buy a private island 2nd hand

Where are they advertised for sale?

http://forums.secondlife.com/forumdisplay.php?f=114

You can also post a thread there letting folks know you are looking to buy one.

Try Chilly wotsit he's got 4 that he doesn't know what to do with.

Thats it Chilly Charlton

Keep in mind that LL considers island sales just the same as any other resident-to-resident transaction: if you get scammed, you're on your own.

(http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/07/20/there-can-be-only-one-a-perilous-tale-of-island-transfer/)

yep, you really need to do some research regarding the landowner and scrutinise every bit of their profile. As much background info as you can get, including the groups they belong to, Don' just buy before asking the right questions.....e.g the reason for sale etc etc.

I actually made an offer to that same Juggernaut fellow......i was one of the lucky ones and opted not to go through with it. I'm not sure why i pulled out.... Pheewwwwwww!

Even people you think are trustworthy and have references galore can turn into a bad situation. I guess people think that because they won't have to face consequences they are free to do as they please. Its a shame. Quite a shame.

Well, I am packing up soon, because of Second Life / Linden Labs (if it was only a problem with grieffers, crooks, ALTs, stalkers and organized crime... "Could" be "ok" I am not going to comment here and tell you why, and to be "polite" and "civilized" I will say that I am extremely disappointed with the service and the way we have been treated lately. Not just for us, three premium account holders, but for the lack of respect towards the community, customers and human being.

Anyway, we are selling an Island on a Class 5 server and it comes with 5 reserved spaces (for an other month), didn't even have time to enjoy it.

Thanks Linden Labs, you are real Pros at what you do, lately... NOT.

Not a big loss for them... apparently at $500 month... They won't respond to the two SERIOUS tickets we opened, and it clearly shows that, that kind of money is peanuts for them. I have many friends who are leaving, and some have already left.

Oh, you know what, they can't be bothered, they gonna screw everyone and keep releasing SIM for as long as the "big boys" keep buying, while at the same time they are stuffing their pocket... while they can. They know FULL WELL this kind of insult is going to end soon or later. By the time you all realize what's going on, you will be sorry.

Welcome to S Hell.

Gina

OK, i've jira'd a suggestion for an automated escrow island transfer/sale service to be added to the land store

see https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/SVC-535

Please vote/comment on this.

Matthew

Why are "used" islands more expensive then if you bought directly from LL?

Some of these islands have grandfathered tier and only pay $195/mo.

altohugh to be honest, the grandfather tier is not guaranteed (LL have no plans at present to increase it, but have indicated that this would be reviewed), and LL have also stated that sims on grandfather tiers will not get voice unless they "upgrade" to the normal tier.

Add it that most (but not all) grandfather tiered sims are on older hardware, it is debatable whether a grandfather tiered sim *is* worth more than a new sim.

In some cases you may be buying more than a sim (renters already in place, build/landscaping etc.)

However, ultimately if the buyer is willing to pay that price, it is the right price!

Matthew

Another few differences are (1) some work has already been done on them in terms of terraforming and so forth (may be a plus or negative, really) and (2) no waiting period.

Last I heard from LL was that if you transfer the sims after a certain date, which has now passed, new owner would have the fee of 295.

Starting in January 2008 everyone, grandfathered or not, will have the 295 fee.

Unless they changed it again and I was never notified.

If they raise the fee one more time I think I may just sell my sims. I don`t mind paying my $195 fee, but the coming $295 for me is hard to swallow. It`s not that i`d be struggling to pay it, but that`s a good chunk of RL money. =\

I *do* know someone who attempted to by a used island and was scammed out of her money, so care *is* necessary.

As you say (1) may be a negative if you want to play with terraforming yourself - although downloading the terrain before you start so you can revert would be a good idea (and generally good practice taking backup snapshots anyway)

As regards (2), LL delivery can be anything from a few days to a week (but generally not much longer at the moment), and in a private deal, the seller may wish to wait until the money has cleared before transfering (and you have to wait for concierge services to deal with the transfer anyway). So we are normally talking a few days - I personally wouldn't pay much for that.

The other thing to remember is that the $1675 price from LL includes the first month's tier, so the real price for the sim is $1380. With a transfer you normally get the remaining tier for that month free, but depending on when the transfer takes place and when the tier is due, that could be anything from a whole month to a day!

Matthew

Do you know how that scam worked? I mean, was the buyer so new that he or she didn't understand how land sales work? Or is there some trick that we should all be aware of?

I have sims for sale right now. Class 5, private islands, complete transfer, 295/month tier.

Typical costs right now are as follows:

Pristine (original LL terraform), same as LL, ie US1695
Terraformed to Tropical Island, plus all plants, US1795
With luxury SkyHomes, and a rental business, US1895

During August, we are having a special offer, US$200 off all the above prices!!!!!

The seller pays the tier up to the date of the transfer to the purchaser by LL, the US100 transfer fee split 50/50

Contact me inworld if interested.

Rock

What would a secondhand island cost?

Can you change the islands existing attributes such as island shape and name?

LOL

the guy above me already answered one of my questions.

Until they decide to raise all the tiers to current level in the future.

I have yet to see a convincing reason why I would want to pay over and above what LL would charge for a brand new sim.

It's not Friday is it?

I can feel another Friday Thread coming on.

if the island allready is established with tenants, u don`t lose money with empty plots

If the island is already established with tenants, either those tenants have no particular loyalty, in which case they represent no added value at all, or they are loyal, in which case the question arises of whether that loyalty is to the sim or the previous sim owner, a question for which there is no effective way to gauge an answer.

Be careful!!!!!

LL will NOT let you know you have been scammed until it is WAY to late.

Get some RL contact info for who you are trading with.

I've bought and sold 2 used island. First time I had no problems. Second time I (and MANY others) were scammed for USD$1850 EACH.

Worst is how the Lindens spin the situation after the fact:

"Hi Shiney,
As you may be aware, the owner of the region you are requesting to purchase is no longer in Second Life, therefore we will be unable to fulfill this request. Should you have any questions on this situation, please feel free to IM me inworld.

___ Linden"

They are "no longer in Second Life" because you banned them after the transfers were initiated. At least a more honest answer would have been nice.