Where to rent shops?

[Caroline Takeda]

Back on Topic, cant be bothered anymore to answer Aedvinna lecturing me. Is there an ignore button somewhere?

Because off this thread somebody contacted me offereing a shop for free, simply because if I promote my shop on my blog I automatically promote his region. A great win-win situation.

I will visit the region today to see what market I deal with there and what products would suit them. The owner mentioned shoes, I am curious to see why is that

Then finding an USP is top priority.

 

 

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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carolinestravels wrote:

Back on Topic, cant be bothered anymore to answer Aedvinna lecturing me. Is there an ignore button somewhere?

Because off this thread somebody contacted me offereing a shop for

free

, simply because if I promote my shop on my blog I automatically promote his region. A great win-win situation.

I will visit the region today to see what market I deal with there and what products would suit them. The owner mentioned shoes, I am curious to see why is that

Then finding an USP is top priority.

 

 

---

Gods above you are doing this ass backwards.

Picture this in the Real world... "I'm going to rent a store in this strip mall then figure out what i will sell."

[Caroline Takeda]

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Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

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carolinestravels wrote:

Back on Topic, cant be bothered anymore to answer Aedvinna lecturing me. Is there an ignore button somewhere?

Because off this thread somebody contacted me offereing a shop for

free

, simply because if I promote my shop on my blog I automatically promote his region. A great win-win situation.

I will visit the region today to see what market I deal with there and what products would suit them. The owner mentioned shoes, I am curious to see why is that

Then finding an USP is top priority.

 

 

---

Gods above you are doing this ass backwards.

Picture this in the Real world... "I'm going to rent a store in this strip mall then figure out what i will sell."

---

Correct

would not work so well in the real world. But in SL, people go to certain regions for a reason. For example, if it would be one of those **bleep** sims, I would probably sell sex huds, lingerie, penises and so forth. If it was a formal jazz club then tuxedos, suits, shoes, gowns. On a Gor sim....hmmm, wait,  maybe Gorean outfits and weapons?

Makes sense?

[MIstahMoose]

So sassy

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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carolinestravels wrote:

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Drake1 Nightfire wrote:

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carolinestravels wrote:

Back on Topic, cant be bothered anymore to answer Aedvinna lecturing me. Is there an ignore button somewhere?

Because off this thread somebody contacted me offereing a shop for

free

, simply because if I promote my shop on my blog I automatically promote his region. A great win-win situation.

I will visit the region today to see what market I deal with there and what products would suit them. The owner mentioned shoes, I am curious to see why is that

Then finding an USP is top priority.

 

 

---

Gods above you are doing this ass backwards.

Picture this in the Real world... "I'm going to rent a store in this strip mall then figure out what i will sell."

---

Correct

would not work so well in the real world. But in SL, people go to certain regions for a reason. For example, if it would be one of those **bleep** sims, I would probably sell sex huds, lingerie, penises and so forth. If it was a formal jazz club then tuxedos, suits, shoes, gowns. On a Gor sim....hmmm, wait,  maybe Gorean outfits and weapons?

Makes sense?

---

Where are you finding all of these resell vendors? And again, why do you think people would buy from a reseller rather than the original creator?

[Tari Landar]

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carolinestravels wrote:

 

I will visit the region today to see what market I deal with there and what products would suit them. The owner mentioned shoes, I am curious to see why is that

Then finding an USP is top priority.

 

 

---

You are doing things backwards, whether or not you believe it is the right way to do things, you are.  I know it sounds more reasonable, on paper, to go to a region, figure out what they offer and work your store/product around that.  But the problem with this theory, in your case, is that you do not already have product from which to choose.  That is the only reason that method you describe works for anyone, when it does(which is not common).  They already have a product pool from which to choose. 

Personally, if I were putting myself into your shoes, forgetting everythign I have already done and already do, I would do things in this order...

1-Find products to sell, not just reseller vendors as they are not nearly as popular as you might think, add value to those product and slap them into my own vendors. Resell vendors are, for MOST companies, very outdated and unpopular, unless the location where they reside is already well-known, well-traveled, and well established. You're starting from scratch, so using an outdated method of selling(outdated in sl that is) will not improve your chance of success, but rather hinder it. This is also the point when you should be thinking about your USP. Not after you get a shop

2-Find locations. This means getting out, doing some legwork and finding locations that suit your PRODUCT.  Yes making certain your products suit the region is important, but if you look at it from the perspective of wanting the region to enhance your product, your chances of success are greatly increased. Find ones that suit your need, rent them, and fill them immediately.  Do not move slowly. Begin advertising before you open even.

3-Add value to your location.  Since you are going to focus on resellers, despite the advice that you not, you need to add more value to the customer's shopping experience. If you cannot do that, you will fail. That is not a guess, that is not me simply being mean, it is a reality. Resell vendor places pop up on a daily if not hourly basis in sl, even to this day. Most, never make it. Why? Because they don't know how to even think of a USP, much less put one into motion.  If your location gives me the same thing as every other vendor location, or even every other shop in the area, I am not going to shop with you. Not because you're a terrible person, not because I hate your blog, not because I think you made a mistake..as a customer, I don't care about these things right then and there.  The reason I would not shop with you is because you have absolutely no plan and adding absolutely no value to your location is the perfect way to show people.

My opinions may sound harsh and they'r enot so much a judgment of you or your character, I just think you're looking at this from all of the wrong angles.  Few people can manage a mainstore, much less a satelite version. It's not as simple as tossing things in a room, advertising, blogging about it, and moving on. It really is much more complicated and only taking from the text you have posted, I can see you'r enot ready for the challenges and responsibilities of owning a business. Again, that might sound harsh, though it's not really intentional. I think you need to spend more time on your ideas and actually get them sorted first.  Before even thinking of getting reseller vendors or a location, go out and see what makes other similar things tick.  Sort of like this post here started out as, but on a larger scale. Get information from people who resell, get information from established businesses, find good locations that offer more than "just a mall" or "just a shopping strip"...etc.. There are so many ways you can go about doing something like this, I fear you're focusing entirely on one idea that combines a jumbled mess of other ideas, but are doing it entirely out of order.  That's a recipe for disaster.  Do you know how many people I have seen come and go over the years with this same kind of idea in mind? A lot, I can't even count them to be honest, lol.  There is a reason, or multiple, that they failed. You need to figure that out too, not just what makes something successful.  That is another problem I see with your idea, you're not willing, or unable, I'm not sure which, to grasp the negative aspects and the ways in which this could fail.  You need to, trust me on that one.

As for malls... eh, I have a mixed opinion. I don't like most of them, primarily because they are FULL of resell vendors and if I wanted to buy X from lady B, I would go to lady B's store,not a strip mall. Convenience factor(such as having a bikini shop on a beach) isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it needs to be more than a box slapped in a store on a beach. GIve me a reason to stop in your little corner, not decide to go to mp, and buy products that others created ..from you. What value do you bring to the table? If the products are great, they'll stand on their own two feet.  Even if you choose to go with resell vendors entirely, adding nothing of your own creation...you STILL need to give them and your location, added value. If you're not ready to say "I will give value to these products and my location by doing..." and listing those things... then you are not ready for a shop...yet.  Get there, and it will be a lot more fun, a lot more profitable and a lot more rewarding overall.

On a personal note, I'm not keen on the "be my guinea pigs" scheme I believe you have going on here and to be honest simply from reading your blog(because I do, and I have) and your posts on the forums, I can tell you don't stick with things. Even your blog posts tend to wander way off topic like you got distracted by something shiny halfway through.  I recognize that well, because I do it all the time(I am in fact working on a lab for class, and reading the forums at the same time today, lmao, so I know it well). So you give doubt to your readers about how much you are willing to invest in something(I don't mean money here) and whether or not you're really going to stick it through. If it's really just an experiement, fantastic for you(I mean that too, I'm not being a smartass), but don't expect success. If it's not an experiment and it's a true endeavor, put the work in before, during and after, and it will pay off. But get your ducks in a row first, so people don't think you just slapped something in a room, made by someone else, to rake in the money.  Not that making money is a bad thing. But there are ways we can do it better...always.

[Spica Inventor]

"Which regions did prove to be good locations for small shops?"

 

- High traffic in small area. Product associated with the area.

 

"What is the price range I have to expect?"

 

- L$200 to L$500

- 0L$-199L$ SL Marketplace only

- >501L$ lots of luck

 

 

[Codex Alpha]

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carolinestravels wrote:

I am off In-World looking for suitable shops now. Crowd Sourcing for such information doesnt work obviously.

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Hi Caroline, I just read this forum post in its entirety a bit late so don't have much time to respond at the moment, but I did want to log in and comment and wish you luck with your endeavours. Don't worry about what the 2nd Life elitists say. Do what you want, how you want, and as fast or as big as you want. You can experiment, or do it hard core, part-time or as a whim or hobby. There are no rules. All that matters is that you are honest in your dealings, and hopefully create some content and interesting things for others to see and do in 2nd Life. I started off building with prims and learned 3D modelling and use 2nd Life marketplace to fund my uploads and tests. 2nd Life is fun for me and I want to keep it that way. Ignore the petty lawyering on these forums, and strive ahead.

[Caroline Takeda]

Thanks Tari, Spica end entity,

this is getting very constructive now. I was out and about yesterday. Went to some regions I know have stores there and lots of traffic. No stalls available, all rented out. Surprise surprise.

So apart from adding value one also needs to actually FIND a store at a viable location. Other merchants did have the same idea already. 

[Drake1 Nightfire]

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carolinestravels wrote:

Thanks Tari, Spica end entity,

this is getting very constructive now. I was out and about yesterday. Went to some regions I know have stores there and lots of traffic. No stalls available, all rented out. Surprise surprise.

So apart from adding value one also needs to actually FIND a store at a viable location.

Other merchants

did have the same idea already. 

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Actual merchants are actually selling items they made in spaces they rented. You are doing this as an "experiment" which means you don't intend to stick with it. Resell vendors died out long ago as viable marketing practices. Only newbs with no real idea how to find things shop at them. Like the freebie malls.

[Sonja Smedley]

At the beginning when I started to play SL I wanted to do it the same way.

I bought lots of resellers and spend horrible much money, rented big stores and put them out also made new pics with

them, cause I know they were not up to date.

And what shall I say?

I had no success at all, I failed the whole line with it.

 

Now years later I understand why.

I also would never buy a product from a reseller when I can get it from the original creator.

 

And like others here said before, with MP it is soooo easy to get what you want.

The example with the beach I had it a few weeks back, was dancing at a beach and wanted a new bikini.

Too lazy to look for inworld shops so I opened MP and got sites full of all variations of swimwear, cheap or

expensive and no need to unpack them somewhere like it is the case in inworld shops sometimes,

especially in reseller Vendors...

So just buy it at MP...gets delivered within seconds and you can change outfit while dancing:)

Perfect for me:)

 

And the other thing with having your own store...well in my case I began to create myself...some things I do on my

own, some things I use templates but put my handmade textures on it.

This is much fun and more a hobby for me, I am not out for profit...sometimes I sell things from MP, and

sometimes I sell them inworld at my store.

But as I said it is a hobby and makes me happy when I sell sometimes lol.