https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/commerce/blog/2009/11/18/roadmap--managing-freebies-on-xstreet-sl
Roadmap - Managing Freebies on Xstreet SL
Posted by Colossus Linden on Nov 18, 2009 1:33:53 PM Improving the Shopping & Selling Experience on Xstreet SL for free, cheap & stale listings
We've received feedback from our users that the volume of free, cheap (L$ 10 and under) & stale listings in the Xstreet SL Marketplace did not make for an optimal experience for shoppers or merchants. We looked into this issue, crunched the numbers, and a few weeks ago we held 3 office hours sessions on the topic where we presented the issues & ideas we had and asked our customers to help us determine the best way to deal with this problem. We've now had a chance to review all of the feedback and suggestions which we have summarized here. Today we'll present the plan that all of our residents have helped us build.
The Xstreet SL Experience:
The Xstreet SL Marketplace is not meant to provide a replacement or even identical experience to that of shopping in-world. Instead, it serves as a specialized shopping experience which makes shopping & selling easier and different in many ways. All of our research and your feedback demonstrates that. Since it is clear that the increasing quantities of free, cheap and stale goods are hindering that experience for shoppers and merchants alike, we will take action to counteract and balance them within the marketplace, for the benefit of all. To be clear: we believe in a free marketplace and will not implement price controls on what merchants can charge for their goods.
Our goals are as follows:
1.Enable shoppers to quickly find the type of item they want, at the quality they want, and at the price that makes sense to them.
2.Enable merchants to find these customers and put their products in front of them.
The Roadmap:
We will enact the following new controls for the Xstreet SL Marketplace within 90 days, with at least two weeks' notice, in order to improve the shopping experience:
Monthly Listing Fee for Freebies of L$99:
•Listings for free items will now be treated as a marketing/promotional tool and thus will have a price.
•L$99 is the price of our least expensive listing enhancement and so we will start there.
•Depending upon desire for this marketing opportunity and perceived value given such demand, we will adjust the price as necessary to maximize this value and keep the freebie listings from becoming bloated again.
•Expected Delivery: 30 - 60 days
Minimum Commission of L$3 on all items priced L$1 or greater:
•We will enact a minimum commission of L$3 on all sales of non-freebie listings.
•Since Freebie listings are now considered marketing and are charged as such, they will not incur this fee.
•A L$3 commission will raise the commission on all listings under L$50. This was a range suggested by residents, but it turns out that this is the price range where there is a very high transaction volume and low commission income which combine to cover the costs of those transactions.
•We may adjust this minimum commission as we see its effects on the marketplace. L$3 does not cover the full cost of a transaction, but the goal here is first to manage freebie growth first.
•Expected Delivery: 30 - 60 days
Monthly Listing Fee of L$10 for all items L$1 or greater:
•All non-freebie listings will now be charged L$10 per month to remain listed in the Xstreet SL Marketplace
•Currently, less than 20% of Xstreet SL listings make at least one sale per month. This displays just how much clutter of unsold items exists on Xstreet SL.
•Doing this will provide an incentive for merchants to remove listings which are not selling, while keeping this fee low enough to have a minimal effect on listings which are selling and are desired by shoppers.
•By reducing the overall number of listings on Xstreet SL, the shopping experience will drastically improve which will please our shoppers and be a boon to the business of all of our merchants.
•Expected Delivery: 60 - 90 days
Separate freebies into their own category:
•There is already a freebie section on Xstreet SL. This section will become the place to browse for new freebies.
•We will remove free listings from the browsable categories and keyword search results on Xstreet SL.
•Expected Delivery: 60 - 90 days
Timeline:
•We will provide at least 2 weeks notice before releasing any of these changes.
•We expect to enact these controls within the time window 30 - 90 days following this roadmap announcement.
Thank You to All of Our Xstreet SL Marketplace Users:
We'd like to thank all of our shoppers and merchants who have made the Xstreet SL Marketplace the success it is today. The Marketplace continues to grow at a time when the real world economy continues to struggle. We'd also like to thank all of the residents who helped us develop this plan. Our plan of action was designed with your input on both what the issues are and great ideas of how to solve them. We would not have such a well developed and thought out plan without you, so sincerely, thank you.
Additional Information and Questions:
For additional information, please read
•The FAQ for the roadmap for managing freebies on Xstreet SL
•The summary of the commerce office hours on free & cheap listings
•The transcripts for the 3 office hour sessions on free & cheap listings
If you have questions regarding this roadmap, please first read the FAQ. If they are not answered in the FAQ, then post them here.
Regards,
The Commerce Team
1 comment:
I see where this is coming from the Merchants that sell their items for OUTRAGEIOUS amounts Are getting very linden greedy , I have items on XStreet that although they dont sell everyday they do get sold and one item that is free that Everyday there is about 5 or 6 people purchaseing this item , that is Bullshit ,, Experience my ass its so the whinnie ass merchants that sell cheap stuff cant get their's sold is all it is
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