It's worse then I thought

I know it's been discussed before.....selling freebies. But I was naive enough to assume it was a practice that wasn't very widespread HA!

I was bored and wanted to sell some of my Inv items that I don't want, and my land is getting low on prims...sooooo I thought I'd hop around SL looking for permanent 'yard sales' that offer space for others to use, for free or a nominal fee.

Well it took me less than 30 minutes and three yardsales to find 5 people thus far selling freebies *sigh* Silly me, I was actually surprised

Everything from freebie jewelry to clothing to buildings and furniture to the landscaping items provided by the Lindens for us in our Library. lol

No wonder people oft times are suspicious of a yardsale event.

I have decided when I can, I will have my yardsale at MY place.....would hate to sell my stuff at a place that is even remotely involved in selling freebies.

That's what I did.

coco

I still don't get why people are surprised / outraged about this.

NOBODY is forcing ANYBODY to buy ANYTHING. If you don't want to buy, don't. Additionally, unless the person hosting the yardsale claims to have built the items themselves, I dont see what the big deal is.

SL claims to be a place you can make tons of money really fast. How else do you expect people to react?

COUGH someone here is a PRO at that Nyx. COUGH........ cough cough.
Its not you, its not me, and its not Coconut. Cough..


Be careful what you purchase Nyx there are a few keneiving , theiving rats out there that will gladly sell you freebies and laugh in your face about it. Ask around before making any quick purchases, you're friends or even common people will tell you whos a trustworthy seller and who is not.

The big deal is it preys on our most vulnerable members, the ones we should be protecting - newbies to young to know better.



Well, you're a socialist, Jamie - You want it handed to you, not earned. I don't expect you to understand.

I knew that you would chime in and attempt to justify this, considering your practice of selling freebies. However those w/ ANY measureable moral compass know wtf I am talking about. Thus your confusion.

I went to a yardsale awhile back and even saw some items I had made and distributed as freebies being sold. It's rampant and in my opinion it's just evil. However it isn't going to make me stop giving things away and making it possible for others to share them. I won't let the lack of ethics of others control me. I enjoy the feeling of giving what I have.

But shame works sometimes where guilt doesn't. If IMing someone and insisting they stop doesn't work, many of these yard sales are only barely monitored. Take one of their own spaces, create a big sign... "This person is selling freebies, you can get these same items for free at this location....blah blah." At least until the prop owner finds it and deletes it, it might help a couple of people.

Thanks, but unlike the new folks that Jamie and her ilk prey on I am 'hopefully' old enuf to see a freebie before I buy it

I agree 100%

And Reitsuki Kojima is right, we should be protecting newbies.
Its because of THEIVES like that some newbies get ripped off and decide never to come back to sl.

Ah great minds think alike, I was sooo tempted, but didn't want an AR report against me. As if THEY mean anything. But that's a whole 'nother topic

If you BUY something, use it, dont need it anymore, THEN you have to right to sell it at it's depreciated value. If you CREATE something you have the right to sell it or give it away as you see fit. But if you just take someone elses creation, someone else's hard work, and profit off of it without making any contribution of your own beyond the effort of sticking it in a box.... Then you are a leach.

You say nobody is forcing anybody to buy anything, thats true. But the people who do pay money for freebies wouldn't pay that money if they knew they could get the same items for free. No you haven't forced them to LET you rip them off, but you've still ripped them off all the same.

SL is a place where you can be incredibly creative. Instead of tapping into other people's creativity, try finding your own.

(PS: The "you" in my statements is not directed at just one person but directed at ANYONE who knowingly sells freebie items for profit)

Or.... use their own space to set out the EXACT SAME freebies they're selling....only set them as free and make your boxes much bigger.

Official note, this is my new policy from now on... fair warning to anyone who tries to resell my freebie items and I see it. Until you find my bigger displays, I will cost you a few customers.

I'm still not sure why people don't make their freebies no trans to avoid this.

I can't speak for others but I can answer that for myself.

If I make something and give it as a freebie, I do it because I want it to be distributed, I want people to be able to give it again and again. I see freebies as something that should be shared. I make my freebies mod/copy/transfer because this way people can put them to the best use. They can adjust them and change them to fit their own style, often even be able to improve them. They can copy and transfer them to share them with friends.

I recognize that this makes it possible for unethical people to take advantage and it bothers me, but it doesn't make me willing to stop sharing and enjoying the feeling of sharing.

EDIT: And I guess at this point even if I did change my policy, it doesn't affect the fact that there are tons and tons of freebies out there whose original creators have long since moved on from SL or forgotten most of what they made. Those freebies will continue to go the rounds. In my mind its not the content creators who are being cheated because they were never going to make a profit anyway, its the new people who don't find out until later that they've been ripped off.... thats where I get annoyed.

I am not a socialist. I'm a Capitalist.

A yard sale is a wide enough real life concept... that people should realize that they should have an idea of the value of an item before they purchase there. I certainly wouldn't start my shopping here in a yard sale... I have no idea of what a good deal is yet. Smart consumers will check out the market first.

Freebies are mentioned several times at help island for anyone who spends anytime looking around there.

I make mine mod/copy, no transfer.

When I was doing my garage sale, I actually came to understand that SOME of the things some people put out for sale, they may have forgotten that they were freebies in the first place.

A few of the things I had a hard time remembering whether they were gifts or freebies I'd picked up. A couple of my things, I just couldn't remember, so I didn't put them out.

I will say this, though - having a yard sale is bunches of fun! Almost enough to go out and buy and bunch of stuff and sell it at a loss just to have something to sell, lol.

coco

I do not engage in the practice of selling freebies, thank you very much.

Oh that makes me laugh. Considering all the freebies your store hosts..like the yacht for 500? FREEBIE

I purchased full rights to that off Mr. Alejandro Stewart a long time ago.

Its a freebie. I have full rights to hand it out. You selling it rips newbies off. And thats just ONE item.

edit: yes, Jamie is indeed a capitalist. But then again so are the oil barons ripping off consumers worldwide. 'we have to keep raising prices' spoken in one ear 'record profits' in the other

Bravo! I agree 100%, and I've had big companies take my freebies and sell them back to me...

And I bought them.

The freebies I had available at the hair fair are no copy/transfer. I wouldn't mind if the people who got them decided to sell them off as I'm not distributing those items anymore. So if they make a few bucks selling a limited freebie, I'm happy for them.

I think I give alot of freebies out.. but its direct to person. Only one I give out at a price is a trampoline at 1L$ to track sales

Why do you need track sales of freebie trampoline?
Now I do this with my demos skins, TO TRACK SALES< but it is something I made... I assume you are talking about the freebie trampoline?