Another Question, Meep O:

If I buy land use fees things, do I get charged like..Let's say for 4608 I'd be charged 25$ a month, now do I only get charged if I own land? Or let's say I have 0 land but I have a total of 4608, would I be charged?

you are correct, that with a 4608 (4096 + 512), you would be at the top of that tier. But you can always "tier down". Meaning, if you do not "own" the land to that amount you will pay less.

But if you own more than 2560 (2048+512) you will still pay the 4096 rate.

You are charged for the maximum amount of land you owned in the last 30 days when your Tiers are due.

If you owned no land then there is no charge regardless of the tier level you are on.

A simple explanation is, if your tier level is 4096sqm you can buy land upto that amount, if you purchase more land that exceeds that tier level then you will receive a warning as you go through the process of buying the additional land to make you aware your tiers for the 30 billing period will be at the new level.

I am not sure what happens when purchasing land for a group regarding the Tier Level warning perhaps someone else will explain.

You get charged monthly even if you don't currently *own* land, if you're set to pay "land use fees" (Tier) at whatever level on the http://secondlife.com/account/landfees.php page.

Tier is a monthly amount you pay to LL on the same date each month that it was first set up, and it allows you to own land up to that size on Mainland.

Because of the incremental jumps in tier amounts, most of us try to minimise the monthly payment to LL, as this becomes more significant (over time) than the initial land purchase cost.

When you buy Mainland land in SL (off another resident, or from the LL Land Auctions), if you don't currently have enough Tier I think there are warning boxes which say you will go to the next Tier level if you buy this land.

So I'd suggest the first thing to do, if you want to buy land (and assuming you are already Premium), is to find the plot - then you can sort out the Tier.

Larrie, I don't think this is right - I'm pretty sure that if you're set at a Tier level on the Land Use Fees page, you pay that amount each month regardless of whether you actually own that amount of land (even if you have no land). Perhaps someone else can input here?

It's the same for groups.

That's correct. The only difference that having a higher tier level checked makes is that, if you are about to buy land that would take you into a higher *money* level, you won't get a warning if you already have the higher tier level checked.

Always remember that you pay the tier on land that is deeded to a group so, even if it's not in your name, it still counts in your tier level and you pay for it.

Valentino,

As Phil also mentioned it is correct, you cannot be charged for something you don't actually own.

Another example, think of it like a credit card with a credit limit and payment must be made in full each month. If your limit is 4,000 you can only purchase upto 4,000 and that must be paid back in full. If your limit is 4,000 and you purchase Zero you pay nothing back.

Warped way of explaining it on my part but it is correct what I said.

Alternatively see;
http://secondlife.com/land/pricing.php

Something I have never seen mentioned but we also get 5 free Tier days per year.

We actually only pay for 360 days worth of tier and not 365 if my calculations are right.

That isn't right...if you own no land but have a tier level checked, you pay tier. You have to tier down on your account page to pay no tier. It is not like a credit card. This really needs to be checked out. I am always careful to tier down in my account so maybe at the very least, this is good practice either way.

What Larrie and Phil have said is correct, unless SL/LL has changed things

OK I just got off of live chat support

and this is what they said....


you are charged tier according to the peak usage you had that month

IF you own zero land the entire month, there is no charge, regardless of what tier you are set at.



also this is right from the land use fees page on your account info

(You may remain at the higher tier level without penalty; tier fees are only charged for the total amount of land actually held within your billing cycle.)

Sorry, but that's wrong. You can have your tier level checked right up to a full sim and you won't changed anything if you haven't owned any land in the billing period. My information came from a phone call I had with billing not long ago and, since then, that's exactly how it has been - me checking a higher tier level but only being billed for the actual land I had in the billing period.

The checked tier level is irrelevant to billing. All it is is a statement that you will go up to that level without receiving any warnings that you'll be changing your billing level unless you're about to go beyond your chosen tier level. There is never any need to "tier down", as you put it.

OK..I'm a dope, but...who or what is Meep O?

I wondered the same thing but was too chicken to ask

I see the meep O:

as her saying meep (as in a smallish sounding voice, kinda like an eep but with an M in front of it

and the O: is a face with a rounded open mouth
although I tend to put the eyes first as in


whereas others will put the mouth then the eyes thus
O:

Well, my theory is that Meep O: is .. people ... , a bit like Soylent Green, possibly not as tasty

Yoo hoo,

I got it right first time round, seconded by Phil debated by Valentino and Dnali and confirmed by Rhaorth.

Can I have some Pie please?

You can't purchase land for a group if you don't have enough tier/credits to cover it already in group so warnings aren't necessary. It simply doesn't allow you to do so until you increase the group's contributions.

~B

PS Most definitely correct on the pay no tier if you have no land, even if you have the higher tier selected. There's an article in the knowledgebase that says just that.

You pay tier only for land you actually own, or potential land you donate to a group.

However, even if you own no land, you are still charged Premium membership but no extra tier.

I am definitely giving you pie Larrie; I've always been just over a tier level so get charged for the next one up. I'm really glad to find out how it works. Got the wrong idea as a newbie and just realized it.

That is reassuring that you only get charged for the land you own.

Thanks Phil as well.