Are freebies hurting SL content creators?

Boxing Day sales work the same way. I get more vouchers now for Xmas than I used to.

I guess you do not leave your parcel in SL.

Short sighted imo.
Freebies might not have the impact now on the economy, but as 100's of new freebie items continue to pour out on the grid day after day......you have to wonder where all this is leading to. Something has to give!

It has not impacted me yet....but i do have concerns about the future along with several other proposed LL policies are about to be introduced. I would be extremley negligent if I could not react to changing market conditions and chose to place my head in the sandpit instead.

MY knee jerk vote on this one is No.

But......I'm basing that on the fact that I'm an SL consumer, tried and true. I have picked up freebies here and there.....but for the most part I don't find the quality. I know it's out there......but what stops me is I don't like running around busy laggy areas looking for goodies in 'hunts' and I don't ever intentionally go looking for free stuff. Every so often I happen upon something cool that's either way marked down....or free.....but I'm a shopper. I like finding new creations.....I'm always on the prowel for more innovative designers. I love the art of it all......so, I don't mind sepnding the L's on someone's creative work. And, further more, I shop with purpose....I like to choose from a variety of options.....freebies just don't have the choices....at least not as easily found.

The thing that does strike me though, about freebies, and SL in general.....is unlike the real world.....you're stuff isn't gonna get worn out or discolored or shrink in the wash. Nothing is ever going to just plane wear out. In that respect, SL's economy is ever in challeneg mode because the only way to maintain is to keep producing new cool items that people are going to just have to have!

There are also a few items that I have never encountered in freebies that I'd consider good quality. Skins & Hair rank the top of that list. I know of ONE skin maker that has done an exceptional job and made her skins free.......and that's the shining exception. (ladies I'm sure you all know who lol) As for hair.....yeah.....there's some creators who offer free hair to new folks and occasionally a great style will wind up in a lucky chair.....but on the whole.....if you want the latest and greatest, ya gotta buy it. I don't have ANY problem with that. But the dilemma is, as I stated, nothing perishes unless there's been a server glitch and it goes the way of certain lost cause socks in the proverbial dryer. Otherwise.....I can see where content creators would be endlessly frustrated.

Lastly.... the other thing that strikes me....people who refuse to spend money in SL....aren't going to spend it. I know quite a few folks who spend a LOT of time sniffing out freebies and deals because they just absolutely cannot justify spending real money in a virtual world. I think if the freebie were not there.....these folks probably wouldn't be quite as drawn to SL because they wouldn't be able to have a totally cost free experience. I'm talking about the staunch refusal to give SL the validation of worth by putting $$$ into it. Those folks wouldn't be shopping regardless. And for those that do a little of both......I think a bit of rewarding with freebies is healthy for commerce the same way RL merchandise is often fluffed with free extras. The drawback is , of course, you're not gonna wear a hole in those free shoes and run back to the creator to buy a replacement. Unless you're like me.....then you'll always manage to find the 'must haves' and spend the L's to get em.

I am sitting in my store watching a steaady stream of folks come due to the freebie notices i sent out to 6 groups and also watching my sales increase. For me freebies are extremely effective in increasing my sales but only because i use them very selectively. Once a week i offer a freebie that my group members only can come into my store and take. I always make it one of or a part of a new set of items....so today it is a chair and sit pillow as an example of two new sets that i have just made and set out for sale.

I intentionally do NOT pass the free gifts out...they must come into my store to get them and they must be a group member in order to recieve them. i have a large and consistent group membership that only increases and i often see the same folks come in to get the gift. but i also see them buy the rest of the set or one of the new items in a color that they like better than the one in the gift box. i do make the gifts transfer so that if it just doesnt suit them they can pass it on to someone else.

for me using freebies in this way has increased my groups by about 450 members over the last few months and has also keep my sales high. i believe the fact that i send out the notices to the freebie groups also brings new people into my store, some of whom become my own group members and repeat customers.

I also often have secret sales which i announce at the same time and folks love looking around the store to find the items i have marked down. it creates a lot of goodwill as well as some fun for folks.

for me, offering free gifts has been a huge part of my success...i also am a freebie hunter and use the freebies i get in much the same way as has been mentioned here before...i bring them home...try them on or look at them. if they work i keep them and often go back to purchase more...if they dont they get deleted. i also will go into a new store for a freebie and if i like what i see i will often spend money right then, even before ive tried anything on. so i see it as only a win for the store owners if used the right way.

Mille -i wish all SL consumers were like you or LittleMe Jewell, i'd happily place a freebie once in awhile to showcase my products...unfortunately being on the front line almost each day i see a high proportion of users just wandering around searching for Freebies.
I'm not going to feed into that frenzy.......i'll find alternative marketing ploys to bump up my traffic!

As regards Freebies i prefer to reward my existing Group members who are in there as paying customers.

These "gifts" are NOT directed to newbies....and NOT low quality. To address those statements made above suggesting that. I know what kind of products some of you in this thread have....and I know your offers are NOT low quality either....and it sounds like some of you are directing them to group only, too.

I used them as rewards for group members only....for group members only because they reward me with purchases and loyalty. I very rarely offered them to anyone else...there was a point where the gift bag scripts weren't working...so anyone who walked by got one.....I just let that be for a while....people seemed pretty cool with it.

Yes...they are a great promotional tool, and built my business much in the same way that Jojo described. My point is that I used them too much, which "conditioned" everyone.....which might be what is happening with the freebies across the board...the more available...the more often offered....saturated....then there becomes no reason to purchase anything at regular price.....and it becomes habit for them to expect them.

But it was kind of like an addiction....for me....I mean, when you see the action it brings it in...you want to turn around and do it again the next day.....and you sort of get tied to it.

As for the half off sales....I used those a ton of times...again, too much. Same thing. Some of my boxed sets are 950...awesome deal alone at 950.....(no, I'm not advertising, just making a point).....when you half that....it's a no brainer for someone. So if they know I'm going to have a half off sale every other week...there's no reason to buy one of those sets at 950....and they will wait. This applies to group members only. Also do buy one get one free days. Same thing.

I also used the promotions as a reason to join group. If I chat with someone in the store while they're purchasing...I tell them that if they would like to join group, they'll have access to some special promotions such as half off and buy one get one free....so some join for this reason. I think that's a great incentive.

But....if you overdo it on all that....might not be a good idea....you're tied to that behavior. So even though I said that I had no idea how it effects business across the board.....after writing all that out....convinced that it works the same way across the board....if the market is saturated with the freebies....offered constantly in huge numbers....so I voted that yes, it would hurt the market...it has to.

I can slack up and try it in moderation...see what happens.....but I doubt that you're going to get the other freebie/gift tossers to do that.

And thank you, Briana for offering up this discussion....feel like my soul has been cleansed. lol Break the Addiction! I better not log in and see 50 people missing from my group after this.

"Changing market conditions." I like this. Hasn't impacted you yet, huh? Okkaayyy!!!!

You're aware you're referring to sl and not rl, right?

What's really funny here is usually the ones who bitch, cry and moan about freebies being given away and copycats are the ones who don't sell anything. The ones who barely get by. The same ones who come here and rant about how their sales have gone kaput. You see it all the time here.

You never see people like J Hathor or any of the ones who actually make a living in sl come here crying about the "changing market conditions." or how freebies are drying up their means of making lindens.

You guys have the gall to actually complain about freebies and the impact of this. Now this is what's really funny here.

Carry on.

Pardon me?

I don't think some people are whining at all. They're offering up insight and sharing suggestions....some of that has some risk attached.

Did I miss something?

"Some" people won't come in here and share their ideas....because they're afraid someone will steal them....or their Ego won't let them admit they've made some mistakes along the way.

Geez! Talk about gall.

I went back and read over the whole thread again....and see a lot of very frank observations and opinions....the only whining and moaning I see is from your post.

Pardon me for the very frank observation and opinion.

Carry on.

So what if it hasn't hit me yet....but it might do in the future no matter how hard or how much i create to stay ahead.....its looking at the bigger picture and what might lay ahead.

Freebies don't effect certain markets as they do others....so Julia and fellow house builders are less likely to be effected, likewise with furniture makers....its different story when it comes to female fashion, shoes,skins etc

If those other sectors were effected in the same manner, i bet you'd get few more on these forums complaining.

Great post Mickey!

You highlighted how all these sales techniques, including sales, promos and gifts all helped your business in terms of overall sales....but the flip side of these policies became the "expectancy"

You hit the nail on the head and started thinking outside the box....."what if hundreds and hundreds of other businesses are employing similar strategies that i use?"
Well you answered your own question...........of course eventually it's going to lead to market saturation....it has to! The question is when....rather than if it will or won't!

I enjoy free items both as a creator and as a consumer. I ahve found some of my favourite stores becuase of freebie hunting.

As a cnsumer it gives me a chance to heck out the quality f the item and see if i really like how they do the prim work and the texturing. For clothing especially there is rarely a demo and mny ads are photoshopped. this gives me a eal idea of what people can do. If i find a freebie i love I will generally spend money within the store, I am however picky.

As a creator freebies and given them away realllly help my business in the beginning. However if I am honest with myself I think it is becuase the stuff I did at first was really well it was ok but it wasnt great. the freebies made people feel they were getting a better deal. I have only recently started making clothes. Since i started around two months ago I think i have done a total of 3 gift pieces f clothing including a unisex one i have out right now for a hunt.

Even with the huge downturn in the amount of freebies i am givign away my sales have increased exponetially. I suspect a ot of this is the quality of my items has inproved a lot (heheh i am wayyy better at making clothes than accessories i think) and am attempting other mrketing tools.

Iam taking the time to send my stuff to freebie bloggers when i have a freebie and the fashion bloggers once a month with my new releases. I am dvertising on websites which are used by SL folk. I am working on key word optimisation at mty parcel etc.

I do thinkthat the huge amount of freebi items can have an impact, but i think that impact is more seen on smaller stores who dont have a lot of customer recognition, small groups and a small custmer base. As a store grows i think the impact become more of a positive impact when you release free items. People already knkow they like your things and a free gift mkes them think ood things about you and gets them back to your store to buy more

Nice post Eclectic. I read somewhere you were recently blogged -Congrats!

Yeah, when you first start out in what is a very tough market like female fashion it's a fine balancing act you have to undergo...you need visibility, exposure, recognition and it doesn't come easily. You might try renting in a few selected quality malls that has genuine traffic, so that consumers become familiar with your brand name & logo.....it does help some. You can always place a Mainshop landmark giver at these spots. View it as another form of advertising.....more eyes on your products!

Its a tricky topic...i understand why you need to hand out freebies and how it helps you biz.....the flip side is that 100's upon 100's of similar freebies hitting the grid each and every day. Is it sustainable that's the question?

I see SL economy as fragile as the RL economy. Back in the late 90's I had described the RL economy as being a "pyramid of cards"....one poke and the whole thing will come crumbling down including the main supporting blocks (in this case the Banks)...what i didn't expect was the crash to occur quite awhile later than I first predicted (2002/3).....but none the less it did finally crash.....and big style too!.....because it had to, this wasn't something that happen overnight, it was a culmination of years of weak fundamentals, over valuation of assets, lack or regulation, crazy investments and borrowings etc etc

Freebies are great for non-creators and consumers alike.....but as a creator myself, i just can't see any long term good coming from it. I wish i'll be proven wrong...i really do.!

I decided the otherday to sort of run a "special" for a few hours just to see for myself how the freebie craze works. Normally I'll make a sale to a few sales a day, which gets me by. but anyway I set one of my newest products free. Nothing really big or technical but a cute little build. Anyway, set it free, went to where I usually sit in my store when I go afk and sent out a notice in a large group I'm in then went on busymode, but stayed to watch the traffic. Within 10 seconds of the group notice 2 people came, grabbed the free product and split. Did this for about a hour, sat and watched. All and all I probably got about 20 people within the hour who came to my store, grabbed the freebie and split. Not one sale. One guy even took 8 of the product.

I can understand the whole freebie thing being it's "free". And on another good sense offerin freebies will also help in traffic, and get your product names an company name out there in the SL world.

The bad side, it kills businesses as in, they need to lower their prices to compete with the overuse of freebies. Ofcourse it don't affect everyone but does it now? I voted yes personally but its not a firm yes. I sort of see it like the recession we are having in the USA. Slowly, but surely it will hit that point where whatever happens, happens. Not sure what it would be but I can guess by saying it could be, the SL economy goes in the crapper and/or alot of established and well known companies close their doors or get muscled out by those who sell their products dirt dirt dirt cheap or as this thread goes...free.

Only time will tell

In what way are these different with respect to the impact of freebies?

Usually when I offer an outfit as a gift, it will be only one layer. I consider it to be a 'sample'. The quality is the same, but it won't have all the bells and whistles. Sometimes I offer something that could be used in conjunction with a new release (for example once I released a gown in three colors and offered a gift pack of three pair of gloves that matched the gowns). When I released some swimwear, I made up a little 'beach tote' and offered it as a gift. Recently I made a new jacket and offered a purse that matched it.

At one point I decided that I wasn't going to offer gifts anymore. I even posted in the 'business' thread about how I no longer wanted to contribute to the glut of freebies out there. I watched traffic to my store dwindle. I am still fairly new to 'SL retail', and it didn't take me long to realize that I could not afford to stand on ceremony...especially when I have so much competition. I ate my words, and started giving gifts again.

Gifts are how I get people into my shop to see my new releases. I am willing to bet that if I messed with Excel to see just what percentage of my sales occur on the four days a month that I send out notices, it would be close to 50% of my monthly total. Yes, a lot of people tp in, grab the freebie, and leave. But some of them shop too. On my last notice day, I gave out about 100 gifts, and sold about 15 of my new product. Those are numbers I can live with.

I think a lot of creators are at much greater risk to lose sales because they charge what seem to me to be outrageous prices. When supply exceeds demand, prices fall; and if you are losing sales you might want to look at pricing rather than blaming gifts.

edit: and I NEVER give freebies on XSSL...if they want it, they have to come and get it.

Smart in my mind. Additionally, even if the group is notified of a freebie, I think it is smarter to not actually send it to the group but announce it and have them come get it -- even if it is only free to the group. Even I get busy and if a store is sending me a gift rather than making me come get it, visiting the store now and then to check out new stuff can fall down on my list of things to do. There are only a few stores that I like well enough that I absolutely must have almost everything they create.

Well this thread took some reading and it looks like a tie at the moment.
My view for what it's worth,freebies do and will continue to harm sales.I think that the more free stuff is added the sales must dwindle.It's a pity they can't be given a"shelf life" so that they could be cleared out evey so often.....Cull the frebies please.

I noticed in one post someone was blogged,does that mean this?

http://phillplasma.com/2009/05/01/blots-plot-the-old-mermaid-inn/

Making freebies no-transfer and pulling them from distribution does give them a "shelf life", albeit one that isn't controllable, as new people come in to SL and don't have access to the freebies. You could also limit distribution: only give out 200 copies of the freebie, and that's it. Midnight Mania can be used for that... with one-offs... but doesn't so reliably get people into the store because so many people set the MM limit too high and people don't expect them to actually fork over the clothes.

Based on experience and observation, i would say most of huge freebie places dont upgrade their items so they arent a threat to those who create better contents. Ive had explored & bought items in most of huge freebie places in sl during my newb stage since ive had most of their items i would come back every week to see if there's new releases or updates but there's none i tried coming back after several months but the items are still the same and that conclude me that they only cater for newcomers and alts.

As for newcomers as they explore and starting to earn lindens they would want to find something new and learn how to buy for sale items.

And for Hunts, Group freebies they are as good as demos and yea most of them are of decent quality cuz for example, in shoes, ive known a group/shoe shop owner whenever he and his wife has new releases of shoes or boots with different colors they would offer one color as a freebie and when i like it i would buy same boots with different or of prettier colors that would look fab in my outfits.

I think fashion has a shelf life too really, I know the clothes don't wear out but I'm willing to bet that a lot of things aren't worn more than a few times. Not because it goes out of 'style' but because the new has worn off and well, Time to shop

i make enough sales to handle the tier for the portion of land my furniture store sits on. i usually make more sales when i put out new stuff, which admittedly hasn't been often lately. my bad.

now, i'm going to do two things.

1) i'm going to confess how i handle group only gifts: i join the group, take the gift, then leave the group immediately. it's not really the freebie-hopping deterrent you presume. i almost never go back for anything, because i don't figure you want me to buy. i mean, why buy when i can get it for free in 30 days.

2) i'm going to try out a group only gift giveway, but it won't be free. and the group will be by invitation only. you'll have to IM me to get in the group. the 'gifts' will be L$10 or something (maybe higher) - just to see what changes occur on my land, and sales.

i refuse to give away my time and energy and ideas for free. maybe i'll offer a demo sample, or really sweet sale, but that's as close to free as i'll go. even my mall hunts are not free. you have to pay for the hunted item. people do. i make more money that way sometimes, than in actuall sales. which reminds me, i better get another one going.

but if you all want to, i so appreciate the free goods. but i'll tell you this, if i like your stuff, you don't have to give it to me for free. i am an avid shopper, and camp a LOT to pay for my SL life. i don't mind paying, if you have something i want... especially if it is orange. but, i won't pay if you are going to keep giving me free stuff. why, when i can spend that L$ on a place that has cool stuff that is not free? you know?

i'll let you know how this works out.

(edit) P.S. sarcasm based on truth to follow: Honey's blog (and those like it) are fabulous. i'd like to thank all you freebie bloggers for making my freebie hopping so easy!

(2nd edit) P.S.S. sarcasm based on truth to follow: i LOVE you xStreet freebie clothing designers. i don't even have to be inworld to get free stuff. it's just waiting for me the next time i log on. it's fabulous!

That's exactly what I want to know in my mind concerning the customers who already shop....exactly what I'm testing.

If content creators could get comfortable and confident knowing this.....I bet you would see a different angle on freebies.....a different approach.

Part of a content creator/business owner's responsibility in running their business daily....is to work this out in their head. If you're not confident in that.....going to be a frustrating road ahead for you.....and if you're in business to make money....and can't work out this concept......then, what's the point.

i have been trained to not be willing to pay more than L$10 for an item, which seems like a LOT now. and then, i have to really think "do i really want this?" why pay L$10 when i can pay L$1 next door, or L$0?

HOW MANY of your group members actually buy? do most just wait for the new freebie to come out? have you tracked that? do you keep a list for comparison purposes? THAT is wherein the truth lies.