Advice on Sales!!

Appreciate the input on XStreet- it helps me to see I am not the only one in a quadry re them. I have been posting my things at Slapt and though had a new release just yesterday have not decided to list it on Xtreet or not.

LOL! I think I'm the "Queen of reselling land at a loss."

Good to see your post, Miles! I've missed you in this thread. And gratz on how well your sales are doing!!

Hi, Nic

Whenever I read posts from the merchants who began the same time I did and now have such large, flourishing businesses, I start kicking myself around a bit. But over time I've come to peace with it. I realized several things:

(1) Honestly, a huge store with lots of inventory is not my style. I've always enjoyed the boutique type places, both in RL & SL.

(2) The people who have done really well work HARD at it. I want and plan to do more than I'm currently doing, but I fall into the "hobbyist" group who uses my profits to support my SL (meaning not putting any more RL $$ into SL).

So, I'm basically getting out of my business what I'm putting into it and, at least for the time being, I'm ok with.

That was my long-winded way of saying that, imo, one of the beauties of SL is the ability to experiment with this and that; see what one enjoys (doing or building), if owning a large or small shop or none at all and listing online is the way to go for a given person, etc. I think it's wonderful you stepped out and placed some items for sale. And in the process, it sounds like you created a really interesting build in the haunted house.

What I've decided to do for the time being is pull my Xstreet items that haven't sold there, or sold very well. My best-selling items continue to be the blinds and drapes. I personally prefer mod/trans permissions as a customer because once I no longer want/need the item, I like to be able to have a yard sale or give it away; but even more so with home furnishings/decor.

So, those are the perms I've set for my items. The drapes and blinds are only 25L each so I figure if someone only needs one it is a small price, but if someone wants more than one, it is still very inexpensive to purchase them. As I look at the general activity of these items, though, I realize that most people purchase on average 4 of one style at a time. I've decided to change the perms to mod/copy and increase the price a bit. They will still be very inexpensive for the few people who only purchase one, but will serve the market who buy several and at the same time boost the price enough to absorb xstreet's new listing price.

For the items that sell enough that I make a bit of lindens from them, but don't sell regularly, I'm leaving those up for 2 months and then re-evaluate if I should leave or pull them.

I also plan to list on the other services as well.

I know many (most) of you with successful SL businesses also have a RL.

I've mentioned previously that I have two personality traits that are excellent for many endeavors, but not so great for SL merchandising: perfectionism + procrastination. Plus I tend to "think" everything to death before I feel like I can do anything. A wise person on these forums told me once, "You don't need to *know* more; you need to *do* more."

Back to my main question...how do those of you who work, go to school, have families, etc., etc. manage your SL time for your businesses?

Anyone who's read some of my posts know that I live with a chronic illness and due to the combination of the illness and side effects from some of the meds, I tire easily and need a lot of resting time. But that could translate into the same amount of time you all are working, going to school, raising families, etc. and STILL have flourishing businesses.

So, I would love to hear any time management tips that have helped you.

Actually my biggest tiem management thing was wht i said earlier to marcel.

The ability to have helpers. This might not be fesiable for you as im nto sure of your situation... but frommy prspective it is a lifesaver. At this point my business has grown to where id either ahve to commit to it full time and pray i make eough to cover full tiem... or find some help andleave it a a 'hobby'.

I tookthe latter route. I had a few friends who love my stuff but i knwo dont have a lot of RL or SL money. Both have a lot of free RL time and are happy to help in exchange for copies of clothing etc... and i also give them bonuses at times too

My other thing I do is i bulk things up. I go on ceation sprees thenstop and spend 3 days or 4 days on Ads... doing ads for 30 items in 8 colours all at once then going back to creating. This allows me to get it done more quickly. Having h pose stand all ready getting the lighting right then just doing shot after shot with quick changes. Then opening gimp and copy paste onto my ad template.

I try to keep a rythm releasing around the same time each week, doing small thigns like blogs while watching tv or inbtween cooking dinner.

God i wish there ws more time in the day (says me who is up at 5.30 am determined to finish ads... thank god im on holidays)

Waves to everyone

Quite a while since have posted here.

Hi Annisha and welcome to the thread....wow cannot believe you have read through the whole thing, that shows some serious dedication and drive, two things you will definitely need if you want a successful business, and this thread is wonderful for marketing ideas.

A lot has changed for us over the last year, and I have definitely not spent as much time as I used to in sl. RL has hit us hard and priorities have had to change for one reason or another, so our new releases have been sporadic to say the least.

As far as xstreet is concerned we will be de-activating the majority of our products. Whilst in the greater scheme of things 10L$ listing fee is not a large price to pay, I do feel they should be more transparent and honest with their reasons behind it. If they were offering an improved service or additional features in exchange for the fees I would seriously consider it, but when so many things are still wrong there I do not see the justification. The previous owners managed to run xstreet as a profitable business for a number of years, I find it hard to understand how all of a sudden LL are saying they cannot afford to host peoples items any more without additional fees to cover those hosting costs.

Where other commerce sites are concerned, I am lucky in that I was one of the original beta testers for a certain new site and so already have most of our items listed there, just the skins left to finish. But like others I will also be looking into listing on the other sites also.

As those of you who have mall space at our main store already know, we did make a quick decision this week to sell off a third of our land, and decided we wanted it gone before tier was due so we could lower our tier rate before it comes due again. There were a number of reasons for this move, the main one being we had so many spare prims we were paying for and not using it was a waste of money. So our store has been reduced in size and re-arranged a little as a result, it was done quite quickly so we may well decide on a complete rebuild at some point once we see how the new store affects our sales and what if any feedback we receive on the new design. The floorplan is still in place to help people navigate around, but the tps are not in place as yet.

Am sure there is loads of other stuff, but this is already quite a long post so will save the rest for next time

Arrgh, so much here I want to reply to, but RL needs me, so maybe later tonight...

As requested, here is the SLURL to my latest work-in-progress:

[SLURL redacted because I've moved it, and don't want anyone to TP into nothingness!]

It was inspired by a post in the thread about homes on a 512, but it grew... and then I had this weird idea.

I'm pretty pleased with the structure, but I want to do a little re-texturing to see if I can decrease loading time.

I'm still tinkering with the aquarium elements, and right now they're strewn around randomly. Part of what I use depends on whether I'm making it for me or for sale - right now I have some things set out that don't have full permissions. (I am aware that some of the fish prims still have plywood on certain sides, too. Makes them easier to grab and edit.)

Anyhow, feel free to stop by and critique or add it to a Biz Owners' tour. (It's not really a business, though, so also feel free to leave it off! lol)

Re XStreet- decided I will list the new releases and keep deleting the stuff i inactivated. I will see once the policy goes into effect if I am making or losin gmoney to decide of take everything down. Meantime- yup- adding to slapt and will start on the others...

Amaranthim, Thank you for the MM group list!!! I've been considering MM, and that list will help me decide if it's right for my shop.

And thanks for the mention of visiting each other's stores again. I got so much out of that last time--both seeing others' and receiving feedback. My SLurl:

http://slurl.com/secondlife/FairChang%20Balboa/23/72/25/

Xstreet:
Ugh. I hate the upcoming changes. Almost all of my card designs come in three varieties: L$45, L$125 (scripted), and L$235 (personalized). I also have a few personalized photo cards at L$345.

So...one design means three pages on Xstreet. Paying L$10 times 3 per month PLUS commissions to show three varieties of one design is something I'll have to think about. Only a fraction of my income comes from Xstreet, especially for the more expensive personalized cards, but I know a lot of my inworld customers first found my shop in Xstreet and then visited. Many of those are now repeat customers.

Yes, the Xstreet listings are promotional. I'm willing to pay for promotion, but SL is already benefitting. My shop has grown from 1024m to 10,240m (counting the main parcel + prim parcels) so I'm paying more tier, I went premium, I spend more on classifieds, I help the economy with magazine ads and buying items for my business, and the Xstreet commissions during my busy times (Christmas season and Valentine's) are a nice chunk of change for LL. We've heard the "don't shoot the goose..." parable, and SL is taking aim on an entire flock.

Those of you with decor stores may consider a new group that is starting out called Stuff Lnk. Very small right now- but perhaps with a bit of marketing the owner of that group can get more members. This would benefit us all as there really is only one viable group to advert decor with, Homestyle Consolidated - (if anyone knows of others please post them here!)

Miles dont know if this would help but could you say in your ad for one of the cards more variety in your store?

Thanks, Bec! I have that now, but it's subtle. Once these new policies take effect and I reduce my listings, I'll try to word it in a more compelling way.

However, we even have to be careful about that. I could not, for example, add "personalized card also available" because that breaks the relatively new keyword spamming rules. You aren't supposed to put a word like "personalized" on a non-personalized card because it will turn up in a search for "personalized" cards. (I'm not complaining about that. Keyword spamming needed to be halted in Xstreet.)

Hi all ,its been months since I posted anything here although I read it all.I had a busy summer in RL and SL and recently got back from a months mainland Europe tour,I needed it,for the first time I left computers completely alone.
Now I am back and walked into the Xstreet fiasco.I can,t say in honesty that I was too surprised nor do I think we have seen the end of the changes.
Well this year was my third and I spent it all in one place and it has been my best ever.I usually get itchy feet, sell up and move on.
Now as to Xstreet I am in the bad position of having perhaps half my sales from Xstreet. Part of this is due to me,unlike a lot of you guys I detest marketing and advertising, I am super lazy in this respect.I already have accounts on 2 of the popular sites but only put a dozen or so items on each so far,this of course will change,but what a bloody pain it is.
I am still listing new stuff on Xstret and have 2 big projects on the go at the moment.I deleted the few freebies I had as I am not a fan of free stuff.The rest will stay until Xmas is past and then I will begin the cull.This will be the second in a few months since I got rid of everything that might have caused a fuss with the trademark police.
I was away for the new Biz box ,the old one is still up and running .
Well that's about my year to date SL paid for itself again ,and a new top grade PC and some goodies.even got the wife a new pair of Uggs. LOL

I am not at all confident that the new year will bring the same but I live in hope ,Cheers Blot

ok just saw on my transactions that a linden bought one of my blankets....that makes me feel good! wheeeee!

That,s good news and I know how you feel .I sold a fishing boat to a Linden this year and had a smile on my face for a week LOL.

Eclectic's post made me think of this:

I'm not sure if the non-XStreet sites allow users other than the maker to list items for sale, but if it can be done I'd be happy to offer my services to those who are dreading the thought of posting items to those sites. (Or even XStreet - I've actually used the listing process there. Or deactivating/delisting on XStreet.)

It's the kind of repetitive, detail-oriented thing I actually like to do. (Lotsa little clicks - not a problem!) Also, it would be something I could do in the next couple of weeks while caregiving, when I'm likely to be called away from the computer at unexpected moments. I could do this either for merchandise (for small numbers of items) or pocket lindens or a percentage of sales for listings.

It would take hashing out the details, as well as some mutual trust - but if you think you may be interested, please contact me. (Of course, if this isn't permitted by the sites in question, it may be a moot point...)

E- I still totally love the huge "NEW" particle - I know I have loved them from the start, but still say the hair sticks are awesome
I wd move them and the MM board down below so folks can see it and u have to announce the board- no one can visit it if they don’t know its there! Definitely a lower goal if u actually intend for them to be won.

I was looking around and it is beautiful how your store has grown – the layout is awesome, easy to navigate and the adbords are very smooth and clean. I found the place quite sophisticated and inviting.


Nic- I went to see your super cool aquarium – I liked it very much! The fish schools are so very neat! I think it wd be a cool place to live.


Miles- I love your place! So wide open and easy to navigate and such gorgeous cards- I think I will send cards out this Christmas . The place rezzed really fast – which for me is utterly amazing. So commented to a friend about this great store I was in and he told me he had been using you for all his card needs for ages.

It is so great to see how far we have come as a group. I know personally it's been a huge growth experience and I have gotten much from all the contributions here

Awww thanks Ama i appreciate ou takign the time to check out my store I am so glad you liked it.

Nic i am not sure what slap.me official policy is about the sharing of account info but the owner knows i am doing it and didnt comment so i assume for slapt.me it is fine

This is my situation as well, Blot, except I'd say 3/4 of my sales are from Xstreet. And like you, I also detest the marketing aspect.

I enjoy making my items, then I struggle big time with Gimp for the ad, but once it's done, I'm like Nic in that I'm the type that loves doing detail-oriented things, so putting items in boxes, writing the instructions then writing the copy for the listing are my favorite parts.

I was the academic-geek who always got straight A's - EXCEPT in one business class I took in undergrad. In fact, I was failing the class. That devastated me and I probably worked harder in that class than any other. I finally went to see the professor and told him that I was really trying but just didn't "get it." He asked what my major was and when I told him English Literature he said,"Ahh, ok. I can sympathize. When I was in college the only class i failed was the required English class," then kind of went into a "right brain/left brain" discussion. He said he couldn't legitimately raise my grade to anything higher than a D, but as he realized the situation, he wouldn't fail me. I appreciated him doing that, but believe you me I stayed as far away from business classes from then on...lol.

I wish I could find something in SL to earn lindens by writing.

@E - thank you for your suggestions on time management. The grouping idea sounds like that would be a good one for me as I tend to make one item, do the shoot, make the ad, list, rinse and repeat.

@Rhia - Always so good to see you posting here I am so sorry RL has reared its ugly head. I hope things are going better now and the land sale will help ease the situation. *Hugs*

Hey E.. curious - how was your traffic and board stats last night compared to other nights? I figured I wd send out a couple notices for your board long as i was there- hope it helped a bit at least.

Not sure on last night, but I have seen a rise today in new avatars buying from me who havent been to my store before. I often see this on days i do fash con notices or blogs... but i havent done either in almost a week so i suspect it is that.

If it was that then THANKS!!! it was a nice little boost for me thats for sure. I just changedout the items in both the lucky board and MM. So i plan to advrtise the heck out of thm this week and see what happens

@E - Speaking of store layouts, I was at your store maybe a month ago and LOVED the layout as well. Did you (or someone you know) build that or did you purchase it?

The reason I'm asking is that while perusing prefab shop buildings on Xstreet, one night I saw a shop that had the "wall-type" set up your shop has but I stupidly didnt bookmark it and have now spent literally hours going through hundreds of pages on Xstreet trying to find that prefab again.

Not sure it would work as well for home furnishings as it does for fashion, but I at least wanted to go see it.

I agree with Amar on how far you've come with your product line, shop, etc.

Well don't anyone be disappointed with traffic and sales today- holiday seems to have slowed things down at least for me -

Ama, your building is so classy!! The split level plan is very well done. I've had people comment on the hardwood floor texture in my shop (I got it from L Fox's texture store), but I like yours even more. The arrangement is great--the whole place just has a good flow. After looking around, I was disappointed that I TPed directly inside the store because the entrance is so nice, too. The adboards had all the info you'd want and they represent your merchandise well. You mentioned that the upstairs needs work, but it looks fine. There's obvioiusly plenty of space up there for more items, but I expected it to look like my cluttered workshop after your description.

The only thing I didn't care for was the curtain. Curtains are difficult in SL--I probably wouldn't have even noticed, except that the rest of the build is SO good.

You had lots of participants on your MM board when I visited. Based on what you've posted above, you're really doing a great job promoting it.

And since you had your Xstreet URL available, I looked at your posts there. I know it takes a lot of time to do those well, and you've done that. They look great, just as I expected after seeing your store. The only thing I'd recommend on the Xstreet pages is to make the links clickable.

Thank you so much for looking at my shop and for your comments. A card shop is like a texture store--LOTS of textures, so it's not easy to make it so everything will rez quickly. I've tried, and I appreciate your comment about that. I combine textures on texture sheets as much as possible. Also, the cards on display use different, slightly lower-rez textures than the cards purchasers receive.

Keep up the great work!