Is a Premium Membership worth having?

[Sangre Hexem]

I was curious about getting a premium membership because of all the "perks."  Can those of you who have Premium tell me what your likes and dislikes are?  I also thought maybe it would be a good way to meet some new friends, going to the Premium only areas.  Thoughts? 

[Czari Zenovka]

During my 5+ years in SL I have been both Premium and Basic. 

What I enjoyed about Premium:

*Having the tier-free 512 sqm land to call home. 

*The weekly stipend - I *think* it is still 300L/week.

Why I am no longer Premium:

*I am renting a mainland parcel where I live and my small shop is located.  It is a prime location (corner parcel bordered on two sides by protected Linden ocean).  I have known this landlord from my beginning days in SL and have rented from him approximately 3+ years so I know the land will not *poof*.  I am paying less renting this size parcel than if I went Premium, had to pay the Premium fee, buy the land (which is a minimal cost these days), plus pay tier.  The tier for this size parcel is more than what I pay in rent.

*The sales from my business provide the income (and more) I used to get from the Premium weekly stipend.

*I have not been Premium since the private sandboxes were introduced but when I have had need to go to a sandbox, there are many excellent ones, many operated by SL schools such as Builder's Brewery, that are safe and any griefers dealt with quickly.

*I have no need for a Dunebuggy

Each person has to decide for herself which she prefers.  If you've never been premium you might want to sign up for say a quarter (if the special promotion price is still available, even better) and see if you enjoy the benefits.

 

[Logger Sewell]

I think for some ppl  it is a good option. I droped it  when i started with private Islands  and had no need for a premium member ship.

[Echo Hermit]

I've needed to contact support from time to time, and having access to Live Chat has proven invaluable for me. 

Originally I became premium because I wanted to buy and sell land, which used to be quite a profitable business in the old days (and still is for some I think).  Now I just own the basic 512m of land where I have the little house that I call my home. It is nice to have a home base, a personal space.

The premium member sandboxes are fabulous, griefer-free.

The free gifts that premium members get approximately every three months are fun, but not something that is worth paying premium membership for.  (So far they have given us a boat, a dune buggy, and a hand railcar, all things that have to cross sims, which leads me to believe, as this has always been a hard aspect of Second Life to make smooth, they've got us all beta testing sim crossings!)

I pay for my premium membership quarterly, and get 300L$ stipend paid to me every week, which means, in reality, I probably pay less than one US dollar a week, and paying annually would be more or less the equivalent of having a free account, but with the perks of Live Chat, griefer-free sandboxes, and a little housey to call my own, and the option to buy and sell land. Not much maybe, but those little things can make a big difference.

[Jennifer Boyle]

Like others here, I originally got a premium membership in 2008 because I wanted to buy and sell land, which, at that time, could be done profitably.  The reason I've kept it is that chat support is very much worth having.  A few times I have had severe problems solved by chat support, and I occasionlly request, and get, a sim restart when it's needed.  Also, premium membership costs almost nothing if you pay by the year and take the value of the stipend into account.

[Suki Hirano]

If you have a source of income in SL then there's no point getting premium. Then again 300L a week can hardly afford anything, you're better off just spending that $20 or whatever they charge buying lindens.

[phaedra Exonar]

If you get a yearly premium account, then it all most pays for it self from the 300L$ weekly you get from it.

[Nova Convair]

On a "money" view it's simple: If you need the free 512 sqm parcel - the parcel plus stipend compensates for premium membership, so it pays itself. (1300 stipend ~ 5.2$ plus parcel worth 5$ - per month) That's the reason I have it.
If you don't need the 512 sqm then it doesn't pay itself.

Besides of that it's nice to have access to nearly empty sandboxes and support (never needed support). Linden realms and gifts is nothing that can lure an old resident into paying, maybe a new resident.

But I admit I did it for the money

[Kristin Burner]

Mew a mew mew a mew diddt doo :matte-motes-dead:

 

If all you need is a linden newby home to setup your pose stand and open the never ending supply of clothing boxes, then this is what it looks like:

https://secondlife.com/my/lindex/buy.php

72 real dollars for the year (17,784L)

get one 512 meter linden newby home (My expierence with min is that sim rarely has anyone on it, so i have never had a single issue. Newby homes are not the highest quality, but its just a big dressing room anyways. Not a lot of prims, and you have to save a bunch for those fancy clothes boxes.  Each newby island has a 8 sim private sandbox section which is nice. The freebie gifts are not worth anything)

ok, so you get 512 meters without having to buy it, and no extra tier.

$5 (1,235) Real dollars a month for linden land 512meters (14820L a year)

300L a week stipend - 52 weeks a year * 300L = 15600Lindes returned.

 

So you paid 17784L for a year - 14820L for you 512 meters tier = 2964L.

You get 15,600L back in stipends - 2184L = 12636.

So if you rented a private island 512 meter lot at linden land tier price and gave yourselr 300L a week, it would have cost you 12,636L more then just signing up for a year. (But you have to accept that a linden home is all you need or want)

(NOte: I did not take into account that for first time sign ups, they give you 1000L back after a waiting period)

 

[Nyll Bergbahn]

Well, first look at the costs.

$72 annual membership.

$L300 per week stipend = $L15,600 per annum = $62 assuming c. $L250 per $1 so annual premium membership costs $10 per annum, less than $1 per month. In the first year it will cost just $6 because of the $L1000 bonus payment.  If you live in a country like me that attracts VAT or you pay monthly or quarterly, membership will cost more.

I've been a premium member for probably 5 years now and I've never regretted paying it. I'm quite happy to give something back to the 3D world that has given me so much enjoyment over the years. I get support including Live Chat support when I need it which hasn't been often but it's worked fine when I needed it. I did own mainland once with my shop but that's gone and now I just have my free Linden Home so no rent payments. I may buy more mainland in a while.

I wouldn't take out premium membership for the premium only areas unless you are a regular builder and would use the sandboxes a lot. The Wilderness is grossy underused and you won't meet many people there. I like it because of the peace and solitude and just paddling along the river in a canoe. You'll rarely find more than three or four people in the entire Wilderness. I'm not too bothered about the gifts and haven't even collected the dune buggy yet.

Overall, yes I'm glad I took out Premium membership and have never once thought of cancelling it. That included times when I was only renting land in private regions and before Linden Homes were available.

[Sangre Hexem]

Thanks so much everyone for your input.  Gives me quite a bit to think about!!  I greatly appreciate everyone's comments and thoughts!  You've helped me in making my decision!

[jwenting]

is it worth it? In a small way it helps LL run the grid. That alone makes it worth it to me.
Also, when and if you need support and need it quick, it's invaluable.
The free land and home is a nice to have, a little place to call your own you'd otherwise pay dearly for (rentals of roughly equivalent size skyboxes can be up to a thousand L$ a week).

All in all, once I knew I'd be around SL for quite a while to come, it was a no-brainer for me.

[wrable Amat]

I support the platform wiff meh 9.99 as I take away a lot more then that each month,if we all play free sooner or later the game goes away.

9.99 a month will bring you....Not really much .I have a 512 I never use and 300L a week i never use asn I do not buy things here,I just come to have fun and build things.

But I like to think I support the game by having it,never used support as i learn a loooooong time ago...that not going to fix mt y issue.

 

[Knutz Scorpio]

For me the free 512 tier + L$300 weekly makes it worth it, by buying it yearly I think I get more out then what I pay in.

The premium only sandboxes have come in handy, never have had to use the more advanced support and hope I never do.

Can't say the premium gifts are worth much.  Thought the dune buggy and railroad hand cart were far too high in land impact, having to continuously tap an arrow key to keep the hand cart going was a hassle, and the dune buggy was nearly totally uncontrollable.

[JeanneAnne]

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Salem Loxely wrote:

I was curious about getting a premium membership because of all the "perks."  Can those of you who have Premium tell me what your likes and dislikes are?  I also thought maybe it would be a good way to meet some new friends, going to the Premium only areas.  Thoughts? 

---

iv never had a premium membership so maybe my opinion doesnt count .. but i dont see the point of paying a membership fee when you dont hav2 .. the house is cheap .. the ltl piece of land doesnt allow enuf prims for it to be useful & if you need that L$300 per week just go ahead & buy lindens .. personally i think its really very easy to have a quality SL experience w/out spending any real money on it .. if you want to support the corporation thats up to you .. but you dont hav2 .. you can play for free if you want

Jeanne

 

[Melita Magic]

I think a Premium membership enhances the Second Life experience by expanding your options.

[Tak Alexandre]

If you get  $300 Lindens a week that's L$15600 a year.  In US $ assuming 250:1 excgange rate that means you get back US $62.4 meaning it costs you $72 - $62.4.  Now this is all approximate obviously but roughly speaking your membership costs $0.185 per week.

[Caramia Darkheart]

Personally, I don't think it is. IF they ever implement free uploads for premium members, I would be a premium on all of my builders. 

[CheriColette]

I was premium once but now rent island so no need of an other home (it was good when i was single but).

I have been toying with the idea of getting it again, just so I can have more groups (and group gifts).  Now if the special offer this week was 50% of the years membership (and not just 1st quarter) >>that would be worth it