Czari Zenovka

Rose Mackie wrote: I see a lot of the merchants saying "go mesh or die." I don't have mesh and my sales are about the same. I'm always suprised these days to see how well I am doing with my plain ole builds. I thought for sure I'd be passed over by "flashy" products. I think that people will buy your products if they fill a need, catch the eye, and are quality, low-prim, competitively priced items. QFT!! Except for the times in the last few months that many people had sales slumps, my sales overall haven't changed with the introduction of mesh. I barely even use sculpties...lol.

Toysoldier Thor wrote: Medue is correct that a creator should learn the newer creation / technologies LL puts out but for him to make that the crux of why her business is failing is incorrect. Mesh is still NOT 100% endoresed by the entire SL population - even to this day. Plesase Medue do not point out LL stats that prove me wrong. I see it every day that mesh is still not used by a good portion of the population. UNTIL seeing a mesh is what 95% of the grid will see, mesh has limits in it use at a large scale. Example, I just moved my art gallery to my new sim, it including several of my mesh art statues throughout the floor. In the past 3 weeks since my new landscapes sculpties store and art gallery re opened on the new sim I have had several visitor come look at the place. I toured countless visitors. I would say that abou 1/3 of the visitors do not and continue to refuse to upgrade to a MESH capable viewer. 1/3 Medue! Some have older computers and when they tried the new viewers with mesh it crippled they PC so they went back. Some told me that they dont see the big deal with mesh that would force them to upgrade from a viewer that works fine. Then as Rya said, mesh was born with a huge limitation that LL burdoned them with that makes Mesh even harder to bring to market - like large structure like landscapes and even homes. Mesh being penalized with LI when sculpties and prims are not. I have been creating and selling sculpty landscapes for years.... even a year later I cannot justify making a mesh pack because its LI is simply hit too hard with LI as soon as you try to grow it to any significant size. A 1 prim sculpty mountain is far cheaper than a 100 LI Mesh. Then there is the stupid wild flinging calculations when you even try to augment a build with a mesh!! This is the biggest joke. Last week I tried to link one of my 3 LI mesh statues with a flowing prim/sculpty build I had that was 5prim. When I linked the the two together to consider selling it... 3 + 5 = around 8 LI? ROFL NOPE... In LL's calculation... 3 + 5 = 243 LI. You can champion and cheerlead about how MESH is the magic solution every creator with declining sales must adopt to save their business but that is simply not the case. I still ONLY sell sculpty landscapes in my store and other than the big slump that most of us felt in late June and into summer (MANY OF US REPORTED IT HERE - even those that do not sell mesh or sculpty) my sales are generally about where they were when mesh was introduced. (Emphasis mine) I was going to post something similar but Toy said it far better than I could. I am one of those people who a) have an older PC so I cannot run a viewer that sees mesh - I hope to have a new PC soon, but so far it has not happened - not going to go into this *again* on why; (Ever since DD came out with the initial "Just go out and buy a new PC" posts that came my way, I have heard of many, many other people who also have older PCs and, for whatever reason can't or choose not to update them at this time. Some people have posted on the forums, others have contacted me privately. There are more of us out there than one might expect.); b) Honestly, even when I *do* get a new PC, mesh does not "grab" me as a consumer (yes, I've seen photos of mesh both posted online and photos from friends). Again I'm not alone in this based on forum posts I've seen and conversations with residents; and c) a very talented creator friend of mine who stays current on all the new techniques and can create anything from clothing to jewelry, houses, furnishngs, hair, animations, landscaping, makes her own textures etc. is really struggling with mesh so there is a rather steep learning curve for some creators. LL can keep introducing more and more "shinies," but imo the foundational issue is they need to LISTEN to the customer base who have contributed to SL's success over the years. The proposal the OP made to purchase 24 sims being an excellent example of a great opportunity for LL. Until LL decides to fix the massive amount of current issues that are crippling the MP, people can create mesh all they want and, although it may boost the sales for those merchants currently using mesh in the short term, once the novelty wears off the same slow decaying situation will still exist unless SL wakes up. Mesh is a new tool, not the savior of SL. To the OP, I have visited your sims and they are indeed lovely and a great representation of period Japan. I will be one who will be very sad if you have to make the decision to discontinue them, but I do understand and hope it will not have to be. All my best to you.

Still wondering if the search that is being discussed is the 30L/week "Show in Search" from the land tab, free search - meaning we do nothing and still show up somehow, or some other type? Thank you anyone who can clarify this for me, please.

Deja Letov wrote: But I did read this first part and the only thing I would say is...searching the way you do makes sense for traffic to be important, but while you may search like that, not everyone does, so I don't think anyone can make that assumption that products are usually searched for in that manner. <snip> If everyone was searching the way you do then I can see how traffic would be very important, but I'm not convinced that everyone is, especially "noobs" just coming in who can't figure out how to make it all work anyway. i'm sure a lot are, so I don't mean to say what you are saying doesn't make sense for some, but I guess I just don't see it being the norm. Very true. When this topic came up (a lot) years ago, several posters said they purposely search low to high because they like finding "Mom & Pop" type stores, stores off the beaten path, and purchasing from smaller merchants to encourage them. As for me, I never use search in world to purchase anything. I either go to stores where I know and like the merchandise, find something on the MP and then go in world to check it out, or check out something of interest I may receive in group notices.

And in the meantime the Marketplace is still in a huge mess. Major issues that cropped up in April are still in existence with very little communication from Commerce Team Linden on any progress in addressing these. How about less "shinies" and more work on existing problems for your existing user base that has stayed with SL for years...but which may be shrinking rapidly to be replaced by kids with umpteen games to try and may hop from game to game at whim.

Tiffy Vella wrote: Agree...this thread has to be up there with my favourites I wonder if SL has a puppy pound, for strays? Not a puppy pound, but VKC has an area in one of their parks where people who don't want their VKC dogs anymore return them (iirc they sell them back to VKC) and they are put in an adoption area. They differ from dogs of the same breed sold "new" in that they have names (which can be changed by next owner) and the commands/tricks they know may be more extensive than the new ones. I have 3 VKC dogs and all are adopted, just like I do in RL. ETA: To the OP, the dog may not be abandoned. I know of many owners who leave their dogs out when they're not online. At least two brands of dogs (and probably more) can be set to stay within a certain area.

Unless it's been changed, it is three names one selected in advance like the "security questions" many websites have to reset the password. The last time I reset my pw on SL and had to answer that question I had to stop a minute and think, but the first 3 names that popped into my mind were indeed correct. Of course only having oh...20 names on my friend's list made it easier.

Medhue Simoni wrote: Well, techinically now, I don't get hardly any customers from search, as I don't show up in it at all anymore. Are we talking about the search we pay 30L/week for? If search is this weird is it really worth paying for that? Not that it's much money by any means, but if it's not working...just thinking out loud here.

Darrius Gothly wrote: Czari Zenovka wrote: I realize this analogy isn't exactly the same but years ago an MMORPG that I used to play that charged $15.00/mo to do so had an issue that took the game offline for about a month. When the game was back online, everyone was given an equal number of days of game time at no charge. Additionally, people who signed up to play that game after it came back online were *also* given the same amount of free play days. That is what I call good customer service. We keep trying to open theiir eyes, and they keep acting like we're whiny busy-bodies with a vendetta or something. No, we're not. But we are doing everything we can to protect our customers AND our source of enjoyment/entertainment. I just wish they'd realize they're no longer king of the hill .. and even megaliths in an industry can fall. (Just ask IBM.) Or Kodak. Still trying to understand how the company that basically invented the camera went under.

Darrius Gothly wrote: I object to a company that continues to treat its source of income as an "inconvenient nuisance". And I keep stirring up a dust storm because I love what SL was, can be and should be .. if only the people that run it treated it like the marvel of community, creativity and dreams that it is. I realize this analogy isn't exactly the same but years ago an MMORPG that I used to play that charged $15.00/mo to do so had an issue that took the game offline for about a month. When the game was back online, everyone was given an equal number of days of game time at no charge. Additionally, people who signed up to play that game after it came back online were *also* given the same amount of free play days. That is what I call good customer service.

Charolotte Caxton wrote: Randall Ahren wrote: We're all mad here. -The Cheshire Cat :catvery-happy::heart: Looks like I'm in the right group. Oh wait...does that make me....NOOoooooooo!!!!!!

Seven Overdrive wrote: Trolling the community forums for a reaction could be a sign of mental illness I suppose. PS - I wonder how long it will take for this thread to be locked or mysteriously vanish. :smileyindifferent: IBTL. (Haven't said in years! Woot!)

Aiden Rives wrote: It's reputation, not fact. It's what SL is known for to most people. The common opinion of it. There's no true or false in opinions. The common opinion becomes reputation. SL and SL people do not have a good reputation. Sadly, I kind of agree with the definitions on Urban dictionary. It's quite accurate from what I see on SL. I suppose that begs the question...why are you here and/or why do you stay?

Syo Emerald wrote: Haha, funny. As someone who has a lot experiance in MMOs and onlinecommunitys of different kinds I can tell you its not a specific bias for SL users to be called loser with no friends and real life. This happens to everyone with a hobby or passion outside of th generel 0815 life where spending your evening in a local club and being drunk is accepted, but spending an evening at the computer is seen as a strange behavior (no matter what the person is doing there or how the rest of their life looks like). People were always afraid of the things they don't know or can't understand. Thats why the cover up in hate and bias to protect themselves. Easy to see in the media, where everykind of subculture is used to entertain the dumb mass. Oh the young guy dresses in black? He must be suicidal or praying to satan. Oh this guy over there likes to wear a fursuit? He must me a total weirdo..... and so on. The list is endless. Its the people who doesn't have any knowledge about a topic who start to judge it and everyone who enjoys it. QFT!

Aiden Rives wrote: ^ Yeah that's true. SL is an escape from RL. It does has a reputation for being a community for rl loser. When I Google Second Life followed by an L "second life l" the suggestion dropdown list thing shows "Second life losers". It's no generalizing though. I didn't say all. I said most and this from my experience. You and my mother would get along. She thinks most people on SL are sex perverts. *Grins*

I Googled a quote I'd heard and wanted to quote it correctly, then found a few others; “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.” ~ Edger Allen Poe “Sanity and happiness are an impossible combination.” ~ Mark Twain “One person's craziness is another person's reality.” ~ Tim Burton “Show me a sane man and I will cure him for you.” ~ C.G. Jung And my personal favorite: "Anybody remotely interesting is mad in some way." ~ The Doctor from Dr. Who

Skye Arbizu wrote: Amethyst Jetaime wrote: Having no idea why your main's SL turned sour, I offer these thoughts If any of the reasons lfe went bad for your main were her own fault, running away by switching to an alt will not solve them in the long run as the human operators are the same. You are bound to repeat the same mistakes unless you have learned from them, and if you have you can be as happy driving the main account as driving the alt. If the reasons were the fault of others, why are you letting some low life that hurt you run you out of your avatar? Move on, enjoy life, make new friends. It will require the same effort regardless of which account you use to do this. By doing it in the alt your allowing the 'bad' guys to win. By doing it in your main, you will be triumphing over them. Living happy and well with no regrets is the best revenge on people that hurt you. In either case committing virtual suicide by deleting the account is the same as doing it in RL. It is a irrevocable long term solution to a short term problem. Everyone that I know that deleted an account simply because of bad experiences eventually regretted it. With time bad memories fade and wounds heal. And is it just me, but I'd pay (such as a premium feature) for the ability to link a couple of accounts together under one primary account with the ability to 'share' inventory and even friend people at the primary account level (while accepting limitations like only one account being logged in at a time). I would LOVE that ability!! The two MMORPGs that I used to play both had that capability. The older of the two games didn't add it until about 3-4 years into the game's existence and it was an immediate hit with the players, which is why I suspect the second game had that capability from the outset.

Amethyst Jetaime wrote: Having no idea why your main's SL turned sour, I offer these thoughts If any of the reasons lfe went bad for your main were her own fault, running away by switching to an alt will not solve them in the long run as the human operators are the same. You are bound to repeat the same mistakes unless you have learned from them, and if you have you can be as happy driving the main account as driving the alt. This reminds me of something that a friend of mine from way back when I first began SL had in her picks: SL is about how big of a jerk (modified from her word to be PG) one can be before they have to alt up. I'm not at all suggesting this is the case with the OP, but I think those of us who have spent any time in SL, or really any online chat/social medium, know of at least one person to whom this applies. Years ago on IRC one person within the rp group of which I was a part would regularly tick off most of the group then vanish for quite awhile, in later years even floating the "died in RL" scenario (which I find incredibly cruel), then show back up as an alt and when the alt was "accepted" within the group reveal who he really was. Rinse, repeat.

Sparrow Michigan wrote: Well, if she's a First Name/Last name account, never get rid of her ....those names are like gold. Send her to rehab, enroll her in a 12-step program, sign-her up for a make-over, give her a breath mint and in a few months she'll feel new and you'll enjoy playing her again. Sometimes an account needs to be parked for awhile but if you delete you'll probably be sorry at some point. All that inventory, all that history, all those memories. Just my opinion. This. ^^ After my partnership of three years ended I felt similarly to what you describe...except for thinking of deleting my main - that will never happen. I absolutely agree to just "park" the main for a time and see how you feel in 3 months, 6 months, etc. In my case my partner and I began SL within the same month/year and exlored SL with that wide-eyed wonder of new residents. We traversed the grid and participated in so many various activities that, after he was gone from my SL, almost every place I went reminded me of him. I decided to have my main totally devoted to my SL business and related activities, ie. taking classes, etc. and dusted off an alt for when I felt up to venturing into the social world again, which took awhile. I buried myself in work on my main but bit by bit went out dancing with my alt which helped ease me back into socializing again. As odd as it sounds, going someplace my former partner and I had gone with an alt was not as painful as going with my main. That lasted for about a year. The alt is now back in a deep sleep and only awakened when I need to test out a new item I've made, make sure it is being delivered properly by the MP, etc. Hang in there...and don't delete the main!!!

Thank you all for responding. @16 - Ah, your response brings up something that I had not thought of at the time of posting but which I think very likely holds true - of the people who follow merchant blogs for product info, I suspect many of those follow fashion blogs since fashion is ever-changing and thus a bit more "fluid" in its content over time. The analogy of utilizing fashion blogs like flipping through a magazine is spot on, in my opinion. Until fairly recently there were not many SL groups for designers of non-fashion items to reach SL consumers. (My shop sells small home furnishings and accessories.) I've been pleased to see more non-fashion designer groups form but they are still vastly lower in number than fashion groups. I appreciate you mentioning the blog rolls. The few times I read SL blogs I do scan the blog rolls as well to see if something catches my eye. @Qie - You sound a lot Iike me. I'm also not a shopper RL or SL. My shopping philosophy is: I need/want xyz. Go to location that sells xyz. Find xyz. Buy it and leave said store. Not a "window-shopper." lol Also, far from being the Queen of Feeds, I tend to stay away from them. My single-tasking mind gets overloaded easily by too much info. I like your comment "...it's easier to reach me with "push" media than to hope I might, in a sudden fit of consumerism, seek out a blog and read it." @Sassy - Lots of great well-thought out info there. Totally agree with how I view a merchant within the forums influences if I ever purchase from them or not regardless how amazing the product may be. As far as groups, becoming more of a presence within them via participating in chat is one I'd never considered re: people purchasing my products but it makes perfect sense as it relates back to the forum idea, and we both know those of us who read/post on these forums are a miniscule portion of the SL population. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. @Deja - I recall your post back in April or thereabout re: steps you were taking to concentrate on your in world store, most of which tied back to what I'm gaining as the "theme" of the majority of responses to this thread - however one chooses to go about it, get to know one's customers and show them they are valued. Great stuff, Deja. @Perrie & Ceka - You two are also very similar to how I view SL blogs, especially from a consumer perspective. Ceka, your mention of SLU pulled a piece of info to the front of my mind. One of my friends who is a regular on SLU told me awhile back that they have an area to post new products like the old SL forums had. I made a note to check that out when she mentioned it but it slipped out of my mind. *Makes another note to check that out and writes it in bigger letters this time.* It really is a pity more SL residents don't read the forums. The combined wealth of info here on any given topic is immmense.

Thank you, Charlotte and Amethyst. I will ammend my OP to say that I do read *some* merchant blogs *occasionally* but they are generally ones that speak to SL issues in which I have an interest, not reading them for product info. One of the reasons I brought this question to the forums is I have a friend who has been telling me for years I need to have a blog but since I'm not a big blog reader, plus my shop being so small, I didn't see that I needed one. Wanted to see if I'm in the vast minority. If I decide on a blog in the future, it would be more like what you mentioned, Charlotte - more anecdotal with my shop as part of it but not the main topic.

I've, thus far, never had a blog associated with my SL business. As a customer I don't read merchant blogs. I'm in the groups of merchants whose products I purchase on a somewhat regular basis thus I get the group updates. For any other shopping I have a list of merchant store names by category that I consult. My question is - do you read merchant blogs? Just a select few or many? Why? Trying to decide if beginning a blog for my store would have any major advantage at the moment since my store is small and I don't have any regular customers that would follow it. Thanks in advance for any input. :)

Dartagan Shepherd wrote: I assure you that I'm asking this purely from a potential agents standpoint. So I have this friend, who was curious about these pics with an autograph. You see, he was afraid to ask himself, and he was wondering ... A "friend" eh? Let me talk to my people who will contact your people.

Woot!! I've got stalk.....errr fans. :matte-motes-sunglasses-3:

Dartagan Shepherd wrote: Oh, that is awesome! I'm now your number one stalker, that is to say ... fan. @Darrius sorry, I'm fickle that way. At least I know what to put into todays play list. In the "Photos or it didn't happen" category: "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" - Meatloaf and Patty Russo - circa 2000 Storytellers Concert (I do have a couple with me in them as well...*Grins*)