Is August slowest month business-wise?

I don't plan on lowering my prices, although for some I see this as potentially beneficial. Of course, my products are very niche, and few other businesses sell what I offer.

What I AM doing though, is creating a second identity (alt), and fashioning an entirely new product line and brand. Hoping to not only fill the drag-time with another potentially profitable market choice, but to also build a second empire for the long-term.

I hope you won't take offense at this but I'm a mad shopper and, judging from your ad images on SLX, this isn't reasonable pricing for what you're offering. Of course, I haven't seen your outfits in-world and the ads may just not do them justice...if that's the case, new ads might lead to better sales.

Is not summer in every part of the world guys.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solstice

As a side-note, people *are* willing to throw down the Lindens on high quality items. If you're niche on top of that, even more so.

My highest-priced item runs at 2K. And although I sell it much less frequently than my other items (priced at around L350 average), it still sells from time to time.

You have to consider not only how saturated your market idea is, but also how you stand toe-to-toe with other similar designers. If you can honestly say your 'stuff' is creme-de la-creme, then you can up your pricing...if however, you know for certain there is much better product like your's available...don't go all diva with your prices.

I'm not making ANY sales this month...and rent for some of my external vendor locations is almost due.

I mentioned a couple of months ago that I thought your prices might need some adjusting. I *may* pay that much for a dress at a well-known design house, but typically, I keep my purchases around 250-300. A new designer (and Am, you're not the only one doing it, trust me) simply cannot charge as much as the big names right out of the gate. It takes time and reputation building to get to that level.

Thanks Infini

I am a database geek, every week I import my transaction spreadsheet into my database for which I have already created hundreds of reports. So now I just press a button and can present my sales data in 100's of different ways. Very helpful for recongnising business trends and gets more helpful the longer you trade. Also handy to be able to advise friends on the best times to launch marketting campaigns or to push new products and the best time to hunker down and build.

Summer should be your most creative time. Every summer for the last four years I have built like crazy and revamped my business and almost relaunched it every Sept/Oct.

Unfortunately I seem to have overstretched myself this year and plans have been too ambitious so my relaunch probably wont happen untill bloody christmas. But I am working on a completely new way to present prefabs so will be worth the effort.

Also I hear on the grapevine that you've got wood?

Loved your samples so will pop buy and pick up the megapack soon.

My businsss has grown every qtr for the last 4 years and 2008 is shaping up to be the best year yet.

This has been a strange month for sure. Last year August was the springboard for a sharp increase in sales all the way through to January 2008. This year however it's way-down on July but still up on the previous 6 months. It all averages out though over 12 months, fingers crossed, so I'd not panic. It's also true that the SL economy reflects RL economy of course.

Congratulations

Though I am sure this is not the case for everyone.

I wonder if its the case for the median business owner in SL.

Hmmm... There's a lot of different weather and 4 different seasons all at the same time around the globe

It's a good point though - maybe it's down to the vendors (rather than the customers) local weather and season that means the vendor make less of an effort to sell/update products when the sun is shining outside?

Gomez

This is very true, though the reality is that the majority of the population lives in the Northern hemisphere, and though the weather between Alaska/the arctic and the equator does vary, it is still proportionately cooler during the months of roughly September throught June, even if it is only a slight change. So you could well be correct that we designers tend to create less content in the Summer months than the winter ones, but I think it is more likely that the user base is lower during the Summer months. Could well be a combination of the two however

For most of the summer my business has been on a bad week/good week cycle. I'll have a full week of almost no sales and then a few days of really high sales. I've done some analysis of which products are selling the most, etc, but had not thought to look at weather patterns, etc.