Do You Risk Business on an Estate?

Every business has different needs, Virrginia. As for getting neighboring plots cleaned up, you can do that if you develop a good relationship with your neighbors. Unless you're unlucky enough to be next to someone who has gone absent, most neighbors would appreciate the IM that there are flames all over their land and will clean it up as soon as they can.

As for being thematically consistent, is that really a risk? At best it is a missed opportunity for advertising. Does 7Seas need to be on an aquatic sim in the middle of an aquatic themed estate in order to be successful? I don't think so. Each business survives or falls on its own merits, and while catering to a themed area by renting there is certainly smart business, it is not necessarily a risk if you're not in one. I certainly think that equestrian activities are not limited to Victorian sims and would be appreciated elsewhere.

Again, I'm not trying to draw an equivalent between the two but the condescension toward mainland rests on broad over-generalizing of mainland life.

>>How is this different from mainland? We all do the same thing if we want to tier down - sell, or abandon.

We do as residents do, but our service provider doesn't. This puts a lot of strain on the mainland estate as a whole. Which is scary.

They are in two businesses at once: overall provider, and also land baron of a 1/4 billion square meter estate.

That 1/4 billion square meter estate is the concern.

I could see maybe 50 to 100 million square meters of mainland going empty or unpaid someday; in which case they are going to have the exact same issues any other land baron has. The bloom will eventually come off the mainland rose; it was the best thing going in 2004 but not changed much in five years. Nor can it change, without radical revision and upheaval of residents. Will they prop it up and eat the losses? Maybe; maybe not. It's the same question all estates have, only at the scale of 1/4 billion square meters. Scary.


>>So looking at this title, he is at greater risk by going with a private estate than owning mainland. I will not discourage anyone from getting estate land, but I'm not going to use the niceties as a red herring to distract people from the fact that paying anyone other than LL for land is a greater security risk, no matter how well it's run.

Sure, there's risk. No red herrings here. Our service provider could put me out of business tomorrow if they wanted to.

Point is, considering the community gateway program they seem to have enough confidence for a new resident welcome area to exist on my estate and a number of others.

So I really don't see our service provider messing with me intentionally; that's a lose lose scenario if there ever was one.

Also, renting with a land baron on the mainland just as risky as any private estate region, if not more so. Maybe the land is just abandoned back to Governor Linden instead of the region vanishing, but from a renter's standpoint... it's about the same.

What is kind of annoying is being painted with the same brush as any random wingnut who bought a region and rented it out, without passing third grade math first. That's the biggest red herring of them all.

I wish everyone success, but get a little weary of the constant bashing. Private estate owners are regularly compared to the worst of the worst.

Mainland represents about 1/5 of Linden Lab's holdings and it is not the cornerstone of Linden Lab's profitability. Clearly, if the mainland landmass becomes a real problem, they will do as we do: displace people and fill up vacancies.

No one was slamming estate land here, but the reality of that risk cannot be overstated (any more than renting with a mainland landlord, as I said earlier). In the question of which landlord is safer, there is only one answer.

It applies very much to the context the statement was made within, which you conveniently snipped. All land is rented, this is undoubtedly true. The estate manager of LL can and have made policy decisions that have caused problems for their renters.

Linden Lab are the most trustworthy landlord here, I've said this many times before.

I'm not being condescending towards the mainland, there can be sound reasons for wanting to have a plot of land there. If you don't wish to be bound by a covenant, then it is probably a freer place than an island parcel might be.

The examples I gave of the advantages of renting on a well managed sim are real, and things that I deal with on a weekly basis. If I'm fortunate to have good neighbors on my mainland parcel, then perhaps I would be able to deal with those situations equally well. But that's an if, and we're talking about risks here, not absolutes. I would assert that the chance of having an ill behaved neighbor on a mainland parcel is significantly higher than the chance of a well known and respected estate owner absconding with a downpayment on a parcel.

The question of theme is a good one, and some businesses need it more than others. I hope this doesn't sound like a shameless plug here, but visitors to my shop in Caledon have somewhere in the neighborhood of seven sims to ride demo horses about in, all beautifully landscaped victorian towns, forests and mountains, nary a banline in sight. It's something I can offer, without having to own a full sim or two myself. Other businesses profit from the "window shopping effect"--people come to visit, and the longer they stay, the more likely they are to buy.

But, if I'm to be perfectly honest, there's much more to it than that. I hang about in themed sims because, well, I enjoy my time there more. I'm not a complete skyplat hermit, I do like to crawl downstairs and play from time to time. Being part of a community is important to me.

Then comes VAT charges & Adult content reclassifications....which is where policy decisions come into play on Mainland.

I have both Mainland & my own Estate sims...each serves a purpose and i like them for different reasons. If I couldn't afford the tiers....my renters on both Mainland & Estate will suffer equally.

It wouldn't greatly surprise me to find that Desmond has contingency plans for getting hit by a truck, too. (I've made such plans myself in regards to NCI.) But if he does not, I'm willing to bet about 2/3rds of the Caledon community would be willing to put up money to sustain and/or recreate the micronation. I know I would.

I've rented land from two people: Desmond Shang in Caledon and Prokofy Neva on the Mainland. I trust both of them more than Linden Lab.

If we can't trust Linden Lab above all others then we're up a certain creek without a paddle. Their openspace decision led to me abandoning my opespace and cost me more than when the estate parcel I was renting went belly up due to the owner doing one, but I have to be able to trust Linden Lab, if they go bust we all go under. I'd agree that Desmond is a better estate manager, but that's a different side of the coin.

I trust Linden Lab to do what is best for Linden Lab's shareholders. It would be reasonable to assume that a stable platform, a stable business environment, and good customer service would be what is best for LL's shareholders, but past experience with LL has shown that they don't necessarily agree.

I trust Desmond Shang and Prokofy Neva as human beings, and I know that they both understand that stability and good customer service are in their own economic best interests.

i cannot tell a lie.

Well you raise an interesting point because I wouldn't hesitate to reccommend Desmond's estate to someone, whereas I would hesitate to reccommend Second Life to someone. I've reccommended Prok before too.

one thing no one seemed to mention is that there is only one LL

but when it comes to estate owners there are many, and the chances of getting burned by an estate owner (not all, just some) is far greater than getting burned by LL

just because some folks got burned by the openspace and now the adult decisions, doesn't mean everyone did or will.

just like, how not everyone gets burned by an estate owner (only by some estate owners)

I have been a mainland owner since 06, owning the same mainland, I have bought up, and tiered down, but I am still in the same plots I was in from 06

would I ever want to rent from an estate other than LL?
nope

but that is just me

If anyone asks me about estate vs mainland, I give them the pros and cons of both.
I do not tell anyone NOT to rent from an estate, however I do warn them to do their homework, because not all estate owners are going to be good and honest.

At least with mainland, people know who they are dealing with.

And for some, mainland is exactly what they want.

*shrug*

Yesterday I paid a visit to Bradley's store and he did find a great location for what he sells. Would not fit as well in the commercial sim I am in, as on the place he is now

As for trust, that is my main problem as well. I do trust my landlord, have been renting from him longtime. But one day he might just decide to leave SL, and that is when I have a problem. And honestly, chances he stops are always higher then chances LL stops.

But it is a simple calculation. Benefits compared with risks. The land I am on is managed very well, which is important to me. Price is about the same in the end, I am premium member anyway. Mainland would cost me a large upfront sum, plus I always risk who comes living next to me. So I did risk renting estate and never regretted it so far.