So far this week, I have witnessed the most ridonculous amounts of drama, the majority being Plurk related. Meh. I had my initial enamor, then got totes over it. Also the terribly flea ridden, dead horse of the freebie debate has been flogged so fucking mercilessly it defies comprehension. What has riled me the most, is the hypocrisy of the most vocal opponents of freebies. I cannot stand bullshit of any kind, but this debate srsly gets under my collar, especially when those so "opposed" to freebies then try to use this blog to gain exposure for their store. This blog, and all it's writers have wholeheartedly supported content creators, showing full priced items we have paid for, alongside the dollarbies/freebies they may have to offer. I myself spend thousands each week in stores I love and admire. I have personally "discovered" stores because of their freebies, or because they contacted me. I can think offhand of at least 10 that had not been blogged before they got posted here. Is that the point? No, not really, but to then see these designers slating freebies, when I and my colleagues have spent untold hours taking shots, processing said shots and making sure everything looked as good as possible,
at these designer's behest, well it really makes me sad. I'm not sure what the happy medium is. There have been many suggestions thrown into the ether this week. Whatever the outcome, our commitment to content creation remains the same. We want to show you stores you may not have heard of, and if that happens because of a freebie, or lucky chair, is that so bad? If you buy their entire store because you love their designs so much, but saw their store here first, will you spontaneously combust? I think not. Bear in mind, whatever you may spend, we spend probably triple that amount. Why? Because the linden circle must be complete. Quid Pro Quo.
Little Britain has these outfits out now as we speak. One is the weekly freebie, the other is in the MM. Both have male versions, so guys get on it :P
This yummy dress is from Weird Designs. It's only available for a week, at the location linked to in the slurl below. In closing, I think I speak for all the girls, and guys on the blog when I say we are sick of being portrayed as the problem causers. Whatever life you operate in, there will always be someone who has an attitude problem. We show items designers most often ask us to show. We are not snobs, if you send us your item we will review it, unlike some unnamed bloggers I can think of. We want to get stores seen and appreciated, that is the bottom line, bad for the SL economy? Nope. Ash Out.
Credits
Hair (not free)
Red QueenSkins
Nikita FrideDjunkCupcakes (not free)
Outfits
Pics 1-2
Little BritainPic 3
Weird Designs
19 comments:
Im not much of a shopper, and im thrifty when i do. I love the free stuffs because it give us SL'ers a chance to try things. Ive found some of my favorite stores through your posts. Thanks so much, keep up the great work, some of us really appreciate your efforts!
Well said!
Ive found stacks of hot stuff because of your posts, with us having had such different sleeping patterns, it was like reading offlines with pics lol.
xoxSasyxox
Posting this comment for Whimsy Winx.
I was doing a hunt, and found the store I was at had a store above it, with some free/dollarbie items. I was so impressed with the gifts, I bought the whole store, teleported 2 friends in that did the same. I will be at that store everytime there is a new release, and so will my 2 friends, and I bet they told other people too.
I saw a post today, and one of the items was free. The items look good, and I plan to go over and snag the freebie...I will also be looking at her other items, I may or may not buy, but when I see that item or pics I take in that item, I may go back and buy something. Freebie blogs do a service to residents and designers alike as much as a freebie. They might showcase an item in a different way then the designer did, just like style blogs and people will buy.
Whimsy Winx Via Sasy Scarborough cause she cant remember her google password
Ohhhh...the debate!
I've heard compelling arguments on both sides of this, and have to make two points.
1. I understand that it must be frustrating to see a sales slump because of the influx of high-quality low-priced options on the grid. Also, I've heard that sometimes people who stop in for a freeb are. . .less than cordial.
That said. . .
2. That is NOT the norm!! ALL of my visitors in the shop have been fantastic. I cannot speak for anyone else or their choices, but I've been so overwhelmingly happy with all of the new people I've met offering freebies that I plan to do so forever. Our initial plan was one a month, and I just finished my third in a week! I personally love making people happy, and I have to say the people I've encountered as a result of the posts here are some of the most warm, caring and generous individuals I've been lucky enough to meet. I also enjoy the life that free content breathes into the sims. People who are exploring are people seeing SL for all of the individually contributed brilliance it offers. I am pleased that you offer a method by which people of limited fundage can still look good and interact. I've seen far too many people of wonderful character discounted for "looking noob." I think you offer a way for people not willing or able to drop $20 USD into an av to still look and feel fabulous. Many of the people who come looking for freebs also come back and shop. If you find that you are ONLY giving away freebs then I think it's possible your work is just too damn expensive. Didn't we, as designers start doing what we're doing because we love it? The money is nice, but isn't it also fun to just see people enjoying our work? One final note - Some of my FAVORITE people are freebie hunters, and I met them while they were hunting.
In short (too late) THANK YOU for bringing so many amazing people to my doorstep!
~Leaf
As I mentioned on Prad's blog, a part of the problem is viewing the freebie community as a whole as a bunch of selfish, ungrateful complainers. Because, ya' know, all furries are screwed-up zoophiliacs, all Doms and subs are sexual abusers, and all child avatars are moronic pedophilies in disguise.
The loudest does not necessarily represent the whole. That's why researchers use random samples for actual studies and not collect everyone who's been in a case study or such.
Well said everyone. Nobody actively promotes freebies over full price. We just help the people who may not be able to afford the ridiculous amount some people spend to look good. It is in no way overcasting these shops as they have put the freebies out themselves and we are only letting people now, therefore actually bringing people INTO their shop. No, not everybody will go into the shop containing a freebie and buy the whole shop, but i have on many occasions tp'd to a store who have a freebie and ended up really liking their full price items.
Its actually free advertising for these shops, and as Ash said, we do show full price items aswell so if somebody sees something they like- they can go out and buy it!
All this is getting wayyy out of hand ¬.¬
letting people know*
MUAH!
*BRAVO*
I meet so many nice people in SL but also many whom I would never want to meet in RL. One woman was griping (in group IM) because a shop owner kicked her out of the owners group without comment. The griper explained that she told the owner that you could not set a LM there and then asked the owner for a freebie for being helpful! Some people will exploit just about any situation.
Thank the shop owners - if for no reason other than to restore their faith in people.
From my experience blogs like Freestyle are IMPERATIVE marketing tools for designers and mall owners. Getting a promo, group gift, or freebie blogged about in the major blogs drives traffic to us and yes it absolutely does generate sales we wouldn't have otherwise. We work very very hard to put together great gifts for people and if the bloggers didn't support us we would be losing out big time. So to all of you at Freestyle and the other fashion blogs who support us,a BIG BIG THANKYOU!
Here here! I can tell you, I would have never even known about some of these creators had I not seen them on this blog. Talk about biting the hand that feeds them..
To me, freebies are a way of giving back to the grid. I remember being new in SL and not knowing my way around and the generous freebies I received allowed me to play around and see what there was out there. When I started shopping, I shop like it's the antidote. So as a shop owner, I appreciate the hell out of your blog and the only freebies I've taken out of my store were the warehouses cause it was time to make new houses to give out :)
Not to bring in RL mama-llama-drama, but due to recent circumstances I am in no position to be spending real-life money in SL. So yeah, I do rely on freebies, and designer-quality ones are awesome. Rockberry, for example, has some of my all-time absolutely favorite gorgeous amazing skins, and I've only had the free ones.
You can bet that when thinks get better in RL and I /do/ make that transition to a "paying player," I'll be skipping over to Heather's shop and spending ridiculous amounts of lindens.
The best part? I found out about the store, and it's zomgfabulous skins due to the freebie blogs.
-Eva Eiren
I for one, would definitely have never heard of almost all the designers whose stores I go to, some every day or at least weekly, if it weren't for these blogs and groups. Like some others have already said, they are a valuable tool for promotion within SL. Designers would you rather people know about you and come to your shop, possibly even tell others and bring them too, or have your stuff sit on the shelf getting dusty because no-one knows about you? I have noticed in some of the groups, designers notices often have no details on any full price items. That defeats the object of promotion, surely? Include some pictures, let us see what you have, tease us :P Thiose notices are written by you, so if you fail to promote your full price gear you only have yourself to blame if it doesn't sell. Same goes for over priced stuff, you can't blame us for high prices either. Help us to help you!
Creators don't have to give out freebies if they don't want to, and people don't have to read these blogs if it bothers them that much. But, all the writers on this blog do a fantastic job, and my landmark folder has grown quite a lot from reading your posts. I highly doubt that this blog is causing any problems with the SecondLife economy. Keep up the great work! <3
Ashia, this so needed to be said exactly as you said it. You are an amazing woman.
I cannot say it better than anyone else but I can speak of my own experience. Free Style was a huge help to me when I was new to SL. Since then I have spent countless thousands of Ls on items from creative designers, many that I first learned of on this blog. The same thing goes for places I discover in a hunt or stalking a lucky chair or Midnight Mania. When I blog an item or notify a large group that I co-own I do it because I think the designer merits attention. Many of them have become big favorites of many in this group. I don't see how that hurts the SL economy.
I have heard such derisive gossip this week, much that has sprung from this debate but crept beyond it to the personal level. I read the blogs and keep track of the score. From this I have learned of many places I will avoid until Hell freezes over. Maliciousness does not inspire new customers so I do hope these individuals have a loyal base and lots of inspiration and creativity to keep them coming back. On the flip side, I am a sucker for designers that are welcoming and will go the extra mile to help them get the exposure they deserve.
Thank you for putting it so well, the other comments too. I've done the same follow-a-freebie-buy-the-whole-freakin-shop thing many a time.
I'm starting up some wedding related businesses atm, and once we're up and running properly and have the whole place ready to go, you can bet I'll put freebies out and have random specials because I know how effective it has been on me as a customer to see these items featured to tempt me. There are tons of ways to promote yourself as a business, and yes it's a high competition arena in SL, so if freebies and freebie blogs direct people to my stores then they will be a part of the way i promote myself.
ugh. people will complain about anything.
i can personally attest to avidly reading this blog, the style pointers here and teleporting excitedly to the shops to snag the freebie and purchasing several more non free items.
for me it's been a good advertising tool of the quality that i can come to expect of the store.. it lets you try out the texture, style.. etc before making a regrettable purchase.. and most of the time it's only one - two items in a whole store full of many items! i can only see a good freebie as generating traffic, and attesting to the quality of your items.. and that's a good thing, right? also one must think of the state of the economy in rl.. those designers that offer quality freebies bring the customer coming back as a loyal customer who when they do have lindens will spend them at your store!
you wouldn't buy a hair or shape without trying a demo right?
also, wow..
instead of getting all nasty with the bloggers who advertise for you.. who often will pair non free items with that freebie to make the look complete... they should be rewarding them somehow for all the free advertising "your" shop is getting. in world i've seen many times a noticed dropped about so and so has a free pair of shoes.. an several and mean several people show up at that shop.
anyhow..my words, i know won't change a damn thing but honestly from the bottom of my heart my thanks and devotion goes to you wonderful bloggers, and you wonderful kind hearted designers out there.. because without you I would still look like ruth.
i appreciate what you do.
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