0 sales?

I have a question about people's experiences with vendors and malls. What do you think? Is it worth it for a new business to invest in a lot of mall spots in various locations?

I ask because I've been operating some vendors for a week or so and all of them but my main store and one other have 0 sales. This surprises me a bit because one of my items costs only 1L so I figured I might get a few impulse buys here and there.

I am getting some sales at my main shop and on SLEX, so I know there is at least a little bit interest in my products. So what do you think? Is it worth it for me to rent out lots of vendor spots around the world or is it just a waste of time? Would I be better off concentrating on one main store instead of a lot of little vendors?

Keiki, I can only speak of my own experience.

MOST malls are a waste of time. I have heard Luna does well but good luck ever getting a spot there. When I first opened shop I did the same thing, I invested in a lot of mall locations, the results were less that desirable to say the least.

I then decided to open up 3 store locations of my own and the business took off. The problem with most malls is that you can't show up in the find menu. It is only by complete chance that someone finds your products there. Window shopping in SL is not a huge past time, due to lag.

I have found most of my sales at one or two high-traffic malls and my main store 100m from a telehub. I tried multiple locations but 99% cost me more for the rental than what came in. SLExchange is also a good option, because the bulk of my sales are through them.

Back to high-traffic malls and such, if the traffic of a place isn't at least 15,000-20,000, I usually see no sales. Spots above that I see a lot of sales.

In my case i've found random mall spots to be more hassle then anything else.

I even have trouble finding the motivation to set up in free spots people offer. One listed location and a web store (slx in my case) does 90% of my sales.

The exception would be themed malls or places to sell. Like setting up gun vendors at gun clubs and such.

/agree

Personally I barely make my rent at the malls. Some are better then others while others are really good for a while then drop off to 0. What I usually do is watch the sales, if after a certain amount of time there is no profit I stop renting. But I still get 95% of sales from my main store. It seems as if all the window shopping happens on the net. So yeah.. like everyone said.. get your own main store.

The most difficult thing really is to have enough dwell in your main store to not be on the last page of the type of product that you sell. Eventually word of mouth kicks in and then you'll see more sales.

The most ironic thing is that the only mall location that is selling is a freebee spot besides my main store in Akasha that is where sales are good.

The two things I didn't like about mall spots were having to travel around keep them updated, and the fact that I hardly ever sold anything from them. My single garden location always accounted for most of my sales.

So I finally ditched the whole mall idea and settled into what is classically called my boutique location around 500sm from the nearest hub. Actually, it sits about 500m from two hubs. That might help. Anyway, it's worked very well for me.

I've never really known if my one main "mall" location was selling for me, because I am too lazy to give the vendors there unique names.

I have some things at Inner Child and I am certain I sell pretty well there -- it's a themed mall, so people come there looking for kid's stuff, and that's what I have for sale.

I also have a vendor in The Forest, and it has a unique name so I know that people buy from it occasionally too. I dunno if you'd consider that a "themed" location per se, and I don't really make anything that is specifically "furry", but I do think that furries/anthros are more inclined to buy from furry/anthro vendors, on average.

My own store, I don't know how often I actually get people to stop and look at things there. I'm not selling anything very unique so I probably don't have a lot of traffic from people who are searching listings, but who knows. I have a money tree and while that mostly brings in a handful of dedicated newbies who fly by, grab money, and fly away, I like to pretend that some of them might look at my stuff once in a while. ^_^

Overall I'd say that a themed mall is the best way to go, if that's possible, or if you have something fairly unique to offer then having your own store listed accomplishes the same thing. In those cases you're going to actually get people to come to where your stuff is because they're interested in the type of things you're selling. Beyond that, I think you're just hoping to place your stuff where people will walk past it, look at it, and decide to buy, and that really depends on the type of mall and location, and what goes on there. My only main/generic mall stall is in a fairy high-traffic area, but people go there to gamble, not necessarily to shop, so I'm not sure I get that much interest. But The Forest is a place where people hang out and talk, so places like that seem a better bet to me.

So in short... I really don't know anything for sure.

I, too, have had bad experiences at malls. My product (lotto tickets) are L$10 each, so, it's quite difficult to sell enough at these locations to make a profit. I've found that having my vendors at casinos and clubs have been better, but, yes, my main store does the best. Most mall vendors, even the ones near telehubs, have proven to be absolute failures.

i dont know - i do great at Akasha Village and Darkness. I also dont do too shabby at Slootsville and Amsterdam and just started in Darkside and doing ok.

I am very very fussy about where i set up. I like a certain atmosphere and quality around me and of course go where my target audience can be found. I definitely make my rent and then some everywhere i go. Your products are new keiki so have some patience, as i think Huddles will be a name everyone in SL knows. As for where to be - your in Akasha and we both know that is awesome place to be. You have your own location now too, so really you dont need much more. Perhaps, a few quality spots if you want to branch out. Give it one month and tally up your sales and rent - if its not covering it move on.

Good luck no matter what you decide on. Huddles rocks and I for one will find you wherever you land.

They are all right of course - having your own land is the best option so you can plug in your keywords and all.

love and light
kaia