Insane Builders...

I run a store where I sell my furniture and also feature other people's resell enabled furniture and decorations. Most of the people whose work I resell are usually happy that I show up at their store and buy items on a regular basis and then turn around and feature them in my store as the very best of SL. I have never had bad blood with any of these builders before. If anything, I have had people come and request that I feature their work at my store. I pay a bunch for my classifieds advertisements, and do all sorts of other cross marketing and walk through in my store to introduce buyers to other builder's works. Honestly I spend more time promoting other people's work than my own which I hate to admit is not half bad IMHO.

This morning, as soon as I logged in to set something on my parcel, this builder messages me with accusatory IMs telling me that I am stealing her work -- her no copy enabled work. She says that she held a meeting at my store last night to discuss the situation with other builders in my absence. She accused me of reselling her work as original -- which I dont know how I would do. She came to my store and bought the item and made a big fuss about the fact that it was set to sell for higher price it is in her store. Well hello? Has she seen real world resale stores which is just about EVERY store in RL.

She stormed into my store bought the said item and left all upset and telling me not to resell her work. No graces, no nothing -- extremely rude childish behavior.

Even if these were her principles, and she was upset by the fact that her excellent work is featured in a premium store -- which in turn brings business to her, there was a calmer kinder discourse there for her to take instead of the ugly conduct. Honestly, I like the sculpture so much I was actually considering holding onto it for myself before this incidence.

After this incidence, I must tell everyone not to expect any Egyptian artefacts at my store. My apologies, you will no longer be able to such such artefacts from me.

*sigh*

This is exactly what's wrong with SL. People who have no social skills in RL who bring it in SL to ruin it for everyone else....

This was SUCH a bad way to begin the day, I wish I had never logged in this morning.

Troy

I think someone needs a hug. Or a gag.

However, don't resell ball gags. It's unsanitary.

i take it you never thought to ask her if it was okay to begin with?

I can see both points here...really is a no win to either person....

Hmm, she shouldn't have to should she? Since the builder herself set that the next owner could resell it..

just as she never thought to ask him to stop before throwing a fit?

Man that is crazy, if anyone decided to buy any of my items and then resell them for a bit more, I'd possibly be out of pocket a little, but more people might have access to my stuff, which in turn could elevate my status greatly. Admittedly I have not got a lot since I only started recently so not had much time to work on prim abusing. Regardless of that fact, I would be flattered that someone thought that highly of my work. Of course it would also require that my work was re-sellable.

I know a few freebie sellers that like to promote other people's work too.

/twitch

they sell freebies?

Word could also get around that your stuff is crazy expensive and people could start avoiding your stuff because of that fact.

How, unless you also set them as copyable? For each one they sell, they bought one from you.

While I myself am not overly fond of resellers in RL or SL, and dislike the very business model itself...this is correct, and I must say that the OP had every legal and ethical right to do as he did.

The express purpose for the "Transfer" setting in permissions is to allow an item to be resold ad infinitum. The original owner gets paid for the item and after that, they lose control of who it goes to, how or for how much. That's why if you dislike the idea of your items being resold you should set them to "No Transfer". Pretty simple concept.

Personally...IF the OP had indeed been trying to claim her work as his own, and I was her and disliked that, I would have IMed him politely and asked he cease. First step is always polite, especially in a case where the person is within their rights to resell the item under the permissions you granted. EVEN IF she had basis for her claims (which I doubt but can't say in truth), she handled it unprofessionally.

That said, if I was the OP, I would also be handling my business differently as well. Yes, he has every right to run it exactly as he is. He isn't selling freebies after all, he is paying for the content and reselling it in a showroom for a slightly higher price. This is how resale and wholesale works in RL as he stated. Personally though, I would have always contacted the creators and pitched them a business deal for resale. But that is just me, and not something the OP is required to do. Transfer rights are transfer rights.

Now, obviously all this is mote if either the items are freebies, in which case reselling them consitutes fraud in my view, or the original creator has a written or posted licensing agreement that is issued with her items restricting such resale practices. I very seriously doubt that was the case though.

While I personally frown on the entire concept of resale, here, as in RL, I do feel the OP was within his granted rights to do exactly as he did, and the creator he mentions seriously went overboard and mishandled her objection. A simple request to take down her work and no longer use her work in his store would have been sufficient.

No not really, I would personally do a profile on them and see where their main store is and go there.. /shrug

I also dislike the business model of dragging old ladies down a back alley, kicking the crap out of them, then stealing their money.

Infact, I frown upon it.

While work should not be represented as one's own if it is not, if an item is flagged as resellable... then it is.

That's why resell/give away is a permissions option. If the item in question was also flagged "no copy", then the original artist isn't losing any money. If they wanted to make the "extra" income the reseller was getting for reselling the product, then they should raise their prices and remove the transfer perms.

Never stopped you doing it though, did it? ... *sniffs unhappily and rubs her bruises*

So what are you gonna do...negrate me?

You're obviously not from New York, then

No kidding.

er....isnt that the basis of the real world economy ?

Before a product goes from the factory to the customer, its probably been resold a couple of times .

If they sell it -copy, +tran they should expect this. It's no different from Joanne Blinglover buying her furniture and then selling it at a yardsale next week. This person's behavior seems childish. If you can sell her pieces at a markup perhaps she should think about adjusting her prices in response!

I'd be honored. Hell, if you want to could just manage to sell my stuff I'd be honored!

Nevermind... thanks for the replies.

It never occured to me that I had to get "permission" to resell on an item which has the "permission" bit set to resell. It sounds like a Dilbert cartoon to me.

I know what I am doing is right. I have note at my store to buyers and builders alike. If a builder does not want their build there then they can message me to have it removed.

Here I thought I was doing all these builders a favor by putting up a free advertisement at my store which let's face it most people click to see who made it then they switch over to Picks tab to find the real store and go there....

If anyone here thinks I am getting rich from this, you are so very wrong. I would like to make lots of lindens sure, I will not deny it. But I also get a great enjoyment from buying things from builders who obviously know what they're doing -- bring it all together and combine them with other people's works and see how it all plays out.

If people come to my store just to hang out with me, I am happy. You can keep your lindens for god's sake.

If this makes me a bad person, then perhaps it is time to move on from SL main grid not because of the bugs, not because of the updates but because of this community that approaches everything as guilty until proven innocent.

Thanks for listening,

Troy

PS. Look for a post about this whole incidence on my blog later this week. I will name names -- No, Silly! Not the person who was rude to me, the people whose work I adore and who I currently feature at my store....

Mmmm... I think I may have heard of this.

Please forgive my complete honesty Troy, but I'm going to be - you might find this tale amusing.

I've never been by, but I get repeated "ZOMG!" IM's (one every week or two) that someone is "selling my stuff" in the Tilitr sim. Been like this for months.

Never bothered to look, always having some business or pleasure on hand that I found far more interesting.


The net result: I think most people quickly figure out that my West Trade Imports still sells the same items for less. Thus I get a *lot* of business this way.

So my take on this?

*shrug*

If anything, it's helped my sales. From the sound of some of the IM's, some folk clearly think I should be outraged. Honestly, I've been too busy inworld to worry about it whatsoever.



On top of all this, yard sale folk *regularly* come by and buy a few of my $L 1 items, to resell them for $L 25 to $L 45. Ohh yes I know about this, even when yard sale folk use alts to buy 10 or 20 items at once.

Over the months, I've found that many, many, many customers hear about me this way. Sometimes I get the enraged IM (hey, I paid $L 45 for a $L 1 item!) but they are never mad at me directly.

So while I may lose a potential $L 30 sale now and then, over the months I'm guessing I've gained several hundred dollars from people reselling my stuff.


Fascinating, yes?

Hell, I'd consider making pieces for you to resell.

I'll even make you an "Authorized Bedlam Retailer" sign to avoid the IM's nightmare