Advice on Sales!!

thanks jojo

Edited:

ohhhh that sticky thread! I tried reading through that and stopped because there were so many conflicting ideas and such.
I doubt anyone but the lindens know for sure EXACTLY how search works

I will read through the notes you send (I already have an inworld group for my store) but I use the hippo groups system to send notices
Maybe there will be something in them that will help
That thread confused me, and frustrated me with all the conflicting stuff that I did not even bother to read it all

I'm not aware of anything conflicting in it, but even if there is, ignoring the thread because of them is like throwing the baby out with the bathwater

Rha it took me a few times through read thru that. It's not so much "conflicting" as that it is culled from several other threads so it might at times seem redundant or confusing- Also- because the source of each quoted statement is from different places it is hard to follow at times as well as some information developed thru time - the understandigns may have grown and shifted - at least that was my impression of it. Read it thru more than once- some kernels will stick to you, implement those then go back and read again. I am sure there is still stuff in there I have missed.

But right now- us in clothing - at least those of us that are not the HUGE names- and I am guessing mind you- but I think we are all pretty slow right now.

I agree with your opening statement, and I certainly do not know exactly how search works. (Some have posted antidotal evidence that indicates some Lindens don't understand it.) I don't know exactly how my computer works, either, but I know how to use it. Knowing how something works and knowing how to use it are two entirely different things.

That thread is about knowing how to use search. I used the ideas when I opened my store. Within a few weeks, it ranked well in every keyword that is important to my business. Now with brief, but successful experience, I urge you to reread it and use the ideas, Rha.

btw, thanks to you, Phil for your contributions to that and other threads. You've really gone above and beyond to help others understand what you've learned. It still takes work to implement those ideas -- each shop's circumstances are unique. But you've provided an extremely helpful set of facts and conclusions.

do any of you guys use sculpted prim skirts?

I needed some sculpty sleeves that I really wasn't able to get the way I wanted so I decided to get some I had seen from a pretty well known sculpty designer. I'm happy with the sleeves...but while I was there I picked up a box of sculpty miniskirts too and wow...I must be doing something wrong because out of 30 I have not found one that I am comfortable using with anything that I am going to sell.

Is there some kind of trick to making them work?

I had not seen them though i have been tempted by the sleeves- however- it seems most are of the opinion that sculpties cause a it of lag- seeing as how lag shd be avoided at all costs.. I have stayed away completely. Opinions on sculpties and lag where involved with clothes are welcome.

I will check the thread again
by conflicting I mean... one person says such and such works, another person says such and such does not work
so it is hard to know what does work for search

as for sculpt skirts never used them, I tend to prefer flex or basic non flex depending on the style needed
or system skirts

I do like some of the sleeve poofs, depends on the sculpt creator

great question Amar and I have posted a question in the building tips forum, hopefully will get an answer on that.

I always assumed (and quite possibly incorrectly) that a 6 prim pair of sculpty shoes would be less lag than a 30 prim pair of regular but I never actually tried to find out So now we will know!

And regarding the sculpty skirts, I guess I will stop the darned impulse buying! If I had only bought what I went for, I wouldn't be moaning about and extra L1700 wasted

or maybe I'm just doing it wrong I dunno lol

I will use them for SOMETHING maybe a bonfire

Possibly the best way to find out is to return your avatar to standard Ruth (Test Female, under Character Tests in the Advanced menu), use an ARC-enabled viewer, and try on each pair of shoes to see what your ARC is. I don't use an ARC viewer, but from memory I think I recall someone saying the standard noob test avatar has an ARC of just 1, so anything over that would be the shoes.

Also, don't forget that things like alpha textures and shine also add to ARC, as well as sculpties.

Then just go by what I've written and ignore anything else.

Hey Phil! Checked out your store today and thought it looked familiar. My partner and I were there when we were newly partnered over a year ago looking for low prim furniture!

Very clean and crisp and yeah...LOTS and LOTS of product!

Between you, Jojo, and Mickey - I've gotten another idea of my shop build. (Darn it! The other one was almost finished, but I think the new one will work in the long run. Allows for more product and growth.)

Thank you all for your suggestions and tips. I've been soaking them up!!

/me smiles- no shrinking violet is Phil

That reminds me...

Rha. It it were me, I'd combine the various product types into one store rather than have clothes in one and other things in another one far away. For promoting, they can be on different parcels, but the same store. E.g. my place is one huge store, but the fireplaces, rugs, tables, and art gallery are each on their own parcels, and promoted seperately in search.

It didn't exist over a year ago, so it was probably a little later than that. It started out very small by comparison, but I'm still selling the items I sold back then, so you no doubt recognised some of them.

Amar I got an answer to the sculpty vs prim question, here is the link in case you wanna check it out: /8/70/284393/1.html#post2164819 or anyone else does

Thanks! Reading now....>

*Thinking* We were partnered on 9/21/07 and were probably looking at furniture Oct & Nov before we settled on our Asian theme. I recall the picture frame with the changing pictures..right where it was located. I was so amazed that could be done. (I've come a long way in building since then *smiles*)

My partner made a comment about one of your dark blue leather sofas having very realistic textures. (He had a blue leather sofa & lounger in his "bachelor pad."

It was definitely your store...I was just off on my dates.

Yep - that was my place. I've moved it since then and grown it a lot, but furniture in that leather is still a best seller for me. It's a photo of part of my RL sofa.

As a consumer?? I am not fussed on clothes that add a bit of lag to my body and I doubt many people even consider it when buyin items. Prims sleeves and prim cuffs on pants bottoms are becoming for me essential when i buy items, I just dont like the look without them. I want realism and a 3D look that shading and the system clothing alone cannot give me no matter how good it is. The prim cuffs esp ae able to give me a pair of jeans that look like I would wear in RL, they flare out at the bottom and reach down to the ground, rather than being the ankle freezers tht the system pants are

High Waters lol

The first time I tried to wear system flare leg pants I was like omg, give me some penny loafers, white socks, and a pocket protector to complete this look! and don't forget the black hornrimmed glasses with the tape on them

I quickly shortened them enough to make them straightlegs and have worn them that way ever since, well at least until I figured out prim/sculpty bootlegs.

and using shoes as an example, I was pretty sure that sculpty shoes couldn't be much harder on the system than prim...then tonite I looked at a pair of prim shoes I was wearing and ouch...36 prims each wow lol...then checked out a pair of sculpty pumps and 6 prims each. So I'm not gonna sweat the sculpties

/me tears hair out.

How yould you interpret the following offline IM I received overnight? -

The customer concerned apologised for poor English at the start of the IM, and has bought my most expensive build: the fully-enclosed, fully-furnished gentleman's study skybox. That's fab, because like everyone else I've had a huge downturn in sales over the past week (five days without a single sale on SLX; the only thing that's sold on there is the bloody freebie).

But again, the question of doors. You might remember the woman I refunded because she was unhappy that the fully-enclosed skybox she bought (for just 20L$) had no door, when there was clearly no door shown on the ad board). And now it happens again with my most expensive build. To buy the study skybox you enter an area of our mini-mall where some of it is kind of showcased -

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3173/2768875634_0277bd0b60_o.jpg

There is a 'letter' on the sideboard there with clear hovertext saying "click here to find out more" (hovertext doesn't show in this screenshot, but it's there) -

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3105/2768875636_fd88967020_o.jpg

This gives the potential customer a notecard full of information about the skybox, including lots of photos, one of which is this -

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3295/2764579884_4dfafecb6c_o.jpg

Which clearly shows it's fully-enclosed and has no door (if I'd included a door in the build, believe me, I would have photographed the skybox with the door showing).

Now, short of adding to that notecard, "There is NO DOOR in this skybox" (and many of the others that I sell) I don't know what to do to make people understand that they don't *have* doors. What I sell, in these skyboxes, are fully-enclosed 'mood rooms' - once you're inside, you're in a different world. And with a skybox that's clearly not meant to be viewed from the outside (even though I've textured it nicely) the only reason I can see to have a door is to get in and out (let's leave out of the equation the fact that I *still* can't get the hang of scripted doors *linked* to buildings, despite having the benefit of Desmond's great example).

Use the door to step out of that skybox, and you plummet, basically, and it's not 'pretty' enough on the outside to merit being used as a house with a garden outside.

(It's early, I'm rambling. Bear with me.)

1 - My translation of that IM: the customer just wants to get in the skybox. Since there's no door, maybe they don't know how. But what if they want a skybox *with* a door, or are asking how they can *add* their own door? With such a language barrier, I can see this is going to be difficult. Should I upload to my blog an illustrated tutorial on getting into my skyboxes? Should I create a notecard with texture examples? Should I suck it up, try again with Desmond's door example and try to re-make that skybox *with* a door?

2 - How in hell can I get across to people that with many of my builds there *is* no door, that there's a simple way to get in (rez a cube, sit on it, etc - or if the build is furnished, cam in and sit on a poseball, then set a landmark for future entry) and that I don't *do* doors. Yes, I know I'm limiting myself by not doing them (I tend to do a flexible wall to walk through in builds where I have an open door, such as the Spacejunk Skybox) but apart from re-doing all my builds and trying my damndest to learn how to link scripted doors (not to mention changing the whole way I build) I dunno what else to do.

Off to work in a minute, where I'll be puzzling over this all day, but... HALP?!

can't help you with the language barrier, as I have no idea what that person wants either...

however, you answered your own question for number 2



add that into your notecards, sell them as mood enhancing skyboxes or something fancy like that, and explain as you did there, that there is no door, and explain this as well...



giving them the reason there is no door, and examples of how to get in

that is what I am trying to do, but undecided what to do with the kids stuff, it was an idea for another part of Rha! but never really went anywhere, I have 3 complete avatars, and some clothes, and special sized footwear, but not a lot of any of it, so been considering having the alt redo the items (but that would be more work that I anticipated so prolly not)

just not sure what to do yet....
(might just add another little store or 2 on my property and use one for the kids stuff (transfer it all to the alt and let it sell via her, to help cover her tier and premium costs)

but would still be Rha! stuff

If the skybox is sold in a package, maybe make a new box and put "this is a skybox and has no door" right on the package?

There is a free translator out there and I'm sorry, I just tossed the LM....but I have used it a lot and it has helped If someone is having trouble I ask them what their first language is, put on the translator and talk to them.