"Travelling Salesmen"

Most people know that nothing aggrevates a shop owner more than someone in the pub next door, selling like items from off of his back. I still do not know why owners of pubs tolerate this. But has anyone thought of the repercussions of what this does?
First, you may not realize it but I am just the first domino in a row that is affected by “traveling salesman”. I have a shop and pay rent, therefore this must be amortized into my prices, meaning traveling salesman can underbid me easily. Now, I have been asked if I could make a kilt that changes tartans, the answer is yes, of course. This idea is not new to me. The texture changing script is available in every script bundle. Almost every clan (and quite a few septs) have at least 4 different setts; Modern, Ancient, Dress and Hunting. That combined with Formal Sporrans, Day Sporrans, full head, full skin, badge kilt pins etc. naturally leads one to the idea of a changing kilt. You other question is will I, the answer is no. By selling that kilt I actually sell multiple kilts, and some want tartans not even in the same clan. Of course I know my kilts and someone who has already bought one will get a special price from me, but still. When I make a custom kilt I get the world registry number from the customer if possible. Then I visit the world registry to make sure I have the right sett and weave, and get the thread count of the pattern, this allows me to make the SL kilt reasonably identical to the RL kilt he has. Next I make both the tartan and flap so that the two match, and put the sporran and pin of his choice DIRECTLY ON THE FLAP. That way it does not “disappear” when he moves. I upload both and put a buckle of his choice on. Now, most customers do not know the difference between a dress and a kilt, so why do I do this……..I am not only here for the money, and I want to please the customer. What the traveling salesman does is make me just grab a tartan, slap it on a dress and move on to the next…..just like he does….well you know all that.
Now, although Pub owners are wonderful people, you cannot expect them to go through the pain of maintaining their Pub out of the kindness of their heart and the bottomlessness of their wallets. My rent helps them keep the Pub going, tips are a very undependable means of breaking their fall. Sooo, by taking bread out of my mouth, and forcing me out of business, salesmen are also taking out any free activities. If you look, “cover charges” are coming onto SL.
The third domino to fall is the customer. If one of my kilts does not fit, or has something wrong, I am easily available and TAKE THE TIME to correct my mistake. He has a quality product whether he knows it or no. The travelling salesman will say "OK, here is your money back.....next customer" or worse, might have flown the coup and be running around in another AV.
OK now, I am not throwing rocks but I do hae to say that the travelling salesman at least studied one of our kilts to make theirs……you will never convince me otherwise because anyone would. Sooooo, a lot of the pain we put into it, and the idea, is NOT theirs. This is the reason RL has Trademarks, so that a creator can at least get SOME of the profit out of his idea before the buzzards land. Sadly such a thing does not exist in SL.
Personnally, I think that all travelling salesman should be banned.
at the very least, people should be made aware of the damage he inflicts to the trade of SL, and should forgo a momentary advantage for the better good

Go to your User CP in the upper left corner of the screen, and enable Private Messages (PMs.)

It seems to me that your complaint is actually that someone else offering what seems to be a clearly inferior product, and a less pleasant shopping experience, is able to offer lower prices.

That is simply an inevitable result of two different business models, and is not in any sense unfair. The reality is that there are very few types of item in SL that cannot be obtained as freebies, never mind as cheaper versions. No one actually needs to spend money in shops in order to have a quite good looking avatar that is close to what they want. But we still do spend, because for many of us, it is worth spending the relatively small amounts involved to have the very best AV we can.

It's not likely that I would ever wear a kilt, but if I did want one, unless it was for a quick one-off event, I would be more likely to come to you and pay more money to get a better product.

You are selling the equivalent of a 30 year old single malt, the travelling salesman is selling a supermarket own brand blended scotch. Same basic product, but a world of difference.

It's just competition, a travelling salesman also doesn't have the advantage of a fixed place to find their products like you do.
Are you not a travelling salesman yourself when you display your product while out in SL?
I find sandwich board and people selling stuff a novelty I guess, I doubt as a business model it really compares to a full blown store of products for the $100L a day they might make, and if their crap product is taking your trade that's because the buyer is satisfied with a crap product
In the long run the better product has no further development cossts to keep selling a product and so can match prices with the trash to get rid of them or make them up their quality.
Unlike traditional business, products that you make once here can be continually resold with no material costs and possibly limited redesign to update them. Yes you make a custom kilt now for a certain clan, but later when another person of that clan comes in your work is already half done.

While I don't know alot about Kilts..or the culture..if I were to buy one..i'd rather buy yours...simply because of the realism and time and effort put into the uniqueness of the product.

Do you market yourself in this way? Don't under estimate your customers and their desire for what's "real" in an otherwise "fake" world.. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised that the knock off skirt makers will drop off like the chaffe.

Again..a little education to the average consumer might be your best friend in this situation.

~Lana

Have you discussed this with the pub owner?
You pay them rent. If you go, your rent goes.
Don't present that as an ultimatum. It's just common sense.
How much revenue do they get from a "travelling salesman" who is competing with their renters?

I think more what he's complaining about is that the lower quality merchant is hanging around in the proximity of his store, intercepting customers who explore after TPing there, and thereby trading on his name.

everyone has equal privilege to sell in SL.

travelling salesmen should not be banned. if it didn't affect you personally, would you even care about it? did you care BEFORE he showed up in your sim? AHA!

Can one of the options be "I could not care less" ?

Because "I could care less" actually means that I do care a little, because it is possible to care less than I currently do. Which I don't.
I could not care less about travelling salesmen, mostly because I've not come across one and even if I did, I'd suspect them of some evil doings.

I prefer to do business in shops. Especially elegant shops that aren't just posters plastered up on blank walls.

Now in RL, it's a different matter. We have run retail shops and we, like other local merchants were always up in arms about street vendors. We pay all sorts of business taxes and other fees for the privilege of doing business in this town. Street vendors just set up shop whereever, sell their stuff and blow away in the wind. Hardly fair to those who contribute to the local economy as part of the community.

But in SL?

.

I think it's exactly the same in SL.

If I've done the work, of building a shop, advertising it, and generating traffic, I don't want somebody else to be able to effectively "steal" that work by standing in my shop holding a sandwich board selling their own substitute products!

zomg 3Ring, I love the bunny! *steals it*

(\ /)
( . .)
c("("

I would not give my money to some passerby on the sim.I think I would be correct in assuming many would not. So I wouldn't lose sleep over them.

I doubt I would accept or buy objects from a person that approached me at a pub or in any other public area.

I would more likely buy from a shop simply because I can find them again, either for redress of issues or to buy more.

"CX"

Healthy competition on a fair playing field is fair game, in most people's books.

If he has made a product of similar quality to you, and is selling it cheaper, then that is the nature of competition. You can't complain that he is underselling you.

If his product is of inferior quality (which is what you say it is) and people are willing to buy it in order to save money, then you can't really fault him - instead it means that your potential customers don't care enough about quality to spend that extra money on it. (I call this the Walmart principle).

If his sales model is working out better than yours, then maybe you should consider learning and adopting his sales model.

Being in business in SL is getting to the point where it's as tough as the RL (just without all the regulation and). You need to decide what niche you are in (high quality that people have to pay for, or one of the Walmarts of this world) - each carries with it a down side and you need to be prepared to live with that.

The business that I help run has decided to stay high-end - we offer quality at a price, for people who recognize it and are willing to pay for it. Does it mean we get a sim-full of customers? No, of course not - but it means the customers we DO get can get a little more attention. We don't offer freebies, either. Cheap and cheerful is out there in SL and common - it's the quality stuff that is harder and harder to find.

My advice to you would be to stick to your guns and make the best darned (or knitted, or woven, I suppose!) kilts in SL and not worry about the cheap guys selling crap. Make sure there is a LM with everything you sell, so that people can help you by word-of-landmark-dropped-into-inventory.

I really wish you luck.

I think it's fair to complain that he's underselling because he's just teleporting into someone else's kilt shop and selling there, and therefore doesn't have to pay tier or market, since he gets all the customers the other kilt shop would..

No offense to op but this is the same exact mentality most shop owners have in sl. They feel no one but them deserves to eat. This is what continues to feed their self delusions and paranoia of thinking everyone is out to copy their stuff.

Not wanting to sell mod items because they don't want customers changing what they buy from them although they've already been paid for what they sold. This is the reasoning behind most non-mod items.

Not wanting to sell transferable items so customers won't re-sell them as if everyone went about doing this. They feel only they should benefit from selling those items although once again their items have been brought and paid for. Again, this is their reasoning.

I know, in response I'll see they've worked an hour or so making an item. But in countering, no one makes them work to sell anything, this is their choice. And more importantly, they're getting the exact price they're asking for which in turn should more then quench their thirst for compensation and satisfy them for the work they've put into building.

Everyone can and should sell whatever they feel like it, regardless of what it is or who they got it from. In an alley, on the main thoroughfare, under a table, next or in front of a shop.

Although, some may dispute this although not in public, their belief is since they have shops no one but they can advance as they're entiltled to more privileges and rights then others.

Psssst - Wanna buy a watch?

How would you feel if someone else in SL started making kilts just as good as yours and selling them a bit cheaper?

I think it is disrespectful to go to someone else's land and sell something without the owner's permission.
And the owner has right to ban the person for whatever reason
including this one.
But this wasn't a option or choice to vote on.
There is places anyone can sell stuff for very low fees to none at all regardless if they have land or not if they really want to sell stuff.

well people shouldn't be selling their competing wares on your property

Or Iming people on your property with Sales Pitches for their competing wares

Come to think of it the only one that should be selling anything in YOUR STORE is you and those you have authorized to.

anything else is really Tacky

Other than that, it should be fair game.

You seem to have nailed it once more, Colette.

My understanding is that he is not doing the selling in the shop at all, but next door, on someone else's property, no?

Yes I would, I am a fair person. OK let me put it this way. YOU are a farmer with a field. You go to the trouble of clearing the land, plowing and seeding it, then come out one morning to find half gone. You harvest what is left and take it to market (clinching your belt because you have taxes due on the land) and find someone has been there with YOUR wheat and sold it at one third of the price you need. Would you put in another crop?

Hell yes I would care....I want to see new and better things on SL. These guys are killing initiative by their methods.....

or are you one of the wheat reapers?