I’ve been reading with interest a new series of blog posts from Auryn Beorn regarding resources for new merchants.
She’s only written a couple of posts so far, but I’m finding it fascinating reading.
After reading her latest article, I was scanning through recent blog posts in my reader.
I saw yet another notice of a store moving to Marketplace only.
It got me to wondering – is Marketplace replacing mainstores in SL?
I know that cost is almost certainly a factor, given the price of land/rentals.
It also seems that events (where there are lots of different merchants in one location) are much more popular than mainstore shopping.
There have been a few events that have attempted to get shoppers back in stores (The Mix, currently running its July round, is one of them).
However, the general consensus from what I’ve read in various places (forums, social media networks, etc.) seems to be that events work and mainstores are just a money drain.
I am a little surprised by this, but clearly I am in the minority.
Given that the most popular complaint about SL besides land cost is lag, I don’t understand why shopping at a large event where the lag is generally horrible is preferable to shopping at a mainstore.
Some of the more popular events (like Uber, Collabor88, FaMESHed, etc.) are so jam-packed that it’s often several days before I can even get in.
When I first heard about Mix, I thought it was a great idea.
I loved the thought of not having to fight horrible crowds and laggy conditions just to do a bit of shopping (especially considering that sometimes I don’t even make a purchase at the event).
Plus, I had the ability to look around the store and see other items the creator had for sale.
If I like one item, I’ll probably like two or three.
I use Marketplace quite a bit, but generally only when I am looking for something specific – like a certain costume for a routine, or a certain accessory, etc.
Which isn’t always that easy (or successful), given the horrible search functions on Marketplace.
So, I thought I’d do a quick survey and see if I’m (as usual) standing over in left field by myself. 🙂
Where do you prefer to shop and why?
Please share the poll – the more responses the better!