CSR concerns~

Every year there are around two events of CSR (Creators Stamp Rally if you don't know), and it seems like the quality of the CSR prizes as well as the purchasable items are decreasing significantly. Quality participating stores like Mamesando, Curious Kitties and Kurotsubaki have all opted out, and the surviving stores are now offering their least popular items as CSR stamp purchasables. I was really disappointed when I went to DP~YumYum today and found only very few items (perhaps 5 or something) having the stamp in them (and none of them are really popular or good-looking items, prices aren't low either), compared to around two years ago when almost half the store had the stamps. So does anyone else feel the same way, or have ideas on why those good stores are dropping out? I really miss the Mamesando prizes lol~

I've noticed an overall deline in quality of almost everything created in SL. Plus an equal esculation of price for that decline........which is most maddening in my opinion. I don't know if its due to creators giving up on quality to further their sales or due to creators finding that a significant portion of the purchasers are willing to pay the higher price for less. I think it's a little of both.

For an example, I've lately been trying to find a few sit poses for a small train stop I made and placed next to a new section of train tracks recently built that runs along my land boundary in Hectrocera. I don't need full perms becuase I'm not selling anything....it's just a small stop (like a bus stop) to add to the atmosphere of the tracks running through the sim. I thought it would be cute (or nice) to have a place for people to simply sit or play that fits the idea of a train track in a rural type nieghborhood. I've been searching for sit and stand pose balls for well over two weeks now. I've seen so many sit poses and leaning poses that I'm dizzy.......but they all are the same (or so similar I cannot tell a difference). I've found that there is very little originality.......just the same old thing place after place (big, well known, places and small, obscure, places alike). I've seen static poses that one sees everywhere in SL selling for $L200 (roughly 75 cents) with "copy" only permissions......for full perms you'd pay triple that price. To get a animated pose ball that is basically the same it's going to cost you 3 or 4 times that price. They are nothing poses, not original, and from my use of Qavimator I know not at all hard to make.

Guess, I'll make my own......but then the craators don't benefit a bit. I'm willing to pay for something that is worth it.........but I wouldn't even load up my inventory with some of those pose balls if they were set to free. Come on creators.........get back to actually creating. Make it worth my lindens and I'll buy it. Keep up the direction your creations are headed and I'll give LL $L10 lindens instead of you.

It's a symptom of the phase SL is currently going through, IMO. Lately there's been a gargantuan inbound stream of "mainstream" customers - and with them, a lot of "mainstream" creators, either coming with them or adapting to their needs. (Look at RL girls' clothing stores and you see just the same old cheap stuff there, too.)

Just my opinion of course, but I keep thinking that it's another bubble that will burst eventually. Lots of low quality places will close sooner than you can say sneeze, and the better ones will keep going. In the end, the mainstreamers will find it's not that easy to make worthwile cash with trash.

*ponders*

Now that would be some darn cool slogan for a reseller business.

I think the stuff is still quite nice, though I personally opted out of CSR this time because, to be honest, none of the prizes were ones I felt I could use or want.

It might be helpful for people to know what CSR is (ya know besides just the name) and how the events work.

(trust me, you don't want my version of it)

I disagree. I am going to do it to get the prize COCO and Anuenue offers, and maybe a few other things. I miss 69 hair this time, I really do. But how can you say the quality has gone down just because you personally don't like that your fav shops pulled out?

http://edelweiss.sc/choice2009w/

I still did two stamp cards and consider the gifts I got to be a bit lackluster. Mamesando seems to be on a hiatus. I haven't seen an update from them in months. C:K seems to be riding its own success wave. So, it makes sense that they opted out. Still, I want to keep collecting Mamesando's work. (T_T)

Also, the event ~IS~ advertisement. It's a method for the sellers to get customers into each store to have a look around. A minimum price was set for items that could give away stamp cards, each gift really is genuinely free after you've completed your card, and each store does have a vast inventory that we can still buy from. While I can't say the same this season, all the prior seasons of CSR that I participated in lead to me revisiting the stores to get more stuff. (^_^)