If you were giving away shop space?

If you were giving away shop space, how would you go about it?

What kind of rules would you set?

What, if any, kind of obligations or responsibilities would you ask of the designer?

How would you determine or chose which designers to give these shops to? (raffle? contest?)

Any other suggestions, thoughts, ideas are appreciated =)

Would give space to designers who were my favorite. I wouldnt have many strings, just a prim and space limit.

There are 2 designers we just Give space to in our store.

One of them returns the favor by giving me space on her island.

Do you know any new designers who are trying to get started and need a little space? If you like the work they are doing and know they need some space, why not pick them. I wouldn't raffle the space off, because you have no control over who you get. I would also limit it to original content - no resale of other people's stuff, biab's, etc. Just reward the new folks who are trying to make something cool and need the space. Of course, space and prim limits as well.

That's my take on it, but really, it's your land - do whatever makes you happy.

We have a designated area at the Shelter with free vendor stalls for new residents. Here's how we work it:

-Residents have to be under 90 days old to be eligable. After 90 days, they lose their spot.
-They're limited to 10 prims total for each spot
-Content restriction: Everything has to be PG-friendly
-Content restriction: Items must be created by the seller to be sold at the Shelter
-Vendor restriction: We give them a low-lag vendor that they have to use, so the sim burden is minimal

I'd say, if you're giving away spots for *free* - put in some restrictions similar to the above to protect yourself. Maybe you dont want to do the newbie thing, but at the very least, I'd limit the prims & vendors such so they dont end up lagging out your sim.

I would find a creator who either had a product I liked or believed in, perhaps a friend, who didn't have the resources to open a place on their own,but in any case. I would not have any conditions except to follow prim limits, if any, and to conduct business in an honest manner.

Well here is what I am thinking...

I don't want to chose friends because most of my designer friends are well established already and there isn't enough shops to give to everyone... so having me chose, is not a situation I want to be in when it comes to friends..

But maybe...have a show & tell of some kind, and the best designers from the show & tell would be offered shop space.

The conditions would be:
- a 50 prim limit (maybe)
- no vendors, they would need to be in boxes set for sale
- they would need to release and place at least 1-2 new items in their shop a month
- place some sort of classified of that shop location (the L$50 is fine)

In exchange they would get:
- Free shop space for as long as they follow the above
- Free advertising through our blog and mailing list
- Eligible to participate in future events ( not mandatory) that would help promote their products
- and of course anymore ideas we can come up with that will help promote the island as a whole

Purpose would be:
- to benefit all designers on the island
- help new designers be known and established
- bring a wider range of content to the island
- fill up the island as we have alot of unused space hehe
- I tried renting these shops in the passed, and it was a mess, no one paid rent when they should, I hated having to track them down, content was old, low quality and often times never even maintained by the designer, so I think giving them away with a set of rules may be a better option

So what do you guys think? Is that reasonable?

That seems very reasonable to me. It's not that hard to meet any of those conditions...and you're offering something free. If they don't like the conditions or can't abide by them, I'm sure someone else will be waiting in line to nab the spot.

I've been thinking about doing something similar with some of my space. Zero rent vendor space, but with split profit vendors. I haven't followed through on the idea too much yet. Does anyone know of a good split profit vendor that doesn't cause much lag?

Umm how is that zero rent if you are taking their profits? lol

I charge 50% of the sales of other designers' items. They're happy, I'm happy. They sell more stuff, I have more diversity.

I guess I'd look for designers that complemented my theme. If I make neko clothes, maybe there's a designer out there who makes cool collars, or ears, or eyes, or whatever. Putting them together in the same shop makes shopping easier for the customer, increases sales for both of you, and increases the diversity of the available product. I definitely wouldn't give space away to a completely unrelated type of product. In the previous example, I probably wouldn't give space to a furniture designer, I guess.

Just one girl's opinion.

Yes I understand and agree to an extent, but these are individual shops on the island, not everyone sharing the same shop. does that make sense?

Oh, so like a shopping mall? I guess I'd still go with the themed deal. Have you ever been to Hairspray? It's a collection of a bunch of different hair designers, all with the same shop size. I use that to explore designers that I've not seen before.

There's a Japanese area (forget the name right now) that's dedicated to all things neko; each little shop might have a hair, some collars, a few clothes, etc, all by small or new designers. Pretty cool, actually. I go there for more punk style hairs that I know I won't find anywhere else.

I dunno, I've found that, as my shopping tastes change, I prefer to find themed zones, so that I can get a flavor of a bunch of different stuff that's out there, rather than wading through Furniture Store A, Clothing Store B, Hair Store C, etc. and wondering if I'll find even ONE example of something I'lm looking for.

Sensual Casanova, I'd say sign me up! Sounds like you've got a plan together, and I would be grateful for an opportunity to showcase my wares.

No I have never been there but I get what you mean... but I guess that makes it hard since myself and partners are not themed either... we have clothing, animations, eyes, shoes, skins, furniture, AO's, a gaming area (not where events are held but, skilled games like bingtris, blingo and shrooms) we have a wide range of products and none of them are to a certain theme... even clothing for example.. I have made formals, to latex, to jeans.. to whatever, you know? I don't think there are too many designers that lock themselves in a theme...

Oddly enough I'm 'giving away' shop space right now.

West Trade Imports will have the best possible appropriate designers in it, by winter holidays.

I'll probably make tier just on my own stuff there, and as for the others present, if I make tier, I hope they make $L 1 million. Which with West Trade is entirely possible. I don't want to bother with financially divvying it up, the others can keep what they make.

It's all about legacy for me now, not money, shopwise. My design and building days are pretty much over.

It's by private invitation only to sell there, of course. I've already got my list of who is being asked, and it's rather short. There won't be any rules to worry about, really, everyone 'gets it'.

I've been experimenting with shop space also.

All my spots are L$1 per week right now. Prims are limited based on location, so they range from 10-40 normally.

L$1 is the special price, so I only let the resident have one spot. I have made other deals. If they ask, I tell them what the price would be if I drop the special rate.

They wonder why I have done it only for L$1, and then I show them that I'm the one who completely programmed the rental system. They understand the gunnea pig idea.

I don't put out ads anymore, I make that their responsibility now. I figure for the L$1 rental they can at least afford the ads.

The boxes have a unique sponsorship system. It's the special sauce. =)

People have asked for the rental system to set it up in their mall, but I'm just not ready to release it now even if it is working with no bugs. It is all menu driven with no confusing notecard setups. I figure I have to feel that is it relaxing to work with and provide confidence in the renters before I am ready to release it. I haven't found any other rental system relaxing to work with as of yet.

Well the new Le Cadre is almost finished and I hope to start focusing on how I will fill these shops with creative minds

Sounds reasonable but I'd imagine it will be a pain to keep track of whether they keep their classified ad going or release new products.

I ran a small shopping area, about 8 shops, and didn't charge the designers rent. I invited a mix of designers of particular styles to try and give the area a certain feel - it worked. How I chose - there were a couple of new designers whose work I was excited about (who have since gone on to become quite well known), and one designer whose creativity was through the roof but who made niche products which appealed to only a small market, and they couldn't afford a shop from their sales but I (and others) really wanted to see their products available in SL. The others were designers I admired who were either looking for space, or who I felt would really fit in to the area. It made for a fun and popular little place.

Why not get people on the forums to recommend new or up and coming designers they think deserve a little more exposure and then take your pick?
Perhaps meet them and see what you think of both them and their designs.

By the way, I think it's a brilliant idea.

Our sim DOES give away Shop Space, the Criteria are simple, the Vendors are selected because Their Product is Product we Want available on our Sim.
Don't bother applying for free Space, If we want you there, WE will approach YOU. If you come to Us, you will be shown Places to RENT. Otherwise, our rules are much the same as you will find in any well organized mall. Prim limits, Script Usage, Some content Limitations (We Invited one vendor who had excellent products, but on the Condition that she NOT diaplay or sell ANY of her Drug related Objects on our property). Vendors are More than Willing to live up to occasional additional restriction in exchange for receiving Free shop space, and we keep such Additional restrictions Within reason.

Angel.

Alright guys...
Le Cadre' has almost finished it's reconstruction and I will start "opening up shops" =)
I am currently working on a notecard, signs and a way to keep it all organized.

I decided instead of having an event or show n tell of some sort I will have people submit "applications" to me...

Applications, because they will need be dedicated designers and be able to produce quality items.. all designers/merchants are welcome to apply...

The information will not be ready for another hour or two, but I will keep you posted.

If you know any designers that you think should get a chance, please feel free to let them know of what Le Cadre' will be offering and encourage them to apply!

My work can be viewed on SleXchange.com Onrez.com Please let me know if I can send you some samples of the quality of my work.

Hi Ryuu, I just finished posting all the information needed for our shop offer, you will need to go to Le Cadre' (http://slurl.com/secondlife/Le%20Cadre/120/193/32) and get the notecard for all needed information... good luck!