This is an intresting thread and I wonder how Renderosity would feel about posting sales figures for everyone to see?

Anyway, there are so many factors that influence sales that it's impossible to just say "make a good product and it'll sell".

How do you know you've made s a good product? Sure, it may be technically good and have a lot of features or moving parts, but what you think is good may not "click" with the market.

Look at the best-selling products here to see what's selling the best (duh). Can you make products like that? And even if you can, will you (as a new merchant) be able to compete with the top-sellers who have been doing this for years and who have built up a reputation?

And that's the next issue: how do you, as a new merchant, market yourself and build up a reputation? You can't just make a model, upload it for sale, and expect it to make $2,000 for you.

As other people have said, you need to do your research. If you think you have the greatest idea in the world, look through the marketplace to see if anyone else has made one. If there is one already, can you make a better model? Will your model include more features or more textures?

What about your pricing? Will you try to sell low to get more sales? Or do you think your product is the best in the world and you'll charge $50 for it, even though no one will pay $50 for a Poser model?

Do you have the patience to survive the "low times", when your "best product ever" barely sales 2 copies in a month? What happens when you spend the next two months making another great product and it also only sells 2 copies? Again, the product may be great, but if you don't have any marketing, or a reputation, or previous customers, then you won't get any sales.

Yes, there are some people who make thousands of dollars a month, but there are also hundreds (or thousands) of merchants who barely make any money. Basically, your chance of making a lot of money is roughly the same as a high school kid becoming a professional athlete: sure, there are plenty of people who do it, but it takes a lot of talent, practice, and hard work.

This issue comes up every few months, so I suggest searching through the Renderosity forums for more ideas.

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