Sales going down

Is it just me or my specific market? but the sales are going down since several months now. Is there anybody that has noticed the same trend?

And if yes , any idea what is causing it?

yes. perhaps people are learning to make their own stuff?????

Just wait til anyone who wants to purchase from you has to provide verifiable ID.

Definitely your particular market is going to be the one most affected by IDV.

well not really, my main shop sim is pg, there is nothing mature showing on the vendor displays.

I never embraced the whole porn thing, i do it because for the sensuality of it.

Many factors I would think.

Kids heading back to college with high tuitions and materials costs.

Weather starting to cool off a bit so folks are spending time outside before winter sets in (if you live in that part of the world).

The End of gambling causing mass selloffs of land and businesses, not to mention the loss of gambling income for many players.

Nerves about the Age/Identity Verification making some folks hold a bit tighter to their L$ until they know they will be staying in SL and willing to invest more.

Over the years I have noticed slowdowns every year during the summer and an increase in sales steadily from late September through January.

just my 2L$ on the topic

My sales were pretty constant for a long time (over a year) then yes, they started to tumble. They are really incosistant now, and much lower.

I wonder if the fact that lindenx activity stays flat but SL grows has anything to do with it. Would argue to me on average people are spending less on SL.

Business is a lot more cyclic now than it was previously but it still averages out over 28 days. I also think the mid to high end customers are a lot more particular over what they spend cash on..which is great.
Always been my contention that if you stock quality you'll always get quality customers no matter how bad the SL economy.

For me I shop at particular places that I love their detailed clothing and I just wait for new releases, same with shoe designers. But with the way SL has been lately I have not been dropping alot of lindens anywhere and I probably won't unless I see something I cannot live without LOL!

Myself an others have noticed a bit of a dip as well. This last week was pretty bad, too.

Mari

I wonder if this also has to do with the population density. I don't see any more concurrent users online than previously--yet there is a continent and a half more land than there was then.

The population just might be more spread out and less foot traffic at a particular locale?

I've seen a massive slump in my sales. At first I thought it was just a Summer lull, but the recovery from the holiday break is coming in fits an' starts. Last week was really poor. But then I've had trouble shopping myself. The evenings and weekends are so laggy we've been confined to mostly staying at home. Whenever we TP to a store nothing rezzes and I can't even get the 'buy' up on the pie menu. When you add in the trouble people have had with payment info and losing items...it's not surprising I guess. Plus the massive population growth seems to have slowed so there are fewer new people building up their inventories.

Fingers crossed the market bounces back for you Kyrah! I adore your creations and imho they are the best out there.

These few months i'm starting to really feel the lack of sales on my monthly budget, I was considering selling my public sandbox to reduce the expenses but i will sit tight until fall and winter comes and hope for the best.

TY for the compliment

Could well be partially marketting, or lack there of, as your general competition is, these days, better known perhaps you need to work out a way of getting yourself known better again.

You certainly have more competition now too.

Ya my sales have dropped off consiedrably as well.. My partner and I have taled about closing shop, but not just yet.. Will wait awhile and see what LL throws at us next before making that decision lol...

Dead realm? That's a mature sim.

Since you're asking... Maybe it's more perception than reality but I've thought that you haven't had much new stuff that I'm interested in over the last few months. When I've been to dead realm or seen your vendors about, it seems like you're concentrating on new bondage gear. Your latex outfits are some of the best but I'm not too interested in the truly kinky stuff. That and your shoes, which are some of the best looking in SL, really can't be danced in - I haven't worn my steel heels in 6 months..

Just IMO. Worth what you paid for it..

edit: and I need to carry a stick whenever I put on my KDC Concubine.. Very nice..

Sales plummeted in August but are nicely back on track. I'm assuming it was holidays, outdoorsy stuff, etc. Besides, I'm not in it to make a living, just to feed my shopping habit, so I don't really care.

Hi Kyrah. I don't usually talk much about sales stuff, especially with 'competitors', but I will say while sales did dip over the summer, in the last few weeks they have come raging back, stronger than they've ever been. What I think you may be seeing is a natural phenomenon. Whereas before you and the few other creators in our field had a natural monopoly, over the last 9 months there has been explosive growth in terms of new creators. As these creators gain market share, that share has to come from somewhere. Unlike what LL would like people to think, there's not an infinite amount of new users streaming in all the time, at least not like there used to be. My advice is much along the lines of Sindy's, time to put on your thinking cap, and get back into a creative mindset, and make some new things to wow us. I have a lot of respect for your work, I have nearly everything you sell, and you probably had more influence over my becoming a resident in SL that you will ever realize.

And just a quick note to Pie, Even if one's vendors are on restricted land, there's nothing to stop someone from camming in and using them, should they desire.... I don't think sales will be affected much at all.

Mine have dipped considerably in the last month....ironically...the summer was my best time......lately it's painful to log in and see 0 in sales for days at a time. But, I can't allow myself to take SL seriously enough where it effects my enjoyment of the experience. I didn't sign on to become some kind of SL billionaire. I'm in it for fun....I'll continue to work on my creations and marketing.....but the bottom line for me is keeping it in perspective and just enjoying my time in-world.

My sales have gone up over the passed few weeks, I think what you are facing Kyrah is an increase in the market... your items are very well made and once upon time they were a "rare" find but now you have much more competitors with equal quality at lower prices...

My sales dropped miserably during late July, August and early September, but have recovered with a vengeance in the last week or so. I just chalk it up to summer slump. No idea what else it could be. Concurrency numbers have broken the 50K mark here lately on weekends, but the weekday concurrency numbers really have not changed that much for a while.

My sales are still about average. But I always notice a considerable drop after updates, which usually takes about two or three days to recover.

As a perpetual shopper, and relatively new to SL, I have recently been reminded of the transient nature of SL. Several shops I landmarked to "purchase later when needed", have vanished -- even after searching with SEARCH. Items I've marked as favourite to purchase later in SLX have likewise been taken off the market.

While not frustrated, I am saddened to see quality items and shops go. But I do recognize that people lose interest and leave SL (but could they leave their stock with someone else? ha ha).

I guess what I'm trying to say is that if your sales have fallen, don't take it too personally. It's the nature of SL. Lots of upheaval lately is likely responsible. Keep producing. People like me depend on the skills of others

Cheers,

My sales are the usual tiny trickles they always are, but I can not in any way be considered a big seller even in good months. That said, this chunk of the month does have a resemblance to the weeks search is down.

Would it really be a case of competition? In my experience anyone shopping this particular niche market is either just picking up what catches their eye, or are looking for a rather specific design and style. Some people are chrome happy; others can’t live without solid wood construction. In the case of fetish clothing, everyone I know is after a particular pattern of sheen, or a certain cut style. All those things are very individual to the creators themselves.

One thing I have noticed is that the average consumer is getting cheaper in their spending habits. The money pool is thinning out slowly over a wider number of people. I’ve been considering cutting prices back on some things for a winter sale, and if it works out the sale will simply never end.

Sales dropped since the whole "gambling fiasco" but have picked back up in the last three weeks or so. I'm more concerned about this IDV on my buisness (yes, it is "adult" material).

~Jessy

This is just my wild guess, but... brace for high season.

With a smarter, better informed consumer, who will spend incredible amounts on the right thing and not too much on anything else.

The noob-swarm of winter 2006-2007 are yearlings now, and within a year or two, many of us will be buying from *them*.