To Copy or Not to Copy

That is the current million I'z question for Inworldz creators. The following post is based on Inworldz issues and personal opinion. It is not meant to tell another creator how to run their business or price their products. I feel that's important to state and important for readers to remember; as often, a personal opinion is turned, by others, into suddenly telling them how to run their business. It's meant as a thinking post, please take it as such.

As a past consumer on the Papa Grid, I often bought non-copy items. Rare was it that items were lost: either on rez in my parcel or through inventory loss. Yes, it did happen, and sometimes, for others, it was catastrophic. But it is a rare occurrence over all, which made buying non-copy items a low risk factor. Sometimes price played into a part, sometimes it didn't. Most often it was items that could be given to another once I was done with them. Sometimes they were what I referred to as 'collector's' items and a one time buy that would only need to be rez'd once to complete a set for landscaping, or worn once for a special theme I was trying to accomplish.

For Inworldz, I have a completely different outlook on how I purchase my items. Inworldz is a beta sim based on the OS environment with new coding going into effect with each new release. What does this mean over all? Basically, that it can be unstable at times.

As a creator who isn't always in world to replace products immediately if broken due to a new bug (or an old one that was not discovered at first release), it is important for me to make sure that my clients receive the best customer service that I can offer them. For me, that means making sure my items allow for copies. Otherwise, they may have to wait a day or two for me to get in world and replace their item. With an item that they bought as copy, if it borks for any reason, they can attempt to 'fix' it themselves and replace the old with a new copy. If that doesn't do the trick, then something went majorly wrong. At that point, the IW dev's need to be contacted because now it involves their inventory and not just a 'sim bug.'

However, not every creator feels the same, and many do offer non-copy items. Most have excellent customer service and either do not mind or resign themselves to the task of replacing items at the whim of the grid. That is their right to do so but as a consumer, it's hard for me to buy non-copy items unless it's a 'collectors item' and I have past experience with the creator to know their customer service is above standards. Especially if I am purchasing a single item at a high cost of I'z. If I don't know the reputation of the creator, then I have no idea if they are going to replace the item if it is lost on rez or through a grid glitch. I have also seen occasional "not responsible for grid glitches" signs. Which is a complete turn off from purchasing anything by that particular creator.

I often feel that when setting an item, especially items that people place onto their properties, as non-copy...I am being price gouged, with a few exceptions. If I want more then one copy or more copies then the pack allows, I have to purchase the product again, at cost. Yes, real world stores work this way as well. If I buy a plant, I can't just rez a new one from my inventory in the real world. I understand that. However, I also don't advertise your plant for you with grower information. Not unless someone asks anyway. This is where real world and virtual world differ. Wandering a grid and coming across your item on my parcel, with a simple right click/edit, anyone can see who the creator is and go to purchase their own. I take that into consideration when purchasing no-copy items. If they are expensive and not 'unique' (i.e. something similar can be bought through another store at a lower cost and/or with copy permissions) I generally won't purchase. That is based on my own theory of cost versus value. What cost am I promoting to grid wanders versus the value they receive for the item? If it's not a unique item and it's not copy, there isn't much value in purchasing it. I can get similar elsewhere for less and that gives it value.

The question asked, to copy or not to copy, has not been answered. Each creator must make that choice for themselves. They must base it on how much customer service they are willing and have time to offer, and whether or not their item is unique enough to have value based on non-copy and cost. It's a hard decision and one creators deal with on an on-going basis.