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First of all, there's been a lot of discussion around the blogosphere lately about whether or not freebies are hurting the SL economy. So I'm kind of curious....when we put up freebies and you run to get them, do you spend money in the store as well? Please answer honestly, since nobody will know who answered. Thanks.
Now, Inga Wind is doing it again! One hunt isn't good enough for Inga....lol....she wants to give you MORE clothing! She's holding her Petal hunt now. You find a flower petal and inside you find a piece of the outfit. Find all the pieces, and you end up with five of Inga's gorgeous outfits!
Also, the Cinderella acorn hunt is still going as well, so the possibility exists for six outfits! Go! Have fun! ;)
Honey
13 comments:
I really don't understand the debate...if designers' are showing a loss, stop doing it. If they are showing a gain then don't stop. Is it hurting the SL economy as a whole? I don't see that. The only thing I've seen affecting how much money being spent is the RL economy. I've yet to hear anyone I know saying "Well, there's so many freebies out why bother shopping?"
Then again, I'm not an economist, so *shrugs*.
Some designers are complaining because so many freebies are given that people don't come buy their 700L gowns. I'm selling my 2-300L gowns just fine though, the freebies don't seem to be hurting me.
The supply has changed, there are a lot of creators out there, prices should fall and if you don't lower your prices, you have more than freebies to blame.
Hey, happy to hear from you, thanks for the comments :)
This poll was a bit too black and white I think.
I said yes I do buy - but that is not always the case. I buy things in stores that I like - I dont just buy from all the stores in which there are freebies.
Often a good freebie makes me go back to a particular designer - a bad one will probably make me never shop there.
Some designers give out excellent free items and they really promote their talent.
I'm the same way - give me a decent freebie that showcases your talent and I'll be back to shop. Give me a piece of crap...and you won't see my money. I've found some stores I truly love by virtue of their freebie...Mimikri being a current example. Got their freebie and loved it....went into the store, looked around and dropped nearly 2k over the next couple of days.
Done right - I think freebies are great advertising!
I try to buy something, or at least throw a few lindens in the donations bucket. This is especially true when I go somewhere and the hunt item is nice, it's something I can use (guy-stuff is rare), and the shop has a hook.
What happens very often is that the hunt takes me to a women's fashion store where there's nothing in the shop that I can wear outside of a drag club. I'd like to support the designer who's sponsoring the hunt, but I've already got enough dresses to open a boutique. :)
My suggestion is that even a small selection of jeans and tees would go a long way. Most women's designers have jeans blocked for women already and it would be pretty easy to adjust the shading just a bit for men. Jacket layer and shirt/unders tee-shirt packs are something I'm *always* looking for but "moobs" are not. If the designer already has a tee that's shaded for women, down play the boob-shadow, add a kicky graphic, and put it on a vendor marked for men. Instant men's line.
My two cents and I probably am underestimating the amount of work this would require, not only from the perspective of creating the clothes, but in organizing the shop, but that's what *I* think.
I dont think freebies are to blame. They can't be as most of them are not worth having.
That said if a designer gives away a good freebie and I go to get it and it's a shop I've not been to before, I will look around and if I see something I like, I will buy it.
Stores need to lower their prices. There are some charging 250l upwards for a pair of jeans with sculpted cuffs. Fair enough it takes longer to make these but once they are made and uploaded there is no more production costs so why not make them affordable and make more money in the long run?
I genuinely think that's where designers and stores are going wrong.
As your average, ordinary shopper, I'm of two minds about freebies.
For me, they're great...often its the way I get exposed to a new designer, and if the freebie is quality, and they've included a LM (you'd be surprised how many don't!), I will probably go back and buy.
That being said, I'm finding I actually go shopping less often; when I need an outfit, thanks to the gazillion hunts and freebies around, I can usually find something in my inventory that is suitable.
I mean, how many of us have items from various hunts sitting in our inventory that haven't been opened yet, much less tried? I know I'm guilty of that!!!
The end result for me as a shopper is, I no longer spend as much; when I do buy something, it is because it is something truly outstanding, or because it is a product which I haven't been able to pick up a decent freebie for, because they aren't as common, such as hair or shoes...but even they are starting to become easy to pick up.
I buy an outfit when I need something for a specific event. Freebie hunts are the way I window shop.... and I almost never buy from someone unless I've had a chance to check out their merchandise in advance. I've been burned by sub-standard merchandise too many times.
I often buy from shops where I find freebies. Just yesterday, someone blogged about some freebie jeans. By the time I got to the store, they were no longer free, but I bought them anyway. I have found some of my favorite stores because of hunts and freebies, like Sn@tch and Katatonik, both of which have very reasonable prices to start with.
The only time a freebie negatively affects my likelihood to return to the store is when, during a hunt, the store makes the item impossible to find. That makes me mad, and I won't go back.
To answer your question honestly, no, I don't always buy when I am MM hunting, Lucky Chair hopping or chasing freebies through BLOGs and sometimes I don't have time to look around because with some of the events you are playing beat the clock on a hunt. I do however, look around ( you can't help but look around if you are on a hunt or looking for that freebie.) and if and when I see something I like, I buy it. I have been known to go after a freebie and buy half the store because they were having such an awesome sale or I spy that 800L dress I just can't leave the store without. But, if it's a slow week and I only have a few lindens to my name then I am very careful what I spend it on, then all I can maybe afford is the 1L I pay to get the dollarbie.
The thing is, what the venders need to understand is, even if people just go to get the freebies and leave, they remember the store. One of the prime objectives of any seller is to get the word out that the store even exists and by luring us happy hunters to their store with freebies of any sort, does just that. My landmark collection is immense and I refer to them time and again because I want to go back when I had the lindens, to get this dress or that pair of shoes I couldn't afford at the time I found the store freebie hunting.
There are going to be those who are brand new to SL who just dont have any lindens to spend and these freebies help them to look better and feel good while in game and that is just priceless. That is appreciated beyond words. So yes, there are going to be times that freebie hunters just go for the freebies but we remember the stores that were kind to us and that had great stuff, and we go back and spend real lindens. That's another thing venders want, return business.
Some days there are so many freebies I don't have time to shop. But some days I go to a shop and fall in love with something there and HAVE to have it! I recently spent well over 1,000L on my daily freebie hunt. One thing is for sure though, most shops I would have never heard of without blogs and notices about their freebie/dollarbies and sales!
I only freebie shop for quality now. There are just way too many freebies that are simply trash. I watch the blogs and the hunts and the quality stores I know, and will ocassionally pick up something thats worth my while. If a freebie I get is really nice quality, I definately return to the store for a look. I tend to have my favorite stores that I use to get my 'shopping fix' if need be, some of which I have found through great freebies.
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