Harm Xue

I'm sorry to say I totally missed that feature of 'controlled placement" when it was active, and I would have loved that. Probably for the best that I missed it or I would be complaining now "Where is it?". :smileyhappy: That seems like something LL and the Commerce Team should in fact be working on. Since the new MP and the implementation of stores, it would only seem fair to let us decide how we want our store presentation to be. And the first page to any store is of major importance! I think hoping for our own categories might be in the real of utopia, but, yes, would be nice too. :smileyvery-happy:

Okay, just to clarify, Mickey. I'm not talking about anything we don't already have, nor asking for new features. I'm talking about the "Sort by:" filters that you have in the MP, where you do have two separate filters, one the "Relevance", which is the default selected filter when you open any MP page, and you have the "Best Selling" filter, which is the one that makes no sense in the results it displays, nor should it make any other sense than what it's name is: Best Selling aka items in the store or search parameter you use that sold more. That's what's not working, and would be better to just remove that sorting filter option. Sorry if I wasn't clear to what I was referring to. And everything you are saying, applies to the Relevance filter and I agree with it, after understanding your explanation. It may have it's quirks, but seems to provide some rotation to the displayed results. And also, in broad searches, it's good that Relevance will bring up new products as per recent sales giving them visibility.

I assume you are talking about the "Relevance" filter, Mickey? If so, and if it works as you explained (thank you for that explanation), I can see merit in that, it's a good way to rotate your first page. Like you said "so that it does not look stale". Still, not sure if the "weight" given to recent sales should boost your least sold item right into first place, that seems a bit too much. But the "Best Selling" filter, there is no other way to look at it, it's items you sell more. And as it is now, it would be best to just remove it all together. I can't imagine that would be such a big ordeal to remove one filter option. At least shows you are attentive to complains and you care enough to pull out a feature that just doesn't work.

I think that's very much the problem. I keep hearing about new bells and whistles and bugs like these are left behind until everyone just grows used to them. This totally reminds me of an emergent 3rd world country I lived in, where the news about how the economy was growing, were abundant every day, but the severe basic problems that would (and did) come back to bite you in the butt, where just left unattended because people had grown used to them. There is even a jira on this issue https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/WEB-3140 for whatever good that does. The jira will be having it's 1 year anniversary in a few days...just sad.

Please, if you can't fix the sorting in the MP for Best Selling and Relevant items, at least just remove the Best Selling one. It's totally bogus and misleading to our customers. If I go into my dashboard and look at best selling there, although cluttered with old items I haven't sold for ages (should be some delete option in that listing), at least the top selling items there do rank on number of sales. But visiting my store and sorting by Best Selling...keeps listing items according to whatever I sold in the last 3 days...or something like that. This is really ridiculous, can't fix it, remove it at least! Edit: To further elaborate on the absurd: According to that sorting filter, my least sold item is currently featuring as my best selling one, I presume because I sold one on October 3rd. Although...on the same day I sold other items that don't even feature on the first page and since then, I have sold others who also don't feature on the first page! So, it's completely baffling what sort of criteria is used for that filter. And I would seriously consider re wording the Relevance filter to something like "Mix and Match" because that's what it looks like, some weird mix between the erroneous Best Selling and some other factor/s.

The thing is... Unlike with RL, where an item you want to sell had an initial cost to you, so you can't sell it for less than, at least, as much as it costs you to buy more, or you will just eventually have no money and close shop. In SL, for a lot of people, all the item costs, is time. And often, spare time. So, in fact those people could sell their items for 10L or less. It's a simple fact that, just like a RL merchant has to be aware than some day, someone might open up a similar shop right next door to you and drive the prices into the ground (and it happens often). A merchant in SL has to be aware of the same thing. Is this bad? Yes, there are several instances where this only harms everyone. But that is the reality of a free market, and ultimately, it is still the best option over any regulated one. This is where merchant and marketing tips come to play, business plans and, in the long run, making the best item you can. Quality matters. And people will hunt for the freebie items and buy them in crates, but they will also want that quality item they know it's not free. And they buy it. It's a jungle out there or in here. So stay at the top of your game, improve, offer better and more. People will still buy your items and the 10L merchants will become your customers. Last, which I believe someone else pointed out, SL will only be here for as long as we can attract new users, and a 10L or freebie item can give that newbie that is just trying out SL some sense of accomplishment, giving him/her time to grow into SL until they are ready to invest their RL money into more and better things. I'm not sure where I read it but someone said the "basic mode" of the new viewer didn't (or doesn't) allow a user to change clothes?! And who ever decided this to be so is STILL working at Linden Labs?!!! It only takes a quick look at any virtual world to know that character customization is the first thing any user will play with!

Thanx for the explanation, on scripts and mesh, Medhue! Glad I stopped by the forum before answering to Madeliefste notecard inworld. :smileywink:

As a customer I'll click the ignore button instantly, so as a merchant I won't use them either. It's just a nuisance. Now, without intently hijacking Verwood's but on a similar subject. I have been pondering the use of a mailbox, something to send news on very sporadic occasions like for announcing an update. I don't use a store group or the subscrib-o-thingy. I like to stay out of my customers hair as much as I can. :smileytongue: A mailbox would send only what information (notecard/message/object) I wanted and to my precompiled list of customers. Although I have mixed feeling on this because getting a random blue message offer (or worse, pilled up upon ones log in) can be just as aggravating to some, as the greeter? Thoughts anyone?

I never put prices on my ads, for all the above mentioned reasons. As Sassy lifted that other skirt: permissions, yes. As a shopper, I find it worse to buy an item with a poster ad price marked 'x' and then the actual price is 'y'. So I never relied on poster prices, always clicked to buy or simply hover. Again, as a shopper, permissions is a most to be on display clearly.

I took a peek at your marketplace store and your work does look good, although, I can't remember ever "noticing" your store before. And one of the things I constantly do is browse the marketplace to see what's being done. So, without commenting on your inworld store, because I haven't visited. I can offer a few points about your marketplace brand. You have one thing right which is, you actually did create a brand and your logo and the frame for your items is, fairly consistent through out all your items. It's a good thing to patronize a frame (even a standard picture size), so that people quickly begin to associate the frame to the store brand. So, only word there is trying to adjust any pictures that don't quite fit your standard. Another thing I noticed, is that you are a bit "too spread out". You sell many different things. Selling clothes and templates is fine, but clothes and buildings, not so much. Customers like to thing, if they buy from someone who only makes that: "it should be good, she is specialized". So, maybe break out of your main brand, what is "out of context", move it to an alt, make a second store. And physically separate it in your inworld store too. Also, from the quick browse, is your background for the items. It's a bit too crowded, it detracts from showing off your product clearly. When buying from the marketplace, we have just a picture to guide us in judging if the item is good or not (this can be even worse inworld, as the pictures in the vendors can be even harder to see). So, making the model and the item worn (speaking of clothes) stand out from the picture, will help a great deal. On a final note, still in the subject of standard, the model you use, the pose for the picture. Those are good to try to keep in a rather close pattern. Look at some of the major designer stores, see how they do it, judge for yourself if you notice the same. Hope that helps some.

And that is the fundamental difference between your posts and most of everyone else in here: It's all about your business. I understand the concern, it's just a very narrow way to look at everything that affects us all. And I see how it would concern me, if I had to compete with mesh having a physics layer that can finally be matched to the actual visual of the terrain the avatar is walking on. That is an incredible plus, to me, it already outweighs the added PE cost.

Wow, these threads move faster than local chat with 10 people talking! With that said, maybe i should mention i haven't even tested mesh and it's not really up in my list of "to do". So, i don't know if i fall in the...what was the word..."meshanistas"! Although i have kept moderatly in the loop to see how it's coming, for the simple fact it is undoubtedly an advance for SL. Like i mention, i think there are some severe implementation flaws by LL, probably under the assumption mesh wouldn't have so many...meshanistas. As for how fast changes/improvements are embraced by the SL community. Time will prove who is right, and if this was a solo project, only baby of LL, then maybe it would take a good amount of time, but, with the Phoenix team, working on this for as long as they have in the form of Firestorm, they are a going to be a major boost in all this. Finally, just like many others, i did try the first v2 base viewers and manged to stay logged in for about 5 minutes, back in 2010. But try these same viewers now, namely the Firestorm, even the beta one, and they they really aren't as hair pulling anymore. Again, another point for mesh implementation. Just my 2 cents, and, not a meshanista, but definitely not with my head in the sand.

Honestly, I don't weight MESH as a threat or not. It's a step forward. It's a proven efficient technology. And like it's been said in many threads, other gaming environments have been using it for ages with remarkable results, translated in much much higher FPS. As Imnotgoing Sideways, has tried to explain, the new PE system is actually the real "lag counter" that we probably should have had a very long time ago. And can show us just how laggy the favored prims actually are. Also, as Medhue Simoni, tried to explain, MESH will clearly show who has taken the time to optimize their builds and not just dump something visually pretty with total disregard for it's weight on the system we all share, and suffer the consequences. I do hope that LL will take into consideration all the issues and concerns from the creators. As I see it now, looks like there are already some major FUBAR on the LL side. Hope that gets fixed soon. On a final note. MESH won't be here 6 months from now. MESH is here. Do a search in the marketplace for mesh and you get 5403 results. MESH viewers are here. There is not much missing for all this to turn "real".

I have used a number of sit scripts over the years, it's the only thing in my items i don't do myself, so i'm picky. There is a relatively recent one that honestly, blew me away: AVSitter.

If the marketplace is shutdown every time there is a server update...we better look for another website to sell. Joking aside, MP has been down for over one hour, why is the status page never ever used to actually post warnings when they could be of any use?

I always use the MP search, if I have something specific in mind. Star by a search for items in all categories, then start to narrow down the search results with the categories tab and even use some of the filters. If it's the kind of item that might be available inworld, rezed, so that I can see it, I'll then go to the store inworld, to look at it, and probably buy it right there. I do walk around stores browsing for somethign to buy, but that only when I just want to buy "something" (usually clothes or a new boat), but for those I already have a few favorite shops I'll visit every now and then. As for the inworld search, for me, it's completely useless aside from searching for other people, pulling up someones profile.

I just read the transcript from the meeting with Brooke. I consider there are three main points that i will be very happy to see implemented, being: First, saving you preferences from the last session you closed. With that, you set your preferences once and pretty much you won't be dabling with those ever again. Second, by default, import your SL settings right to the MP. And maybe i'm mistaken, there was a bit of confusion in the discussion when this was broached, but the settings to be imported are the SL settings on the general tab of preferences (the main guidelines to what your SL overal rating is), not the individual settings that you have the 3 check boxes to chose from, when you are using search. Would appreciate clarification on this. Third, an alert when you do a search and you have set a "lower" maturity rating, that there are other items not being listed due to your current maturity setting. Which i mentioned in comparison to the old xstreet, in my last post. On the topic of the check boxes or drop down menu for the 3 (or 5 levels) to chose from during search. I think making those check boxes, will feel more familiar for the user, since it's the same way it presents to us when we use search inworld. With these measures implemented, i'm quite alright with having a "gorean chair" rated mature. As long as the maturity rating in MP reflects by default what your inworld maturity rating is, and stores it. At the same time making people aware "there is more to see". As a final note. Really, i still resent the fact i keep getting commerce email for xmas specials or halloween specials or commerce opportunities, and didn't get any word on these changes. My alert on what was going on was the fact i had zero sales since these were implemented. The mailing list exists so, please figure out which one to use and use just the one.

If "gorean" and "slave" are such horriby wrong words for describing furniture, then i give up and rated every single item of mine as adult. I would rather you arrive at my store and find nothing, then you might remember to turn on mature content, than what was happening before where only a handful of items showed up. People would think that was it. In the old xstreet there was a warning, somewhere on the left side that said something like: "some items were not displayed because of your maturity rating" (something like that, can't remember exactly). And i believe it even had a counter of how many items were "hidden". Bringing that back would help some.