linden dollar rate discrepancy?

[Bouttime Whybrow]

i have an outfit listed on market place for 399L, next to that it says $2.00us.

if you go to buy lindens inworld, 3990L costs $16.32.

that means 399L = $1.63us. not two dollars.

that means SL is telling my customers the item costs more than it really does.

am i mssing something?

[Reeva Hax]

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/listing_guidelines

 

Charges and Costs When You Use US Dollar Pricing:

We Set the “US Dollar” or “USD” Price For Each Sale In Our Discretion

SL Marketplace merchants may select the price of their virtual goods in L$, at their own discretion. However, regardless of that L$ price, Linden Lab provides SL Marketplace buyers an additional “US Dollar” or “USD” option, as a convenience to buyers and sellers. Buyers may select, on a per-transaction basis, whether they wish to pay using the L$ option or the USD option.

It is important to note that the USD price we charge for an item that is also listed in L$ is not based on the US Dollar price that the L$ would cost on the LindeX exchange. Rather, the USD price is generally between ten (10) and fifteen (15) percent percent greater than what a user would pay, were the user to make that same purchase with L$ already purchased on the LindeX -- and at any given time, the USD price may in fact be greater than that. For the exact exchange rate (i.e., how many L$ are provided per US Dollar) at any time, please see the “*Rates” disclosure that appears in your shopping cart.

(...)

 

[Bouttime Whybrow]

thank you for that. clearly explains it:)

 

but i have to say i would think most consumers would think that is what it is costng them in real $ when they pay in lindens.

i never realized it until i started selling. doubt many others would either.

[WolfBaginski Bearsfoot]

It's not really hidden, but a direct payment in USD is going to incur a transaction charge from the payment provider, and that complicates things. The charging structure is likely one reason why LL set a minimum payment for crediting your account with USD.

Once those USD are in the LL system, it's all pretty inexpensive to handle. I have seen a few things on the Marketplace that are expensive enough that a USD payment might be worthwhile, leaving my L$ total intact.

Maybe it can be better explained that you pay an extra charge. And does the merchant get USD or L$? 

[Lasher Oh]

This particular piece of dirty laundry has been well aired over the years. The commerce team and LL are fully aware of how the merchant and buyer community feel about this blatent piece of daylight robbery and sharp practice.

I have  only ever heard of 1 or two folks actually buying from the marketplace with hard currency I think most folks sense the scam and stay well away from it just like we do when avoiding the white berries in the forest.

It's silly that the Commerce Team still retain the 'buy in dollars' functionality.

^L^

[Ziggy21 Slade]

I think we need much more clarity/publicity on the exchange rate in general.

I have always believed that L$s are quite deceptive, many residents and even merchants will talk in L$s but they think in $USDs and mentally assign a much greater value to their L$s than the reality. In the past I even suggested getting rid of L$s all together and replacing them with USDs but the idea wasn't popular.

Now I think we should replace L$s with €s since the € will soon have the same value as the L$ :smileywink:

[Dartagan Shepherd]

---

Ziggy21 Slade wrote:

I think we need much more clarity/publicity on the exchange rate in general.

I have always believed that L$s are quite deceptive, many residents and even merchants will talk in L$s but they think in $USDs and mentally assign a much greater value to their L$s than the reality. In the past I even suggested getting rid of L$s all together and replacing them with USDs but the idea wasn't popular.

Now I think we should replace L$s with €s since the € will soon have the same value as the L$ :smileywink:

---

Huge believer in this myself. That method they're using is obsolete (of course so is economy and L$ in general) in light of say PayPal micropayments.

Just posted something about that in the LL LittleTextPeople acquisition thread in general forums.

It's the difference between this experience, which I've had repeatedly upon trying to bring people into SL, as have many others (a little silly-fied though).

Me: hey, there's this thing called SL and you can earn money making virtual stuff.

Them: Oh? How does it work?

Me: Well ya see there's this thing called the Linden Dollar and exchange and I sell something for L$1,000 and then I can cash it out at a certain moving target rate and ...

Them: Not much response, their eyes have glazed over and they lost interest and stopped taking it seriously.

 

As opposed to ...

 

Me: Hey, there's this thing called SL and I make kinda sort game items and 3D stuff and sell them for real money.

Them: Oh, tell me more.

Me: Well, I make one, sell it for 15 or more cents a pop and I sell a lot of them. Some things I sell for like 8 Dollars. I have 50 bucks in my account for the last couple days sales, and the more I make the more I can earn. Or you can go be a DJ and make 4 bucks in a single tip sometimes, or do X, Y or Z for X bucks. When you want to take out your money, you just take it out minus a fee.

Them: Is that something I can do too?

Me: sure can, Let me help you get started!

 

Moral of the story, forget Zynga, get back to innovating and not convoluting the earning/money potential. More people respond to real money. And it's just plain easier and less costly to operate as a company. And more trustworthy.

[Bouttime Whybrow]

actually i've always felt using lindens gives people a false sense of inexpensive. like "well its only lindens", the idea that a linden is practically worthless lets people be a bit freer in spending them. like chips in a casino, it doesn't really feel like money, it's just some plastic in your hand.

[Madeliefste Oh]

I see the linden dollar as a part of the experience of a world of imagination. We must not loose that. It is like Bouttime says: it doesn't feel like real money. And that fits well to our world, where we know that our clothes are not made of fabric, but of pixels, but still we accept the suggestion that a dress is made of satin or a jeans of denim. We know that linden dollars present real money, but the fact that it is another

monetary unit that can only be used in this world gives us more freedom to play around with it. 

In my opinion it is much better for a fantasy world that people now and then change some money according to their budget to spend. That is the moment of confrontation with the real money. Once the lindens are bought, they stand apart from people RL budget. It has become money without sorrow... there is already paid for them, they are ment for your amusement, so nothing witholds you to spend them with joy. 

When you get rid of the linden dollar, every single buy with confront people with RL money. It is not that they buy for 10 dollar (or 50 dollar according to someones budget) and then have a good sum to spend for a while. But every single buy will be considered in terms of rl spending, it can make the whole proces of buying more stressfull.

Though I admit that sometimes in RL situations it is a bit strange or even embarrassing to explain to people that anonymous strangers buy your merchandise with 'monopoly money'. And that other anonymous strangers are prepared to pay hard dollars for your 'monopoly money'. But in the end it is not much stranger then telling people that you make for example breedable animals. I think many people consider the trade in breedables as something even more odd then getting paid in with play money. 

I pleat to keep rl money out of the play field. Let's just dream on, with our L$.