deja Letov]

I don't know how I missed this thread, it's been going for awhile I see but just a couple of things...

To the OP... I like all of your points and most of them are probably true and should be followed however, there are mainly only 3 issues I think I would issue with as far as being able to accomodate.

1. low lag locations are not predictably found. What may be low lag today, may not be the case tomorrow. By asking merchants to build in a low lag location is basically asking them to move on a daily basis. A lot of it is also your computer or internet connection. I can tell you...on my system, I can go into pretty much any sim and be rezzed within about 5-10 seconds and start moving around. I see other people walking through the floor or walking in place, and I chalk it up to slow systems. In fact in my current location, which is mainland, I've never even one day experienced lag in my sim...but I have a few customers who complain about it. All I'm saying is I don't think there is actually an answer to finding a low lag location.

2. Be sure we can found under search? I hope youre joking with this. We have no control over this. Well, not always. We can do our best, list our words in our about land, but the search has been broken for years! This is actually one of the MAIN reasons why Marketplace sales are so high right now, I believe. It's much easier to find a product in the Marketplace by using nothing more than a keyword than it is to find it in world using search.

3. Price on vendor boards isn't going to happen for most merchants. Merchants adjust pricing all the time, we have sales, mark things down, go to clearance. etc. Why on earth would we take the time to make new posters every time we do this and pay 10L fee to upload the new poster. I sell furniture so most of my sales are done right off the floor from the objects but I do still  have a lot of vendor boards and I can tell you, you will see a pic of the item, the name and permissions. That's it. Anything else you can grab by looking at the actual item.

And as for all the rest of all these posts about in world versus marketplace sales. I love you all. LOL  Seriously, opinions all over the place and all of you are right. The thing is we all have to do what is right for each of us. And you can't tell someone else they are wrong for making a choice of only having a MP store instead of in world. just the same as you can't condemn someone for not buying from a merchant who only has a MP store.

My sales right now average around 50/50 for MP versus in world. Some times I will have great in world  sales and it could be more like 70/30. It really depends on what I do for marketing that month. However...I'm sorry to say this, but if you closed down your store because you couldn't get more than 2-5 people per week into your store, flame me if you want, but that's your own fault. There are so many shoppers groups, marketing methods, your own subscriber groups, sales programs, etc that I could fart loudly and 10 people would come running into my store. People aren't coming to your store because you are not doing a good job marketing your store, bottom line (that or your product isn't up to par). Just to give an example just ONE single shopper group I am in brought in over 100 sales of 60L each this past weekend. Combined total of that is around 80 people all coming to choose from 3 products I marketed to the group, so some bought multiples, but you can't tell me there is no way you can't get more than 2-5 people in your shop if you actually tried. And I don't mean this to say you shouldn't close your store, I'm just saying, don't blame it on SL or the economy or the Marketplace. It's nobody's fault but the person who needs to get them in the door...that would be you.

As far as buying on the Marketplace...I don't condemn anyone for only having a Mp store. You gotta do what you gotta do, but if I see two of the exact same product and one has a store and one doesn't. I'm going to take my TP and go to the store over the one that doesn't have one. Why? Because I believe to keep things going in SL you have to support the people who make that possible. And that is NOT LL. It is the merchant. Buy buying from the merchant directly I save them the commission fee, I also make their inworld sales go up and their MP sales go down, I get to meet others, and usually I spend more because I get in their store and if they are good, I will buy more! Will I refuse to buy from someone who is MP only? Not necessarily, but ya sometimes it just works out that way. A lot of times if someone doesn't have a store, I think they may have left SL or rarely sign on, which makes me wonder what happens if I have a problem with their product. I can't help it but it's just the way my mind works. Having a store will many times equal better and more responseive customer support, more opportunties to view their other products, saves them the commission fee and of course, breathes some life into in world.

So there is my 2 cents...but let me restate...you HAVE to do what you HAVE to do. And nobody can tell you that you are wrong for doing what you felt was right, as a merchant or as a consumer.