Preferred method of selling?

What is the preferred method of marking something for sale?

I sell clothes and objects from poster as well as from vending machines. I'm currently not marking items for sale (using the sell contents option) through the Property sheet because, as far as I can tell, that would also force any scripts in the object to be transferred to the buyer.

The problem I'm having with this is that when you hover the cursor over the object, it isn't immediately shown as for sale and potential customers must click on the item and trigger my script to llWhisper to them the price of the item. I'm getting 2 or 3 "complaints" per week from customers who can't figure out how to do this.

I use these scripts to report back to me (and to other objects) sales information so I can tell which stores are performing better than others, etc etc. Obviously, I don't want these scripts to be exposed to the customer. Ideally, only the individual item intended for sale would get transferred.

So I ask you, is there some setting (or even some script code) that I'm missing that will let my objects be shown as on sale when hovered over and let me control what exactly from my contents get transferred?

Is my current method a fairly common practice, or do most of you retailers not really care about this same tracking data?

Hrm. I think understand what you are trying to do here, but it (theoretically) can be done without the use of scripts, if i am not mistaken.

Your sales history is recorded per purchase in your 'account history' via the WORLD menu in SL. If you wish to know what i selling and where, what you might do is name the posters with the location - and then mark them 'for sale' as normal via the tools that SL has provided.

i.e. - name the box 'red dress - umber'

It's more difficult for vendors, since the sales hisotry is only recorded per vendor transation, not exactly was purchased from the vendor, but if 'basic' tracking information is all you are after, naming the vendors with the names of the locations works as well. That'd tell you which locations are getting the sales action, if not exactly which items they are purchasing.

Hope that helps a bit. If not, wait for other replies and other points of view. *grin*