What's up with 1L products?

[LovedWarrior Quan]

Hi all,

I am new at creating in sl but have done tons in other places. I checked the marketplace and saw so many 1L products and some of them are very well made meshes. 

How do you compete with those prices? Do you really make any money here? I am wondering if I should try to make products here or not and not sure how to price them. I am mostly interested in making flowers and floral accessories. I can make clothes and so on but haven't learned to export them here yet.

Any ideas are appreciated.

[Freya Mokusei]

The typical rule is 'you get what you pay for'.

Objects for sale for L$1 might be acceptable for people who are only looking to tear something apart or see how something would look (a lot of L$1 items can be demos), or perhaps as a way for new users to pick up something that was stylish once (a few years ago) or that uses older technology. A few creators also left SL, and released their catalogue for L$1 - these might be fun for a little bit but they're also growing older, and more out of date. Typically such products lack any depth or creativity (except in a few cases), they might be made from templates or prefabs or otherwise be unoriginal, and they rarely have any 'supporting work' - few scripts, no updates or alterations.

Users seeking something classier, more functional, more modern or with more thought put into it, are always more likely to spend a more reasonable sum on their purchases. The two markets barely intersect in my experience, and I imagine that doesn't significantly affect anyones' profits.

Users only looking to spend little-to-no money in SL will continue to do this regardless of the price of items, and in a virtual world with no 'needs' it's not possible to convince them to pay more through the old rules of capitalism - not selling any of your own items for L$1 or less only means you'll be missing in this market. It's typically better to utilise this market as free publicity or a novelty. Some creators only give away their L$1 items to people who belong to their publicity group, for example.

[Sassy Romano]

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LovedWarrior Quan wrote:

 

I am new at creating in sl but have done tons in other places. I checked the marketplace and saw so many 1L products and some of them are very well made meshes. 

How do you compete with those prices? 

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For many who are unable to make mesh, they can buy a full perm template kit for say L$250 (yes really), texture it (which they might be very good at) and then just throw it out there for next to nothing in a desperate bid for a land grab of customers, hoping that someone *must* be willing to buy it for L$1, why would anyone choose the same item for anything higher?

"Mesh" as a premium quality item has become instantly devalued in the mind of the customer who is accustomed to seeing such ridiculously low prices.

Frustrating isn't it?

[Rolig Loon]

In addition to all of the people who turn out low quality stuff with old technology and then can't get anyone to pay more than L$1 for it, and those who texture low-cost copies from a full-perm kit, there are quite a few good 3Dmodelers who sell excellent work dirt cheap.  Some of them do it as a lure to get people to look more closely at their high-priced things, but I suspect that some of them are just having fun and don't have a profit motive.  Whatever the reason, it does depress the market.  I think the only way to beat it is to create good items that fill a unique niche, so that you define the price and have no competition.

[Sassy Romano]

Yes indeed I agree Rolig.  This is one of the challenges with an environment such as SL.  You've got all range of skills and motives and it's not a level playing field.

For example, a student living at home with no costs who gets top end software for "educational use" licence can turn stuff out for any price and not care a hoot.  It doesn't help a competitive situation for someone is using SL as an outlet for their RL income.

[LovedWarrior Quan]

Thank you for all the answers. You gave me some hope. It is great to hear that there are people out there like me. I wish sl made a minimum price limit for each category. Another 3d world has that and it works just fine. I guess I just have to do my best and keep trying for better. 

 

I appreciate all the info. I almost didn't think I should continue here. I made 4 products so far and not sure if i priced them right but I will start with 10-50L as I am right now making only avatar attachments and then go from there. 

[Rolig Loon]

Good luck.  Although there are certainly people who make a decent income from in-world sales, I think the only sane way to approach things is to create for your own enjoyment.  Don't let creativity in SL become a job.  That only numbs your spirit, especially when you realize that you could earn a lot more money doing the same work in RL.  Instead, create things that you like making and that you want to share.  Hope that they generate some pocket change but don't get bent out of shape if they only pay off in nickels and dimes for a while.  If you're good at what you do, people will notice.

[Kwakkelde Kwak]

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Sassy Romano wrote:

 

For example, a student living at home with no costs who gets top end software for "educational use" licence can turn stuff out for any price and not care a hoot.  It doesn't help a competitive situation for someone is using SL as an outlet for their RL income.

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If they do that, they are as much in violation of the terms as when they would be using a cracked version of the software. It is not allowed to upload anything to SL made with educational software, well at least not anything from Autodesk (3ds Max, Maya). According to the "new" ToS, but probably also the old, you need full rights to all your uploads, anything made with educational software simply doesn't qualify.

[Sassy Romano]

Oh I know, yes that's what the licence says.  Doesn't make it "not happen" though.

[Chic Aeon]

So the answer is, yes you can make money and many folks do. More do not and just enjoy having a little shop. It sounds like you have skills so you may do well.

I agree heartily that "niche" is king and what finally got me into the REAL money area after a lot of years of making what everyone else did . Most all of the things I sell are things that I made for myself or LEA7 because I couldn't find what I wanted. Some have been great sellers from their inception. Some I sell now and then most likely because they really ARE niche items. So enjoy yourself, keep your overhead low and see what happens.

Good luck.