One of Second Life’s leading designers, Evangeline Miles, recently expressed her disdain for “customers” with entitlement issues. There does appear to be growing resentment amongst some customers to be vocal to the designer in dismissing their prices are being too high.
Image courtesy of Faery Sola
It is completely ludicrous for a customer to feel that they’re entitled to a product at a price which suits them, as this does nothing but devalue the time and effort a designer feels they put into their work.
The issue escalated when Faery Sola and Ziggy Quirk called for a ban on freebies. Something which Ana Lutetia and myself debated several months back. We had the foresight back then to see there were entitlement issues forming, and that they needed to be nipped in the bud in order to maintain Second Life’s economy and keep the talented designers on the grid.
So now we’re starting to see hardworking designers getting flak for the prices they charge for their wares – welcome, my friends, to a grid where some people feel they’re entitled to something for (next to) nothing.
The promotion of freebies and the freebie culture throughout Second Life will lead to many numerous problems within the SL economy. When I blogged about it before, people just automatically assumed that I was talking about a blanket monetary effect. But what I referred to was a “Freebie Culture” which is what has happened here.
The sense of entitlement comes when there is an influx of high quality freebies – there’s essentially no reason to “upgrade” when you can get all you need without having to pay for it. When I first started Second Life in 2006, freebies were all poor quality and if you wanted to look decent, you had to find your credit card and invest in some Lindens.
Now, you can pick out a whole wardrobe without spending a dime and look a million bucks.
But Prad! Why on Earth are you complaining about something which is free?!
Because I actually give a damn about Second Life and its content creators. The time and skill it takes to create products deserve compensation, and if we create a culture where people feel they’re entitled to things for free, or for next to nothing, then we’re going to cripple the grid.
Designers won’t make money, so they won’t create in SL, and before you know it, all those lovely freebies will just dry up and you won’t be able to purchase much because the designers have all shut up shop. And this is before we get to the jerks who IM designers complaining that their prices are too high.
And again, I’ll hear the tired argument of “Oh, but freebies help me find stores and find out how good they are so I can go spend money there!”. Except it seems the minority and ruining that for you, and it’s time to go back to the good old days where we read fashion blogs, spoke to friends about their favourite stores and exchanged something called “landmarks”. Oh – and see that “Search” button?
Freebies have resulted to the problem of entitlement amongst some residents in Second Life, and designers and rapidly tiring of having to deal with such petty issues. Try thanking the designers who give away freebies and you might be able to salvage something, but I for one am glad to see some designers pushing to an embargo on freebies. They’re doing much more harm than good, and we need to stop them from driving designers to despair before they decide to call it a day and we start seeing talent disappearing from the grid.
Also see: The Other Side of the Coin.
Image used with the kind permission of Faery Sola.
Anastasia Trefusis on May 6, 2009
Quote: Freebies have resulted to the problem of entitlement amongst some residents in Second Life, and designers and rapidly tiring of having to deal with such petty issues. Try thanking the designers who give away freebies and you might be able to salvage something, but I for one am glad to see some designers pushing to an embargo on freebies. They’re doing much more harm than good, and we need to stop them from driving designers to despair before they decide to call it a day and we start seeing talent disappearing from the grid. (end quote)
Any designer who feels the need to “take their toys and go home” and stop creating content rather than do some advertising for their business is too petty for me to want to support in any case.
Most of us who go look for freebies are appreciative, and designers would probably hear more of it if they didn’t have “Don’t IM me for any reason” on their profiles.
Driving designers to despair? Seriously? Making money in SL producing intangible items that only exist at the whim of Linden Labs and have no real life use is a PRIVILEDGE. Not a right, or an entitlement. Especially in this economy.
I know I for one (and I am sure I am not alone in this) will put any “designers” who participate in this cartel on my “Do not buy” list. Along with those who make hunt gifts impossible to find and whine about people coming to their store for a hunt in which they chose to take part.
Don’t worry though, if designers choose to shoot themselves in the foot in this way, there’s a new content creator joining SL every day that will gladly take up the slack and take your customers.
Shanessa Vendetta on May 6, 2009
Fabulous Idea really..
“Because I actually give a damn about Second Life and its content creators. The time and skill it takes to create products deserve compensation, and if we create a culture where people feel they’re entitled to things for free, or for next to nothing, then we’re going to cripple the grid.”
Yes because giving out freebies, generally consisting of one outfit, will cripple the grid. I’d like to see how you really think that is feasible. Now I know I’m not a designer in the least bit, I’ve tried and it’s difficult. I am grateful for all the designers that DO take their time and create such great items for us. That being said… Do the designers really truly want their inventories flooded with 1000 notecards thanking them for the most recent freebie they sent out? NO! And how do I know this, because a lot of them scream in their profiles about how they don’t want to be IMed , or that they are always busy, or afk, or anything. Occasionally I will thank someone for a freebie.. do you need examples?? Ivy Graves for her amazing canary hoodie she gave to the group recently, Tuli Asturias for her generous skin gifts, Lano Ling for his monthly gift of beautiful eyes, Ivey Deschanel for her WEEKLY group gifts and Riot vendors… And the list goes on… and what do these designers have in common?? I’ve spent countless lindens in their store as another form of thank you because.. well their stuff rocks!! I would have never stepped foot into Lano’s store had I not seen a gift of his on a freebie blog. And as for your other idea Prad
“Except it seems the minority and ruining that for you, and it’s time to go back to the good old days where we read fashion blogs, spoke to friends about their favorite stores and exchanged something called “landmarks”. Oh – and see that “Search” button?”
What fashion blogs are we supposed to read? Half of them repeat the same old tired MAINSTREAM outfits over and over “CeCubic, Armidi, Letluka, Maitreya, Redgrave, Abyss ” Yes very good stores but what about the hole in the wall shops or the inconspicuous Japanese hair shop. Sometimes without a freebie blog tossing their name up on the feed these gems would go unnoticed in a FAILED search. Yes searching for something like hair will not come up with what you want.. instead your drowned in page after page of a giant “who has the most traffic” contest. Plus I don’t want what everyone else has or likes.. so asking a friend is only going to get you what THEY like.. I’m an individual!!!
Yes I know there are downfalls to freebies.. Some designers complain about the complaints, or how 2000 people join their group then 1990 leave it. Well how about making gifts for group members only.. and placing an entry fee of $250L.. Atomic and Tuli both do that and I willing paid it AND still have the groups taking up 1 out of 25 of my precious group spots. Or maybe close the group for a week while the current members get the gift the reopening after the gift is removed.. There are so many different ways to go about this rather then a freebie boycott. Thinking smart not rash is the way to go here.
I understand the point of view of both sides and yes BOTH sides have an inflated sense of entitlement, but I take the freebie side of this. I will almost guarantee that EVERYONE has partook in a freebie at one time or another. The cute 1L gifts that Armidi gave out on their ShopArmidi website, or one of Four Yips fabulous free outfits or even the free sample of food or makeup at the Real Life store.
Truth be told.. there will be assholes about free stuff, always will be. But do you really want to tick off your loyal customers by placing them in the same category as the rest of them? I for one am offended by all this drama reoccurring once again. If a freebie sucks delete it.. don’t bitch at the hard working designer.. but designers, you also shouldn’t give out shitty freebies, use the freebies as a marketing tool. I’m going to return to a place who gives me something I love.. I wont return to a place where seams are showing or scripts don’t work because I will assume that’s how all the rest of the stuff in the store is.
Bailey’s Reach » Blog Archive » Designers vs Freebies: The Great Debate on May 7, 2009
[...] recent is again the Great Debate on Freebies. Prad stirred the pot quite a bit with his post, Entitlement and loads of other bloggers have commented or written on their own blogs about it. I’m not [...]
Ann Otoole on May 7, 2009
What is number one on this list:
http://trendwatching.com/briefing/
Unrewarded talent « Second Life Shrink on May 7, 2009
[...] by johnny4sls on May 7, 2009 In a thread over at Metaversally Speaking headed (surely ironically) “Entitlement”, various luminaries of the SL fashion scene muse once again on the inexplicable reluctance of the [...]
Kitty Otoole on May 7, 2009
My view on freebies, as I’ve said before, is that they give you a taster of a particular brand/designer, and you should use them to assess the wares prior to making a purchase. As much as I love my freebies, I also am conscious that the designers would like to see some appreciation, so if I like a store I’ll blog about it and purchase from them. This has actually caused me issues..don’t laugh, but I’ve been so captivated by shopping in-world that it’s contributed towards some pretty uncomfortable RL debt issues. SL shopping has become a bit of an addiction, and I’m sure there are times when I was single-handedly keeping the virtual economy afloat..I kid you not.
At the moment therefore freebies are a good thing for me, as they ‘keep me going’ (Alas I cannot content create to save my ass) but I’m still concious of the need to spread some linden dollar loving every now and then..I just don’t have that ability at the mo…
Ioh on May 8, 2009
“It is completely ludicrous for a customer to feel that they’re entitled to a product at a price which suits them, as this does nothing but devalue the time and effort a designer feels they put into their work.”
On the first part I would agree with saying that it is ludicrous, but not in the same meaning. For one, I don’t find it ridiculous or laughable for a customer to give their opinion on if the price of a product is too high for what suits them. But then again, I come from more of the old school business that used to say, “The customer is always right,” rather than hold disdain over a consumer’s input as if they were an insect or a parasite that the person in business of selling somehow does not have to pay heed to.
You see, the whole thing is ludicrous, in the more traditional sense of the word. Like the Latin ‘ludicrus’ that means ‘sportive’, or ‘ludicrum’, meaning a ‘show’ or referring to ‘public games.’ After all, business is essentially a play on power and a matter of real time Monopoly, not so much played on a board, but a grid in real time and with real money. Might as well call it a gamble, really. In that way, it’s no different than RL business, of which the goal of businesses is to monopolize and control as much monetary power as possible. It’s a big reason any more today that people are no longer big on building the biggest empire. Why bother when if one can control (or at least think they have under control) international markets, they can control the world economically.
But, as it is, for a company to have such power, they have to actually find a way to generate the money needed not only to get that power, but to maintain it. Thus, they need those (parasitical?) consumers to buy into their product. If they can’t get anyone to buy into it, then, regardless of how much time and effort any designer puts into their work, it just become a, certainly maybe very pretty and outstanding design, but very impotent product.
The relationship between businesses and their clients is symbiotic. For a business to thrive, it has to have a want for customers, and the customers have to have a want for the product the business is presenting them with. If a business disdains their customers, the customers will eventually show disdain for the business. On the flip side, if the business appreciates their customers, their customers will appreciate them.
In a free market, sure, a business has every right to price their product as high as they want. But in fair play in the open public arena of the market, the customer has as much right to complain about prices, and even boycott buying a product that they don’t deem at a price that suits them. The business can’t force the customer to buy the product any more than the customer could be able to force the business to change their product. So, the business and the customer have to find a reciprocal balance between price and demand.
No one’s entitled to have to play this open game of Monopoly at all. Most of us just chose to, of which I personally thing the afluensic “keeping up with the Jones’” attitude is probably far more destructive on the economy. But then again, I’m also one who thinks that being called a consumer is degrading to the one that gives a business it’s life blood.
I am a customer to a business of my so choosing that I feel has quality and will a long-standing service of benefit to me. I am not a consumer that mindlessly drones off to buy into the latest and greatest gadget that in 5 min. will be obsolete, and of wich I’ll have to junk and replace with the new 5 min. product churned out buy the golden cow industry, of which was marketed 5 min ago and is now too past its prime style ‘business’.
Nytefyre on May 11, 2009
Having originally come into SL in 2006, I can say that there has definitely been an increase in the whole entitlement attitude….but then prehaps the drastic increase in freebies and dollarbies has increased this. Back then the freebies offered were either of bad quality (there are some exceptions) or had a logo or store name all over them. I lasted about three days on freebies and camping before saying “screw it” and buying lindens and waited some time before putting out a large amount of lindens on “real skin”. I recently created an alt and gave her 100L…she had an inventory loaded with good quality items (skins hair clothing, AO and even furniture and a skybox) with plenty of lindens left over.
Seeing this i could see what newer residents experienced…and therefore came to expect. In no way do I think that it is right to expect everything for free, but I can understand in a way that newer players believe this is the way SL works and balk when something they want is not tossed their way.
I am torn because i love freebies (trust me…I shop PLENTY as well) and have used freebies, gifts and hunts to discover places i never knew of that i do spend money in. At the same time, I can understand the frustration of the designers that have to deal with people expecting them…and apparently expecting them frequently.
As far as the “entitlement attitude” of designers?…sorry but I don’t understand. If a store sells crap and/or has lousy customer service, live and learn as in RL…don’t go back…and if it is as bad as your experience, no one else will return either. Prices too high?…then don’t buy it…i would love some Prada shoes, but I am not about to walk in and tell them they need to lower their prices so that I can get a pair. Once again, if the quality doesn’t match the price then people will stop shopping there.
Anyway, a solution i can suggest is what several groups are now doing…charging a fee to join their group to get gifts as well as announcements, and having an SOM or Hippo group gadget for people to sign up strictly for announcements.
So…my two (or five) cents on this issue.
Julia Soothsayer on May 11, 2009
I agree that something has to be done. It has to be done by a lot of designers to turn things around though. In the end, it will bring more sales to us all! Even if it is just the really good quality designers and the big names – it will make a huge impact.
I use to have a release and sell at least 20 or so sets in the first hour of the release. Nowadays I might get 3 – 10 sales the first week! I was part of the problem for a long time. I also want to say that getting my brand out there in my lucky chairs was what helped my brand get known. There are more of us now – good content creators. I respect and appreciate the work of others, but honestly in the end it boils down to there are only so many players who are going to shop and we are sharing them. Let’s stand together against the over saturation of freebies because it is destroying our effort and livelihood.
I know a lot of things have affected my sales, but the freebie industry is the most hard hitting. I know this. When I have a release, my sales will be a lot higher if I have a freebie that day and so many grab the free thing and leave. Some of them will bring their friends back. Hopefully someone buys something…By giving it away for free though, I am causing people to think if they just wait around, it will be free later so why buy it?
I have made some changes:
*I raised my dollar store items, most are not $1 anymore. Many are $5, $10, $15, $25 and so on. They are good deals though on things I don’t sell in the main store anymore.
*I decreased the free gifts on my free table to include a small sample of my work without giving away the cow.
*I increased my $1 dollarbies on Xstreet to $10L
*Instead of a Mothers Day gift yesterday, I did a one day only $25L set.
*I removed my monthly FREE gift in my main entrance.
What I still intend to do:
*Raise or remove the free samples through out the store on a few items.
*Add a weekly drawing for a Store card for group members. It brings them to the store and offers a reward.
*Offer occasional introductory prices on some new items.
*Continue my weekly 50% off item.
*Free Gifts @ Christmas on Christmas Eve.
I really am hurting right now because I have stopped the freebies and that does help to bring in people. A tiny percentage buys something, but I am trying to be part of a better way and I hope that you will join me in this fight to change the way SLers shop in SL.
Our work deserves to be bought and not given away. I DO appreciate my customers but, there are so few of them compared to before that I feel something has to be done. I use to be the freebie queen back in the day. I would still like to reward faithful customers, but not contribute to this growing problem that is ruining business for myself and other talented creators.
Stand with us and let’s make a difference!!
Harper Beresford on May 11, 2009
I blogged about this last November: http://harperberesford.blogspot.com/2008/11/business-blunders-in-sl-or-treatise-on.html
Content creators are constantly asked for /expected to/criticized about their contribution to SL. If they aren’t asked to give free items, they are asked to give freely of their time for interviews in magazines with low distribution, their content for promotions at clubs full of their friends,or their names for others’ non-profitable schemes. The sense of entitlement stretches far and wide…. There is a reason a lot of them hide in their towers and “set busy.” The freebie culture is just part of the devaluation of content providers’ contributions in SL.
Freebie seekers are not all of the same ilk. However, quite a few of them ruin the fun for others when they complain about what is offered, bother the content creator for the location of the item because they are too impatient to wait for the items to rez in, use up the sim’s valuable resources teleporting in to grab their freebie and then announce in chat “OMG the lag!” (that one always kills me). The most interesting is when they complain about what is offered or ask for an exchange.
I think all content creators like sharing their work and are willing to do it. Many are MORE than generous. However, they deserve something in exchange. Sometimes a simple “thank you” is enough. However, don’t expect your fellow residents owe it to you to provide your fun… for free.
Ioh on May 11, 2009
This is such a silly battle. People are pulling their RL hairs out over virtual doll clothing. What’s more sad is thinking of the people actually going bankrupt in RL over buying all this stuff because they /feel/ entitled to shop for it all.
I had to learn the hard way, by being nice and draining my SL account a few times by being nice and tipping and giving money to people. Apparently, I didn’t tip one person enough and they got all annoyed at me like some jealous girlfriend, and I never even /was/ in any sort of relationship with her.
Straight up, NO ONE is entitled to anything. Get over it and consider that there’s things in life (even SL) more important than getting stupid Prada shoes and other bullshit that, in the end, is just a bunch of pretty pixles that no one needs, and certainly are not entitled to.
Rene Erlanger on May 12, 2009
I’ve been preaching against flooding the grid with Freebies for nearly a year now….finally, finally….i’m seeing Content Creators waking up and recognising the potental cummulative damage its doing to the economy …..and it’s likely to get far worst.
There’s a thread currently running on Residents Answers forum which deals with this topic.
http://forums.secondlife.com/showthread.php?t=318905&page=1&pp=15
I’m not against the principle of “Freebies” when used wisely, but to have a HUNT running practically every week, Groups containing 1000′s of consumers searching 24/7 for freebies around the Grid……where is this all leading to?
Something has to give….its Economics 101!
The worst damage is the changing to this “Freebie mentality culture” type consumerism…a sense of entitlement in having free products or next to nothing. It devalues the creator’s work. Would you work for Free in RL?
I believe in rewarding paying customers with an occasional Freebie….and its one of the reasons why my Customer Group is a closed group. I manually send invites to paying customers whilst online or via Transaction History….i know 100% that every single person in that Group has purchased a product somewhere down the line…there are no Freebie Hunters within. This is why i believe having those Auto-Group inviters are not a good idea….its hard to distinguish between your real customer base and Group hoppers who join just for those freebies/ gifts.
I keep hearing from some Content Creators that Hunts are a great marketing tool…..at the same time Consumers are saying that many of the products are sub-standard (or crap). Well if it’s suppose to be a great marketing tool, surely those same designers should be including “quality” sample products ….otherwise one is potentially harming any future business.
I have 2 Designer friends participating in 2 different Hunts right now….1 is in A VIP Grid Hunt which you pay 200-250 L to join and the other is the Discovery Hunt. Now the Discovery Hunt is 2 months long…..that’s right…..2 whole months!!!
The friend who is participating in the VIP Hunt has been averaging 800-1000 unique visitors a day since last Friday. In those 4 days she has made a grand total of 3 sales…..that’s it!! Bear in mind this friend is successful RL Jeweler with an online business who has replicated her products here in SL…..so she hardly produces crappy products!
Rene Erlanger on May 12, 2009
Basiclally i think there are 2 distinctive groups of Freebie hunters
- ones that belong to Fabulously Free and other Fashion Groups who search out free “samples” to help determine the quality that the designer provides. Ultimately this group will go onto buy further products if they like the quality. They spend real Lindens in the SL economy.
- Freeloaders who join same groups and customer groups and practically live their SL lives without spending a Linden….these are the types that frequent nearly every Hunt, join and exit groups just to collect freebies.
As a Content Creator you need to be targeting the 1st Group somehow.
There lies the problem.
Maybe setting her high join fee would possibly sort out the chaff from the serious shopper. Say if “Fabulously Free” Group would have set the join fee at 500 L….i think that would have gotten rid of most SL freeloaders….what you’d predominantly have left are the serious shoppers looking for good samples to determine where their Linden dollars are going to be spent.
They’d soon make back the 500 L join fee through all the quality goodies they’ll receive. This kind of “Freebie” concept i’d more than happy join and participate in. I would say this is like showcasing your products to a particular audience much like a Fashion show…..so you don’t mind creating additional free content.
Having said that I can’t understand the desire of Content Creators wanting to grow a huge customer group? What does it serve, if say 70% of your group are made up of the 2nd group which are freebie hunters? Having a large Group sure doesn’t help you move up the “All Search” rankings, it’s not a recognised IBL….it doesn’t help you in the other remaining Search tabs.
I really think those Auto-Group inviters are a bad marketing tool, sending out invites to just about anybody arriving on the Parcel.
For one it pisses off a lot of serious shoppers, myself included….and doesn’t help target the right sort of consumer group.
My 2 own Customer Groups are “INVITE ONLY”. I manually send out Group invites to those that purchase a Product…about 30% accept those Group invites. These are the people you should be rewarding in terms of Group Freebies
……the ones that spent hard Linden dollars. The biggest of my 2 Groups has 1700 members ……sure it could have had 5000 by now using an auto Group-Inviter. What’s the point If i send a “New Release” notice when 70% of that group are not interested in purchasing Content anyway, no matter how good it is.?
I think some Content Creators are their own worst enemy not thinking out solutions and what you ultimately are wanting to achieve.
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[...] Questions of Freebies http://www.metaversallyspeaking.com/articles/musings/second-life/enti…; [...]