A skin store refuse to have demos?

[Marianne Little]

I will not name the store.

I was in (one of the large monthly events), and I noticed pretty skins. I decided to take a demo with me and try at home. As I usually do. I could not find a demo.

I thought it was an oversight. Some creators send demos in their group. I found the group, nothing. I even went to the mainstore. Imagine when I found no demos at all?? I open the creator's profile. It says on the front page:

 Please do NOT tell me how I should run my store, (redacted) doesn't offer demos so please do NOT ask me about offering demos, i will ignore you. I am just doing what works for me. I can do whatever I want...This is My store, My products, & My rules.

I am just perplexed. From the ads, this would be instant buy for one of my avatars unless something in the demo was wrong. Now I am asking you, would you buy based upon an ad alone? The creator can do what she want, but is this some elitist thinking? My products is so good that I don't need demos?

Edited April 29, 2020 by Marianne Little
removed event name

[Chic Aeon]

Definitely would not buy but I do agree that it is the right of the creator to run her store as she wants. When I was looking for skins for men for "man Chic" a year or so ago I was amazed how truly awful some of the skins looked when demoed. Nothing like the vendor photos and these were big name brands.  

I actually think I may still be wearing a skin that had no demo.  BUT I had a blogger copy so "I" had a demo.  That creator is no longer making skins, but now making clothing.  It is a very nice skin though so JUST because there is no demo -- it doesn't mean it is a faulty product.  Still "I" wouldn't buy - - mostly on principle. Even in the very very early days of SL SKINS had demos. Skins and hair were the main items that had demos if I remember. Shoes mostly did not have demos and of course the clothing then didn't either. So we are LUCKY these days that we normally get to try before buying. 

[Tarani Tempest]

They definitely can run their store how they choose and by their own rules.   I have my own rules too:  No demo... No buy.

Soooo many beautiful skins out there that do offer demos.... easy enough to shrug it off and move on

 

 

 

[Alwin Alcott]

i would skip it unless it's a brand i'm satified with for several years/types of skins.
Normally i make my two "main" alts getting nearly the same look, but still will demo it on both to be sure it will fit on the minor differences i want in their appearance.

[Zzevir]

I read 

A skin store refuse to have demons

I wanted to offer my inner demons for you but then I realized. 

[Anita61 Anatine]

It's up to the creator not to offer demos, but I wouldn't buy a skin without a demo unless it's priced 100L$ or lower

[Lillith Hapmouche]

No demo = no buy, especially not with that attitude.

There's plenty of competition to choose from, would be nice if the event tossed that store out as well to make room for more customer-friendly offers.

[Marianne Little]

Yes, the attitude is really off-putting. I wonder what she would respond with if I bought a skin and had a question or needed help. Would she ignore me? Decide I was too unimportant? I get that impression.

It is not 100 L skins, but the prices is not bad. I would say reasonable for good quality. Well within what I can and will pay for skins.

But we who post on this forum is not the majority of SL shoppers, so can a store get sales without demos? Be in one of the most visited events and people just buy them without a demo? I am just a big question mark. I hope this is not a new trend!

[So Whimsy]

I truly wonder why they think such a decision and attitude about it is a good idea. Don't they realize how much business they lose? Like others have said I'm also in the 'no demo no buy' team.

[Maitimo]

I would assume that the skins are so badly flawed that no-one trying a demo would ever actually pay for one, and she's hoping to rely for her income on a few hopeless fools who don't care and buy it anyway.

It may even be a scam, in which the skins pictured are not even the same ones as supplied. 

[brodiac90]

It's not just skins but anything. If there is no demo then I don't buy. I only consider making an exception if the item is a rare niche item and there aren't any other alternatives. Price plays a part too. Sometimes you can just take a punt on something cheap but for something like a skin or body I'd want a demo. 

With my store I offer fully textured demos so people can see what the final product looks like but I also include a demo 'ring' that floats around your avi and a 2 min demo destroy script. 

Of course, they can choose to run their store however they want. 

 

 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

39 minutes ago, brodiac90 said:

I also include a demo 'ring' that floats around your avi and a 2 min demo destroy script

Sorry, do you mean two different demo approaches or a single demo object which "features" both, a visual obstruction and a really short time limit?

[Clover Jinx]

I found them and I wouldn't trust it, never heard of them until now. They used the same image on MP for all their skin tones and they look heavily photoshopped and maybe even morphed.

I would move on like the others have said and find one of the many skin stores that offer demos.

[Marianne Little]

1 minute ago, Clover Jinx said:

I found them and I wouldn't trust it, never heard of them until now. They used the same image on MP for all their skin tones and they look heavily photoshopped and maybe even morphed.

I would move on like the others have said and find one of the many skin stores that offer demos.

I am shocked because their inworld store is well put together, sleek and tasteful.

Plus participating in a major event. It has to be some vetting and a fee to have a market vendor?

Even in these times when it is lots and lots of gifts, I want a skin that is not like the free Caucasian skins that's given away. And I will pay for it.

Thank you for directing me to the Marketplace, it was a review there that is a full stop signal. Damn, they look so good, but looks is not all...

[brodiac90]

3 minutes ago, Lillith Hapmouche said:

Sorry, do you mean two different demo approaches or a single demo object which "features" both, a visual obstruction and a really short time limit?

I sell clothing. The demos I send out are fully textured and look like the real thing. So yes, they include a demo ring which acts as a visual obstruction and so people know it is a demo and not the real deal. It also de-attaches and cannot be re attached after 2 minutes. This, I feel, is long enough to see if a item is well meshed and textured enough. 

Merchants need to balance show casing their products and protecting them. 

 

[Maryanne Solo]

7 minutes ago, brodiac90 said:

It also de-attaches and cannot be re attached after 2 minutes. This, I feel, is long enough to see if a item is well meshed and textured enough. 

Merchants need to balance show casing their products and protecting them. 

 

1 lost sale. 1 furious avatar. 

Timed demos are a pox upon the pixel race.
Worse than any disease.
I need to dance around, check "it" in different lighting scenarios, wear it about, take some pics, put it on and off.

Under NO circumstances would I even go back to get another or tolerate whatever inexcusable mess timed demos create.

[brodiac90]

3 minutes ago, Maryanne Solo said:

1 lost sale. 1 furious avatar. 

Timed demos are a pox upon the pixel race.
Worse than any disease.
I need to dance around, check "it" in different lighting scenarios, wear it about, take some pics, put it on and off.

Under NO circumstances would I even go back to get another or tolerate whatever inexcusable mess timed demos create.

So I understand this correctly, you want to be able to get a demo and then be able to go out and about in it, and possibly even take pictures which you could use for your Flickr or potentially a blog. As well as this you want a demo which has no obvious signs it is a demo and you want to do all this for free? 

 

 

[Lillith Hapmouche]

Either obvious signs or timed. Encountering both, especially with such short time (2 minutes is next to nothing with rezzing times, checking for skin bleed throughs and see how the rigging behaves with your usual AO poses) screams at me as if the creator is trying to hide flaws on purpose.

The "cannot be re-attached" part here is especially, well, cruel. Detaching and having to re-attach a fresh demo from your inventory could be an acceptable hassle. But if I was in your target audience (kid clothing, I presume), I'd be quite likely to trash your demos and never look back.

[Rhonda Huntress]

I would not pay for a skin without a demo.  Especially not a skin.  Even before mesh we all knew that finding the the right skin and shape match-up was important.  Now with mesh heads each being different it is even more critical to find a skin that matches up with your head and shape.

So no, I would not buy a skin without a demo.

[steeljane42]

16 minutes ago, brodiac90 said:

So I understand this correctly, you want to be able to get a demo and then be able to go out and about in it, and possibly even take pictures which you could use for your Flickr or potentially a blog. As well as this you want a demo which has no obvious signs it is a demo and you want to do all this for free? 

 

 

Yeah, we also want you to pay us for using your items. /s

I personally couldn't care less about floating signs, as long as they are reasonable and don't try to cover the rest of my avatar fully. I don't mind "demodemodemo" text all over it either, as long as I can check texture at least somewhere. But unless it's a complete and linked outfit that can't be used with anything else, then I can't stand timed demos as well.

A good example is trying to find pants that would fit at least some of my favorite tops and also fit some of my favorite shoes without heavy clipping. How many pair of shoes and tops do you think I'll be able to check from every direction in 2 minutes? Probalby not even 1/10 of what I wanted to. Will I bother to get, and often unpack too, the same demo 10 more times (as most of those are also no copy)? Unlikely.

I also sometimes drop things I demoed, liked, but didn't found purpose for into my "Good Demos" folder, to check few more times later after I got more clothing, to see if now it fits something and thus worth getting. If it's timed out... well, I'll just delete and forget about it.

[brodiac90]

3 minutes ago, steeljane42 said:

Yeah, we also want you to pay us for using your items. /s

I personally couldn't care less about floating signs, as long as they are reasonable and don't try to cover the rest of my avatar fully. I don't mind "demodemodemo" text all over it either, as long as I can check texture at least somewhere. But unless it's a complete and linked outfit that can't be used with anything else, then I can't stand timed demos as well.

A good example is trying to find pants that would fit at least some of my favorite tops and also fit some of my favorite shoes without heavy clipping. How many pair of shoes and tops do you think I'll be able to check from every direction in 2 minutes? Probalby not even 1/10 of what I wanted to. Will I bother to get, and often unpack too, the same demo 10 more times (as most of those are also no copy)? Unlikely.

I also sometimes drop things I demoed, liked, but didn't found purpose for into my "Good Demos" folder, to check few more times later after I got more clothing, to see if now it fits something and thus worth getting. If it's timed out... well, I'll just delete and forget about it.

Would a longer demo time, say 10 minutes, be more acceptable, or is it the principle itself? 

[Maitimo]

29 minutes ago, brodiac90 said:

So I understand this correctly, you want to be able to get a demo and then be able to go out and about in it, and possibly even take pictures which you could use for your Flickr or potentially a blog. As well as this you want a demo which has no obvious signs it is a demo and you want to do all this for free? 

I have no issues with demos having sign rings to block obstruction, or  demo overlays on the texture itself, but a timed demo as short a time as 2 minutes, is a definite no-sale for me.

I need to check how a garment looks when I'm dancing, (will I need an alpha layer in certain animations? Does it stretch un-naturally?) how it looks under different lighting conditions, how it looks with any number of other garments I own. Do the colours work together? Can I wear your tops with any of my pants/skirts without them clipping? Can I wear your pants with any of my boots, for example. I cannot do even a fraction of this with a demo that lasts only 2 minutes,, even ten minutes, and I sure as heck am not gonna get a dozen redeliveries of it just so I can complete my assessment.

2-5 minutes would probably be enough for hair, but for clothes I might need 20 minutes or more before making a decision. 

[brodiac90]

If I am unknowingly losing sales I may just get rid of the timed demos and keep the floating demo rings. 

[Ivanova Shostakovich]

   If a you're going to insist on using timed demos, and really want to consider what a reasonable time limit should be, you might consider for how long you expect a potential customer to be in your store, spending their own time browsing through what's available. Even browsing through a Marketplace store takes time, collecting demos, going through the invoice process, rezzing in-world etc...

   I've had the experience of browsing through a newly discovered shop, liking what I saw and spending a good 45 minutes looking around and collecting some demos, only to get back home to try them on, look for quality; Fit, Texture, Movement; and find that I had five minutes to gauge all of this. It was insulting.

   Customers in stores are there to buy. How they are treated throughout the shopping experience can make or break a sale.

 

[Blush Bravin]

2 hours ago, brodiac90 said:

If I am unknowingly losing sales I may just get rid of the timed demos and keep the floating demo rings. 

I too will delete a demo that is set on a timer and then never bother checking out anything else from that creator.  I have no issue whatsoever with rings or signs around the body saying demo, but I like so many others want to demo the product with items I already own. I like to mix and match my wardrobe so a deal breaker for me is not being able to demo the item with a lot of the things I already own. I also am careful to be sure the item works well with my many dancing animations. Honestly, even 10 minutes would still be too short.