Am I the only one seeing this trend of very expensive products that are actually not that good? Sorry folks, but there are some merchants who have consistanly kept their products at a high level and prices reasonable. Some folks need to take a stroll through the marketplace and get a clue as to what they should be charging. Not trying to be a jerk, but some of the stuff that's being sold is more in tune to stuff that would be in the freestuff isle. I know, I don't have to buy it, and I won't. Just wondering if I'm the only one seeing the lack of quality. Marque

.

I've seen the same thing...one merchant specificlly comes to mind..the $$ asked are outrageous. I say this because similiar or close to the exact duplicates are sold elsewhere for less than 1/2 of what this merchant is asking. More power to that merchant if he/she can get what they ask for. For me personally $50.00 is my limit for any 1 item. and for that it better be a damn good model(1 web-site comes to mind for that $ range and only 1) or a damn good piece of add on software ie...Correct Reference Pro something of that nature. IMHO

I've seen stuff recently that merhcants are charging for that shouldn't even be in free stuff(merhcant unmentioned) ;)

Oh, there's been nonsense like that around since Rosity started, for sure. Not new in any way. In fact, the trend that I've seen as most noticeable around here is that the MP has far fewer new items every day than it used to some months ago. Is the market getting saturated? :] Fish

My point is 30.00, myself. I'll pay 20 bucks for something, but it had better come with a lot of stuff I can actually use.

guess we better keep 'em away from that site named after a souped-up ocean-going creature..;) I remember the $99 basketball..what's a real one cost..about $10?..;)

In fact, the trend that I've seen as most noticeable around here is that the MP has far fewer new items every day than it used to some months ago.
Is the market getting saturated?

I've noted that phenomenon, too.

Not sure the reasons.

And, yes, I've noted some "cheapo" stuff being sold. Alongside some other consistently excellent items.

You may have also noticed that the MP now takes 50% of sales and only allows three items until sales reach $300. This may be having an effect on pricing (I can't vouch for quality, though).

Did they mark down the basketball to only $99? The last time I checked, it was $229.95.

Well.....was the basketball signed (personally) by Michael Jordan? Or Larry Byrd? If so, it might be a steal at $229.95.

Or perhaps the basketball has been encrusted with virtual jewels......or dipped in digital gold.

Well...I'll chime in here because in a week only one person bought my hair. This tells me that it sucks. So, I can take this thread as something directed at a body of people that includes me. I used to make stuff and give it away for free. All I can say is that unless you have your own web page with unlimited bandwidth, trying to provide freestuff is a gigantic pain in the ass. If you put something in the marketplace, it is reliably hosted. That was motivation number one for going marketplace with the hair. As for the price, I decided on $8 because 2.50 just doesn't really add up to anything at the end of the day. That aside, the hair is functional. I personally use it as a base for post-work. I'm not the kind of guy that is going to paint hair from scratch. Is it worth $8? That's up to the buyer. With only one person buying it, I suppose "Not really" is the answer. However, this limits people from grabbing it (Ie Freestuff) who have no intention of ever using it and wasting folks bandwidth. If you don't like what's in the marketplace, just wait a day or so, and there'll be a whole new page to look at. If the person who bought the product enjoys it and feels it's a fair price, great. I'd rather do that then giving it to six billion people who never use it. -WTB

First, the market is becoming saturated. How many loincloths or wizard robes do we need? How many goatee face textures or voluptuous morph sets? I don't need another bar scene. Second, we're becoming jaded and more demanding. When I started in Poser a couple of years ago, and I bought any piece of male clothing, and a lot of female clothing I could find. There wasn't much to choose from, and every little bit helped. Now I want good quality. I won't even consider anything that doesn't have a good promo pic of the product (sorry William, your hair may be great, but I can't tell from the promo pics). I want morphs. I want it to fit as many characters as I can get. The GAF set by Dodger at Daz is great for that. Third, the trend seems to be "Themes". That's nice, I guess. But how many themes can we go through before we start repeating. How about a casual clothing or formal clothing theme? How about everyday clothing variations? It took me almost 2 years of constant begging until I finally got a pair of white Y-front style underwear for a male figure. The brokers sometimes don't hear what we tell them (I'm guilty of it too). Fourth, with more and more people getting past the Poser learning curve, they want to start creating clothing and scenes and textures and props themselves, and making a little money to pay for all the stuff they've bought. A lot of these hopefuls are big on hope and short on experience and talent. They put some VERY simple stuff up for sale. If I see one more cross for Jesus to hang on for Good Friday, I'm going to go to the Passion and root for the Romans. A cross is two boxes stretched. Why would anyone pay good money for one? This kind of stuff can fill the MP and make it harder to notice a good item (again, William, I didn't even see your hair in the MP until I read your thread). However, that said, there are some great new products once in a while. The great brokers still turn out great work. Quim's still releaseing textures. Wushumah still makes clothing. Dodger does a little bit of everything. LQ still has some very nice pose packs. Lady Littlefox continues her character sets. I could go on and on. But, they release slowly to make sure the quality is superb. They take their time to produce the very best. After all, they aren't supermen like Steve Shanks (how in God's green earth does he make so much so fast?). Whew...

I could be wrong, WTB, but I don't think people were referring to you. My own personal take on hair, for instance, I have so many by many of the "greats", it would be hard for me to buy any additional hair (i.e., it's a tough niche to be in). I really think they may be referring to (at least one person I noticed) a guy who makes some nice stuff but is asking 3 to 4 times what the going/prevailing prices are. I've often wondered if he is getting many sales. I mean, (approximately) $50 for a sword (or two) is too much in my opinon.

Sorry WTB your hair didn't even come to mind, wasn't referring to you. And $8 for hair is not what I'm talking about. Anything can be put up for sale but what I'm talking about is price. If you have something that you have made and feel like it will sell, then go for it. But please, look at what other merchants are charging. I see textures that are pitiful selling for $20 next to textures that make your jaw drop that are selling for $5 to $10. This is not pointed at anyone in particular, just an observation. Like when the pictures were selling for over $200 in the marketplace, wonder how many of those actually sold here. I started this thread because I was wondering if I am just too cheap or if anyone else has noticed and apparently they have. Marque

I was referring to another site entirely, I don't pick on the home folks..;)

Don't worry, I wasn't offended or defensive or anything :) -WTB

I'm getting burned out on V3 characters.

Mind you, I still buy them. But I am much more selective, quality-wise, than I used to be.

As for hair -- really good hair is tough to come by.

I've complained about this before: I wish that more "ordinary" hairstyles would find their way to the market. I.E. - the type of hair, both male and female, that one would be likely to see in a modern office setting, or at the corner grocery store.

We've got tons of "fantasy" and "pin-up" hairstyles. I, for one, would appreciate some more realistic hair.

And I wouldn't mind having WTB's SMG char (as long as we mentioned characters)! My wife is the HUGEST Buffy fan (yes, William, I'm sure she is more fanatical than you)! For instance: We saw James Marsters at Dragon*Con; She has every Buffy season released; All the script books; Music albums; About 1,000 collector cards (in sleeves and binders of course); Jewelry; A few posters; and color photos. (I'm sure I missed something) Of course, I understand such a character morph would be for personal use only but what a coup for me to get it for her! (OK, I'm done...smiles)

I must confess to rarely seeing the MP here, since I broker through DAZ. However, I have noticed a trend in the threads here at Rosity. There have always been posts from people who would like to become merchants, but lately it seems to me that their expectations are a bit unrealistic. I usually answer these threads and try to give helpful advice wherever possible, but I get the distinct impression lately that a lot of people want to make money, but have no idea what they want to build, far less what's actually involved in modelling and selling. The Poser market may be filled, but I don't agree that it's saturated. There will always be room for new, innovative products at a good price. I'm just getting the feeling that very few people know what to sell now. I can still remember several items at DAZ (before they re-organised the store) which made my jaw drop in disbelief at the prices people had the nerve to ask. But of course, whether they ever sold any or not, is another matter. Pricing is a very difficult aspect of brokering, but the bottom line is that prices are dictated by the market, NOT by the broker. At least, if you ever want to sell anything. I don't charge by the amount of time or work I do, but by what I think people will reasonably be willing to pay (and feel that they got a good deal). But as a rough guide, I spend an average of 3 - 4 months on a pack which generally contains 10 - 12 figures, plus MATs, textures, etc, (usually around 20 megs zipped), and they sell for $15 - $18. 45% of which comes to me. One more aspect of pricing that people tend to forget is the long term effect of prices. Do you want your product to be an overnight sensation and sell while it's hot? Or would you rather have it still selling in 3 or 4 years time? I'm in the second boat. mac

One way to find out how your attitude towards new products has changed is to take a look at the stuff you bought some time ago. Like in 2001 or something, if you were around here then. Look at the contents and the price and then look at your attitude towards new products and what you expect from them. I have in my purchasing history stuff for say $30 that I wouldn't even buy today for $5..... lol :] Fish

Yup people need to realize it's not like baking cookies, you don't have to keep baking the product to sell it when it's virtual. Once it's done it's done for good unless you find reason to update it. Sell reasonable and you sell more. Marque

I agree on the hi-pricing structure on certain items...just too costly for the average user who requires the purchase of more than one item at any given time. Of course, as pointed out a lot of this has to do with the profit margin needed to make it worthwhile. The watchword here is competitive shopping. I have seen instances where a lot of items are available at other sites at lower cost than the Renderosity store...due to other sites allowing the merchant to keep a bigger cut of the profit. A few merchants in the past have even discovered selling at their own site has helped pay the extra bandwidth and still give them a marginal profit. [Probably this is in regard to unique items of a specific nature, and not items that the market is already flooded with...i.e., loin cloths, etc.]