Tari Landar

Marina Ramer wrote: Happy toshi, I am on top 100 merchants of Marketplace, please have at least an idea of who I am, before you make a comment? Alicia: I dont loose time with brainless responses no sense, pointless! Toysoldier yes the people who sadly thinks like her are the start of all this, agree again To the rest I have 100% of good reviews I cannot complain but I work a lot on the after sales service and try to leave always the customer happy If you're seriously going to sit here and toot your own horn like that (hey, whatever tickles your pickle if you enjoy doing so, haha), then you are either doing something terribly wrong, or you are fibbing about your "status" as a merchant on MP. Freebies and dollarbies are NOT hurting most merchants on MP or inworld, certainly not those who consider themselves top anything. But I can see from your responses what this thread is really about. You really don't get to decide who does and does not get to comment. You may not like their comments, or agree with them, but we've all the same rights to comment as you do. I don't think being rude to other posters is going to help your bottom line any.

I like the free market we have. You can find anything, in any price range. Those who want to pay more, will. Those who don't, won't. Eliminating freebies, dollarbies or any other price level from the marketplace won't change this one little bit. I don't charge high prices for what I make. I charge what I find them worth based on what went into making them or putting them together. Some might not agree with my methods. I suppose it's a good thing it's not their work, their product, or their income to worry about in that case. It's not that I don't value my stuff, my time, my work, my skills or myself in any way. Whether the items are free for $5k. I get told all the time some of the things I price too low, and others I price too high. There is simply no way to win. While I appreciate any and all commentary from folks, in fact I encourage it and will often take it into consideration, I still feel like I should be free to price at whatever level I so desire. I don't believe another should be able to dictate this for me, based on their own ideals. I'm not hurting anyone else by giving some things away. In fact I wouldn't be hurting anyone else if I gave all my stuff away, if I so chose to. Anyone that tells me I am "hurting" them, is probably looking in the mirror. I understand why some get frustrated when their income is being affected negatively, in any way. But there is an awful lot more folks could do for themselves to fix that. Spending all your time looking over the fence at your neighbor's uncut grass while yours grows into a jungle is probably not the wisest choice. It's good to take notice...rarely ever good to stare for lengthy periods of time. It certainly won't fix your income issues. And yes I do know that it's not just an sl income for at least some folks. That's when you need to buckle down and work even harder at maintaining your income, isn't it? Freebies and dollarbies on the MP, while you may find them annoying, are not killing your business(or any other person's) all on their lonesome. In fact, they're not even the biggest issue. They've been around since day one in sl and they aren't going anywhere. Taking them off MP won't take them out of the retail market in sl. Proposing their elimination would be like sticking a cotton ball over a huge crack in the Hoover Dam. Sucker ain't gonna hold very long and most definitely won't solve your problem.

Knowl Paine wrote: Of course I would prefer to deal directly with the Merchant, but as many Merchants have listed in their Profiles, "I have a rl, so I cannot be in SL everyday". It sure would be nice if that Merchant had an associate who may be able to help me (the customer). A BBB would imply that Merchants who participate do have something additional to offer Customers, you are absolutely correct. Maybe, this is why some Residents dislike the idea. You should consider joining the Team, we could use someone who hates the idea. Your presence would keep the system fair and balanced. :matte-motes-grin: A BBB would most certainly NOT imply that at all. We'd like to think a seal of approval implies that, but that's not the case/ A seal of approval would most likely simply imply "best of..." type deal, like we already see. Because it would be mere mortals like yourself, and myself(not specifically me, lol but *like me) making the decision as to who gets added and who doesn't. I'd love to know how many merchants you run into on a daily basis that actually have this in their profile, though, and exactly how you're finding them all. I find the exact opposite to be the case in that most merchants (not all, especially folks who might not be "as serious" as it were) have the EXACT method(s) they want you to utilize to contact them. Does that mean they can't also include "I have a rl too, please be patient while awaiting assistance"-or some form of it? No. In fact, I'd prefer to know those sorts of things to be honest. That's the reason I mention the fact that I often go afk and may not be available in my profile...it prevents nasty IMs, nasty NCs, some of the impatience some folks have and such things. Would seem to me if you are running into stuff like that in a merchant profile and it sets you off, you'd simply not do business with them. Why would you need some other person's seal of approval for that merchant to make this decision? Exactly what sort of recourse do you honestly think some group of average, everyday, ordinary residents can give you that LL doesn't already? They can't "help" you should there be a problem, anymore than LL already can. They'd have absolutely NO business getting involved in another merchant's dealings either-that simply screams drama..."sir or madam, we have a buyer here who has an issue and has come to us with said issue...blah blah", yeah that's not going to go over well, lol.. Sure it *might*(and I use that term very loosely) be nice if they could, but they can't. But to be frank, I'm not so sure I'd trust a group of people to decide the fate of others, or "assist" with issues, either, and be able to do so professionally. I think that's expecting a bit much of people anyway, bit too much responsibility put on other residents. I kinda like the fact that LL doesn't really allow this sort of this thus far, or at least doesn't support it. I can imagine the issues it would cause. I mean look at all the "police" type forces we've already got out there. Sure some have the best intentions(I think), but they still cause even more issues than they solve. What is so radically different about a BBB than what we've got, what we've seen and such, so far? What would really set this apart? What sort of "power" as it were, do you want to hand over to these folks that would really make them so much more helpful and useful than what we've got. I think those(like many) are pretty important questions to answer, if you're all for such an idea. You've got to have a reason for being all for it. Aside from the fact that it sounds good(because it sounds good to a lot of people, but that doesn't mean it *is* good, lots of things sound good, lol). But if simple answers to some of the simpler questions can't be found, or given, how are people going to answer the more tough ones?

Same look I've had for a while now. New-er skin(don't remember when I bought it, but it was sometime in the summer, and before that I had the same skin since 08), and though I spent a portion of '11 as a blonde, I went with black hair this time. I rarely change things so I'm quite sure I'll look this way for a while, lol. Not that it's anything to write home about. I avoided a full body pic because I refuse to wear shoes and people hate system feet, don't wanna give nightmares (too lazy to actual post process the photo, and no clue why the pants texture isn't loading right, sl doesn't like me tonight)

Word of mouth is your best tool at this point. Clubs that start off with huge crowds, tend to fizzle real fast. Start small and work up. There is a club on the sim I am on, though frankly I'm not real sure how long they'll last. They're killing the sim and making it a bear to even live. I'd rather not move, again, I like my plot. But I may have to, because they lack the consideration one needs to own a business of any sort. That's my biggest peeve with club owners, many pay little to no attention to their impact on the rest of the sim. Meh. But I won't knock them all, there are some who do a fine job of keeping an eye on their virtual footprint-they're just getting fewer and further between Things I have seen in clubs that are at least seemingly successful... events-whether they are your good old standard "best in" or some other event, people reeeeeeeally seem to like them(despite what many might say, lol), atmosphere-staff, party goers and whatnot all included, gesturbating is freaking annoying-yes SOME people like it, but there are tons(like me) who refuse to go to most clubs because they don't keep this under control-blah, emoting instead of chatting is a huge no-no in my book, so don't give your staff emotes to put out in chat periodically "tip the dj, tip the club, tip me..blah blah blah"-I won't do any of the above if you gesturettack me, encourage chit chat, encourage your staff to actually participate in conversations....do NOT allow staff to bring in gf/bf/partner/so/pets/whatever if they can't stay the heck out of their little im boxes and do their job-this is something that reeeally grates on my nerves(and people make it so obvious, lol), a really great dj can both do his/her job and also interract-hire those types...it's really hard(I ave been a dj so I understand completely and not just a playlist dj, lol) but it speaks volumes, decor-limit it..a lot, no unnecessary scripts, NO particles(yes customers can turn them off, but I still see no need for them to begin with), you can do and say a lot with just a little decor, considering you want a multitude of party goers you're going to want to limit what the machines have to render, a ton of sculpty though it may look nice, could prove to be problematic, mesh-I wouldn't even bother with just yet still too many who can't see it (I visited a couple clubs the other day who use a mesh something or other for dance balls which don't function for the folks who can't see it(it should still work on touch, but it doesn't, I tried using a non-mesh viewer) sorry TL;DR....umm, yeah...create a nice atmosphere, let word of mouth speak for you, have events(and list them), you'll get there

As much as I'd like to say there are "standards", because that's really what it comes down to (at least I hope, lol), I can honestly say that despite my strong desire to see them, I would never presume another should follow my actions, ideals, or desires. I know it probably sounds strange, since I DO have some set standards that often dictate who I will shop with. But that's as a customer, not a merchant. I don't want to, as a merchant, tell others what to do. I can make recommendations, give ideas, tell them what works best for me and what I've seen work(or even not work) for others. But I don't think I, or anyone actually, gets to dictate the be all end all. As Mickey pointed out, that's exactly what a badge, or seal of approval, type thing would do. It's not so much the idea itself I take issue with. It's more in how it would be brought to fruition, kept up, constantly improved upon, made known to the *entire merchant community..things like this. The actual funtionality of such a thing. Because, like I already said, it sounds fantastic, in theory. But when you really think about the functionality and how it would come to be, there are far more obstacles than you can see on paper. I don't think some seal of approval will help much, but that's my own personal hangup. I have some serious issues with some of the creators who are known grid-wide as "the best of the best"-both in their creation as well as "in person"(as in, their person/personality, etc..). I have had terrible dealings with some of them. Yet you rarely, ok *I* rarely, hear a bad word uttered, and those who dared, well lets just say it didn't bode well for those folks. I'm not pointing direct fingers, I'm not going to say who or what or anything like that. This is just one example of the type of merchant who will most likely make it through and get that special seal of approval-despite the fact that they-like most-have flaws too.That bothers me tremendously. It probably shouldn't, and it's most definitely my own hangup, but it still exists. It's one of the reasons(there are many, lol) why I seriously dislike such organizations, groups, committees and whatnot. Too unbiased for my taste. I just don't think it's possible for most people to remain unbiased. Sure a few can pull it off, but I don't think most can. Especially those who are friends with such and such merchant. How will/would you make certain they didn't overlook issues simply based on that alone? We can't pretend folks wouldn't, lol. Because they would. Unfortunately even some of my best friends in the world with the best intentions in the world, haven't made the wisest of decisions. I don't exclude myself from that either. I would never want to be on such a committee because frankly, I might be a bit too harsh if I felt I was put in such a "power" situation, or maybe I wouldn't be harsh enough, and then I'd second guess myself.. Yeesh, that's a lot of responsibility to place on the shoulders of ordinary human beings, eh? Marketplace is far from perfect, in fact I've not run into one person yet who says otherwise. It so has it's flaws. But there are just as many inworld, at least, as there are on MP. Let us not forget that a lot of the merchants on MP also have locations in world, not all, but a lot. The same goes in the reverse. Inworld or on MP, neither is immune from crappy customer service or merchants who maybe just don't care as much as others. I honestly haven't yet seen anything that gives me hope this idea(or any idea I've seen to date, so I'm not just being critical of this one) can change that. I've seena lot of ideas tossed around, many never make it off paper. But I've not found a successful one yet. Wanting change, and being able to actually create it are two totally different creatures. For now, your best bet is to let your feet, your fingers and your wallet do the talking for you. Got an issue? Use the avenues available to you, that includes word of mouth as well(within the limitations we're given in sl of course), make sure you let your money do the talking for you too. Find a wonderful creator? Use the avenues available to you to tell the masses, and continue to be a patron. I like what we've got available, for now. Though I hate the rating system on MP and think it needs either a complete overhaul and rework or simply removed...I KNOW such a rating system inworld would never work.(for the very reasons it doesn't work on MP, except likely on a larger scale inworld). So something like a BBB seems, to me from what's been described, as though it's just another rating system. Which is an epic failboat at the moment.

Dartagan Shepherd wrote: If any of that applies to me (and it does, whether intentionally or not) all I can offer is an apology (unlike LL) and a better 2012 (like LL). But guilty of that. Daily operations are always kept up with (which consist of mostly trying to figure out what refunds or replacements to give out), but updates are far, far behind. Partially due to hurry up and wait for certain functions, certain bugs to be fixed, hitting a brick wall with development and communications outside of SL with scripts, thinking mesh would be here sooner rather than later, etc. Inability to build the kind of product we want to move forward with. Ultimately no excuses and I bear full responsiblity as a merchant. Our backs are against the wall now with mesh. In order to stay current and not get crucified with future land impact calculations and script limits, we may have to go that way even though some of our customers may not be able to enjoy it because LL is unable to provide a single viewer that works for everyone, leaving TPVs to play catch up. Agree with the irony, and there's far more of it than you think on all sides. I'll take that as a nudge to shut up and get back to work. Disclaimer that I never meant that anyone should be excluded from becoming a merchant, or that they should be some form of elite class. Only that merchants should have an environment on par with any other online commerce system. lol, I would never demand an apology of anyone(though they're always appreciated) but it actually didn't have anything to do with you. I've been just as guilty(as I already stated earlier) of the very same things. That's likely how I recognize them as easily...and exactly why i'm as forgiving when I do see/experience them. I know what it's like to be on the other side of those mistakes.(a little too well in some ways with rl businesses, but that's another subject for another day, haha) I'll have to state again, for the record, that such an entity only sounds good on paper. Unfortunately, that's how a lot of ideas start out. Sometimes we can make them actually BE better than they sound on paper. More times than not, we can't. That's exactly what having some sort of committee(at best) be in charge of something like this would be. If anything, it might actually scare people away, not just from purchasing from folks who haven't been branded with a seal of approval, but also from making many other purchasers. Because who in their right mind is going to trust a bunch of other beings who likely have a vested interest in the failure of their competitors. I know that probably comes off kinda harsh and not likely what's intended by the idea. But that's exactly what it would become. It wouldn't be something officially supported by LL-thankfully-which will make folks even more wary. It will likely lead to some folks thinking others have an inflated head. I hate to sound so catty(I know, doesn't seem that way but I really do), but this is what we've already got with all the "best" blogs, sites, sims, magazines and whatnot we've already got. They leave a bad taste in the mouths of thousands-far more than benefit from whatever it is they provide. They just don't see this-because they choose not to. It rubs folks the wrong way. We don't need a grammy award show, a seal of approval, a best of the best...yadda yadda... in an environment like this. If anything, we need more things that put us all on a level playing field where we belong. We need folks willing to accept that just because they think someone else isn't up to snuff, compared to them, doesn't mean they can't offer guidance, advice, assistance even...or at the very least, not think so little of them. We need for products and businesses, as much as merchants, to actually stand on their own merit(and not because they are on some list, have some approval by some agency, things like this). I dunno. I stick up for the big guy too, but the big guy doesn't need someone in his corner. The little guy does. Especially the little guy that might not know how to defend himself, or might need some help getting off the ground, making improvements. Call me kooky, but I'd rather see MORE merchants in sl, not less, even ones directly competing with me(and since I don't have a particular area that would be a lot of people, haha). I don't like ideas that would prevent someone else from taking their business plans and moving forward with them. Whether or not they succeed, we shouldn't be trying to stop them. I get that some folks don't want to help others-I don't agree, but, whatever tickles your pickle. But what I don't understand, is giving more reasons for folks to NOT want to join the creative community. We've certainly got room for all.

RaptonX Zorger wrote: I had to re add my paypal to payment info when I went to cash out today, I added and had to enter paypal login, it worked and all, I think, waiting for the credit to process, but why would it do that? Did they lose the info when they changed the system? Not real sure about things changing with the system change(I don't really know which system change you're talking about, truthfully). But I have had this happen more than once. I once read a complaint about it on the forums, but I've no clue where and it was some time ago. I haven't had it happen for a couple years now though. It very well may just be some minor bug. As long as it takes this time for you, and stays put, I wouldn't worry. If it doesn't stay put, you might want to file a ticket or something, so they can at least look into it.

We're all merchants to some degree here and I think the moment you start trying to decide who is "serious", "deserving", or who is or is not a merchant among the actual sellers of the world(even a virtual one), you have already overstepped the line. Little tough to come back from that one too, imo. Because you've already said things that place your foot firmly in your mouth. No one here, or anywhere really, gets to decide who is or is not, imo. Even the dude selling nothing but freebies offers a service to someone, somewhere. I think it does us all a little good to welcome any and all, even if we feel they are below us (I don't personally feel like anyone is below me, in fact I'd much prefer to believe everyone is above me, gives me something to work for, when I want to). I have got to admit I am finding a ton of irony in this thread though. I see at least a couple merchants who I am quite fond of as a patron that can't even follow their own, umm, advice, let alone what most would likely deem "good business practices". In fact they've downright got some really bad practices, like skipping town on their customers for months(not actually going anywhere, I mean failing to contact despite being inworld, on forums, etc..), not offering updates after promised, not fixing broken things and poor customer service in general. They'd likely be shunned by any BBB that existed to begin with, lol. But, like I said, I'm a patron of them, which means they must offer me something, right? Either that or I'm an idiot-which is entirely plausible too. See even "good" merchants, can do bad things. This is something I recognize. Personally I liken these folks to being more on my level of sorts. Whether they offer better things(including customer service) than I do, or not, I sort of put them down in the hobbiest area. So I'm a bit more forgiving when things go awry or they don't quite perform on this super mechanical and structured timeline, putting out only top dollar and top notch products, always around 24/7..etc..etc... I think you get my point. I'm actually more likely to be a patron of a business like that for the simple fact that I can connect on some level. Weird maybe, but sometimes my brain just works that way. But to then see them say what others should do, and how eliminating the merchants that perform much like they do(albeit it in different areas), sorta makes me chuckle a bit. I'm not trying to knock people I'm just not sure if some realize the irony of their statements, or if they even realize their customers are actually reading what they have to say, lol. Sometimes it does us well to think about what we say before we actually click send. Else we come off a tad bit...erm...."off" to our customers, at best, and at worst we give them reason to high tail it out of here because we can't even keep our own stories straight. In other words, if you can't actually provide even some of the most basic customer service it's probably best you not tell others that they should, lol. You haven't really a leg to stand on. edited to add-this isn't actually a reply to Chelsea, lol, I just clicked the reply button so it automatically says that..sorry for any inconvenieces, forgot it does that til after I did it...oops.

Mickey Vandeverre wrote: Frankly, I'm not all that professional most days. My store is a mess. It would not meet your group's standards, according to that list you supplied. lol, you stated that better than I could. I am far from a professional in sl. I've been creating for some time now and sometimes I even wonder why I call myself a creator, haha, I'm often times just "playing", you know? Don't get me wrong I absolutely LOVE what I do, and I love learning new things. I enjoy the fact that my rl benefits from it as well. But I'm not on some top 10, top 50, even top 500 list for a reason. I don't have the means, and most times desire, to be that "big and famous", for lack of better term. But I do provide a level of customer service that I expect of others. If/when there is an issue(hey, it happens, lol), I fix it as soon as I can. I have only had one issue never resolved and when that was over I realized the person had mistaken my product for something else, likely felt sheepish, and stopped contacting. Eh...such is life, right? Beyond that though, I've always handled things as quickly as possible. My standards aren't the same as others, my stuff isn't nearly as good as a lot of stuff, but I wouldn't consider anything I offer(service or product) as substandard....still I wouldn't want to place myself on the same "level" as it were, as someone with a huge business-been here for years-thousands of customer base-huge group-constantly putting out new content-up to date on the content they put out(ie mesh and such)...it just feels wrong. I like being a little hole in the wall, mom and pop, type shop. It serves me well. I love knowing that I can always go up from here, so to speak. My content can always be improved, I'll never plateau. I am always learning, always improving, always doing better than the year before. My store is tiny, it's not even a building and it likely never will be(unless someone wants to give me a building rent free forever...bwaahaaaa...I kid, I kid, I wouldn't want that). My actual store has less items than my MP even. I put stuff out pretty slowly, unless I've a ton of time on my hands-like right now since we're a couple months ahead in lessons and waiting on curriculum, lol. I'll likely put out a couple month's worth of stuff in the next couple weeks. But then it'll be a bit before I add more. That's just how I work. I'm a very small fish, in a very big ocean that doesn't want to strive to be a big shark Not saying a BBB, or anything like it, would require such things. It just seems to me that being on such a list, there are certain expectations that may manifest simply by association, and I have a very difficult time thinking otherwise. You're going to have people on there that do all of the above I've already described and folks like me just wouldn't fit those "standards" set forth by others(intentional or otherwise), it would make me feel awkward. But that's just me. That doesn't mean the IDEA behind it is bad, or couldn't benefit others. Even if it did come to fruition and work grandly, I'd likely never participate for that reason alone. I'd feel weird, and I think I'm weird enough

Sassy Romano wrote: They're all wrong, trust me the way it works these days is that YOU pay the merchant to sell items on your land. My fee is quite reasonable *smiles* ROFL!! I like this idea

Chelsea Malibu wrote: I dont recall every mentioning a fee. In fact, I had planned on using a hosting account I already have for the website and that it would be open to anyone. BTW all ideas start from a theory. SL started as a theory. How exactly would you get all merchants together? How would you inform merchants all over the grid that the service exists? I'm going to be blunt here....you need to quit taking offense to everything people say. Just because some point out flaws in the idea doesn't in any way negate the 'theory" or the idea, nor you. In fact, if I were you, I'd be encouraging people to point out the flaws. You do want your idea to come to fruition, and to be successful, and to provide a valuable tool for merchants and customers alike, right?(I think thats kinda obvious, lol). Then you need to be willing to accept that people are GOING to challenge this. You're aksing merchants what they think about an idea...and then acting offended when they answer. That's a bad start, if you ask me. I've made that mistake myself, both in real life and even in second life, as a business person. Never, ever ask others what they think, if you're not prepared to listen, and accept what they say. Some folks will be bluntly truthful with you-whether they are for or against the idea. Some folks won't be quite so blunt. But that doesn't mean either one is right or wrong. Your reactions to the answers you receive however, will speak volumes. Right now, I'm not convinced you've thoroughly thought the idea through. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but it's the truth. Coming as someone who may be a teensy little creator with a teensy business in sl, but one who has owned a business in rl for more than 13 years now. That's about the only time you'll ever hear my toot my own horn, lol. I didn't get where I am by being defensive anytime I was challenged, not learning from my mistakes and the mistakes of those before me, and pretending to know it all(again I apologize for being blunt but I don't know any better way to say this, it's just exactly how you're coming off in this thread and I don't think it's intentional, but, yeah, you're giving people a reason to *not be confident the idea will work). I have no qualms being honest with people, when they ask me to. But I do, at least slightly, take issue when people ask for opinions but don't really mean they want honesty. That rubs me the wrong way. So....good luck with your idea. I'll check into it a year from now and see how it's panned out. Right now, I don't believe it will. Please prove me wrong

I only support such an idea in theory. In practice it could never work, for all the reasons already stated. Humans in this virtual world simply cannot remain unbiased. So exactly how would you support/protect *all* merchants and not just those bigger names out there? You'd require some kind of "fee" to join, right? That right there is where the buck stops. No one, in sl, should have to PAY to be known as a good business. Sorry, that just doesn't fly with me. A good business, a great creator, these things will stand on their own merit as they always have. What recourse could a BBB in sl do for the customer who's been wronged? Absolutely nothing. In rl the BBB while still not a perfect solution, remains one *tool for consumers to offer them a little bit of something. But it offers them absolutely nothing if the business isn't registered(much in the same it would do in sl). So what exactly would a BBB in sl do that word of mouth can't, and doesn't, already do? If you want to convince people that this idea would work beyond simply theory, you need to give them *reasons it would work. Not just state the obvious. Of course customers have problems. In any world, this happens, and while we'd all love for no one to ever have problems, that's not realistic thinking. You do realize that for the most part we only hear from folks who have bad experiences, not nearly as often from folks who don't. Those experiences tend to trickle down when we make recommendations and such to others. But rarely will you see someone post, for example here in the forums, about a fantastic experience. But you will hear about a lot of the bad ones. That's the nature of the beast. Nothing anyone does can, or will, change that. People who are upset about something are more likely to be loud(er). So, if you really think this is a great idea, you're going to have to convince the masses before you'll get much support. It would be a wise idea to actually break down how you think it should work, what it would entail(right down to the nitty gritty details), what you can do for consumers and merchants alike. Just posting the idea, which is done, as someone else said, at least once a year, isn't enough. So provide proof that "your"(general you, of course, as this is a frequent pipe dream around the merchant world, lol) idea will be different from anything we've already got, won't simply be some "what's hot" list like all of it's predecessors, will offer something we actually need and isn't just an idea that isn't fully thought through. Give folks something to actually think about, a reason to believe this is a fantastic idea. Theories won't work here. We'd love it if they did, but they just won't.

Oh yes that's another great point, traffic. I'm surprised I forgot it haha, that's a big one on my list. I look at places for their *actual traffic too. If I stop by a location a lot in a week's time and never-or rarely-run into another av yet they have traffic in the thousands, I know something is askew. It could be SL, it could be that the landowner is gaming traffic. I keep an eye on places like this. If I see it as a pattern for a few weeks9traffic way higher and not really indicative of my experience there), I simply walk away. Sometimes those numbers aren't all they're cracked up to be. But if a place truly brings in that traffic, and most especially if that traffic is actually productive(in other words buying, which you'd likely have to talk to other merchants renting there to find this out), then this is a place I definitely want to put on my list of potentials.( I create lists for lots of stuff, lol)

I can't really tell you what you should price at, specifically. But I can tell you what I would look at, as a merchant, in deciding whether or not to rent from you. Is the cost less than $2L per prim?(preferably $1L but even $1.5L per isn't all too bad, dependent upon the other things here of course. $2L and up is my cap and I won't pay that price no matter what. I WILL pay *up to $2L, but you better have a darn fine place that fits my criteria perfectly if you want more than $1.5L). What else is on the sim? A club?(that will almost always cause less merchants to rent from you unless/until your club is very well known and your attendants do actually shop at the locations around it-which is pretty rare these days), other large stores? breedables?..the list could go on but this is a pretty big one. How many other merchants am I sharing a spot with? I don't mean my particular spot, but rather the sim, or at least this area. Too many and it's not likely worth it, people get tired of walking around aimlessly so places won't likely get as much random foot traffic, only traffic they actually direct themselves. What, if any, advertising will this owner do for me? Not a dealbreaker by any stretch but it's definitely a nice touch and honestly I think it's actually needed for most who rent out shop space, these days. What are my limitations? Speaking mostly of specifics like scripts(vendors and whatnot), design and such. Do you allow your tenants to put up ban lines(I walk away at this too) Do you have a forced landing point? If so, it doesn't matter if you're giving me the spot for free, I won't rent it. I loathe these with every fiber of my pixel being and refuse to even vist places that have it, much less pay them to use it. You'll find more people that dislike forced landing, than those who don't really care. But this especially applies to places like malls, shopping centers and the like that offer different services or venues all over the sim. It's stupid to make people land in the one spot you think is the prettiest. People won't be able to teleport in friends. They won't be able to return to their favorite spot. If they crash they can't return where they left off. There is just rarely any need for this option-and most definitely no need for it in a shopping location. What does this plot look like? Did you put a little too much attention into decor? Is it subtle? Does it feed into the atmosphere without yanking away attention from the shop/s? It's entirely possible to overdo it on decor, in fact, a ton of people do it(far too many, even some of the most famous/popular makers make this terrible mistake). It's nice to have a well layed out location, and great decor. It's terrible for the customers that might not have machines that meet your machine's specs and therefore can't really enjoy what you've got out(but will more likely suffer client side issues) What sort of person is the landowner? Will he/she be around if I need help? Does he/she require ncs, IMs, or both? Is there other staff available should the owner not be on? How long has this person been on the grid? What sort of experience does this person have?(yeah those are actually important to me) Those are just some of my main ones. I've got little quirks too but they're pretty irrelevant for most, and some might even be uber petty. I am VERY picky. I've only had a few satelite type stores/locations in the last couple of years. One I'd still have if the owner didn't lose her battle against a lifelong disease. She was an awesome land owner. The others, eh, fizzled because I saw them starting to make a lot of the same mistakes others made. Rather than get in too deep and be stuck, I got out(at least one of those sims is now gone). So I am EXTREMELY picky about where I would even look, let alone rent(it's even worse when I am the shopper, if it's even possible to get pickier, I pull it off)

LoveAngeL Lyre wrote: My inventory has about 15,500 items. If i don't do that or at least if i don't open the recent tab of inventory never i have more than 10,800 items loaded even i am online 2 hours. If i open the Recent tab it takes usually about 15-20 secs for my inventory to be fully loaded. In Phoenix again, same happens with the difference that inventory takes much longer time to be loaded. I have a, considerably larger, inventory count than this and I rarely ever have to do this. In fact the only time I have was a few months back when sl was just being a pain and I had recently done a fresh install. Now when I manually clear cache(I do often, habit, and I never, ever use the "clear" buttons and whatnot within the viewer, they're ineffective) sometimes my inventory loads a little slow. But that's not surprising. The inventory is huge and it's recreating files I deleted by clearing cache, it's going to take a bit longer.

I can confirm one thing for you, not everyone gets rerouted to an adult sim. It happened to me a few times(because my system and mesh don't work well together, regardless of what I do, lol) and each time I went to a different sim. Once I went to an adult sim but the others were moderate. I'll come back with the rest of my comments, when I've more time to type it all out (what's with short humans thinking they need to eat all the time anyway? sheesh)

As a shopper I've had two failed deliveries in the last month, and one failed transaction(when the item never delivers but the money is ultimately returned). This has been a trend for me, for some time. I don't consider it luck, it would be luck if it were an occasional experience. But yes, for some the marketplace has been a bit of a bear. Despite that, however, I still run into more people who have less issues, so it can't be all that bad(not to mention you're not likely to hear from folks who are *not* having issues, lol, so they may seem to be a smaller number). As a seller I have not had a true failed delivery since June. I did have a few customers say the items never arrived, but every single one of them later let me know they did indeed arrive(hours later, and for one two days later which was quite random). I see some partially failed deliveries as a seller, but it's never *my products in their cart that failed to deliver, it's always some other part.(which is why I recommend you only buy one thing at a time, not multiple, always be logged in when purchasing and ready to accept, and such, it can help cut down on some of the issues, not all, but some). The cart can often times be the biggest issue, buying multiple items just increases your chance at failed deliveries. Marketplace definitely has it's issues and sometimes the failed or extreeeeeemly slow deliveries seem way worse than other times(like the folks having issues with overnight stuff right now). But it still can be a very valuable tool. I still use it, frequently. In-world shopping isn't all it's cracked up to be either. They both have flaws, some minor, some major. You can have failed deliveries inworld just as much as buying off MP. You also have other things to contend with, with inworld shopping. So what works for one won't likely work for another. Personally, I don't like shopping in new stores inworld(ones I've never been to that is). Too many people haven't a clue what they're doing and take absolutely no one else into account when building their locations. So it makes me extremely cautious. Not to mention I am noticing a trend with folks including slurls to the item, which take me to a forced landing point..which more often than not leads me to leaving and not purchasing before I even move. I hate those stupid things, lol. A slurl should take you at least NEAR the product it's for, not half a sim away at the pretty trees by the front door because the creator spent days working on decor and NEEDS you to see it. (/end rant...forced landing points annoy me ). There are actually a lot of things that will turn me away from shopping inworld these days. Never used to be, but I am running into less people that, well, care to take their customers and *their* experience into account. It bothers me enough that marketplace-even despite it's issues,is still my main place for purchasing.

Brighterthansunshine wrote: LOL!!! Criminals??? It is always very worrying when people cannot grasp the basics of an argument. LL imposed a very bizzare ratings system on a very lucrative COMMERCIAL site, which exists to make money. It is not a charity. We all benefit from a healthy economy based on fair trading rules. SL is not an airy fairy charity. If it were not for merchants making a healthy profit, sl and rl, none of us would exist on heer to chew the cud. Wth are you talking about dude? Plenty of people do just peachy within the limits we're given. The fact that you cannot do so, without breaking the rules, speaks poorly of you, not the system. Editing to add: Your post(s) thus far..to this point, have nothing at all to do with the rating system, which is something entirely different from the MATURITY rating. The maturity rating is NOT BROKE. The people that are using it the wrong way, are the ones that are broke, well maybe their idea of morals, ethics and such are really broke anyway. The system itself actually works the way it should(as far as this particular topic goes, the system *does have flaws, this isn't one of them). I'm not one to speak super highly of LL most times, but when they deserve props, they get them. The search is borked beyone belief. MP has issues out the wazoo. But the maturity rating is pretty straight forward. You're basically telling us that, without breaking rules, you can't make money. How exactly is that telling us how the system itself has failed? Yeah, I don't get it, feel free to dumb it down for me. It sounds to me like you(and other merchants who choose to break rules just to make money) are in the failboat category, not the system(heh, for once). I've been a merchant longer than I care to remember sometimes(like frustrating times when the system actually DOES fail) and I can tell you that, when you use the system to your advantage, the way it's intended to be used(despite what others may do..the whole "if everyone jumped off a bridge" thing applies here), it won't fail you nearly as often as you seem to think it will. Does that mean you can sit back and let the system work for you? Heck no. It DOES fail sometimes, it DOES have issues, it DOES need work.. But following the rules isn't exactly a death sentence and shouldn't be treated as such.

Brighterthansunshine wrote: Ok, I checked your MP store, and you have NO adult items listed, so you're just blowing hot air. And you seem to be missing the point entirely!!! If there was a true adult section, policed by MP I would be ecstatic. But there isn't. So I have to play bt the same rules that everyone else in this sector plays by, or just give in and lose half my revenue. That doesn't seem to 'make a lick of sense' to me... Yes because criminals always prosper, so that's always the route you should go? If your revenue has to come by breaking the rules/law, something tells me there's something seriously wrong with your marketing skills. You're right, i don't have any adult items right now. That doesn't mean I never have.

Brighterthansunshine wrote: You say this: "Then you complain that others have listing similar to yours that belong in the adult category, but they don't put them there, so why you should have to do so and then "lose out" on they market they're getting." I think you answered my question!!! And yet, you still miss the point. This is not an even playing field... If I log on as a customer and forget to enable 'adult' and search for 'Sex Bed' I will see quite a few sex beds in the general catagory. As this customer, I will assume that this is all that is available and either: Buy one of the few on offer, or go in world and search for a better selection, or just not bother.. thinking there is not much choice, thus depriving MP of their commision. I really have no wish to corrupt young minds. But this current system is inept in this catagory and benefits no one If you forget to check the right options, you've only yourself to blame...period. Don't blame the system when you fail to use it properly. The options are there-and while they *could be made more noticable, it's not as if they are completely hidden and we have to click multiple links to find them. . How is it the lab's fault that people CHOOSE to break the rules and make the playing field "uneven"? That's a rhetorical question, no need to answer. You seem to not get that you're causing the very problem you're complaining about, not the lab. It's the folks breaking the rules that ought to be blamed.

Brighterthansunshine wrote: Aaaaaa! Eutopia!!!! You say: "I find it a little bit odd that you complain about your items being flagged and forced into an adult category. If they are adult items, they aren't being forced anywhere, that's where they belong, period. Any adult items I have ever sold have ALWAYS been put in the adult category. I don't know why you would believe your items don't deserve to be there with the rest of the adult rated items. None of us are that special **Only uploaded images may be used in postings**://secondlife.i.lithium.com/i/smilies/16x16_smiley-wink.gif" border="0" alt=":smileywink:" title="Smiley Wink" /> We're all supposed to abide by the same listing guidelines." But human nature dictates that we don't. And as long as the MP allows people to 'cheat' the system people will. Sad but true. And this is being done on a huge scale, by major players in this catagory. So, whilst it might be nice to have scruples, it is also very damaging to any business that trys to play by the rules. You don't make a lick of sense. I find it more than nice to have scruples. I find it sad that others choose not to, including yourself. I don't find it damaging to play by the rules. Lots of people break rules, laws even, but that doesn't mean we all should. I did, quite clearly, state that plenty of people do "cheat", but that doesn't make them right. It's not living in eutopia to think this way, lol. It's not "human nature" to break the rules, human nature does not dictate that we *have* to or *should* do this. Our choices, as humans, dictate what we do, and don't do. I think you'll find that while there are plenty of folks who do break the rules, there are probably a lot more that don't. You just don't notice them, because you're looking in the wrong places. I've had my items flagged and removed from MP for all sorts of reasons, only once for the adult content. But that was entirely my fault, I checked the wrong box, as it was an adult item and should have been there anyway. I've had things flagged for "wrong words"(aka words on the naught list LL won't share with us), wrong category, wrong keywords, etc.. All pretty easily fixed. Frustrating? Yeah, it can be. But it would be a little less so if you didn't do things to intentionally have these actions taken against you. Like I said, you're contributing to your own dilemna.

Brighterthansunshine wrote: I make adult furniture for SL residents. Nothing too risky, just vanilla flavoured sex beds and sofas with a small in world store and a store on the Marketplace. The Marketplace is a great tool for merchants but it has a MASSIVE flaw. People forget to enable 'Adult' when they log on. I have questioned many, many clients and they tell me this is the case. I've done this myself. My sales take a nose dive when items have been flagged and are forced into the adult category, seriously damaging my sales by AT LEAST 50%. Merchants are forced to play cat and mouse, sneaking their adult items back into the general category, risking the listing being deleted permanently. This is a constant nightmare having to check several times a day to see that items have not been removed. I suspect that the people doing the flagging are people who are in my position, frustrated that Marketplace does not offer a level playing field to sellers. The problem is self perpetuating and unfair to everyone in this category. There is always plenty of sex furniture for sale in the general category at any time Here's the solution. When logging onto MP there should be a welcome screen with UNDER 21/OVER 21 access buttons. This will sort the adults from the teenagers. Better still, Make SL for adults and reintroduce/re market the teen grid to the under 18's. And let peace reign once more. Any thoughts? My first thought it that you really shouldn't be making a public post stating that you intend to break the rules and this is how you're going to do it...and hope you don't get caught. My second thought is that, while yes a lot of people forget to check the adult option too, there are plenty of merchants who sell adult rated stuff on marketplace with very little issues(beyond what the rest of us go through that is). So I can't really say it's a flaw of the marketplace that people are forgetful, that's a human flaw and can't be blamed on the system. I find it a little bit odd that you complain about your items being flagged and forced into an adult category. If they are adult items, they aren't being forced anywhere, that's where they belong, period. Any adult items I have ever sold have ALWAYS been put in the adult category. I don't know why you would believe your items don't deserve to be there with the rest of the adult rated items. None of us are that special We're all supposed to abide by the same listing guidelines. Sure plenty of folks don't, and some even get away with it, for a little bit, but that doesn't make their actions right. So all that "other" sex furniture you see in places it doesn't belong, isn't a good thing, either. In fact you can do something about that too, by flagging them, if you so choose (my guess is you don't though, since you just said, you're an offender, lol, you're contributing to your own dilemna by doing that though). There is nothing at all unfair about having a specific category(adult) and requiring that items that fall under this category be placed there. I don't understand why you think it's unfair. It's a perfectly level playing field. The options are there for a reason, whether we like them or not. If we choose to use this selling tool we're given, we're supposed to abide by the rules. It's bad enough when LL can't even keep their own thoughts straight on it, but when merchants decide they get to do whatever they want, it just makes things worse. I think a better choice would be to make those options(aka the adult option) perhaps a bit more noticable on login, yes. Don't really need an over 21/under 21 button, because there are plenty of adults who don't want adult rated items in their searches. With the way people mis-list things and put things in the wrong places, not to mention how screwed up search in general is...I don't blame them. Anything we can do to help our searches actually return relevent stuff, is probably a good thing. I don't think we should judge the maturity rating some adults choose, or don't choose the way you have. It's really none of anyone's business why some folks simply don't want those rated items in their searches. I sort of like that we have options. Sl is a pretty diverse world, whether it's filled with adults or a mix of adults and teenagers. Gotta allow some room for others to make choices you might not.

Short answer...no, it hasn't been "fixed". Longer answer....I don't think LL believes it's actually needing fixing. I am fairly certain this is completely intentional and won't be changing anytime soon(if ever, I honestly don't believe it will ever change though). Any change made to any product listing has always de-ranked it-for lack of better term. At least, like you said, since MP came to be. This hasn't changed. I've made changes(minor and major) to items just to test it out(before tinkering with them all, lol) and it's still the same. If you change a listing it basically puts it back as if it's a brand new listing, sort of like re-joining the que, as it were. The only thing you keep is your ratings.

Roseysun Galicia wrote: About HIPAA: From the HHS.gov website: Protected Health Information. The Privacy Rule protects all "individually identifiable health information" held or transmitted by a covered entity or its business associate, in any form or media, whether electronic, paper, or oral. The Privacy Rule calls this information "protected health information (PHI)."12 RTI, or the company paying for the survey, may or may not be a covered entity or a covered entities business associate or business contract. Meaning the survey may or may not be covered by HIPAA or other regulations regarding medical information and privacy. I have not seen a Disclosure statement or Privacy Policy Statement in regards to the survey. Which is why I asked for one here. About the Link from Avatar to RL: The survey is asking for Chronic Health Conditions (from page 5 of the screening survey): HIV Status, Cancer, Asthma, Chronic Pain, Diabetes, Heart Problems, High Blood Pressure, Respiratory Illness, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Overweight/Obesity. LL Collects: IM's Account information Credit Card/Payment Information on file (which includes RL name, Address, etc.) As pointed out in this thread some avatars have RL identifiable information in profiles, or used RL names for Avatar Names, etc. thereby creating a link between an Avatar and their RL identity. I think everyone knows what LL collects, but that doesn't say anything at all about what the *company* performing the survey actually collects. Do you think LL is going to share the information they have on you with this company? As far as I know, they don't. The company doesn't go asking for it either. I can promise you as someone who HAS actually not just taken the survey for an interview but actually gone through the interview process already, they do NOT ask anything personally identifying in their interview at all. Even the questions they do ask about the medical stuff, aren't all that personal-and in fact they aren't even identifiable, really. They ask some basic questions, actually nothing more than I've seen in thousands of other surveys over the years(except, for once, this company actually conducts the surveys in a business-like manner, which is somewhat unusual for SL, they're upfront, can provide links for information, and, well, they're nothing like 99% of the "research studies" we see, lol). If people put their rl info in their profile, they don't really have a whole lot of room to later complain that someone might put two and two together. That seems rather silly to have to point out, but, yeah. I have a rl pic in my profile, and I'm well aware that anyone who knows me, or really feels like searching me out, can likely figure out my rl identity if they truly wish to. I don't understand how anyone could *not get that. If I cared, it wouldn't be there.. So, umm, yeah, don't want companies or people being able to put two and two together, then don't put it out there for the world to see.(I still don't understand what that actually has to do with this, since it's an optional survey-no one is holding a gun to your head and telling you to take it, and, like I said, they're not asking for that information from you to begin with. So there's no reason you should feel you have to hand it out to participate. Or, you could just not participate. Shrug) Maybe my participation in rl medical studies has my opinion slightly skewed, but, I don't get the hubub about this, I really don't, lol.