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Full Version: Time is money, friend
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Yes, it's a WoWism lol.

I was just pondering something. One of my favorite things to do on nights like this when insomnia strikes used to be wandering the cat markets. I don't do that much anymore. I find it more frustrating than enjoyable lately. Several reasons for this I think. One is the group joiners. I have good internet but maybe not the the best computer, so in the big markets, I am laggy at best. Those auto group joiner things can easily crash me or freeze me then crash me lol. And they seem to be placed in areas that one must cross, so hard to avoid getting hit by them. I wish that the markets would place easily visible signs by bid boards etc to join their respective groups and leave it at that.

Another thing I've found frustrating is seeing a ton of boxes all close together with all their floating text on. Even if just the name is on, if they are all jammed together, it's impossible to read and you gotta click the box anyway, so what's the point there?

I do still enjoy seeing what some folks do with their little shops. I have seen really clever displays and they always make me smile. But the markets as a whole, remind me a little of Walmart and it kinda scares me.

What I see most often, is people TP in to a certain shop, responding to spam sometimes, or visiting a favortie seller. Look, maybe buy..then TP out. And honestly, that is what I find myself doing now as well. I stood tonight in the center, kinda..of a large market and spun and it all looked the same..nothing stood out, nothing called to me to come closer.

Maybe it's just me. I am admittedly a bit left of center. So I thought I'd ask you all what your cat shopping preferences are..do you browse, bid board, auction, or just deal directly with specific people when you want to buy a cat?

And selling too..how do you prefer to sell? What kind of things do you think help you to stand out? How many cats/boxes do you display at one time usually, and how often do you rotate them..only as they sell or do you change them out on a certain schedule?

If a new breeder with a bunch of ok but not all that and a bag of nip cats came to you and asked you where and how much to sell those cats for, what would you tell them? I must say it worries me some when I see some carts and shops loaded up with either overpriced or ridiculously cheap mostly gen kitties. I worry that there is a new breeder who will become discouraged and quit before they really even get going. Yet, because there is kind of a stigma about talking openly about what a cat is actually worth, they themselves have to do a lot of detective work to find out.

Well, enough of my sleep deprived ramblings. Time is, after all, money.

Peace,
Noc
Firstly: WoWism = love! All I can hear is the little goblin NPC before Cataclysm changed their voices screeching "Time is money, friend!" Yes, I loved me some WoW.

I agree, it's very hard to window shop when people just clump boxes in the same order side by side with the same floating text, I think going the extra mile to scatter the boxes or putting them in an interesting order goes a long way. It's gotten out of hand with smaller spaces of course, as space is limited and boxes must overflow from the cart or tiny kiosk. I'd really never peruse those small spaces unless I did an Area Search and that box fit what I was seeking, even then it'd be a frustrating event attempting to find the box in the huge pile of boxes already there.

I do enjoy auctions because it's fun to interact with the community (and if you're a new to fairly new breeder, it's the best and fastest way to learn, in my opinion, you can never stop learning even if a seasoned breeder), and actively participate amongst others however window shopping can be fun too if it looks like love was put into the kiosk in question, much like I complimented Kendrah's post highlighting some of the creative cottages at Adorable made with love that makes it interesting for shoppers to actually look around. I don't like feeling as though I'm walking into a garage sale of cats (and yes, there are a lot of these garage sale-looking kiosks of low prim kitties with no names and just rotting away breeding with whatever cat is nearby, with the owner putting a price on the random new box and leaving it at that - but hey, it's their choice), I want to feel like I'm walking into unique shops with cats that reflect the breeder's tastes and a decoration aesthetic that's unique to them, to me personally it's hard to justify purchasing a kitty if it looks like the seller is just trying to cash out, I think that's why the decorated panels required at auctions really make me frequent at so many of them. It really does get boring quickly to window shop if people don't want to put that extra love into what they do, albeit it may be time-consuming or cost a bit of pocket change, but I think it's worth the investment.

In my own cottage, I prefer to have a line-up of five live kitties at a time and a few boxes scattered inside my cottage, I really don't want to think of my cottage as the KittyCats Wal-Mart and all those live kitties aren't going to find new, loving homes over night so I don't find a reason to mass open boxes for the sake of looking like I have a massive, populated shop to the masses. I think having less stock makes the shop look cleaner and more open too, which is always a plus on some of the overcrowded sims.

Overall, I wish more new breeders would come to seasoned breeders and seek advice, I think they'd feel a lot more involved in the community and not get so discouraged as I've seen recently with the events of mass fire sales "closing my shop, come get your fire sale kitty!" With KittyCats expanding in population and the wide array of sims people are loyal to expanding, it's hard to see who is actually new and who isn't, but it'd be awesome if one sim sponsored a peer-mentor type program. I know there's plenty of breeding classes going on but perhaps the instructor of a breeding class could explain the importance of making a shop looking clean or aesthetically appealing as it may turn off a buyer from even stepping into your messy shop of hover text spam and the class instructor also pair up a new breeder with someone more seasoned and really get a feel for KittyCats while creating ties within the community more so.

I know Sanura had a Valentine auction which allowed you to bid on the kitty and the breeder's time, allowing the winner of that panel to view the cattery in question, and something like that would be really awesome for new breeders while getting advice about anything on their mind. I sure wish I had that when beginning KittyCats and only had my real-life friends getting involved in KittyCats at the same time as me to exchange any information with including our newfound KittyCats love, whereas I know plenty of others don't have that kind of encouragement. I think that for sure would strengthen our community bond which in turn results in people not being discouraged from KittyCats in terms of the secondary market. Smile

* I have a problem writing on the long side so I apologize. It's a notorious issue but I think in a forum about a hobby we all enjoy, people won't mind reading a little bit more about KittyCats even if I respond in novel form every time. Wink Sorry!

Just my thoughts on everything you mentioned in your post as I hope the KittyCats community continues to grow and strengthen.

Hugs,
Deer
Totally agree with Deer. When I am on a search for cat I usually already know what I am looking for, depending on my goal, and I usually look in generally the same area. Also, I tend to buy directly from people, just cause I know they have some of the best kitties with great breeding lines. I refuse to buy from stands that are too crowded, it's just a pain to search through. I usually tend to buy more of the pricier cats as well because I figure they contain the best background. Totally up to you and your personal preference though.

Just a thought.

Sissy.
I love to wander markets and click boxes and sometimes I see this little gems with an awsome background while I click them.
I wonder sometimes if the seller knows the potential because they often go for a very low price.
In general I like clicking boxes because it is educational.
To find out how others value kitties with certain shown or hidden traits etc. and I'm a pedigree junk.
I find it fascinating to read these so if one cares to pull up a pedigree sign this makes me very happy and I can spend hours box clicking and reading pedigrees.
Lately I see some markets empty and not as vibrant as it used to be and I find this a sad view and I must have a very good mood to wander around on these markets because I think they are depressing.
But if I'm in a "box click mood" I just ignore everything else and hunt for my ingredients.
When it comes to displaying cats in my own store I prefer to set a few boxes for sale with a pedigree sign and not a massive amount simply because I think to most it is discouraging to even go through all these boxes.
When the market is somewhat slower I keep my kitties boxed while when it is more vibrant I display them or a combination of both.
Voice auctions I don't like as much it is a long sit and I'm too restless to sit very long and listen although I attend them every so often.
And when a nice bid war is going on I find that exciting and I hear this back in the enthousiasm of the auctioneer which makes the time go faster as there is a good admosphere.
(04-18-2012 05:41 AM)Nocshadue Balbozar Wrote: [ -> ]One is the group joiners. I have good internet but maybe not the the best computer, so in the big markets, I am laggy at best. Those auto group joiner things can easily crash me or freeze me then crash me lol. And they seem to be placed in areas that one must cross, so hard to avoid getting hit by them. I wish that the markets would place easily visible signs by bid boards etc to join their respective groups and leave it at that.
This X1000.

If I'm in a particular market, there's a good chance (OK, there's almost a 100 percent chance) that I'm already part of the dang group. I think there are only one or two I haven't signed up for (and I'm getting around to it Smile ).

Just recently, I got "froze" in a spot in one of the markets and bombarded by group join requests. While dealing with them, I accidentally rejected a notecard from someone (whom I had just asked for information from!) It was embarrassing to have to ask for it again. Muting the bot that sends out the requests SHOULD have stopped them, but in fact makes ABSOLUTELY no difference.
usually when I go to a market, I know what I want. I need a boy for that girl. or I'm looking for a particular fur. I try to walk around the whole market. I love seeing what's out. seeing a fur "in person" as pictures don't always do it justice.

a huge bunch of boxes with all the hover text on is very hard. have to zoom the camera close & skew it to read what's there. if I see that, I usually walk on by rather than get a head ache trying to read it.

I use Phoenix. I know in Viewer 3 when you click a box, the info comes up in local chat. in Phoenix, you have to open chat to see what's there (if there is a way to make it come up in local chat would someone tell me). so if there is no hover text on the box, I'll hover over it. it's great if the owner has named the box (with at least the fur). but most times, there's nothing but new kitten box (or what ever the default is). so again, if there is a bunch like that, I walk on by. please name the box. Smile

I'm not a seller (I suck at selling - anything). I'd much rather give kitties to people who will enjoy them.
(04-19-2012 02:00 PM)Sena Nansen Wrote: [ -> ]
I use Phoenix. I know in Viewer 3 when you click a box, the info comes up in local chat. in Phoenix, you have to open chat to see what's there (if there is a way to make it come up in local chat would someone tell me).
.

I use phoenix and mine shows in local when i click a box belonging to someone else. If my local chat window isn't up, I see it over top of my normal interface, just as if it came in as an IM. If you need help comparing settings, feel free to IM me in-world.

Liri
Thank you everyone for taking time to reply. I think some kind of mentoring program is a great idea!!! I would be willing to buddy up with a new breeder to share what I've learned. I think unless you have a friend already breeding, it's easy to get lost and not be sure what groups can get you any help. I've seen a lot of new people asking for help and advice in like market groups and whatnot and their requests are usually unheard and eaten by spam. And many people who wander into a market, see a kitty and think "oh this is so cute, I'll buy one" soon get a wake up call when the cat gets hungry etc. Maybe if we put our heads together we can improve things and help prevent that. Again, thanks for taking time to read and reply Smile
(04-19-2012 09:40 AM)Karen Veriander Wrote: [ -> ]
(04-18-2012 05:41 AM)Nocshadue Balbozar Wrote: [ -> ]One is the group joiners. I have good internet but maybe not the the best computer, so in the big markets, I am laggy at best. Those auto group joiner things can easily crash me or freeze me then crash me lol. And they seem to be placed in areas that one must cross, so hard to avoid getting hit by them. I wish that the markets would place easily visible signs by bid boards etc to join their respective groups and leave it at that.
This X1000.

If I'm in a particular market, there's a good chance (OK, there's almost a 100 percent chance) that I'm already part of the dang group. I think there are only one or two I haven't signed up for (and I'm getting around to it Smile ).

Just recently, I got "froze" in a spot in one of the markets and bombarded by group join requests. While dealing with them, I accidentally rejected a notecard from someone (whom I had just asked for information from!) It was embarrassing to have to ask for it again. Muting the bot that sends out the requests SHOULD have stopped them, but in fact makes ABSOLUTELY no difference.

I am in most of them as well, and even with my tag active, I still get spammed repeatedly. At some places, makes looking at bid boards or love shacks really hard for me Undecided
What a great idea Karen! Yes I also thinks it is VERY annoying to be hit by the groupjoiners all the time. I am already member and still it hits me every other minute. Sad Muting the bot maybe does not help but you gave me a great idea to still receive groupnotices without receiving the hourly spam by the multiple bots. Sometimes these bots are wrongly prgrammed and they spam for an auction that is already finished! lol. I turned off receiving notices from various groups, but maybe now I can turn it on again and just mute the bots! Hope it helps, cause I like to receive the notices of breeders or other important messages.
I agree I dislike pushy/ spam type of groupjoiners.
It comes across shabby and demanding as well.
I'm perfectly capable of clicking a well placed sign to join a group if I want to and good markets who do well don't need that.
Also on my older computer before I purchased my current it instantly crashed me so it is unfriendly as well.
Because the question is the people with computers which trigger this and crash time and time again, will they try to come back or leave that market alone in the future?
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