Lucky chairs Vs. Camping

I've been on a bit of a traffic drive recently. Camping is a big no no, so I decided to set up a little group of lucky chairs. Apparently the stuff I'm giving away is beter than your average lucky chair so my traffic's gone through the roof.

But, now I'm a little worried that it might backfire on me somehow. Do people have a negative view of lucky chairs in the same way most people do about camping? I know some people won't even shop in a store that has camping chairs, does anyone feel the same way about lucky chairs?

Keeping in mind I'm on a big rented plot on a private island and I'm never so crowded that people can't get home or to cause lag.

Vale

Hi vale,
You said your traffic has gone through the roof, have sales followed? Do what ever you have to do to give your business a fair chance to succeed. What happens in world and how people react to your business tactics far outweight what the few residents that frequent the SL forums have to say.

Good Luck

What's a lucky chair?

This is not an "I'm pretending to be ignorant for comedic effect" post. I actually don't know what a lucky chair does.

From this I would conclude that they aren't nearly as unloved as camping, because if they were, I would certainly know what they are.

I'm probably a small minority of people, but I don't like lucky chairs (although they're far better than mob-vends).

Lucky chairs (personal view based on my shopping experience) tend to attract a rather "loud" crowd. If they're in a corner, away from the actual store, and out of chat distance I really don't care about the chair itself, or the people it attracts.

The ones I bothered to look at had prizes where the quality was not even close to the usual quality of the designer. If you do have a lucky chair and put something in it, make it something you'd otherwise sell.

hmm, then why would you buy it if all you have to do is wait for your letter??

this is exactly what i was trying to tell you Vale.

It picks a random letter every 30 minutes (actual time set by the shop owner) and if your name starts with the currently displayed letter and you sit down, it gives you a freebie item and then moves on to the next letter.

The idea is that people will tp over their friends, or make an announcement on a Lucky Chair group and then fill the store - adding to the traffic - with people who tend to only be interested in a freebie.

A lucky chair announces a letter and if a person whose first name begins with that letter sits in the chair within a given time (say 5-10 minutes) that person wins a prize. If no one wins a new letter is picked and the time starts over.

I am pretty new here and FAR from the voice of authority, but I think lucky chairs are great. They do not produce zombies and do not attract hordes of alts who zone out while the main avi is being played. I always spend an extra few minutes in a shop with a lucky chair and have been known to pop back in just to see if my letter is up. I tend to remember some of these stores more than others I just TP into and out of, but that is just my opnion.

I second the question, how has it been for buisness?

The idea is the lucky chair chooses a random magic letter, if that letter matches your first initial then you win a prize when you sit in the chair. When the prize is claimed the chair choses a new letter.

This is how it drives traffic. Someone turns up on the store, they see that the lucky chair prize is somthing they really want but it's the wrong letter. So, they start TPing their friends in, the more people there the faster the letters will rotate as more people claim the prize. If you've got somthing nice in the chair, you end up with a little gaggle of people gathered around.

I quite like the way it's going, not only am I getting good traffic but it's breathed alot of life into my little shop. When people get bored of waiting they start talking to each other, people sometimes rez furniture and people sit around chatting, somtimes making new friends. I've got 80s music streaming in, so somtimes freebie dance animations get passed around and little parties spontaneously break out. It's fun

Vale

I stuck a $400L formal gown in one of them, hence the high traffic

Vale

I meant that if you're going to have a "prize", make it something that you wouldn't be embarassed to charge money for, or in other words: the usual quality of items you sell and not a failed design out of the trash bin.

(Bah at posting in threads where 3 other people are posting in at the same time as well )

Vale, that sounds so fun! Now I want to hang out in your shop and I don't even know what you sell.

*putting on neon tee shirt, Reebok hightops, electric blue eyeliner, and looking for crimped prim hair with mall bangs*

The day after I set them up and the traffic filtered through into the search listings I had my best day of sales ever. Sales fell yesterday, but I think that might have more to do with TP issues ? So up and down so far.

Right now I'm only a couple of days into my lucky chair experiment, so time will tell.

Vale

Ive sat in a few lucky chairs. Won some crap. Still rather enjoyed it. Lucky chairs are an interactive experience. You have to be awake to do it.

I sell girly dresses

http://www.slexchange.com/modules.php?name=Marketplace&file=item&ItemID=225982

That's the one in the chair, just so you know.

Vale

that makes sense

I think you have a really good thing going Vale.

Good luck and continued success

Meanwhile, the lucky bubonic plague-infected sewer rats I set free at my store have done nothing to increase my sales.

How good is your plague? Did you get it out of a freebie box or did you bio-engineer it yourself?

Vale

Yay, thank you Sly

Vale

I won an item from a lucky chair once that I happened to be in the store shopping for anyway. I really like it and will probably be in the market for more of them before long. I've been made a repeat customer by the thing.

Now, where can I get a bird flu-carrying chicken?

Ah, Raymond, you are not marketing them well enough. You should be calling them cute flexi vermin with special bioengineered features. And give some away in a lucky chair.

I like lucky chairs. I'm really really cheap, so nice free stuff is always a bonus. I hit up lucky chairs every once in a while. I keep landmarks to the ones I like, and I check out the store when I go to see if they have anything new I might like to buy while I'm there.

Most importantly, Vale, you aren't filling up the sim, you have live avatars who are having fun, you're having fun, and you're getting more potential customers in to see your merchandise. I don't see any downsides here.

Like SuezanneC I had no idea what a lucky chair was either and I am of the "OUTLAW CAMPING" brigade. I think they are a really good idea. Av's need to remain active in order to claim the prize so there isnt a problem with zombies being idle for endless hours zappin resources, and if your products are good enough it will help to attract instant extra bussinss or at least future business when the chair leachers get a few L$ in their pocket.

Can you have more than one prize in the chair?

Do the chair sitting wannabies know what prize it coming up next?

Everything Bodhisatva says! .. and Porky too!

Totally irrelevant, if the stores got what I want neither chair will ward me away, will probably return anyway sporadicly checking the lucky chair.

no

So the best idea would be to put one great item in, lots of crap. Advertise the items on a sign next to it or something and then they will spend all day waiting for the good item to come yet the likelyhood is they will get crap.

Mwuhahaha