Okay, so maybe someone can clear this up. Second Life promotes a free market type of environment for people who make and sell products and services. I think this is great for obvious reasons. "So, Lissa, what's bugging you then?" you may ask. To which, I reply, "Pricing, dear friends, pricing in SL."
So, here are some of my thoughts on pricing things in SL:
1. What constitutes fair pricing for a product? The way I look at it as a designer is this. When I started out, my pricing was pretty damn arbitrary. I thought $30L for a t-shirt was a fair price. Now, looking back at some of the shirts that I did, I think, hmmm... maybe $10L? So... I adjusted prices on my old T-Shirts. Perhaps the next round will be more detailed or shaded, etc. And I'll charge $30L again. Anyway, I've adjusted my pricing now based on what I think something is worth and what I think it will sell for. Secondarily, I keep metrics in mind as to what the average person behind an avatar spends in world for a product. Right now, the metrics are $100L or under for a purchase. Is this fair? I don't know. I guess what the market will bear is what the pricing will be.
2. Are there things that are overpriced in SL? Well, duh. Yeah, maybe EVERYTHING is overpriced. There are overpriced items in RL, too. Again, it's what the market will bear. But to me, there's a question of not necessarily what the market will bear... but is the pricing fair? This goes back to my first question. I guess what I'm getting at is that there are some designers out there, talented as they may be, that in my opinion (and yes, it's my opinion and my blog) are way overpriced. I don't begrudge anyone selling their work for a premium... I don't know, just something I wonder about. I'm sure there are some out there who think my designs are overpriced as well.
3. Conversely, are there things that are under-priced in SL? Again, yes. And I think maybe some of the stuff that I sell might be that way. I also think that the market will eventually even these things out.
So, what am I getting at? I guess I'm interested in people's opinions on this one. I'm sure some designers will vehemently defend their pricing and some will maybe look at things and say... "Hmmm... maybe this is something I need to think about."
Perhaps it's my point of view. I do SL as a hobby, something I do for fun. Some people are in SL to make a living. I look at what I do as pixels and perhaps that's where I'm missing it. I see it as art, but I feel like I have to keep a level head about it because like most art RL or otherwise... there are some who don't understand it.
Okay, enough... I think I've gotten offtrack with this post.
Let me have it... whether you agree with me or not... I wanna' hear about it! I want your opinions in-world or here.
Love,
Lissa
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1 comment:
I do love the way you look at pricing of SL items. My own opinions are as follows:
For single items without prims, it needs to be very good for me to pay over 100 L$. I'm thinking a single shirt, or a single pair of pants or something like that. If it's really good I'll go up to 150 L$ for these.
Items that come with prim parts, my soft limit is 150 L$, that's the point where I stop impulse buys. However, my hard limit there is closer to 500 lindens, but for it to be worth that much, it needs to be really great.
If you look at transaction histories of the entire grid, I think as long as you keep selling under 200 lindens, you'll be fine.
The people in SL who do have money, most are willing to spend up to 200 lindens without a second thought, at least that's what the statistics imply.
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