Retail in SL: "Boutique" Department Stores?

I'm not now, have never been, nor aspire to be a retailer, so this may be complete balderdash. But as a consumer--or, rather, more often a *would-be* consumer--I'm curious if the following is a model currently in-use, tried-and-failed, or a possible winner.

Seems to me that a store that very selectively offered to resell other creator's stuff would be more interesting than the usual stores, and offer a much more coherent shopping experience than "malls." Of course I know that big stores employ designers other than the store owner, but it seems like those designers are "working on contract" to that store, more or less to the owner's specifications, as opposed to being "found" by the retailer and products offered "on consignment" or something like that.

When I was a real n00b, I stumbled onto a store called "Dwellget" which I remember only because it had Beatfox's physics-driven windchimes (at a price well out my then- n00b budget). I have no idea what its overall retail model was, but the fact that it carried at least this specimen of "best of the best" stuck with me.

So are other stores still doing this invisibly? Or am I just too oblivious to see what's evident to everybody else?

Sounds like, "Business in a box" or consignment

i have quite a few 'content creators' selling wares in my shops on 'commision' basis

works out well for everyone involved.

I've thought the same thing. I'd love to see an SL "Macy's". I would actually invest in such a venture.

as a consumer, i like smallish malls or shopping areas that have multiple designers, but all have something in common, like a certain style.

what i would like to see more of is a store that caters to a specific type of item, like clocks from different makers, or wind chimes or security systems or whatever.

as a business owner, my products don't lend themselves well to mall environments so i don't have any remote stores. but if i were in that type of business i would want to go after the quality, well-designed shops, rather than haphazard malls.

In my personal view, the last thing SL needs is another mall or department store. But that's just my take on it.

I'd like to see more cool stuff that I come across be for sale, though, in its natural habitat.

Like say, if you found a tree that you liked, you would have the option of possibly buying that same kind of tree on the spot from the original creator, even if someone else owned it. So, buying it without hunting down the creator's shop or taking away the tree you found.

Here and there, some malls exist that specialize in one category of item, and invite as many creators of that type they can. I think that is a great idea; I expect to see more of it. After all, how often do you go shopping for one particular kind of item - furniture, shoes, hair, guns, whatever - and how often do you go shopping for *whatever*? If you're looking for shoes, seeing many of the good designers all together in one place where you can compare them side by side ought to be your idea of going to Heaven (if you're Brenda, anyway).

Please read my post on Paridigm shift, at Fhelzgud we have been promoting by way of a free public yard sale others creations for two years and now we are attempting to usher in a shift in thinking. Serious re-tailors might find the idea intriging.

PS. We stopped the free public yard sale right before Christmas . This was due to some who choose to make simular items as we do (sometimes buying our textures to create like items then cutting prices and going into direct competition with our items, the very thing that keeps us going lol) and then setting up in our free public yard sale. Our sales dropped significantly and we almost had to bow out of sl alltogether. I can tell you this though, before that happened for close to two years we enjoyed a lot of traffic most people at the yard got exsposure and sales without having to spend a penny, Linden or otherwise. Our shoppers got more choices. I know what I am saying would work in a good way I just need a few good people to work with, as do we all.

That was one of the posts that prompted this thread, actually... and something in the Ghost Town thread, and some earlier stuff about exchanging advertising between merchants... and the Business Incubator thread.

And a trip to Aitui, where I realized for once and for all that, if I were a clothing designer, I could never, ever begin to compete with somebody who actually knows how to sell stuff. And that I really never wanted to, but that I wouldn't mind it if some stuff I made got sold somewhere nice. Which got me thinking that other, more profit-motivated content creators might feel the same way, but lack a good retailer interested in stocking other people's stuff.

Speaking of Aitui, they have this "Merchant Mall" thing--but you know, that's almost the exact opposite of what I have in mind. The very last thing I'd wanna do as a content creator is to set up a storefront on somebody else's property. Heck, I don't even want to box the product attractively for sales, let alone figure out the right price point or how to Make Search Work For Me. That's fun, I'm sure, for folks with Marketing blood in their veins--they'll surely do a better job of it than whatever half-assed attempt I might bestir myself to make.

But we're kinda beyond the "cottage industry" economy here. What are the odds that the best designers are also the best marketeers? So, sure, good retailers will know the market and therefore know what to contract designers to make, but I still think there's a role for original "free lance" designers with their own product ideas--but no marketing savvy.