Who is not making the money they wanted to make in SL?

This is a poll asking those who are NOT making the money in SL that you wanted to make or perhaps first thought you would, then why?

This is not for those who don't want to or never wanted to make money in SL. It's for those who want to but are not. What is holding you back? What could be changed? Is it SL or your own personal issues keeping you from profiting?

~Maddy

I think a lot more money could be made if I didn't have a real life. I have little time to create the assets catalog I would need to 'support myself.' Also take into account marketing, design, ad placement, articles and interviews.

Time is the problem. And I'm too ingrained in my real life to make the full-time leap.

At the moment, my bank account is slowly increasing...but isn't nearly what it could be if I had the time to fully commit. I'm not sure I would even want to fully-commit. I like this as a hobby, learning experience, and social aspect...I like to keep it lite.

I chose other. Because when I first came to Second Life, I assumed Anshe Chung would pay me weekly tribute money. So far shes about 70 weeks behind.

I make enough to cover my tiers, rent and shopping addiction and still have enough to put away for my dream sim in a couple of months. I'm content with that.

Two words: Fall semester.

Once I'm on break, I'll have time to put new stuff in my shop. Until then... I'm just collecting works-in-progress, idea sketches, and many sleepless hours that should prolly be used for study time instead. ^^

takes money to make money

can not afford the advertising cost it takes to get my name known

I am in a saturated market (clothing, shoes/boots and skins, with some prefabs)

so it is very hard to get the product sold, without the money to put into advertising

so I continue to create for the enjoyment, and hope some stuff sells to at least cover tier (which through the summer tier was out of pocket)

Yeah, my RL really interferes with my video game time. It's a crime. Virtual even!

"This poll is hilarious!" -Bubbles the Clown-Stripper

I can't wait until the "economy" in SL is so messed up that people play to have fun and be creative. The scenery will sure look a lot better at that point!

I put a huge amount of effort into development of high quality original and entertaining casino slot machines. I was making good money selling them too, until SL busted the casino trade. Not much market for them after that, so no more income.

It's taking a while to get reinspired...

island have you thought about making arcade games? I am looking for new games for my arcade, the basic script is opensource, I am such a dummy when it comes to scripting I dunno how to make them

On the arcade thing...I think it would be awesome to have some old school-looking arcade games. I'd buy a ton to put in the mess hall for my troops to get down on! Space Invaders? Snake?! Aw yeah!

I can think of a few get-together areas I know about whose owners would be down to put something like that in.

Since most of my activities in SL that make money are scripting and building, I'd have to say SL issues. There are hundreds(by now thousands) of issues and exceptions with LSL not to mention all the broken functions. And as far as building goes, I still experience prim drift and inventory loss =(

I'd love to make millions... but I know it won't happen.

I came to SL for fun, not money, and ended up finding out that I love building, and can do it rather well after not that much time. So now I offer my services. But because I didn't plan to make money initially, I am making exactly what I hoped for.. in fact more!

The thing is, you can't come to an ever-changing (Faster than RL anyway) economy and expect to make a stable income forever. It just won't work, too many things can change, too many people can offer exactly waht you do, and some can probably do it better. No matter what it is you're offering, you can get it elsewhere. If you were the first with an idea, you can bet someone else has copied that idea by now, and added their own twist.

So I didn't plan on making any money, and I am. I am perfectly happy.

Where is the option for 'I don't make any money because I have no skills?' hehe

It's a difficult question because it falls between so many stools.

I make a little profit in SL, but I don't cash it out (far too many potential tax issues!). I didn't really come to SL to make money, so I tend to just use it for in-world things. So it isn't really true to say that I don't make the money I wanted to.

It is true though that I don't make money _doing the thing I wanted to do_ - I wasn't good enough at the thing I wanted to do, so I had to adapt to doing the thing I'm good at. I asked a few people for help, but they just said "that's talent and talent can't be taught", and although I knew they had no actual proof of that, it was just annoying people so I had to stop and adapt. That's just a business reality. The other business reality that's leaning on me now is that the thing I was making - gadgets - is becoming an increasingly harsh market, and I don't really like the (rather common) attitude that the job of a scripter should be to find the biggest hammer they can, find the newest and softest bit of the SL code, smack it until it breaks, then sell the breakage. The weapons market is especially bad for this, but it's started to creep into others, too. Still, I am gradually developing a strategy to deal with it.

I finally figured out that it is very hard to make a profit without selling or renting anything and I also haven't figured out how to get the Lindens I buy to just multiply on their own (maybe a rabbit furry would help there).

I gave some serious thought to tryiong to make some money in Sl when I first started. Then I weighed the amount of work against the amount of potential profit, and, more importantly, weighed that against the lost opportunity to really enjoy myself in SL and decided to abandon the idea. For a few bucks, I can be an independently wealthy, shiftless, unemployed playboy in SL. How can you beat that? That's exactly what I would be in RL if I were wealthy, shiftless and unemployed.

:qft:

thanks, my monitor hadn't had a dose of caffiene recently...

I think I got into the game a bit late on the creation end... just starting up some stuff, and never seem to have enough time (yet I'm here, telling no?)

I am retired in RL and wanted to make a little extra pin money.
I do make a profit here--and sell what I think are good products. At least I have been
told that often enough that my ego is happy.

I live to create things--always have in RL too--and so that is a plus. But I have to
say I have come to find out that a lot of my textures have been stolen *Sighs*. and
that really has set my urge to do all I do here back a very long way

There are other things too. People removing my scripts--thinking they can get at the code. (Then IM'ng me and complaining that I never put scripts in the objects in the first place--saying the the items are faulty and they should get their money back)

Then there is all the Gaming with Alts--and now I read that the New Search is already being gamed and it is not even out yet...

I guess I am losing faith in People--Some are so blatent about cheating!

It really seems that the genious that it took to create this place is now being ruined by some of those that use it. It feels like SL is scammers heaven now.

When I came here a year ago--it was not like that. Not at all.

I have an arcade with some games, but the old school ones such as centipede and such, dunno if they would be allowed or against copyrights

I suppose a creator could make it and use a different name

in my arcade you earn tickets and then can use those to get the available prizes

not much activity though, I thought there would be as arcades are not plentiful in SL

(oh well)

Majority of it is personal

People won't put money into a game.

Hmm, I am making a profit, but not the kind of profit I could be making. Currently I make enough to pay my tier and premium fees and have a little left-over. However I really only have one successful product line and desperately need to release more, move to a better store and so-on.

These things take time though, which my real-life job currently doesn't leave much of. However, it's only a work placement so I'll be back to student hours in a month, at which point I can hopefully release some new stuff and see how I do.

I'd like to note though that my business isn't intended to make money, I don't put a ton of effort into marketing or pricing competitively or anything. I charge what I think is fair, but I don't make the products specifically for profit, but more for myself. But since other people like them too I sell them and it helps keep my SL habit affordable

1. VAT knocked the bottom line right out of the water for my rental business.

2. Gambling ban. Though I wasn't a casino owner I used to earn about L$30K p/w playing poker.

I've looked at a couple of options over the past year but for various reasons didn't carry them though.

A relative of mine works with a UK TV company to seek out new talent. I got him to come into SL and look around. We discussed the idea of setting up a talent hub here, attracting people who are into video making, game development etc perhaps through sponsored competitions, events and so on. We decided that this just isn't the right place though. The audience isn't right, the platform not stable enough and the potential for negative PR too great.

We also discussed buying a sim between us to rent out. The time investment/return balance was nowhere near good enough though. Plus the fact that no-one knows what will happen tomorrow. Someone else comes out wit a better SL, the population migrates and your "land" is worthless. Perhaps the likelihood is that this won't happen, but it's not a risk I'm prepared to take.