Photoshopped Pics not matching items sold

Lately, there seems to be a lot more photoshopped vendor/box pics of clothing and attachments. While I admire the skills of the artists who create these images, I am starting to notice that what I buy bears no relation to the picture on the box/vendor. Hair is a different color, clothes have seam issues, etc.

Basically, the stuff in the pics looks very different from what I get.

I usually hate to IM the creator for my money back, so I end up eating the cost for something I will never use. But sometimes I feel that the seller is being unethical, using doctored pics to hide flaws or enhance the product.

I think there is room in SL for good marketing (including photoshopped photos) in ads, but that the photo on the box/vendor should be an unretouched picture of the item.

I have the same problem Alan it really bugs me, it's false advertising plain and simple

I totally agree with you. I have photoshopped promo images for signs and my web page, but the boxes themselves are always left untouched.

As for IMing the creator...I don't think you should ever "eat it" if you are unhappy with a product for whatever reason. IM the designer and let them know how you feel. The worst they can do is refuse a refund, and you will then know the risk of buying items from them in the future. On the other hand they may be cooperative. This could mean a refund...or they may take the time to fix the problem you find (maybe a bad seam bothers you).

Well fortunately I'm way too lazy to photoshop my box pics, hehe. What you see is what you get. The most I do is cut stuff out and plop it on a different background.

I agree with this statement. I have designed a few pieces of clothing and am very obsessive-compulsive about getting seams right. If one seam managed to escape from me, I would prefer to be notified so that I can fix it, rather than gain a bad reputation as a seller. I am sure that many clothing designers would prefer to make an arrangement to fix the item, rather than have unhappy customers.

P.S I use photoshop to edit the snapshot of the clothes so that I can have a clean picture with a white background and to combine pics of the clothes at different angles. I have seen designers that edit these snapshots so much that they don't look anything like the actual clothes. Some of them might do it to make their clothing look better, but I believe that most of them do it so that the picture itself looks better. After all, using only a picture that was clearly taken in SL as your display for the item (with your store in the background and the ground texture on the floor), might make even the most beautifully designed clothes look very unproffesional.

I've noticed this too - I bought an outfit once and it turned out to be a completely different color than was shown on the box. I don't edit my pictures, even for advertising purposes (I'm lazy too ). I'd rather people see exactly what they're getting.

Phobos Design's boxes are not retouched other. What you see is what you get. Well you can't have Emma or Star. If anyone is unhappy with something, we prefer they drop us an IM.

I think this is where I like buying from people I know. If I have a good experience with a designer, I will buy from them again. A bad experience and I'm unlikely to go back. Pretty much like RL.

What I do with my pictures is all about light. I try to make sure you can see the clothing really well and I use lighting to brighten the picture and bring out detail. I usually place the item(s) on a white background as well. I also take shots from different angles as well. I've been thinking of starting a "demo" with clothing like many people do with their skins but I'm not sure how time consuming that might be. If anyone is unhappy with what they purchase from me I have no problem refunding their money.

I purchased a skin about 3-4 days ago from a very well known skin designer and the picture on the box was very nice and pretty, after buying the skin i realised the skin looked like shit and nothing like the picture i asked for my money back and she promptly returned it. I was with a friend when i bought that skin and he bought one also.. and it looked nothing like the picture either. Im still looking for a custom skin designer because this is sad that people spend their time editing the picture instead of the actual item.. make the item look pretty not the picture.

It's also outright lying.

Or it could just be `I changed the contents and forgot / was too lazy to change the box'.

Don't assume malice, ignorance or apathy are a better first approximation when you can't understand why someone did something. - someone

What Torrid said, I only have a few items for sale, but all I do with them is lighting to brighten and thats about it really

i must admit im a bit lazy with taking things and photshopping them if i just need a quick pic to get up. i found a really easy thing to do for clothes and tattoos is to build a "white room" a simple white room with a light.. get a posing stand and away you go..saves so much time if u just want a basic pic of an outfit, plus the posing stand means that u can have ur av pose and then u can just twirl around taking pics to your hearts content.. then just take the white room back into ur inv till the next time u need it.. i think it took me about 2 mins to make,, and im crap at building things..

oh.. and to reply to the original message.. i would much rather have people contact me about problems with an item than go bitching about me around SL..

a happy customer tells 5 friends
an unhappy customer tells everyone they know

I can't speak for all situations... but we have to remember display settings too. If someone has a souped up vid card and takes all their screenshots with the SL settings turned all the way up, they are gonna end up with a =really nice= texture to put on that vendor. And that's the texture you'll see. But when you rez the item... back down to your graphics settings.

That really isn't the merchants fault, they are just trying to make their items look as nice as possible.

But clearly, if the box shows an apple, and you get an lemon when you pay it... that's a little different.

And if anyone feels like this about my stuff, lemme know. Though I tend to think that screenshots don't really do my items justice.

I agree that paying a lot of linden and ending up with a shoddy item is a problem. I wish there were a way to try things on before buying. I hate to ask for a refund so I don't. Because there are so many poorly made items I now tend to buy only from known reputable designers such as Mistress, Nephie, and Chip etc.

But even with the most talented among us there are the occasional clothing items with mismatched seams or blurry details. And yes, there are instances where the item looked much nicer on the box than on my avatar, and sometimes its because the size difference between my avatar and the creators causes the texture to stretch differently.

There is no cure for that except allowing a try on demo especially when purchasing a very expensive limited edition item. I have deleted many outfits that looked different from the picture on the box or that were poorly made.

i totally agree photoshopped product shots are bad news. if they have a nice video card and all the candy turned on that's fine and it won't make a real difference when you see the product for yourself, but when it looks gorgeous and delicious in the picture and lame in reality and especially when there are problems with it that don't show up in the photoshopped shot.......goodbye all future sales to me. anymore i just don't buy from people who photoshop their product shots with the exception of Nephilaine Protagonist cause i know her stuff.

but i still give her photoshopped product shots a stern look before buying.

I dont even give her products a double look.. lol i have yet to buy one thing that i didnt like from her.. she's awesome!

I have looked at items where the picture was not *touched* in photoshop and the reality is I can't tell what it looks like until I'm wearing it. Alot of times there's not enough light, the details aren't clear, etc I don't see a problem with making your boxes look decent and not chaotic but I do see a problem if you're completely changing the appearance of the clothing. I don't care *how* good your reputation in clothing is, I've still seen mistakes lol. I ask that anyone purchasing something from me let me know if they're not happy, otherwise how will I know? Don't be afraid to speak up and say what you think after all it's your money and I don't mind refunding at all. I am sure most retailers out there feel the same way.

Its like anything people who touch up thier boxes are making thier items look the best they can and make it appeal to people, nothing wrong with that.

If they get a complaint and dont do anything about it well thats when trouble calls.

But there will always be ways to hide flaws without going extreme. Most do front and back pics which usually hides the side seams which almost everyone in SL has had a few items that have had misaligned parts. Yet most still charge the same amount for the work even if it is flawed, which i find wrong but SL seems to be all about money so what can ya do.

Nature of the beast...but hey if they are unhappy with it they can always come to us and ask..And if they keep coming back most creators will just keep on doing it.

Well said Torrid Same goes for me. Sometimes we don't notice alpha problems or other small things (and sometimes big things when I'm trying to finish something while half asleep). If you buy something you don't like or that's flawed, always let the creator know. Chances are they didn't notice and would greatly appreciate the feedback. I know I've let a few stinkers get out there.

Photoshopping something to make it look clearer I don't mind it's when you get something that looks nothing like the pic or full of mismatched seam it drives me crazy

Thank you for the great feedback everyone.

The comments on the graphics card quality are good ones. Since I have a top of the line card, I sometimes think that the item just might look that good on my card.

I will make sure to talk to the creators if I am not satisfied with what I bought. It was good to hear from all the designers here that you won't start screaming if you get an IM asking for money back (with a good reason, of course).

I recently made a mistake in a purchase intended, in that I didnt realize the item I purchased was non transferrable. So I IMed the seller. Not only was the seller unwilling to help, they said that I was being unfair and causing them (the seller) problems.

LOL. Its always worth a try to see if the seller is reasonable, but Im guessing there will always be a handful that dont care once you bought the item from them.