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Tip jars in stores


MelodyClone1
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Why do these even exist? Or a better question is why do people donate? Don't get me wrong, there are lots of creators I support. But isn't the definition of tipping to provide you an actual, personal, catered service, or to award services that exceed expectations? What service are they providing you buy selling a virtual copy of something which costs them $0 since it's just 0's and 1's in a server? If people want to support the creator... uh why not just buy stuff in the store?? I don't get the logic behind donating 100L, vs just buying something for 100L cause I assume you love the store's items to even bother donating to start with... Would people donate to Apple for letting them download a copy of iTunes..? No offense but if you put a tip jar in a store stocked with a solid collection of items, that just shows how little confidence you have in your items in making enough to cover overhead costs.

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I will tip stores for a few reasons. If they are really generous with beautiful gifts, I will certainly tip because it is my way of saying thank you.

I will tip even if I purchase their items because it is my way of showing support. Keeping a business open even in Second Life isn't easy.

If I have a question or issue and the creator is a great help with feedback, I will tip for that too. 

I choose to tip because it helps keep stores and places I like operating. 

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Why not tip a creator who’s items you like?

 

1) basically, the rate of pay for your average creator is akin to 3rd world country sweatshop wages.

2) if someone buys something from you inworld, they can’t leave a review on MP. Which leaves them with reviews like “This bed say star shine, it don’t glow. 1star!” In other words most of the time more negative feedback, than positive.

3) if you decide to have a store inworld, it costs. It’s a money sink, but that’s another discussion. Point is, just having a thing that you are “supposed” to have can end up costing you money.

I feel this way about hangouts too, if you spend a good deal of time there, you should at least donate something to them because they could be gone due to financial strain. It also begins to appear to be not worth it.

Same principle applies here. 

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I don't have a tip jar in my store.

Years ago, a very lovely lady came to my store, didn't buy anything but gave me 200 L$, saying she liked my inworld shop. I was pleased of course, and thankful but at the back of my mind I always wondered why she didn't buy anything... I would have preferred that!

It's possible she actually just liked the shop building (self-built!) but none of my merchandise! 

Emma :D

 

 

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28 minutes ago, Emma Krokus said:

....didn't buy anything but gave me 200 L$, saying she liked my inworld shop. 

It's possible she actually just liked the shop building (self-built!) but none of my merchandise!

lol well I don't think that's why...
There are more than a few residents roaming around SL who don't own land and so would have no need of a gardening item, yet perhaps they see something special about your creations and want to send a kind of 'thank you'.  Maybe they've seen you grow over the years as a creator, or think you bring something unique and vital to SL. Perhaps they realize the amazing creative potential of SL and appreciate the fact that you are actually creating your own items and not just shoveling in sh*rt illegally from 3d modeling websites.
Even the ones who do have land but don't purchase from you at that time might want to send a 'more than words' compliment without receiving anything in return, because that is really the greatest compliment.

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2 hours ago, MelodyClone1 said:

What service are they providing you buy selling a virtual copy of something which costs them $0 since it's just 0's and 1's in a server?

It's the time, dedication, and love put into a creation that makes it 'something'......the fact that it's computer art has nothing to do with it's value.

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@MelodyClone1,

I can't follow your logic.  It's true that our digital creations don't require raw materials, but by that logic, Microsoft Windows should be free, as well as Adobe Creative Suite.  Creative effort has value, whether its product is tangible, or "just 1's and 0's".

The other part of your argument has more validity...but does it matter whether a seller makes money by discrete sales of X number of items at $L yyy each, or makes it by freely-given donations?  One might argue that the latter method would show everyone an item's true worth.  Or it might, except that most people won't pay what a thing is really worth, if it's offered for free.

I see no harm in a creator using both methods.  It's certainly true that no matter what they're paid, it's going to be less than what they could sell their time and talent for in the real world.

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I do have a tip jar in my store there is zero obligation to make a donation no matter what product or service my location has to offer having an inworld location isn't free, i don't just sell things i have a basic photo studio too originally set up to take pics of my poses that anyone is welcome to use. I don't see having a tip jar as a sign of having zero confidence in what i or anyone else have to offer it's just another way for people to show appreciation
 

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2 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

If you aren't a complete noob with zero funds, you should ALWAYS give a donation when you shop at freebie stores.  Donations at other stores and venues are a matter for your personal judgment.

But should you tip the creators of the freebies or the proprietor of the store? Or both?

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40 minutes ago, KT Kingsley said:

But should you tip the creators of the freebies or the proprietor of the store? Or both?

The freebies I tend to get are generally made by the store owner anyway. And in the big-box-freebie stores, a lot of the freebies are old, with creators long gone. It's worth tipping the stores themselves though,  otherwise they'll be gone too, and that would give new users less choice in the future.

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6 hours ago, Lindal Kidd said:

Help them defray their costs, with a tip!

This is the reason many stores have tip jars. It helps them to pay LL for the land during slow times/slumps. Nothing wrong with it and nothing wrong with helping stores "keep the doors open". Especially if you prefer shopping inworld to the MP, like many of us do.

While the image below isn't an actual depiction, it is a helpful visualization and more or less reflects how sales rise and fall during certain months in SL. Summers are usually the slowest sales months in SL and most store owners are very appreciative of any help they get in keeping the store open through the slumps.

Line-graph-analysis-example-AEUK.png

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I dont tip at stores, they already have their revenue from selling something. Even when they have gifts/freebies, its a way to promote their business. I know the cost of a land can be high sometimes but for that they have the option to only use MP if they are just starting and can't keep the cost of a land. I prefer to donate for places like hangouts places or RP sims, cause they have the same cost to keep the land and they dont have the revenue of selling something to help them keeping the land.

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My approach is to stick to a few creators only, whose product lines fits my style/needs and where im so sure about the fit and quality, that i dont even need to demo before the purchase. Yes, that works :)
As that few stores already get all my money, there is simply not a single buck left for the tip jar.

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 I have never though about giving something in a store tip jar. It is not like that in my culture, since the wages are high enough to live for. Paying the price is what we do.

If I like the freebies enough to take then, I like what's full priced, and will buy something as my "thanks" for giving freebies. I have on a few occasions seen nothing in the store that tempts me, only the freebie. I have left without tipping then. This thread has made my think over if I want to tip more.

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21 hours ago, MelodyClone1 said:

But isn't the definition of tipping to provide you an actual, personal, catered service, or to award services that exceed expectations?

Those are examples for situations in which people may give a tip. A more general one would be a feeling of "I enjoy what you do and want to support you". 

22 hours ago, MelodyClone1 said:

What service are they providing you buy selling a virtual copy of something which costs them $0 since it's just 0's and 1's in a server?

Why do you see data as void of any value? Would you say Microsoft shouldn't charge people for a copy of Windows? Should games on Steam be downloadable for free? All of that is also just rows of 0s and 1s. Its data. But behind each virtual creation are costs. The item the creator made has many hours of labor in it. It may also have added costs, because the creator brought parts (for example textures or scripts) from another store, because he/she specializes in 3D modeling. Then there are costs of production. Not all programs are free, the creator has hardware to maintain and run and at the end of the day he/she wants a bit of a profit on top of that. Imagine the creator would try to get all of those costs back from the very first item they sold. Wouldn't sell well (btw. thats why the pricetag on custom work is so high!). Instead, each copy sold pays for a percentage of the developement costs and thats why copies cost money, even if all the labor is long done and over, when the purchase happens.

Fun fact about 0s and 1s: Most money in todays economy (even in your average bank account) is purely virtual. A banks nightmare would be all their clients trying to cash out at once. Is this money without value?

22 hours ago, MelodyClone1 said:

If people want to support the creator... uh why not just buy stuff in the store?? I don't get the logic behind donating 100L, vs just buying something for 100L cause I assume you love the store's items to even bother donating to start with...

I could imagine a situation, where someone already has everything they wanted at the moment, but still wants to support the creator. Or a situation where someone wants to go above the norm in terms of support or maybe a gesture of thankfulness, because the creator does something in above average quality. I have personally not been in this situations, but I can imagine others might be. I'm currently supporting a RL comicbook author on Patreon. I've also brought his books, but my donation to him will be a small contribution to enabling him to continue my favorite series from him (commerical sales were sadly not good enough in the past to justify the time/energy for this series, not uncommon for anything that isn't Marvel or DC).

22 hours ago, MelodyClone1 said:

Would people donate to Apple for letting them download a copy of iTunes..?

People usually feel a difference between a small artist/self-employed business owner/creator and a multinational corporation. Apple has plenty of money. They don't need and they don't ask for donations. Apple could ask for money to download iTunes, but that would harm them more than do them any good, as the app is used to sell products to customers. Just like having an Amazon account is free, because Amazon wants to encourage you use them for making purchases etc. In contrast people may like to donate to a store, because the owner offers freebies. Those freebies are finished, stand-alone products and thus not compareable to iTunes. A donation because of freebies would be more like donating to Wikipedia (not exactly, but more than comparing it to Apple).

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I have freebies and I do not leave out tip jars in my stores.   Where ever I am, I have freebies - always have, always will.  

I leave out donations for my clubs where I also have freebies...but I would prefer someone buy something that's why I have items for sale at both of my clubs.  I'd prefer the person donating receive something - makes it kind of a win-win situation.   The donation's to the club are just that, donation's to the club.  But still, I have stuff that people can buy and receive something other than even just donating because buying something is donating to the club.  

This is the way I prefer it.  I am always trying to think of ways to give to the donor.

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