Are freebies hurting SL content creators?

So the shop owners need to get the 10% that has money to their shops, yes?

You know there's a hunt now where you have to buy a 200L card and wear it to get the gift. That must be a smart solution. Not crowded shops and lot of lag, and those who have 200 L to spend can be future customers. Because it takes a lot of camping to get 200 L, and those who participate in that hunt are either working in SL, or buy L.

No Marianne....your sales mostly come from recycled money supply. There are plenty enough shop owners that don't have Payment on file and don't buy Lindens. All their expenses like land, upload fees, adverts are funded through sales.......where it becomes tricky is when they are no longer profitable.
Should they place a funding source or shouldn't they?....that's the decison people will have to make, when their Sales fall. It's a tricky one as RL disposable income comes into play

sorry did not read you whole reply...apologies.

Yes, thats a great idea....and i support this concept of a Hunt. A designer friend (quality Jeweler ) of mine is part of that hunt.....she got a ton of people come though her shop yesterday....and again this morning. I can see her sales because her shop is on my lands and i don't charge her rent, but i get a commission on every sale.

So yesterday we got 800 + unique visitors to her shop and had a total of 2 Sales!!!
I'm hoping people did pick up landmarks and come back at a later date, which again i'll be able to see. I have a few of my own shops close to hers, .....i saw a few people walk to the other shops within the Square including mine, but we did not really see any "Sales" benefit from this abnormal traffic generated by my Jeweler friend.

So although this Hunt is a better concept then most others....I'm still not overly convinced when it comes to the bottom line.....i'll monitor her sales during May and make a more accurate assessment at the end.

PS should note that my Friend has RL online Jewelry business which is highly successful. Part of her reason being in SL....is to direct potential buyers to her RL business website, (another form of advertising) so inworld sales are not imperative. She has effectively recreated her RL jewelry products here in SL.

Expanding from the post above...i'd like to add i have another friend who has her Mainstore (Female Fashion) in this same Square, and taking part in the Discovery Hunt which is 2 months long (1st May - 30th Jun). This is more the traditional type of Hunt.

Again under the same arrangement, no rent just commission on sales. .........i do have visibility of her sales and with my invisible unique visitor counters can measure additional traffic versus additional sales.....as i have all the historical data of average visitors and sales prior to this Hunt. So when i goof off about the validity of freebies and hunts and such....it's not just coming out of my rear end, it is supported by some form of statistical data that i base my assessments on. Trust me if i saw these Hunts doubled my monthly sales .......i'd be one of the first to join them. I'm not convinced.....and i have 2 different types of Hunts running simultaneously in the same Square right now.

I'm not in shopping mode when I hunt. I just want to finsh the hunt, and things that I love will make me want to buy more. I can't buy something in each shop, so I can't promise i will come back.

But when I buy things, I usually go back and buy more. As in the "Kissed" hunt. A furniture shop had a great bed. I went back 5-6 times or more, when I needed a lamp or a rug or something else. No huge purchases, but a steady drop of small sales. I think I have 3 lamps, 2 rugs, 1 picture, 1 table and 1 flower. Not one of those were freebies. And when i move or redecorate, I probably get more.

The same hunt had some really good chairs, but for some reason I didn't "fall" for that shop. So I didn't buy more there... unfair maybe? I can't tell exactly what triggers me to spend §L.

I got some really nice freebies in fall 07 when I started SL. I didn't buy anything from that shop until a year later! But they were still there

As i said in earlier post, it's my opinion that most of the people that have written on this thread are shoppers....and not truely representative of what is REALLY happening on the grid. If everyone where like the people on this forum, the Economy would be in much better shape......and though there will always be Freebies, it wouldn't be to the same excesses that we have now....there wouldn't be the same requirement or reliance of it as a marketing tool.

All my shops have far more traffic then say a year or 18 mths ago, in some cases double the average daily amount.......and yet sales are similar.

the real problem is the real world economy.

Bad real world economy = less disposable income for users of SL. So many will not be buying lindens and using in world means to make lindens for their expenses.

Freebies don't hurt as much as overpriced items that are worse quality than the freebies.

If you build/item is outclassed by a freebie, then you need to work on it till it is at least equal to the freebie (Preferably better if you really want to sell it)

Freebies are best done when they showcase your skill and quality, but are not items that you normally sell. A good example was when shopping for clothing with a friend, the freebies they had were a top and thong that showed off the quality of the clothing. It was a sample, with the clothier's name on it for free advertising.

A bad freebie was a dress that was excellent, but it could easily have been bought.

One option for clothing designers would be to take a cue from the hair/furniture places... do demos that have the logo or demo worked into them. I saw one a while back that had worked the logo in with demo in fine print around it. It was a nice touch, and showed off the full outfit for those wanting to see how it looked on their avatar.

I agree with Rene. The most who reply here are shoppers. The average SL user probably don't know about this forum! I can't remember where I read it... it's only 200 000 ppl in SL that's consuming the most of the economy.

Most people that stay in SL will start to use money after 6 months, or they quit before that? Is it resonable to say that? Those who pick up freebies the first weeks and then quit, is it possible that they would not buy anything, even if all the shops stopped to give out free things?

Would you get rid of The Free Dove, The Gnubie Store and the Freebie Islands too?

This is what I think... I have no "proof" of it. The number of active users in SL that spend money is rather stabile. To expect sales to double because of a hunt is rather unlikely to happen. But ppl like me who shop follow the trends. (I admit it, I read blogs! I'm not original at all!) So some shops will die, others survive...

I am not sure of freebies kill SL or not, but I think there are more than enough now. Don't quit it totally I say, but reduce it to early 2008 level? That's my 2 cent's worth after staring into my crystal ball, probably just bullshit anyway.

Freebies were around when i first arrived, the places you mentioned above plus a few more. I think Freebies definitely has its place in the economy.....it certainly provides a "taster" for new residents much like we had. I still have my freebie Tank -lol

The difference between the "quality" of freebies during 2006 and in 2009 is quite remarkable.
To be honest if i were Noob entering SL today, i doubt i'd spend any Lindens for a good while. You can pretty much acquire good quality Free products of just about anything nowadays. No need for me to spend Lindens.
It would really all hinge on whether I acquired Land or not. If i did, then that would be a sign of commitment towards the SL Game and most likely i would present a funding source e.g C.C...and actively engage as a buying consumer.

I think i'm slightly mis-understood....i'm not against the principle of freebies within reason, I see how it helps new players just like it did back in 2006 for myself. It's the continual flooding the market with Freebies 24/7, 365 days a year that I'm concerned about long term...particularly from businesses that use it as their sole marketing tool!

Time will tell!

If we had this Poll this time last year, i think less than 10% would have agreed with me.....in 2009 thats nearer 40% (3 vote options).....in 2010 I'm predicting you'll see the majority vote "Yes"

The "No" vote might be skewed anyway! We don't know the split between consumers voting who benefit from the circulation of quality freebies...and actual Content creators.

Well, i'm not sure what the impact of those 2 Hunts will have on Sales. The Discovery hunt lasts for 2 months......if i were a participator in that Hunt, i would certainly hope for a significant increase in sales during that 2 month period. That's enough time to pick up a LM and come back at a later date to shop.

Good points MortVent.

I like the logo idea. I was supposed to launch my own Menswear collection last year (have been lazy!) About 50% of the products for the initial launch has been created and sitting in my Inventory. Some of those garments contain my company logo e.g back jeans pocket....or a small logo across the breast.....not all garments but several lines have. I think i have it embossed on the hem of my underwear selection too.

When i do finally launch, i don't plan to go down the Freebie route.....i'll use cross-marketing and other means to promote it.

If players are here for the long haul, then SL is definitely a cheap form of entertainment....for the price of 2 Cinema tickets, you can enjoy a decent SL lifestyle in any given month.

I think the point that is genuinely missing here is that many of the free quality items which are found in stores are not being found by new people, not even close.

As a result of these recent threads, blog posts and articles that there should be a ban on freebies, a restock!! that they are ruining the economy!!! I took the time to look over my record or the past two months. In thos past two months I have started releasing clothing.

Upon looking at the record 90% of my sales come from people with payment info on file or payment info used. That means that at some point they have given LL their credit card or paypal info (which although it may not have been used i do think suggests a more likley inclination to use it. eg. I kkow many people with payment info on file but not used cos they buy their linden through XStreet).

A total of 60% of those who pruchased from me were payment info used.

This tells me that most of the people buying within SL are the people who put money into it. Now much of my marketing revolves around giving away samples of my work through hunts or random free items in a colour i wont sell.

So to that end i corellated those who took a freebie with those who hve purchase from me in the past two months. On average in month one of those who rook a free item of my 10% pruchased one or more items from me. In month two that numberis only 2%, however the number of people who have taken my free item within the last two weeks or so fromthe SL discovery hunt skew this quite a bit, accounting for 90% of the free items given away.

From experience I knwo that on a hunt they may not have even opened my gift yet, so i dont think the value from those who picked up that free item can really be seen yet.

I would also like to point out the number of people within my group for my store since the SL discoveryhunt has increased 10 fold. And I am averaging 15 people a day joining my group to find out more about my items.


Anyway I justthought some people might actually like some cold hard facts from one store, rather than I think this is what happens, I believe that happens and free items are going to ruin the economy.

My store has picked up amazingly over those past two months and I am making more in sales weekly then I used to in two months.

I agree E. My info is from my experience using freebies in my work and making enough money to pay RL bills with the profits. I had an in world discussion last night on the issue of freebies and everyone who attended agreed that they buy more than the run around picking up freebies, tho the freebies will get them into a store at first at times.

also rene...every time I am at House of Heart - the hair part of Bewitched...it is overrun with av's. that is the group that does the ongoing free promotions on a regular basis.

Ahhh ok, thanks Thought I was missing something by not putting keywords in each prim of an item to sell...lol.

I put on that silver dress the other night with a pair of the boots we discussed and my partner went, "WOW!! Is that a new dress!!"

When I first arrived in SL, the person who invited me said, "You can do things to earn lindens in SL, but personally I prefer to just purchase them from the Lindex." This was a member of a rp group who spent a TON of money of furnishings, clothes, props, etc. and didn't have the time nor inclination to camp, etc. The group had close to 800 members. Of course I have no idea how many of those purchased, but I wager quite a few.

The first week I was there, one of the group members took me on a "shopping orientation" to show me where the good hair/clothes/skin/shapes/eye/AO, etc. stores were. Not one of them said "Oh and you can pick up freebies at "such and such."

Then my friends from IRC followed. They all have good RL jobs and wanted to spend their SL time in rp, so they also purchased lindens.

Later I met my Partner. Between the two of us in that first year, we likely pumped hundreds of USD into the SL currency before I began earning lindens from teaching and selling my builds. My Partner still purchases lindens.

I agree it depends on the circles one runs in, but don't discount the rp groups who will pay a LOT for what they want.

I would be one of these types of people. Especially after a huge hunt (not that I've done many), I'm exhausted from the hunt and due to my other activities in SL, it may be weeks before I have a quiet time to begin opening and culling through the hunt items.

Bewitched is owned by Wiccan Sojourner, her home SIM is also called Bewitched.
House of Heart/ Bewitched Hair belongs to Wiccan's RL daughter - Sheltered Heart is the owner and has her own SIM, which use to include a very busy mall nearby.....there are always lots of peeps on that SIM

They are 2 different business entities, although same RL family. Map Bewitched SIM and then map Tropical Escape SIM

Again, it depends who you discuss with. I have 120 vendor spots at Lumiere Fetish & Goth Malls....all are fashion designers. If i held an open Group discussion with them...i'm sure i would get mixed opinions pretty much being 50/50...just like this thread.
The designers at my Malls range from ones that have been around since 2004/5 to very new designers. I'm pretty sure that some of new designers participate in Hunts and put out Freebies, whereas some of the older ones might not.

I guess I've started targeting an entirely different market. Targeting those who do not have to be bribed to come in....targeting those who would rarely have time to hunt for freebies....those who couldn't care less about freebies....those that want convenience (most are coming from Xstreet now).....those that want unusual items, different from the pack....those that appreciate you and will reward you not only monetarily, but with good feedback......and have noticed that certain types of marketing totally work for bringing those people in.

Once I've switched over and started focusing on a different target market....working and creating is much more enjoyable now. Exciting again.

You can direct your marketing to whomever you want. You have that control. You don't have to just toss it out there and see what sticks. When I do cross marketing now....I'm much more careful what style of business I choose to coordinate with. I want them to be on the same page with target market.

You have to work a little harder....study a bit more....experiment a bit more. That's all.

If freebie market is what you're comfortable in....go for it....it will bring in sales....I relied on giving gifts to build my business .....it worked......it's not a bad way to get started.....but I'm ready to move on.....and advance.

and thank god for your RP groups!

A couple pages back, i published some data showing the percentage of current registered users with payment on file....was less than 400000 and less than 10%.
Of course in the 86% that are NPIOF there are % of ALTS, they will be funded by PIOF Main a/cs.....but 10% or 15 % is still a low overall figure.
It could change with the Adult Content policy as placing payment details will be counted as a form of verification......that is possibly one of the few good things that might come out of the Adult Content proposal.....as people will verify inorder to enjoy ther Adult way of life in SL.

The overwhelming majority of SL users do not have PIOF so unlikely to purchase Lindens (unless from 3rd party sources)....their SL life might be funded by their own shop sales, camping, sploder, working for someone.....this is not new money supply, this comes from recycled money supply.

I don't really use the freebie strategy to hold my position in my sectors and have been relatively successful without it......my monthly sales figures are not a million miles from Phil's..which are well documented....so it can be done without. If i followed suit, i'm not sure whether it would improve my sales after 2.5yrs to be honest.....out of principle i don't think i would allow myself to get caught into that "Freebie" merry go round.

I will confess i was intrigued about these Hunts at first......but now i have 1st hand visibility of 2 friends who are partcipating with 2 quite different businesses....i can see unique visitor traffic counts and sales....as i record them........so whether they get the benefit of additional sales right now or in 6 months time, i'll be able to see it.

Mickey...all the things you are saying that you receive from your customers, I also receive from mine...loyalty, frequent visits, repeat sales, great input, friendship and constant referrals. Not sure if the end result is the same, that we are targeting a different type of shopper ulitimately. Also, i think you mentioned that up until a couple of weeks ago you were heavily using freebies with your groups even more than i do. So are you saying that in the weeks since you stopped using freebies you are effectively targeting and getting an entirely different type of shopper? If so, I am interested in knowing what types of different marketing you are doing to attract a totally different consumer. Just seems to me that the marketing channels in SL are pretty much limited so I am wondering what has effectively transferred your customers from being freebie hunters who also are great customers and buy from you to this other type of customer.

Rene - i agree with your points about hunts...in my experience participating in the grid wide ones has not produced much at all for me. Also I think the difference in your biz and some others may be that you already have a solid sales base and so the freebies would be in addition to what you already have built up and may not be needed. Ralektra and I have used freebies to build our businesses effectively in the current market conditions.

Its been a good thread to read and participate in....lots of different opinions from all sides.

On personal level it's been a success.......40% have woken up!

Edited: Thoughtful post with very detailed response to above.....was a waste of time and effort....so deleted.

Very cool Mickey, i do some of that stuff you do.

I must exploit XStreet more....i have been saving that task for a rainy day, but as it becomes more intergrated into the SL shopping experience i might focus on that area exclusively for the next month. It makes sense!
I'll set different landing points and place invisible counters to see how much additional traffic its generating...it also lists names, which i can then tie into actual sales.