Why Purchase Mainland?

That's not true. While you wont find land that is $2L a meter because of those bots, they can't be programmed (yet) to determine if a lot has a nice view, or if the neighbors are friendly. I've found some really nice waterfront land that I got a great deal on.

Also, while the actual price of land on an estate can be cheap, the monthly tier charges are often higher than they would be on the same amount of land. Long term, this is the real cost of land in SL.

I believe this is false. You have evidence of this? The two big estate owners that I know of, Anshe and Desmond, are consistently more expensive than mainland (and for various good reasons I suppose)

Hmm well why is it many estates seem to be charging for land per week what I would pay LL per month?

I honestly don't see a real need for a huge debate on whats better estate or mainland? Fact of the matter is both are pretty different, both have advantages and disadvantages and appeal to two very different markets. People will personally decide what type of land is right for them and fits into there individual needs and goals.

I have heard rumors about these discounts but have yet to actually find any resident user who has actually gotten this discount.

I heard these rumours as well.... but never any real proof of them. So I take them for what they are... rumours.

Morwen.

I thought about getting into the land business and building up a group of private island Sims with a theme (broadly old England) but at that time new island/Sims rental costs increased from $195 per month to $295. Given that most homesteaders within Second Life make direct cost comparisons between mainland and island as part of the buying decision, I lacked confidence in what would be my own profit margins. After all you are in business to make a profit not give away money, and the time for experiments within Second Life on potential viable SECOND LIFE businesses has come to more or less an end, at least for me under the (then new) circumstances.

Having said all that I did do some core research on Island ownership, which included some direct contact with Linden Labs. I asked about costs and was given an oblique hint that volume rental/tier discounts may then have been available but there were no concessions on capital costs.

I pass that on as a BB freebee so to speak. Circumstances may have changed today and what "might" have been then may not be today, who knows, or indeed the reverse.

One comment I will make on PURE SL business generally is that you need to bear in mind your average end users may be prepared to spend only a modest amount of money on what amounts to entertainment. Also I believe (within reason) many Second Life end users have either limited first life economic resources, or have an aversion or strong will power NOT to use their credit card buying lindens. I always remember one girl calling it "air money", when I pointed out (then) the exchange rate had moved in her favour from 330/1 to around the 270/1 it is today (assuming she purchased a stack at 330/1) it did not change her attitude.

I have drifted a bit I know from the thread header. Hope these comments help any new or existing SL business.

Oh yes (since I am looking at it on the other monitor as I type) the UK and US stock markets are broadly back to where they were at the beginning of the year, mortgage interests costs have increased, repossessions are up, and it is becoming difficult for some people to obtain credit for anything due to the CDO (packaged debt) issues that are causing concern.

Also I have just read some Reuters comments (together with links) about the financial crisis within SL (Ginko and gambling) as well as something that has not been commented on recently on this BB, and that is the ever-increasing Linden dollar supply. Regardless of first life finance some think that Second Life is heading full speed for its own recession.

That's very true. The main reason is that it is too easy to have "fun" in SL more or less for free. I think there is a relatively small % of the population that spends significant money in SL (and these tend to spend a fair amount, having decided to allocate a certain amount of money to spend in SL), but the vast, vast majority spend very little over long periods of time.

Most of the internet activities are free - chats, forums, blogs, photo albums. Advertisement is usually the only income for the providers of these services. When (and if) virtual worlds will grow into the millions of users the same will be true for them.

True in part but not entirely the whole picture.

World of Warcraft by Blizzard has a pure subscription only model - in other words you pay to enter on an ongoing basis bar the odd free trial. Mind you WoW does not hold itself out to be a platform rather than a game (of which it is) although I have also read comments calling it a community.

Also I have been told Entropia is virtually impossible to enjoy without buying PEDs, although having said that I created an avatar and got myself to New Oxford to have a look at She Who Must Not Be Named's Bank, without spending any money or killing anything for loot

In Second Life the Caledon region of Sims makes no bones about considering itself a premium area. It's possibly necessary to drop a few Lindens to dress in Victorian or other suitable attire, although the people there are very good-natured, again another community.

Interesting that, perhaps community could equal spending money across the board