It is so much harder now , to cover the cost of a sim for these people and SL residents , on average , are certainly not going to pay for their own opportunity to have some fun as they might in World of Warcraft , though a monthly membership due would seriously increase the ability of resident ’ s to provide some amazing RP experiences . Food for thought .
So , how do we as Second Life residents , make our SL be all it can be for us ? For one , we can begin to shop in-world again , instead of on Marketplace . Perhaps use marketplace as a seek and find but go in-world to buy .
BETTER PRICING : Did you know that a lot of stores in world , even though MP “ doesn ’ t allow it ,” charge less in their inworld stores than they do on MP ? MP takes a 15 % share of every sale , so it ’ s easy for a store to pass that on , instead , to their customer at their in-world store which gives a creator a better opportunity to build a relationship with their customers .
Usually all it takes to save some cash is to be wearing a store ’ s in-world customer group while shopping at their inworld store . One can usually save anywhere from 10 % to 30 % when a creator is offering this shopping bonus .
SHOPPPING WITH FRIENDS : Another lost fun activity in SL is shopping in a mall or a store with friends . It ’ s a lot of fun when you ’ re with the right people !
SUPPORT YOUR RP COMMUNITY : For role-players , if you love your places of role-play , you really need to be sure to shop first , at that sim ’ s market to support it .
Without the funds role-play sims collect from their market ’ s , they just can ’ t stick around long-term and your favorite funspot will be gone before your story can truly begin to unfold .
NOT ALL PRODUCTS ARE ON MP : Here ’ s another not so well known fun fact - did you know that not all vendors put their products on marketplace at all ? Additionally , a lot of vendors who put up products on MP , don ’ t put up everything they have to offer . You need to go to their store to find the “ really interesting ” stuff or the sales .
GACHAS : Those really cute gachas are another reason to get your shopping game on in-world . While those who collect more than one of something do resell on MP , the original fun of the gacha , and often the only place to find the really neat items they offer , are in-world .
LUCKY CHAIRS & MIDNIGHT MADNESS GAMES : When you don ’ t go to a vendor ’ s in-world location , you miss out on so many things including the freebies and giveaways like Midnight Madness & Lucky Chairs . You ’ d be amazed at the quality goodies vendors supply through these tools , only available at their stores !
In the end , Marketplace is a solitary pursuit while shopping in-world can be a group activity . In my humble opinion , MP should be used as a “ search engine ” to find the right store for what you want , then , if they have an in-world location , go there to make the actual purchase . You ’ ll help your favorite content creators out tremendously , saving them the 10 % -15 % commissions LL takes while justifying the cost for the land they lease to have their store . More than that though -- you ’ ll create a reason for more sims to come back to life or to stay where they are which means , more fun for you !
82 NU VIBEZ & ROLEPLAY GUIDE MAGAZINE