Land Prices 400% higher than they should be!?

According to the land barons, US$1,200.00 is a fair price for a quarter sim. Somehow, I think land prices are 400% higher than they should be, as a full sim is US$1,200.00, and lots of people complain about it!

Any ideas when the land bubble will burst?

I'm curious as to what land barons you went to. I know many people who offer land cheaper than if you paid for it on LLs tier. IM me for some names.

I didn't notice who had the land for sale. I'm pretty sure it wasn't the most successful land dealers in SL, because they're not participating in this scam.

I took the sale price to be a symptom of the Land Baron Problem. A lot of Land Barons go to make a fast buck, and snatch up land at one price, inflate it, and try to resell it.

The land in question was two parcels, with a combined value of over US$1,000.00 and about a quarter sim.

I betcha' the land barons who own it think they're smart, because US$1,000.00 is quite a haul if they can sell the land. Unfurtunately, these land barons must be near the top of the Land Baron Pyramid as they have inflated the price well beyond any reasonable level. Predictably, nobody who will want to use it for something real will want to buy it.

Although it is possible the land is just for sale to draw attention to it, I view this as unlikely because there is a lot of land that is sold at likewise ridiculous prices, many of them being much smaller parcels with similar costs per square meter. I really believe these barons think they will get the money which they are asking for it!

At this price, well under US$200.00 less than a full sim, I don't think the land barons will be selling it any time soon.

I am willing to bet they bought at it US$750 or US$800. At least 150% land value, if you use the US$1,200.00 price for a full sim as a guide.

People say some land is worth more. But if we go with the "Private Island is Golden," and the Private Island is US$1,200.00 to purchase, then what land out there could possibly be worth even US$500.00 for a quarter sim?

The prices have become seriously over inflated because of the Land Baron Pyramid. I'm just hoping it collapses and Linden Labs ends up with all the land in the end.

In some ways, I feel sorry for the poor sods trying to sell Mainland Land at these outrages prices. In truth, they're the ones who are really going to lose out in the end.

It just occurred to me that Linden Labs may be implicated in the Land Baron Scam for doing nothing to prevent it. And what, you may wonder, can Linden Labs do to prevent this kind of pyramid scheme? Well, aside from policing the price of land, they can simply cap it, at an inverse ratio to the volume of land sold. So if you sell 512m^2, you can sell it for like 250% Linden's Assessed Land value, but if it's a quarter sim, it might be like 125% or Linen's Assessed Land Value.

Ruin the economy? Not likely. Just protection for us all against Land Based Pyramid Scams like this.

Well your delusions are impressive I'll say that much for you. lol

When people stop buying it?

If Linden Lab can sell land for newbies at L$1/m2 ... somewhere this must have been worked out as an acceptable non-loss price... now that piece of land generally gets resold for L$4000 or so from L$512 - a 700% profit - once it enters the land chain.

And onwards and upwards it spirals.

I'm quite sure that many of us can afford a higher tier, but can't justify the cost of buying the extra land in the first place. I know I looked at a nice piece but it would have cost me almost $300, and there's no way that kind of money can be justified in my gameplay style.

This is why so much of SL is based around commerce and gambling - because land is so damn expensive in the first place, almost anyone with a decent plot of land is trying to recover their cost - and innovative, fun, pleasant builds fail rapidly or never get built.

Even though I have tried to show Philip the error of his ways, he doesn't seem to comprehend how much better this game could be if a 'two tier' - commercial and non-commercial, tied in with restrictions on cashing out on Lindex, were introduced.

Lewis

Hey atleast you made it to your 2nd thought before you blew it on the concept of incentives. lol

That is not a logical statement. They must be near the top, because they're charging inflated prices? The two don't follow. Actually, it's more likely they would not be near the top of the 'pyramid', those at the top are operating on volume sales, their margins are a lot smaller.

You said you didn't see who was selling the land. Are you sure they're even a baron? You're talking about two parcels... is it someone just selling two parcels, or is it somone who's selling land all over the grid?

There are endless incentives, given the creative opportunities that could be realised in-world.

It's just a pity the advertising seems to focus on "come here and make money", something which only a small percentage can ever do in any seriousness - and most of those making serious money are land barons.

As has been repeatedly stated by a number of people, the Second Life that was advertised is not the product they find themselves using. SL advertising is poor and doesn't emphasise so many different things - yet continue to base themselves on "make money here".

I wonder if somehow that's a problem connected to it being a US-based company?

Lewis

It might be an acceptable loss price for first land, rather than an acceptable 'non-loss price'... that is, by selling first land for less, they benefit from drawing in a land-owning customer, who more than likely will tier up at some point.

First land isn't how most land arrives on the market though. You have to base your figures on the average price of new sims on auction, to figure out what LLs 'acceptable' price is, and what the baron's margin is, because that is what the 'land barons' are paying for it. And that's going to end up a lot less than 700%.

Also, L$4000 for a 512 is not an average baron price, that's a more typical price of a resident selling an individual parcel. L$2500 is more typical of a baron, more like around L$5m. L$8m is getting close to about what they charge for waterfront, around L$10m.

So as applied to the margins of barons, your figures are out from both ends.

*sniff* *sniff* Is that prejudice I smell? Damn that stuff stinks put it away.

You should see some of the ridiculous prices being asked in Shermerville.

My partner and I own adjoining plots bought when I first came into SL so only paid the standard $512 per lot. I was hoping to buy the abandoned plot next to those but it was set as First Land. A neighbor on the block "bought it from a newbie" within a few hours of it being reset as First Land. He said he paid $5100L for it then asked $17,000L when I inquired about buying it later that day. *chuckles*

And that's a low (tho still ridiculous) asking price compared to most of Shermerville lots for sale. Lots that have been sitting vacant and unsold for close to a month now for many of them. Or they change hands but are put up for sale again. Lots that I bet will continue to sit as long as people are asking $20-30kL for 512m.

Just not sure what makes them think those plots are worth that much. Ah well. Perhaps someone will be able to explain.

And why should they? Nobody stops you from selling land for outrageous prices in RL either. If you want to sell land as $1M per square meter, you can.

There's nothing wrong with it really, it's the usual economics of supply and demand. If you sell at outrageous prices, few people will buy, so you won't get a lot of profit. This is probably like the people trying to sell L$ at L$1 per USD $1 at the exchange, hoping for the impossible to happen.

All it shows IMO is people with zero business sense - if you price your land too high, it won't be bought, while you're still paying tax/tier for it. They'll get the hint eventually.



Now this makes no sense at all. Huge prices for land have absolutely nothing to do with pyramid scams. Please read on what a pyramid scam actually is first.

|>

What in the frack is he smoking? I can buy a new FULL sim for $1250 and have full control over it?

There are a few certain individuals who are at the "top" of the Land Baron Ladder, and regardless of what ethics they might practice today, they didn't years ago when this first became an issue. They laid the groundwork for the Land Baron problem, and LL has absolutely no interest in stopping them now, as before when they could've successfully eviscerated the problem in the beginning, because they make substantial costs on their tiers, etc. There's no point asking them for help, just stop buying land.

Sounds like a plan to me! I am waiting for my one year of prepaid Premium membership to get over then drop back to basic. I have land now in Neufreistadt and will never buy land from A landlord or those like her.

Yeah, I went to basic quite some time ago and I will never directly put any cash into SL again. I'm fine renting a stall somewhere and paying for my rent with L$ out of sales.

As far as the price of land is concerned: Like any other commodity in a free market, it is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it.

Main Entry: 1scam
Pronunciation: 'skam
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
: a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation <an insurance scam>

There is no scam here.