franchise info needed

[Scarlet Felicci]

Hello ! I have been thinking from time to time to open a franchise shop.The problem is that this would be my first business and i cant find anywhere a guide about franchising.My main question is if i can use multible vendors or do i have to work with just one firm?Also when renting space in a mall are there any restrictions regarding franchising?

If anyone knows where i can find info about those stuff or can provide any tips himself it will be much appreciated.Thank you in advance .

[Knowl Paine]

This question may be better suited in the Commerce section of the Forums.

I think most of the answers can be found by reviewing the Second Life Terms of Service and the Community Standards. If you are currently an operating rl franchise, you would follow those procedures.

This question has many answers and most are based on opinion preference and business style.

Doesn't mean they aren't good opinions :smileywink:

[Claireschen Hesten]

generally malls don't have any problems with franchise stores before you get a franchise see what the mall you want to rent in has if it's gadget oriented go for a gadget franchise ditto for furniture mens or womens fashion etc if you have a few thousand L$ going spare you can buy franchises with a bigger percentage you keep from every sale the free ones you won't get a huge amount there's no need to restrict yourself to just one store you can put as many vendors as you like from different stores as long as prims allow

[Peewee Musytari]

I know a few people that have multiple franchises in their shops so that shouldn`t be a problem, I haven`t heard of any malls that don`t allow them but there are some malls that don`t allow scripted vendors, so you would need to check the rules for whichever ones you consider using.

[Marianne McCann]

1. You can typically have multiple vendors, provided the affiliate vendor's owner states otherwise

2. I do not know of any malls that frown on affiliate vendors, but every mall is different.

Selling using affiliate vendors as your main business can be somewhat unrewarding: there are any number of places out there selling the same goods from the same affiliate vendors. You would be setting yourself up in competition with all of these -- as well as the original owner's main store, which is likely well advertised. Unless you have some really great location for these vendors, the likelihood of you doing well is slim indeed.

TANSTAAFL applies here.

[Nyll Bergbahn]

I ran an affiliate shop for a couple of years and sold fashion from a few creators, none of which objected to the others clothes being sold alongside theirs. I also sold my own jewellery. Some may object though so check the conditions carefully. I did try and keep each affiliate's vendors together in one part of the shop rather than mix them up. Use single one prim vendors not multiple click through ones. They are a pain for customers, especially if the sim is anyway laggy and personally when shopping, I won't click through any.

Try and create your own store name rather than an affiliate name unless this is a condition of the creator but do get the affiliate name(s) in the store description for Search. Advertise your Store in Search. Try and get as many keywords in that you think people may be searching for. I used free facelight and free sexy walk which I gave away and this worked a treat at the time but may not now.  Build up a customer base using your store name and most of your customers will not even know you're selling as an affiliate. You could rez floor mats on the ground with affiliate logos and that should satisfy the creators.

Don't bombard customers with a flood of welcome messages and group joiners etc. One welcome message will do and locate your group joiner and LM giver in an easy visible spot. If people want it, they'll take one. Keep up to date with affiliate group gifts and put them out soon as given to you by the creator. If the creator wants a list of affiliate stores with LMs for a promotion, get your details in quickly and don't miss out. I was first on such a list once and got a flood of new customers appearing immediately the list went out and lots of sales.

Personally I found malls a waste of money, rarely selling anything in a number I tried.. Sales went much better after I bought some mainland and set up a store there although a store in a business rental area went well for a while at the start. It was not a shopping mall though. Remember as an affiliate you have to pay rental cost or tier out of commission, perhaps just 25% to 30% of sales.

Good luck.

[PeterCanessa Oh]

You should also note that SL isn't like RL:

1. There should be no cost to 'buy' the franchise; you're doing the creator a favour by providing them with another outlet.
2. You should not enter into any agreements regarding how many, if any, goods you will sell
3. 'Agreements', not contracts - it costs them nothing for you to do their work for them so don't commit to anything
4. If you find a better use for your land, money or prim-allowance ditch the 'franchise' without hesitation