I think merchants should be a bit more careful how they present themselves in public. I'm not speaking of anyone specific necessarily. But this jumping ship and bickering and bitching is seriously beginning to annoy this customer. Many of us customers/potential customers have been inconvenienced and upset by this and that should concern you.

I quite agree, however when confronted with a decision in which the merchants themselves had no input and meant a significant loss of income for many it was a reaction that was sure to happen. My reaction was to quietly mark everything in my store to $5.00, and to make the packages not-exclusive. I am definitely not one of the top merchants by any means and this change will only mean a few bucks here and there. But let's look at it from another angle. For instance, a product in the Renderosity Marketplace sells for $10.00 submitted after September 15th. 100 orders = $1000. If the merchant is in the top 30, then their income would be $600. If they are not, then $500. Let's take that same product to 3D Commune, exclusive or not, the merchant would make $700, then there is Poser Pros as well. Many of the merchants will continue to house their products here, but since they will not make that extra 10% will place their products in other markets as well. It's the basic economics and income to the merchant as for many it is their only source of income. RO offers one of the largest, if not the largest exposure, and the quantity of sales may make up the difference. It's very hard to tell at this point. Blues

Yes, I understand the reasons and can understand why a merchant would become non-exclusive or even move. Though my concerns were triggered by this specific situation, they apply to more than that. It's the tone of postings and reactions of merchants in public that concern me. Seems to me that once someone becomes a merchant they're to be treated as professionals so should act as same. I, personally, would be worried about buying from someone who didn't behave in a professional manner. In fact I have bypassed products I would otherwise have purchased because of it. And it is an inconvenience for the customer having to follow the product elsewhere for upgrades and it is not always a simple process. So for customers that go through that you can understand that they may not wish to have further concerns on top of that. Me, I'm just a customer so I can be as stupid as I please. LOL

While I am in complete agreement with Spit I can also appreciate Blue's point of view. But the topic is not how the merchant is affected by these changes. It is how the merchants present their public face to potential customers. I am not trying to minimize the stress this situation imposes upon merchants. However, stress is a part of doing business (of life in general actually) and how one handles stress often reveals one's character. Like most such things, this episode is fundamentally one of disagreement. Now let's hypothesize that I purchase an item and have objections upon which the merchant and I disagree. If I do not accept the merchant's disagreement but continue to pursue it with him/her shall I then expect to soon see my name plastered across the forums? Should I expect to be reviled, called evil names and generally described as dirt? Assuming I have not brought my dissatisfaction into the public arena I should be able to remain fully confident that it will remain a private matter. But the behaviour I have seen here might lead me to question this assumption. Now I'm pretty easy going so this is completely hypothetical and will probably always personally remain so. Sure, I have bought products that I felt a waste of money. But that's the way it goes. In such circumstances I simply take my future money elsewhere (except in cases of blatant misrepresentation- which has never happened to me.) So yes, the merchants may well have a general grievance. Has their public behaviour on this matter instilled confidence within me? With few exceptions, not really...

I can understand the merchants dilemna. An extra hundred $$$ when your trying to make a living, makes a significant difference in paying bills or fixing your computer.

While I agree that a few posts on this subject have been a bit unprofessional, I'm glad the merchants spoke up. They are customers, too - of Rosity's brokering business. And they have every right to complain if they have a problem. Moreover, some of us customers might one day be merchants, and therefore are interested in how merchants are being treated. As for your complaint about their "jumping ship" and making it inconvenient for the buyers...surely you don't mean that they should be forced to stay some place where they feel they are being treated unfairly? Bricks and mortar stores move all the time. How can you call that unprofessional?

I think they have the right to leave. I think they have the right to complain. I think if they want to keep customers, they need to let the customers know where they are going....not all of us visit all sites and it can be hard to find where someone has gone. But I also think they should consider the impact of their words. The snide remark here, the quick response there may seem like a good idea at the time but customers can have long memories. I also think that they should think twice about announcements...I have seen more than one person here make a grand announcement about how they were leaving and how this was the worst place and they would never come back...and then suddenly they returned. It looks a little silly when it happens more than once. Finally I think they should look at this as a business and consider offering their items at more than one site, and do a real marketing analysis. Does a higher percentage of the profits mean more money if you have fewer customers...or do they have more customers at the new site? It's a good idea to calculate your profits and your losses if you want to be a business person. If they want to be merchants, then that's what they should be acting like. And that sometimes means swallowing your pride. But a lot of people only do this as a hobby and a way to make a little extra money. It's not a livelihood to them so how they treat their markets is less important to them. It's a matter of choices, afterall. It's not the moving that is unprofessional. It is the way the move is made that may or may not be.

Was knocked offline by Isabel. Power out for 80 hours but I'm back! Thanks Jack for your articulate wisdom. It's always appreciated. And Dialyn..you get it too. :) Randy...I was not complaining that merchants are moving. They have a perfect right to do so. It's just the way they've been handling the situation in public (not all, of course) that adds to the customer frustration and is unprofessional. Have a lot of stuff to catch up on...

I look at it this way. The publically protesting merchants are like employees who picket an employer they feel is treating them unfairly. Does it inconvenience customers? Yes. Does it alienate some of them? Yes. But without such "unprofessional" tactics, we wouldn't have any of the workplace protections we take for granted today.

Exactly where did I say they should be silent? Carrying picket signs that list their grievances is one thing, brandishing weapons and shouting insults is yet another.

Shouting insults is a long-established part of picketing. And I don't think anyone's been brandishing any weapons. The posts suggesting disgruntled merchants have launched a denial of service attack against Rosity are ridiculous. It could as easily be Rosity doing it, to make us appreciate what we're getting for our money. (And no, just to be clear, I don't believe either of those scenarios. Computer screwups are common enough that they require no conspiracy theories to explain them.)