Why no 512 Linden home option with the ordinary plus account?

[Raspberry Crystal]

I'm sorry if I missed this discussion before, but was it ever revealed what the thought process was behind this?
I'm puzzled because there are plenty of spare 512 new phase Linden homes available at the moment, and having a lower cost option would seem like a good introduction for those who felt unsure whether they would enjoy Bellisseria, or a longer stay for those on a tighter budget, or who just like smaller homes.
I can see that the 2048 plots are really popular, and it is obvious why, seeing those lovely decor pictures that people are sharing!
Maybe more of a range is what is needed? Currently the 512 homes don't make sense unless you want to also own a plot in mainland or have a group to donate land to.

[BilliJo Aldrin]

I checked and yes you are right only premium and premium plus memberships give you a free LL home. It would seem that since Plus members get 512 sqm free tier, they should be eligible for a 512 sqm home.

Maybe they figure that since they have you for plus, you'll be tempted to spend that little extra and go premium to get a free home.

I doubt it was an oversight, but instead part of a marketing plan.

 

[Raspberry Crystal]

2 hours ago, BilliJo Aldrin said:

I checked and yes you are right only premium and premium plus memberships give you a free LL home. It would seem that since Plus members get 512 sqm free tier, they should be eligible for a 512 sqm home.

Maybe they figure that since they have you for plus, you'll be tempted to spend that little extra and go premium to get a free home.

I doubt it was an oversight, but instead part of a marketing plan.

 

Maybe I am not their intended audience for this, because I do like to swap and change around homes, and buying a mainland 512 land plot doesn't really encourage this because of the purchase cost upfront, and then either losing that investment or hanging on unpredictably for a buyer.
I know you can get cheap plots, but they tend to be inland and surrounded by other residents who are using the land as a sandbox and so don't feel residential.

[BilliJo Aldrin]

Thats the danger of mainland, gotta buy it, crappy neighbors move in, then trying to sell it, plus the land impact of the house gives you less prims to decorate with.

For every plus member that says yes, ill go up to premium for the free house, there are probably several potential plus subscribers that will say “what no free house? I’ll just stick to basic”.

[Violet Nirvana]

I agree completely. Sakura, Campers, Newbrooke and the older houses all having 512 options, it seems mad that the first tier up from basic doesn't include these houses as an option. 

 

[Persephone Emerald]

I thought the 512 m Bellissera homes were introduced to lure people away from their old 512 m Linden Homes. The campers were a novel idea for those who might have mainland or had donated tier to a group, but who also wanted a little place to get away to in a woodsy environment.

The account level between Basic and Premium seems to have been created primarily to encourage people to buy mainland. Being marked as a Premium account is necessary to get a Linden Home, but LL wants each Premium account to only have one Linden Home. If people want multiple homes, they have to either buy mainland or pay for another account, which would mean more money for Linden Lab either way.

[diamond Marchant]

1 hour ago, Persephone Emerald said:

The account level between Basic and Premium seems to have been created primarily to encourage people to buy mainland.

^ This

As far as land goes, the Premium account is an incredibly good value... less than $1US per week if you pay annual (net stipend). The Plus account delivers much less revenue to Linden Lab... $6 vs $12 monthly or $66 vs $99 annual. Therefore it seems reasonable that LL does not incur the liability of providing a Linden Home for that amount.

For comparison, I pay more for a single Amazon Prime movie ($3.99) than I do for a month of Premium.

[Raspberry Crystal]

37 minutes ago, diamond Marchant said:

^ This

As far as land goes, the Premium account is an incredibly good value... less than $1US per week if you pay annual (net stipend). The Plus account delivers much less revenue to Linden Lab... $6 vs $12 monthly or $66 vs $99 annual. Therefore it seems reasonable that LL does not incur the liability of providing a Linden Home for that amount.

For comparison, I pay more for a single Amazon Prime movie ($3.99) than I do for a month of Premium.

I'm confused, Premium is $8.25 per month ($1.90 per week) if you pay annually, or $11.99 if you pay one month at a time.
Did you mean the plus account? This is $1.27 per week for the cheapest option (paying annually).
Oh wait I understand, you mean if you take out the stipend. This does work if you know you definitely would have spent that money on currency with or without subscribing to premium.

 

1 hour ago, Persephone Emerald said:

I thought the 512 m Bellissera homes were introduced to lure people away from their old 512 m Linden Homes. The campers were a novel idea for those who might have mainland or had donated tier to a group, but who also wanted a little place to get away to in a woodsy environment.

The account level between Basic and Premium seems to have been created primarily to encourage people to buy mainland. Being marked as a Premium account is necessary to get a Linden Home, but LL wants each Premium account to only have one Linden Home. If people want multiple homes, they have to either buy mainland or pay for another account, which would mean more money for Linden Lab either way.

I do remember it now you mention it, something about wanting to tempt people away from the older Linden homes, and those people may already have the rest of their premium tier commited elsewhere, which does make sense.

Edited January 7 by Raspberry Crystal

[diamond Marchant]

8 minutes ago, Raspberry Crystal said:

Oh wait I understand, you mean if you take out the stipend. This does work if you know you definitely would have spent that money on currency with or without subscribing to premium.

It always works because a buck is a buck regardless of what you spend it on. I typically spend stipend on boats and clothes but I could let it accumulate and convert it back to dollars... then the next time LL charges me for tier or membership, they would take those dollars prior to charging my credit card (or I could cash it out). When determining how much land costs you, it is accurate to not count money refunded to you as stipend. Note that to be more accurate, one must also consider the fees they charge for conversions. (Stipends are nice because if your intent is to buy stuff, you are getting Lindens delivered without fees.)

[LittleMe Jewell]

I vaguely remember someone saying that the Plus was based on some comments LL received about people that wanted nothing to do with Linden Homes, but wanted a small amount of Mainland for a shop and wanted some additional groups along with a small bit of L$.

 

[Raspberry Crystal]

7 minutes ago, diamond Marchant said:

It always works because a buck is a buck regardless of what you spend it on. I typically spend stipend on boats and clothes but I could let it accumulate and convert it back to dollars... then the next time LL charges me for tier or membership, they would take those dollars prior to charging my credit card (or I could cash it out). When determining how much land costs you, it is accurate to not count money refunded to you as stipend. Note that to be more accurate, one must also consider the fees they charge for conversions. (Stipends are nice because if your intent is to buy stuff, you are getting Lindens delivered without fees.)

I think you need to also consider initial outlay when thinking about virtual currency, and how many people would go the trouble of cashing in, especially for small amounts.
Anyone on a tight budget is going to see £5.99, $11.99 & $29.99 per month as the options, with the pre-paid stipend being included as a built in commitment. So you are buying the 'rental' and you are buying the currency in one package. SL is definitely more fun with money to spend so it isn't a bad idea at all, but actual money is changing hands and that is how much people pay if they don't want to commit to a longer subscription, not that amount 'minus stipend'.

 

16 minutes ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

I vaguely remember someone saying that the Plus was based on some comments LL received about people that wanted nothing to do with Linden Homes, but wanted a small amount of Mainland for a shop and wanted some additional groups along with a small bit of L$.

 

That's sounds like a very believable scenario, it is very much the kind of thing that people say. I bet they are all premium plus members now and keeping quiet about it

[diamond Marchant]

7 hours ago, Raspberry Crystal said:

that is how much people pay if they don't want to commit to a longer subscription, not that amount 'minus stipend'

Exactly. You pay alot for "not committing". Those who have $99 to pay (Premiuim)  for a whole year are getting a HUGE discount compared to those who pay monthly. Specifically, you get months of September, October, November, and December FREE if you pay annually (compared to monthly).

Edited January 8 by diamond Marchant

[MoiraKathleen]

10 hours ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

I vaguely remember someone saying that the Plus was based on some comments LL received about people that wanted nothing to do with Linden Homes, but wanted a small amount of Mainland for a shop and wanted some additional groups along with a small bit of L$.

 

This makes sense to me.  Basically, the Plus makes it so one can buy mainland, because otherwise only premium and premium plus accounts can buy mainland at all.  Plus accounts aren't limited to only owning 512 sqm - like all the premium account types, additional mainland above the free tier amount can be purchased as long as the additional tier is paid.  I imagine there are people who want to own mainland rather than renting, aren't enamored with Linden Homes (or the restrictions that come with them), don't want to pay the full regular premium amount, don't want to rent from an estate and aren't able to (or don't want to) own an estate full region.  I see the Plus account level as expanding the pool of possible mainland buyers. 

 

Editted to add:  Also, being as there were already 512 LH parcels before the Plus account level was created, if the Plus level was able to own a 512 sqm LH, I could see a number of those in the 512 LH's deciding to downgrade from regular Premium level to the new Plus level.

Edited January 8 by MoiraKathleen
added another thought

[Raspberry Crystal]

3 hours ago, MoiraKathleen said:

This makes sense to me.  Basically, the Plus makes it so one can buy mainland, because otherwise only premium and premium plus accounts can buy mainland at all.  Plus accounts aren't limited to only owning 512 sqm - like all the premium account types, additional mainland above the free tier amount can be purchased as long as the additional tier is paid.  I imagine there are people who want to own mainland rather than renting, aren't enamored with Linden Homes (or the restrictions that come with them), don't want to pay the full regular premium amount, don't want to rent from an estate and aren't able to (or don't want to) own an estate full region.  I see the Plus account level as expanding the pool of possible mainland buyers. 

 

Editted to add:  Also, being as there were already 512 LH parcels before the Plus account level was created, if the Plus level was able to own a 512 sqm LH, I could see a number of those in the 512 LH's deciding to downgrade from regular Premium level to the new Plus level.

I was so focused on the Linden homes that I forgot about not being able to buy mainland without a subscription account. This does make sense.

I wonder about the potential downgrades. Currently I have downgraded from premium to basic. If there had been another 'rung on the ladder', a 512 linden home package,. I would have been there instead. I am actually happy in a 512 home in Belli, but not on the mainland. The outlook is so much better with the pretty and consistent surrounding decor.
My decorating stamina runs out half way through a 1024 home in any case 
The chances are I would have then bought currency as a top up, but at a time of my choosing.
So LL would probably have the same income from me, but instead of me spending it on a too large house I would be frittering it away on a new boat or car, or some new clothing.

I still think that there's room for a 512 Linden home account.

[Fae Evergreen]

When I went to upgrade I was at first tempted by plus - until I looked at the details.

For me it seems that plus is just what it says - a basic account with a little bit "plus" added for those who need it. A small amount of L$, a land allowance you can use to purchase your own plot of mainland or pool together with a bunch of friends in a group to buy an even bigger plot of land. You get extra groups and that's it.

Then I looked at premium which indeed does cost more but comes with far more benefits - like the linden homes, enhanced support, signup bonus, etc. etc.

Personally I'm confused why "plus" was even added unless it is seen as a stepping stone from basic to premium.

[Chloe Bunny]

I like the Plus option mainly because I run tired of why I need a Linden Home quite often they stop appealing to me. Not the way they look or the way they are built - its all great and I often in Bellisseria doing all the free things one can do. Just the reason why I need one is often missing. I find my self un-tempted. In this case I use 512 mainland to keep a Dropbox or things related to a store or even a place to rez things for customers without having to rent a larger parcel. 

[Raspberry Crystal]

Thank you everyone for your input and recollections.
I guess i had better make my mind up what to do from the currently available options, as hoping LL are ready to change their terms is not a short term solution.
Also it's getting pretty nippy out here!