Czari Zenovka

Deja Letov wrote: Czari Zenovka wrote: "I'm too important to be bothered." This is totally the case for me. lol just kididng. In all seriousness...i do have one thing in my profile that is a beef of mine and maybe it comes off as rude, I dunno. People seem to always want to add me to friends. I love if my actual friends add me, or even people here on the forum that I talk to or about on a regular basis. What I don't like is random people who may have just a question and send me a friend request, or even worse, an IM that jus says "hi". I don't respond to either of these. But I do ask for people to send me an IM and a notecard both in case one gets eaten by SL. All we can do is try to do the best we can but sometimes SL takes it out of our control. I think the type of profile to which I was referring got misconstrued or I didn't explain it well enough, etc. The kind I'm talking about are extreme. Every pick screams - "Don't dare contact me...ever." Actually, I'm thinking of really just one I saw like that and it was obvious the person had a 'tude. I don't like friend requests even socially if I don't know the person at least a bit. Some people love having long friend lists; I like to keep it pared to people I actually speak with on a regular basis. Neither is right or wrong. But anyway...no Deja, what you mentioned is not at all what I'm talking about. Nor anyone that I've ever seen post here. I used to have on the front of my profile that I would always accept a dance, at least the first time, unless the person used letters to replace words as I have an affinity for complete sentences and that an IM that just says "Hi" is unimaginative. I've had several people, including a close friend, tell me they thought that was a bit much, but it sure weeds out guys I would have nothing in common with. So yes, the "Hi" thing annoys me as well. I took mine off because I needed the space to say something else...lol.

Couldbe Yue wrote: Darrius Gothly wrote: Even if they are diabled, challenged or just plain swamped .. good customer service is something that cannot be given short shrift. I do agree with you that anyone who is running a business in here should do that. However, there are a lot of merchants that don't take it that seriously and deliberately ignore customer service and to pretend otherwise is disingenuous. Some have what I consider valid reasons and others don't. That's humans for you. As for the IM to email issue. I have had them capped by DD deliveries where the email isn't generated and I have had it where I only get a couple of responses to an email-im conversation before the email isn't generated. As this is sl, it's to be expected that some people will claim there's nothing wrong with a particular feature whilst others know there is. The only absolute is that LL will continue to take money from us for this substandard bit of kit of theirs and there'll be those of us that keep paying them, despite knowing that some of their behaviours would land them in serious trouble if usd rather than "game tokens" were used. hey ho Great post, Couldbe - as always the voice of reason. And you're absolutely right about one person experiencing something others don't in SL. Such as the people who have had absolutely no issues nor sales slumps converting to DD and others have had some minor to major issues. As for the disability/illness issue, if a merchant knows they will not be able to attend to their SL business for a time (generally something one is aware of ahead of time - surgery, etc.) it is good business practice to notify their group members and place something to that effect in their profile but, as you say, not everyone will do so. Then there are situations that are bonafide emergencies (ie. a heart attack) and the person is whisked off to the hospital and doesn't have the time to post anything. There is a merchant who used to send out regular notices and it is known via her profile she was going through treatment for cancer but was still running her business, releasing new designs, etc. She came to mind the other day because I haven't seen a notice from her in ages so I checked her profile - that is the same...went to her store...that is still there...but I'm concerned about the sudden stop in notices and hope all is ok.

Did I ever say YOU were "bad and pretentious?" No I did not. I was speaking in generalities and I did also add that one of the items I used as an example is understandable, but I have seen merchant profiles that basically say, "I'm too important to be bothered." I have never seen your profile but it doesn't sound like what I'm talking about.

Thanks, Darrius I never noticed that lil column before and, yep...all mine say Magic Box..whew!

I just went to my MP and checked on my transactions (still no sales) and listings but a question came to mind for Toy or anyone who can answer this, please: What would the MP listing look like *if* LL tried to migrate MB items to DD on their own? How would I tell the difference by looking at my MP listings...or is there some other area that would say? Getting a bit paranoid now. *Adjusts tinfoil hat*

Darrius Gothly wrote: From my own personal experience I have learned that I can set the option to send IMs to email. This way I receive every single IM, even after enough have been sent to cap them and well beyond. Even more helpful is the fact that I can REPLY to those IMs simply by replying to the email. All I have to do is erase ALL the previous content in the body of the email reply then type in what I want to say .. hit send and Presto!! The customer gets my reply. (Usually in about 4 seconds. It's that fast!) This negates the "my IMs are capped and I can't log in to get them" excuse. <snip> I'm afraid that I have little patience for Merchants that are SO buried in IMs and notecards (so they say) that they cannot respond to everyone. Especially with an issue as simple as a redelivery. It takes so little time to look up the order, click the Redeliver button and reply to the customer that NOT doing so is just thoughtless and disrespectful IMHO. Even if they are diabled, challenged or just plain swamped .. good customer service is something that cannot be given short shrift. This^^ Gosh...I thought all merchants had this feature turned on. I've had it on since pretty much Day 1 in SL to receive IMs from friends and could go online to hang out with them. As a merchant, as Darrius said, it's invaluable. When I first began posting on these forums again, about 4 months or so ago, and stated that I had taken a break from SL for about 6 months, I was "questioned" about my customer service. Using IM to email I was *always* notified if a customer contacted me. (I also came in world at least every two weeks, usually more often, to pay rent so if I had received any notecards I would get them at that time. Interestingly, in my 4 years of being in SL business I have received maybe only a handful of customer questions. I'm the one who sees that Resident X purchased 4 of a copiable item and I contact THEM to see if the multiple purchases were due to a MP glitch, they didn't realize the item was copiable (although both in world and on the MP this particular product is WELL documented as having copy perms) and I always refund their money for the extras - which cuts into my profits a bit since I sell the item for $100L on the MP and receive $95L, but I reimburse the customer the full $100L. After awhile this adds up; however, it is extremely important to me to provide the best customer service possible as that is what distinguishes me from the next merchant who sells similar products, possibly even better ones. As a customer, if I'm interested in a product and read the merchant's profile (which I always do, being a longtime profile-perveyor) and it's filled with, "Don't contact me between these hours; my IMs are capped; first read all my profile picks on possible questions about the product and ONLY after contact me if your question is not answered; absolutely no refunds, etc." - and some are phrased almost like they're trying to scare off business - I make note of that and never purchase from them. (ETA: If just one of these are present, it's understandable...but I have seen profiles that, to me, just seem to be merchants with an inflated sense of self-importance.) Just to amplify the "Don't contact me between these hours" - of course we all have a SL (and RL!!) as well as being merchants. Even those who are solely content creators need time to be creative. But I state in my profile and the notecard sent with each of my products to contact me any way they wish (IM or notecard) and if they have not heard from me within 48 hours that means I did not receive their communication and to please resend. That covers time I'm not online or the rare time I'm in the middle of something I can't leave at that second to answer a customer.

mtwtfss71 wrote: Toy, Thank you for this post! I noticed something weird in my log yesterday. I had a customer buy the same product twice (actually, they only bought it once but it shows as being delivered twice) from the marketplace. This item is still in my MB. I have 1/2 my products on DD and the other half in MB. On the log, it shows being delivered from MB and then almost an hour later, delivered from DD. The customer says they only got it once. The attempt to redeliver from DD even though it isn't on DD is weird. This sounds like someone introduced a bug. I'm going to migrate the rest of my stock this weekend. This supports my theory on another thread that something, either automated or manual, is somehow doing a "check" for lack of a better word on merchants who have their products divided between the two delivery systems. I'm starting to sound like Josh.

Kenbro Utu wrote: I don't show to have any failed deliveries, but I am in my biggest slump ever right now. Not an MP sale since July 7, and not an in-world sale since July 11. It is like I dropped of the face of SL. All my listing show to be active and associated on the MP Manage Listings page, but I went to check my MB status. On the old MB status page, it shows the MB to be active, but all of the MB inventory as Unassociated, and absolutely no Active Inventory. Does anyone else show this discrepancy between the MB status page and the MP Manage Listings? If you're talking about the old Xstreet page we have to go to anytime we move the MB, need to delete a location, etc., ever since the MP began, all my inventory on *that* page shows as "unassociated" but in reality *is* associated on the MP edit listings area. ETA: Opppssss...already answered.

Amethyst Jetaime wrote: Just checked mine. All seems ok. Have had deliveries every day. One aborted delivery on the 21st but was repurchased by the custmer. ok. All mine are on MB still. Thanks Amethyst. I still haven't had any sales since Monday, but I'm likely in my "no sales" part of the cycle. Have to wait until LL rolls the dice and says, "Ok, it's Czari's turn to sell something today."

Dartagan Shepherd wrote: My "last straw" moment was ... <snip> That precious little bit cost them $300/month in tier for an island we no longer have. I know this will never realistically happen, but I wonder if a few days of a merchant "blackout" protest would wake LL up - kind of like when many websites went "black" to protest SOPA. Merchants mark all their products "not for sale" in world and MP for say 2 days and clearly state why in their stores/MP. This would result in many angry residents (especially the ones for whom SL is one big shopping spree) who *might* contact LL, although that is a stretch. Anything that would dry up LL's income for even a few days I would think would give them enough of a financial "hit" to crawl out of their holes to see what's up. Again...I know it's too far-fetched to implement...just musing...

Toysoldier Thor wrote: well that is why i started this thread to point out what they did to me and to find out if others have had the same problems since about late 21st or 22nd with your MB listings. I am hoping LL will make a rare appearance and explain what they are up to and why they are fiddling with Merchant's store inventory and not notifying MB listing Merchants about MB 4 weeks prior to shut down. I want to have a LL Commerce member explain what they were doing on July 21 - 22. Something happened... Ahhh, ok. I want to see the explanation for this as well.

Madelaine McMasters wrote: I've got perpetual rain/snow falling in front of my lighthouse and nowhere else. I enjoy feeling like Joe Btfsplk ;-) That sounds like great atmosphere for a lighthouse. I would enjoy that as well. The house in the Bay City reference was in a suburban neighborhood with roads and paved sidewalks. This particular land flipper tended to do things that "prompted" people to purchase his land sooner than later and, at least at that time, Bay City residents wanted a neighborhood feel. Conversely, the land flipper owner was absolutely within his rights to have the rain storm. Gah, now I want to go purchase a weather system for my skyhome.

I wasn't suggesting complaining to LL, but if it were me, I would definitely contact them to find out if those remaining MB items were manually "redirected" and inquire why in light of their own posted notice of the advance warning.

MuffinUnsane wrote: I'm glad others know the feeling! I hope all of you keep getting great sales. While I'm not looking to make oodles of L I'm hoping just a bit to support a few shopping trips. I have a very small business by design. For the past 4 years I have been able to "support" myself in SL from my sales. At least for the moment, that works for me.

I am speechless! Using my new favorite adjective for CTL - this is outrageous!! Amazing how the TOS works - a merchant cannot be paid for documented sales but let a Premium member of SL not pay their fee and their entire account could be wiped out. (I was hearing of accounts of this on the old Resident Answer forums years ago. From what I gather, if one does not pay their fee a reminder email is sent then after a period of time (maybe 3-7 days...I'd have to go to the archives to find the info), a 2nd reminder is sent then if the fee is still not paid the account is shut down - inventory gone, etc. VS Free accounts remain on LL forever even if the person signed up one day and never returned. I don't mean to turn this into a Premium vs Free account discussion as I've been both, but it's the best example I can think of to illustrate how "creatively" the TOS "works.")

Rival Destiny wrote: I checked mine - am still all MB's. I've had sales every day with no delivery problems. So, so far so good. However, I am stimied as to why, how, LL has done this. IMO it would have to be a deliberate action not something automated. Am I correct in that thinking? Thank you, Rival - I can exhale the breath I was holding now. My sales have been cycling so strangely the last couple of months that I wouldn't notice a potential MB shutdown based on non-sales for a week or so. So it appears that MBs have not been shut down. I would *really* be surprised if they did so without the posted 4-week advance notice but these days...who knows. As far as deliberate action - in Toy's case, the only way it could have been an automated action as far as I can see is if a program was created to go out and look for merchants using both MBs and DD and switch the remaining MB items over. But then that assumes CTL has been working on that instead of the other show-stopper MP jiras. Even doing this manually is taking valuable time away from addressing the current MP issues, not to mention that if MBs are still operable, it is a merchant's choice how he wants to deliver his products - MB, DD, or a combination. This is a very troubling development.

Toy, are you going to contact LL/CTL to inquire about this? IMO this is outrageous to manually change your remaining MB items to DD. Not that I have a lot of faith in what LL says anymore, but having made the posted statement about the 4 week advance notice before MB would be shut off, to then do an about-face would be dishonest, to say the least. I'm wondering if LL is singling out the merchants who have MP items listed using both delivery methods for some unknown reason. If MB has been discontinued and the merchant community has not received notice, "outrageous" is the only word I can think of. I checked my listings and my most recent MP sale was on Monday, July 23, at 1:30 pm SLT. Anyone still using MBs, have you had recent sales (recent being after July 23)?

Last month wasn't as bad for me as others have reported. For me, I sold a bit less this month, with the same cycle of a few good sales days, then nothing for several days.

Tiffy Vella wrote: Laughing...yes!..and I still do a bit of a happy wiggle inside each time I make a sale. This!! After 4 years I still get a charge when something sells! Gratz on your first MP sale and may many more come your way, Muffin!

1. I cringe thinking of all the manual work involved in moving store locations, even for a small store and for those with many products...just...ACK. I'm sorry you have to move, but it does sound like when you do you will have more prims. But doesn't negate the pain of updating lm's. 2 I think your idea is fantastic and I would pay for it. 3. Considering that LL can't (or won't) clean up the mess on the MP, instituting something new might just throw them into apoplexy. OTOH, since they let SL limp along with broken components for years and love to throw new shineys out - this might catch someone's attention. Heading to vote for jira.

I always enjoy going to locales that either have rain/thunder or snow effects, most likely done by a weather prim/gadget thing. One of my funniest experiences with this was when Bay City was brand new and land was quickly snatched up by land flippers. One such flipper had a parcel with a house on it that was perpetually stormy and rainy. Walking down the sidewalk on a sunny day, then passing by this house being besieged by a storm, which was not affecting neighboring plots, was a bit surreal. Reminded me of the cartoon character Joe Btfsplk from the Lil'Abner comic strip who always had a dark cloud over his head. The other amusing thing about this parcel was you heard a "puddle splashing" noise on the dry sidewalk.

Arwen's Creations By Arwen Serpente has some amazing Medieval clothes - complete with appropriate shoes and accessories at great prices. I found her store via a hunt and loved it. To get an idea, her MP url is: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/34440

Dartagan Shepherd wrote: Couldbe Yue wrote: Back in 2009, I had a chat to Blue Linden and he said (and I paraphrase here) that LLs aim was to have people sell their wares free or cheaply to encourage newbies to stay. At that stage I think the their idea of the perfect relevance score was either 300 or 350L on XSL. I'm wondering now if they've dropped it to around 150 as I had a quick look at my last months sales and the overwhelming majority of them were around that price - a few higher (500-1000) , an even tinier amount of my expensive stuff and almost none of my sub 100L. So (this month excepted so far) I'm maintaining the same turnover but doing it through increased sales of my lower priced stuff. One purpose seems to be creating a spread for merchants. People get "turns" at sales in order to either hide the lack of a previously healthier market or to create the illusion that at least most people are selling "something". You might have something there, Dartagan. I do feel like I'm playing the lottery these days as a merchant - will I sell *something* today, will it be another few days of no sales followed by several days of multiple-sales/per day. Then the particular items I'm selling is not trending like it used to consistently for years. Every once in awhile there would be an odd item (the item is not odd - just that it's not a big seller ) sold, like once a year. Now, the "odder" items (ie. not my "mainstays") are the ones that are selling.

Arwen Serpente wrote: Czari, the date Josh is referring to was a deploy date of some code for the MP, and well, it was "memorable". :smileywink: Ah, thanks Arwen. (And I realized I typed in the wrong date - Josh said the 13th, not the 12th. :matte-motes-bashful-cute-2:)

Josh Susanto wrote: >CTL has promised a 4 week notice before any MB shut-off. CTL has said a lot of things. Do you recall 13 September 2011? I apparently missed it. What happened on September 12, 2011?