Not Quite Friday on Monday

I almost rented a mall stall last night. I stood in the stall and gazed at the rental box. The stalls were selling fast. They abutted a dance floor. Sometimes the area is wall to wall avies (real ones most likely) when the group sponsoring the dance offers endless teleport requests. Other times I have been there it is empty. The dances inflate traffic. This is a VERY COMMON pattern for Brasilian/Portuguese malls, but it makes me very wary of judging traffic numbers.

When renting a mall stall how much faith should one place in traffic numbers?

Second question: what part to aesthetics play in renting a mall stall? I do a lot of walking around malls and just a lot of walking around period. If I like walking (or swimming) around a sim, I feel others will like it too and will be likely to come there just to explore rather than sticking on the dance floor like flies on fly paper, but I'm not a typical SL resident with my fondless for walking.

Third question: How much stock should I place in a builder's dream. There is a drop dead gorgeous mall/club/water park that is mostly empty and recently built. I friended the owner at her request but have yet to receive a notice. I know she is paying a lot more in rent than I will pay. How sturdy is someone else' castle in the air?

Fourth question: How do I know a landlord/landlady is really a high powered business whizz with a Midas touch? I can't name names, but if I had a dollar (not a Linden) for every teleport notice she sent me to her stores, malls, and clubs I'd be able to take everyone on this board to dinner at the Broadway Cafe, but a pile of teleport requests doesn't prove squat. There is no SEC in Second Life and no perspectus. Queen Midas could be losing Lindens left and right. Queen Midas could also be one set of medical bills or a car breakdown away (in "RL" from having her whole kingdom come crashing down.

By the way, it is cheaper for me to rent a mall stall 800L/month (or less) rather than to continue listing on XStreetSL 1683L/month for my freebies with no room for expansion. I am interested in seeing my freebies get into circulation. I have no interest in making a profit, but I don't want to go inworld and find my landlady/landlord has absconded.

And yes, I searched the Advice on Sales thread, but that was pre XstreetSL price hike.

If all that you are interested in is getting your freebies out and about, let the owners of well-known freebie places have them.

I shift lots of freebies through the Stillman Bazaar....

I want to move my freebies but one of the attractions of Xstreet is that I could merchandise my products with interesting copy and well made candid photos. I would like to be able to continue to handle the merchandising and marketing. Also, I have thirty-two items (some in multi item packs) loaded on to two multi-item freebie vendors (Thankyou XStreet-SL) and enough items to load a third. Do you really want forty-eight items?

Hi...I just began a group in SL for people who want to send out their quality freebies. Long as it is legal and a quality item (i.e. no freebie mall junk from 2005-2007ish - newish stuff), it's very probably a go.

The group was began as a response to LL beginning fees for listing freebies on XStreet SL. This is a way to keep freebies available for both the creators' and community's sakes.

The group is called "Free for Good." It is in my profile in world and in Search Groups. And by the way please, everyone join it, we need members or there is no one to send to. ;-p And spread the word.

(How it will work is, first submit the free item to an officer or owner, and their job will be to vet that it is legal...to the extent they can possibly do so. From there, it will be sent in a group notice, with whatever note card landmark etc. might be appropriate with it.)

The emphasis, though is on helping the community...whether through quality goods or simply through keeping the biggie helpful items available such as the SALT hud and the mega prims etc.

And btw yes we would take them all, long as they met the above criteria. (I am also btw *considering* donating my half sim flat land to this purpose, IF I get enough nice response from creators. So far, not a whole lot...Maybe you can help me with marketing that. )

That still needs a place to put the freebies so that people can get them, doesn't it, Melita?

There is one in world location. It's a 512 (donated by Rime and available in search places.) But no, not really, since as I explained, it all happens through the group.

Still, as I said, I am considering dedicating a half sim to this, if I get enough bites.

Thanks for the post.

Then I hope you get enough bites It seems to me that a real alternative for those who 'sold' their freebies on XSL is a real place for people to pick them up. There are a number of well-known freebie places but it's understandable if people don't want to have their items simply added to those mountains. If your freebie group with land takes off, it could be a very good alternative. I wish you well with it.

ETA:
I've only ever made one item that was intended to be a freebie, and that was just a few weeks ago. It's in my store, but if you want to have a look at it, let me know.

Thank you very much, Phil.

What's been making me a tad hesitant to go full bore with this so far has been I tend to like things that flower naturally without pushing too much too soon, I think that's behind a lot of empty malls and places in SL to be honest. "If you build it they will come" doesn't work so much here, usually. (No Zindra jokes, please, forumites. Lol)

The other reason is that I ask myself, do I really want to run yet another freebie mall? That would be my horror if it became 'one of those.' The antidote would be to keep the items 'fresh' and try to be strict about quality and such. But then that would also nip in the bud some who'd like to contribute, possibly, and lead to hurt feelings too. Which don't tend to grow group numbers.

Therein lies the dilemma.

Ideally, lots of bites from quality vendors.

----

Oh and btw I do need a few quality freebies for a Christmas Day project in SL too, but that's my own thing and so...anyone intrigued by that last statement IM me in world (or here), please.

Oe thing that did occur to me with the XSL changes and the discussions about freebies, is that it's an excellent opportunity for a business to improve its traffic by opening a freebie center for people whose freebies will no longer be on XSL. Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, I am not even thinking of doing it myself, even though I have plenty of space and prims.

The reason I mention it is for Melita. I can imagine a center for *quality* freebies on her half sim and, since freebies only need 1 prim each (a box with a picture on it), there would be plenty of available prims for a real business. It would be the other way round - a business that adds a freebie center for the traffic is one way round and could be frowned on by soime people, and a freebie center that adds a business *because* of the traffic is the other way round and may not be frowned on by those people, especially since the business would help to offset, or even cover, the cost of the freebie center.

Just some thoughts.

It's possible and a good idea actually - most would probably add too much to the adjacent shop and make the entire place lag as a result, though. Or divert people's attention, energy and good will to the profit end.

I'd be more likely to combine it with other public services and I have a few ideas on that. But, before I even mention any of them anywhere, I'd need backup i.e. help. Lol. I'm already fried running the *one* public place that's got a goodly visitor count, to be honest. NCI has a good structure - people out there do want to help others, there is just often not many available places to do it.

I do seem to be allergic to profit, don't I. I'm not, really...it just seems this is where the need is the most, I guess. Or, I'm crazy. Lol. I'll let others decide.