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Nobody says thank you


Elinah Iredell
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Hi everyone. I guess I feel a little down today. My computer died just 2 months and 3 days after the 2 year  care plan I paid extra for expired. I have to share with my daughter on hers for a while which is going to cause stress between us.

My problem is I think I killed my compter running it too hard trying to learn to create on photoshop. I was making some little items I sold for only 1 linden on the marketplace as a gift to people. Some of them  are proving to be popular and others not so much,but it makes me happy each time someone purchases one and I really hope they like  them but what is a little sad is that only one person ever bothered to give me a nice review online,  that review really made me feel good and I consider that a thank you but nobody else ever has.  Today I was wondering if I should just delete them all and give up? They take a lot of time and effort and I do not even know if any of them are any good. Has anyone else ever felt that way?

 

 

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Elinah Iredell wrote:

Hi everyone. I guess I feel a little down today. My computer died just 2 months and 3 days after the 2 year  care plan I paid extra for expired. I have to share with my daughter on hers for a while which is going to cause stress between us.

My problem is I think I killed my compter running it too hard trying to learn to create on photoshop. I was making some little items I sold for only 1 linden on the marketplace as a gift to people. Some of them  are proving to be popular and others not so much,but it makes me happy each time someone purchases one and I really hope they like  them but what is a little sad is that only one person ever bothered to give me a nice review online,  that review really made me feel good and I consider that a thank you but nobody else ever has.  Today I was wondering if I should just delete them all and give up? They take a lot of time and effort and I do not even know if any of them are any good. Has anyone else ever felt that way?

 

 

Do you ring up the CEO of every company you purchase from and say thank you? 99.999% of all purchases on the MP do not leave reviews. Be glad you didnt get bad ones and move along.

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Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

 


Do you ring up the CEO of every company you purchase from and say thank you? 99.999% of all purchases on the MP do not leave reviews. Be glad you didnt get bad ones and move along.

Thank you for your post you bring up a good point but,just because most people do not take the time to say thankyou to someone does that make it right? You do not think a simple thank you , or some positive feedback  would be appreciated by the creator of the item?

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As far as I am concerned, if they have given me their money, that is all the thanks I feel entitled to. I agree with Drake: Once in a blue moon someone leaves a nice review, but more often if they did not read the listing or instructions they use a bad review to punish the creator.  

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Pamela Galli wrote:

As far as I am concerned, if they have given me their money, that is all the thanks I feel entitled to. I agree with Drake: Once in a blue moon someone leaves a nice review, but more often if they did not read the listing or instructions they use a bad review to punish the creator.  

Thank you for your post . It is unfair to not read the instructions and then sound off without at least asking the creator of the item for help.

The only items I feel sad about not receiving positive feedback or a thank you for are the ones I only sell for $1 linden as a gift.That one positive feedback I received ( especially since I was still learning ) really made me want to continue to offer more items as gifts . Now I feel the opposite, that maybe I should just stop making them ,that it is just not worth the time and effort .A simple kind word would change that. I guess nobody here understands that feeling.

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Elinah Iredell wrote:


Pamela Galli wrote:

As far as I am concerned, if they have given me their money, that is all the thanks I feel entitled to. I agree with Drake: Once in a blue moon someone leaves a nice review, but more often if they did not read the listing or instructions they use a bad review to punish the creator.  

Thank you for your post . It is unfair to not read the instructions and then sound off without at least asking the creator of the item for help.

The only items I feel sad about not receiving positive feedback or a thank you for are the ones I only sell for $1 linden as a gift.That one positive feedback I received ( especially since I was still learning ) really made me want to continue to offer more items as gifts . Now I feel the opposite, that maybe I should just stop making them ,that it is just not worth the time and effort .A simple kind word would change that. I guess nobody here understands that feeling.

I have gifts up in my inworld store. And yes, i have gotten a few thank yous from people who have gotten them. However, that is not why i make things. I create because i like to. I don't do it for the thank yous, or the money. I like doing what i do. If you are ready to quit because no one said thank you.. You really aren't doing something you love doing.

ETA... Just because you call something a gift does not make it a gift. If 99% of your store is $1L items, i would not say they are gifts... You just have a $1L shop... A gift is free. Shouldn't cost anything.

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Elinah Iredell wrote:


Pamela Galli wrote:

As far as I am concerned, if they have given me their money, that is all the thanks I feel entitled to. I agree with Drake: Once in a blue moon someone leaves a nice review, but more often if they did not read the listing or instructions they use a bad review to punish the creator.  

Thank you for your post . It is unfair to not read the instructions and then sound off without at least asking the creator of the item for help.

The only items I feel sad about not receiving positive feedback or a thank you for are the ones I only sell for $1 linden as a gift.That one positive feedback I received ( especially since I was still learning ) really made me want to continue to offer more items as gifts . Now I feel the opposite, that maybe I should just stop making them ,that it is just not worth the time and effort .A simple kind word would change that. I guess nobody here understands that feeling.

I understand it very well. I just dont share it.

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Elinah Iredell wrote
.A simple kind word would change that. I guess nobody here understands that feeling.


Yes, we understand the feeling but let me explain how this works.

You've made something that you put love and care into, you did it while learning and accept it for what it is but it's still your baby.  You're emotionally invested in the creation of the item but essentially have chosen to put little financial value on it in terms of price.

Someone buys it for next to nothing and there's the rub, THEY have invested next to nothing financially, thus to them it has next to no value.  They don't know what emotions you have about it, nor should they need to, they're your customer, nothing more and to be blunt, they have placed no value on your item.

Of course we all enjoy the feedback, hopefully taking the criticism with the gratuitous fawning over a product but it's rare.  Assume that unless you hear otherwise, every customer is happy, if they take the time to tell you it's a thrill.

Now, as to Pam's earlier question, do you phone up the CEO of every company to tell them you're happy?  No, equally, have you contacted every customer to say "Thank you!" for their purchase of your L$1 items? It works both ways.  I used to try to do this with customers in the early days and the feedback was always of value.  I'm not around much anymore but basically, if you want to play "merchant" in SL (or anywhere else for that matter), you would do well to learn to disengage the emotional investment that you have from the product.  Of course it will always be there but you have to detach from it all the same.

If you want more people to say thank you, charge more. 

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PS Drake actually made that analogy. 

 

Re the topic. Many ppl seem not to understand that time is money. While I greatly appreciate reviews, I do not think I am entitled to someones time writing them. I give tons of gifts in mh store, many of which I spend quite a bit of time on. I just like doing that for my customers; it is one way I show appreciation for their support. I know they appreciate it, even if only a few take the time to IM. 

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I can completely understand your feeling, and to be honest I think most creators, and merchants alike, can understand it too. They may not share the feeling, but that doesn't mean they don't understand it. I don't share your same feeling either, though I do understand where it is coming from.

As others have pointed out, it can be difficult to simply be happy that someone wanted to buy your items.

As someone who has some major disadvantages when it comes to creation, I take every single purchase(regardless of price) as a thank you. For me, creating is fun, I enjoy it, even the difficult moments, and I definitely don't do it for the money or the thank you. Yet, at the same time, I love knowing that someone out there put enough value on my item, to buy it. That's thanks enough for me. I've owned businesses in rl for a lot longer than I am willing to admit(lol) and I feel the same about those purchases. I learned a long time ago to be grateful for what I can do, and be grateful for what I get out of my "hobby" or even my business, because not everyone gets that. Every purchase someone is willing to make from my store, is a purchase they don't make elsewhere. They liked MY item, more than another person's, and that's pretty cool in my book. 

I'm not a big merchant, I couldn't be even if I wanted to, as my vision deteriorates more and more, less and less gets created. At some point, in the not too far off future, I'll never be able to create again. I am damn lucky that, right now, I CAN create, and share, not everyone can. I get great joy out of the knowledge that, right now, I can create, I can share and somewhere out there on that grid....someone likes my stuff enough to buy it. I turn that knowledge into my "thank you". I rarely get reviews too, but, the same applies to nearly all merchants. Few people ever leave positive reviews, but that's because the whole review system is a joke...so don't take that part personally. It might be hard to understand now, but the truth of the matter is, a purchase IS a thank you.

I've gotten some comments from customers, in IM or in-world, about my stuff, and I always consider that above and beyond what anyone should ever expect from a customer.(though, of course, always welcome). I have one product that, although only has a few reviews on MP, has garnered a lot of conversations in-world. But that's because of the kind of product it is, and what it was created for. So that, although not surprising in the least, also makes me smile. 

No one, including you and even I, ever contacts each and every single merchant they have ever bought from to either leave a review, or thank them. So, we have to factor that in as well.  We can't exactly be angry or even disappointed that someone else out there is doing the same thing we are...if that makes any sense. 

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You know what would be useful, both to customers and merchants?  A 'quantity sold' shown on each page.  Potential customers would see, for example, that Pamela had sold say, 35 copies of a cottage.  There might be only one review, and if the customer had liked it enough to leave a 5* review other customers would see that the other 34 buyers had liked it enough to not leave a negative or critical review.  At the moment, all that a single 5* review tells us is that one person bought it and liked it.  Pamela would not have to rummage through the best seller lists looking to see how many of her cottage had sold, although she likely has stats elsewhere for this :)  Not all merchants do, and for them it would be handy.

LL has this information, and it should be super easy to add it to the page., although I'm willing to be convinced otherwise by more technically inclined people.

If merchants didn't want this info displayed they could perhaps disable it, but as a merchant with a fair number of items for sale, some of which may well have never sold at all I think it'd be nifty.

Oh well, just a thought!

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According to the National Retailers association in the US, when a customer is satisfied they still only have a 50/50 chance of returning to your business.  However, if that customer has a problem and you rectify it quickly while exceeding their expectations, that increases to an 85% likely hood of them not only returning but becoming an advocate.

You will find that a bulk of the good ratings you get will be from exceptional customer support, not just a good product.  If you read the reviews on my products, a large number of my best ratings come from people who needed help.

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Chelsea Malibu wrote:

According to the National Retailers association in the US, when a customer is satisfied they still only have a 50/50 chance of returning to your business.  However, if that customer has a problem and you rectify it quickly while exceeding their expectations, that increases to an 85% likely hood of them not only returning but becoming an advocate.

You will find that a bulk of the good ratings you get will be from exceptional customer support, not just a good product.  If you read the reviews on my products, a large number of my best ratings come from people who needed help.

Reviews are kind of like the News.  

It's rare that you hear the good stuff and the good stuff you hear is based in some ways on the same premise.

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I can't think of a single time I've purchased something in-world or on the MP that I've been thrilled with, where I didn't give the creator a glowing review.   There have been creators who've gone far above and beyond to get something just perfect for me and I appreciate those people more than I have adequate words to convey.   But hopefully the good reviews will help.  =)

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Tamara Artis wrote:

This is interesting... It looks to me it would be best if I released expensive product with some flaw, waited for a customer to contact me and ask for help, show my exceptional customer service and got a nice review plus free advertising? 

I might even try it lol

You don't need flawed products, marketplace delivery failures can be your best friend to help get you a good review if you respond to them quickly.  Now that LL his broken the failed deliver feature I don't get may reviews any more, may be I'll have to go to flawed products as well.

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  • 2 weeks later...

When I buy something and find that the quality is very good or better than I feel I had the right to expect for that price, I definitely try to say thanks with a good rating in the Marketplace. I think expecting a thank you if you make good quality things available for others almost for free is totally reasonable. Maybe posting about it to remind us customers that creators are people helps a little too :o)

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