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To Merchants who refuse to use the marketplace


Dorian Meredith
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SL Marketplace is for poor peeps and inworld shopping is for rich peeps. LL would like us all to be rich peeps, but since Xstreet opened up Pandoras box, LL is quite resigned to its existance now it would seem. As for me, I usually buy on the SLM, (being one of the poor peeps)( and pround of it hehe), but I like 'shopping around' just to look at all the neet things peeps make in a more three dimensional world in world. Sometimes I just like walking around in world to look at how peeps get creative with their store setup itself. I gave my inworld store an enchanted cave look. Any look out of the ordinary is appreciated by me. :-D ;-)

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I think a LOT depends on what you're selling a to whether a customer prefers in world shopping to the SL Marketplace.

For textures, it's a no brainer. In world shopping is LAGGY and it takes ages for each texture to rez when ppl click the cycle on the vendor.

Since LL purchased what was X Street I started adding ny content to the Marketplace Platform because I knew LL would be driving new and old customers that way as they had a vested interest in doing so. 

I have had an in world store since 2005. At its peak traffic was 18K daily. Today it averages at around 1500 daily. 

This I believe is down to a few things, the economy and lack of land owners being paramount but based on customer feedback, the MP is favored by 80% of spending customers. It's quick and easy and that's important.

That said, 1500 traffic implies there are still people who like the experience of inworld shopping. 

Sales are 70% marketplace and 30% in world for me personally.

Then we have people who buy direct from the website but that's for external use so it doesn't really count in this "debate"

I think if you are selling clothing, hair, animations etc people want to see what these items look like in "real time" and I would imagine the same for building items such as houses and furniture. 

A marketing photo can be very deceiving especially where clothes are concerned so by adding a "demo" to the MP item would be the ideal solution if you did not want to own an in world store.

I do agree that having some kind of in world presence is of some reassurance to some customers too. 

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LillyBeth Filth wrote:

I think if you are selling clothing, hair, animations etc people want to see what these items look like in "real time" and I would imagine the same for building items such as houses and furniture. 

 

My sales income fluctuates between 80 and 90% MP and the rest inworld. I sell boats and landscaping items. I have boat demos that people can use to sail around two sims of mountains, lakes, parks and rivers. The sims display the landscaping items that are for sale inworld and MP. About a year or two ago there were often people sailing around, but no more.

I spend a lot of my time inworld, so I get a good idea on traffic and it isn't as good as it used to be. Although business is still very good because of MP sales.

Now while I'm saying all this I'm thinking maybe boats and landscaping items are different. Customers don't need to see them in a store. They are scattered around SL, and customers just click to find out the creator's name and then use MP to buy.

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Good points, Lillybeth.  I have a very small store.  From the very beginning I always kept an in world presence; at first it was a tiny rented space in a mall and expanded from there to various locations over the years.  I also always had my items on both Xstreet and OnRez.  The constant in my sales, regardless of the size or location of my inworld shop, the amount of effort spent marketing, and other possible variables, is that 99% of my sales have always been from the online shopping venues (Xstreet, now the MP, and OnRez).  I sell small home furnishings and novelties and had demos rezzed inworld to see and use prior to purchase. This constant also applied during the years prior to LL purchasing Xstreet and promoting it heavily as well as during times when, according to anecdotal evidence, more people shopped inworld.

I have noticed in several instances that customers who purchased items from my MP store also showed up on my in world visitor counter.  I am assuming they wished to see the item/s in world, but then purchased on the MP.  However, for the majority of my sales the MP customers do not show up on my visitor counter.

I am in the camp of believing an inworld presence is important and, as noted, have done so from the beginning of my business in 2008 until shortly before the end of last year.  It is time for a complete update of many of my items plus I am rethinking my entire store setup.  I initially began working on this while still keeping the store open but Murphy's Law kicked in and, even if there had been no visitors for days, the minute I began moving things around, etc., a visitor would arrive.  I made the decision to close the inworld shop so I could concentrate fully on revamping it. 

Due to RL issues, health, etc. this process is moving much more slowly than anticipated.  I have noted on my MP store profile as well as my SL profile that my inworld shop is temporarily closed for rennovation and that I will meet with anyone who wishes to see an item rezzed prior to purchase.

I said all the above to say that there has been no decrease in my MP sales since my inworld shop has been closed; in fact, some months have shown a slight increase in sales, including compared against months when I participated in hunts which produced a lot more traffic to my inworld shop, but no significant increase in sales aside from a few inworld sales.  As Lillybeth said, the type of items sold, imo, does make a difference.  I do all my texture shopping online now which is a much more pleasant experience than dealing with the lag that is a given in texture stores  The items I sell are inexpensive so perhaps customers are more willing to take a chance on purchase.

I do very much want to have my shop inworld again; just my 2L on my personal oberservations re: the MP as it relates to my sales.

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I'm coming in late to the conversation, but I can understand the frustration some may have with lag and such when shopping in world. However, I am one who prefers to shop in world if it's feasible. I also doubt very much that merchants are going to reconsider simply because someone says they will refuse to shop in world, simply because there are also a huge number that refuse to use the marketplace. 

I tend to use the MP and in world to shop, maybe not equally but I do use both. Mostly I use the MP to search for products but I love going in world and actually completing the purchase. I especially like to go in world for animations, and even some sculpts that I want to see in person from a building stand point. To be honest most of my personal purchases are made in world with a very small amount made on the MP. For example, last week I was in Medhue's store and picked up an AO...I would never buy something like that on the MP. But as a builder for full perm items, there are some businesses I buy from that I know their store like the back of my hand, I've seen all their sculpts and I know the quality so it's just quicker to buy it online on the MP. The other reason I like to buy in world, is yes to save them the 5% fee. I've gotten to know the owners of some of these full perm item creators, so ya, because I'm friendly with them, I would prefer to save them money.

Aside from the 5% fee and the need to try things in person...I just like the idea of supporting a virtual universe. That's what we are here for. It's what makes playing SL fun. I think MP has it's place and I do think merchants should most definitely use it, and ya I think they are losing sales if they don't, but if they choose not to, that's ok too.

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I have two stores. One listed on MP and one not. One is women's fashions, it's listed, one is baby clothes, it's not. My baby store does a good business and pays my tiers. My woman's fashions sells well inworld, but not on Market Place. It's a waste of time for me to be there.

It's such a pain to list items I'm about to stop doing it. All day Iive been trying to list items but it keeps listing them as Adult and their not. So... still waiting for that to be fixed, oh, and ordered 10 items today and have received nothing. Market Place is not effective for me. It was when it was XStreet.

I use MP for finding building items. Generally I will use it like a yellow pages but I go inworld to buy anything but building items.

If youre a merchant you have your reasons as to why you do what you do. If you don't make money listing, why bother?

 

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Wow reading you, Faye, i feel less im an allien so lol...Im glad, but really glad to see im not the only one... :smileyhappy: and also really glad to know that your inworld store work pretty well.

about your pb with maturity rating on some of your items, check carefully every words in your tittle, your description and your keywords .. some are bleep even if it seems ridiculous and they will make your item rated as adult... 

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