What Makes You LM a Store?

[LyricaBlues Resident]

The hunt was a wonderful experience because as i wandered around all the wonderful sims I discovered on the BDay Kitty Hunt, I found myself buying kitties and LM'ing some stores even if I didnt buy something That day. But more importantly, I was able to define Kitty Shopping Consumer self. Now I wonder how many of us do the same thing or are compelled to LM a place based on the same criterion. Here are mine:

1. If i see the floating text is all overwhelming and muddled, I just pass it by before it gives me a headache.

2. If I see alot of "rare" claims on kitties that have not been around long enough to have earned the same titles as the time proven Rares, I dont walk - I Run from them because I would never feel like I will get a fair price on anything and I do not like to feed a false "rares" market.

So, what is a Fair Price? I does vary. However, there should never be a variance for the same kitty selling from 800L to 10K or more for alleged rares I have sitting in inventory in quadrupicate LOL. Shop! Look Around...In SL, Impulse Buying can be as foolish as in RL and Sellers will charge as much as Buyers will pay. (As Many store owners can attest, when I do find a store that makes it possible for them and for me to enjoy playing with KittyCats, I always send a Thank You note recognzing them if they are not at the store!)

What makes You LM a store? And when you find a store that has good quality kitties at a fair price, be sure to drop the store owner a note to Thank them for helping make this "virtual sport" enjoyable for All Who Love Kitties!

[TabithaWest Resident]

I won't lie, for me a bit part of it is pricing and what seems fair - I won't buy from anyone who really gouges people that don't know any better and always check around myself when I'm unsure of a price.

That said, the biggest element for me is the seller - are they someone I can talk to? Are they kind? Fun? Have I seen them around at auctions and events? I'm a lot more likely to buy from someone I've seen before even if I've never spoken to them before because they usually have very strong breeding skills and are personable.

The rest of it is all really secondary, floaty text doesn't bug me and the look of their shop while appealing doesn't really alter my decision to buy there.

[Ivy Norsk]

I don't mind floaty text - if you move closer to the boxes, it all becomes clear. One of my favorite shops has floaty text in addition to a nice selection of whiskers.

What I do mind is decor that overshadows the cats. Florescent pillars, over-saturated colors, giant signs using non-SL graphics, and sometimes bad lighting actually make it harder to notice the kitty boxes. Kitsch is distracting. The kitty boxes themselves, I would add, are nicely subdued to make the cats themselves shine. The stores should always be the same way.

[Malayaa Resident]

Hi, I am both a "frequent kitty shopper" and a kitty seller. It can be really hard to strike a balance between giving kitty lovers a lot of choices (many lives and boxes), and keeping the store display attractive and uncluttered. And sometimes when there is an overwhelming amount of text displayed with the boxes close together, my brain kind of shuts down. However I also like the convenience of being able to see at a glance what traits are in a box without a lot of extra clicking! So I do put text above most boxes. I've often fantasized about how cool it would be if there was like a virtual "flip kiosk", where you could go to, say, a "Russian White" kiosk and then push a button to flip through the box images and the traits on the screen displayed with price (and pedigree link for further digging), and buy that exact box from screen if desired. Too bad I don't know how to program, or even if such a concept is technically possible

When I shop for something specific, I often do an area search in Firestorm with a phrase like "soft curl" then, if the live and boxes have been named to mention that trait, I can home in on stores with the results. This works really well for boxes, but misses a lot of live cats because of their cute names! So when I remember, I try to name my kitties for sale and include their most special trait, like "Sir Galahad - Chocolate Dreamy Whiskers"! ha ha wishful thinking here

[GhostCollective Resident]

(02-15-2014 10:05 AM)Malayaa Resident Wrote:  When I shop for something specific, I often do an area search in Firestorm with a phrase like "soft curl" then, if the live and boxes have been named to mention that trait, I can home in on stores with the results. This works really well for boxes, but misses a lot of live cats because of their cute names! So when I remember, I try to name my kitties for sale and include their most special trait, like "Sir Galahad - Chocolate Dreamy Whiskers"! ha ha wishful thinking here

I do that too and so it can be disappointing when the boxes all say "new born kitten" because it is hard to tell if the seller just didn't have time to name them (which for owners of large catteries can happen easily) or is something else stopping them from naming them with at least a few traits. I believe if more sellers did this then it would be easier to bring the seller and buyer together. Just my two cents. Happy Shopping

[Kayleigh McMillan]

I seldom LM stores I prefer to browse the market and block hovers and other stuffs in my mind but just click kitties/ boxed and look in pedigrees instead.
I've noticed the least appealing shops may just have what I need for the price I want to pay for it.

[LyricaBlues Resident]

Yes! Dont you wish there were such a kiosk. I have wished for that and a pedigree program like I used when I raised showdogs RL. With that program I could see at a glance the compatability between different dogs when choosing sire and dam. I also used a sort of split flip book what let me choose the top and bottom sides (sire and dam) of a pedigree to see what each would bring to the genetic stew, so to speak.

And I dont mind the extra clicking. In fact, I much prefer the wonderful sellers who include the pedigree available to see. Knowing about the parents is good, but I like to know more when possible and that often influences my choices. It also reduces the need for extra text so that more kittys can be in a store without looking like an alphabet explosion LOL

(02-15-2014 10:05 AM)Malayaa Resident Wrote:  Hi, I am both a "frequent kitty shopper" and a kitty seller. It can be really hard to strike a balance between giving kitty lovers a lot of choices (many lives and boxes), and keeping the store display attractive and uncluttered. And sometimes when there is an overwhelming amount of text displayed with the boxes close together, my brain kind of shuts down. However I also like the convenience of being able to see at a glance what traits are in a box without a lot of extra clicking! So I do put text above most boxes. I've often fantasized about how cool it would be if there was like a virtual "flip kiosk", where you could go to, say, a "Russian White" kiosk and then push a button to flip through the box images and the traits on the screen displayed with price (and pedigree link for further digging), and buy that exact box from screen if desired. Too bad I don't know how to program, or even if such a concept is technically possible

When I shop for something specific, I often do an area search in Firestorm with a phrase like "soft curl" then, if the live and boxes have been named to mention that trait, I can home in on stores with the results. This works really well for boxes, but misses a lot of live cats because of their cute names! So when I remember, I try to name my kitties for sale and include their most special trait, like "Sir Galahad - Chocolate Dreamy Whiskers"! ha ha wishful thinking here

---

I do area searches for what I am looking for, usually by fur name then I touch from the search window for more info...sometimes I even buy then pick up after if I am really excited about what I found! This is usually when the pedigree link is included in the info...I love that! The other night a few friends thought I had walked my bengal mega to death when i was "distance" shopping and letting my fingers do the walking...there I stood motionless as he was passed out at my feet for 20 min or more LOL

(02-15-2014 11:01 AM)Tatiana Cheng Wrote:  

(02-15-2014 10:05 AM)Malayaa Resident Wrote:  When I shop for something specific, I often do an area search in Firestorm with a phrase like "soft curl" then, if the live and boxes have been named to mention that trait, I can home in on stores with the results. This works really well for boxes, but misses a lot of live cats because of their cute names! So when I remember, I try to name my kitties for sale and include their most special trait, like "Sir Galahad - Chocolate Dreamy Whiskers"! ha ha wishful thinking here

I do that too and so it can be disappointing when the boxes all say "new born kitten" because it is hard to tell if the seller just didn't have time to name them (which for owners of large catteries can happen easily) or is something else stopping them from naming them with at least a few traits. I believe if more sellers did this then it would be easier to bring the seller and buyer together. Just my two cents. Happy Shopping

[TabithaWest Resident]

(02-15-2014 11:01 AM)Tatiana Cheng Wrote:  

(02-15-2014 10:05 AM)Malayaa Resident Wrote:  When I shop for something specific, I often do an area search in Firestorm with a phrase like "soft curl" then, if the live and boxes have been named to mention that trait, I can home in on stores with the results. This works really well for boxes, but misses a lot of live cats because of their cute names! So when I remember, I try to name my kitties for sale and include their most special trait, like "Sir Galahad - Chocolate Dreamy Whiskers"! ha ha wishful thinking here

I do that too and so it can be disappointing when the boxes all say "new born kitten" because it is hard to tell if the seller just didn't have time to name them (which for owners of large catteries can happen easily) or is something else stopping them from naming them with at least a few traits. I believe if more sellers did this then it would be easier to bring the seller and buyer together. Just my two cents. Happy Shopping

And now I have to go fix my kiosks to do this.

[MiuKitten Resident]

The kind of shops I LM...

1. Shops that sell lives! OMG, lives! I am terribly impatient and it's almost impossible for me to buy kitten boxes because I can't stand waiting fourteen days for the breeding. So, I tend to frequent shops that I know sell lives and bypass those which are solely boxes. I know boxed kittens are just as great, and as a seller myself I know it's difficult to open a lot of cats you'll be stuck feeding if no one buys, but lives always catch my eye, as do high love cats. I am a huge fan of Noia's shop in TA, it is my go-to place because all or most of the cats are lives which I can snap up and put to work right away.

2. Shops run by well-known people. I'm not well-known under this name but used to breed under my now-alt, so I know of most of the people who've been in KittyCatS! from the beginning. I will always head there first. That does not mean I won't shop at a newbie's store! If I see someone around in the cat community once in a while, going to an auction or shopping, I will usually remember their name and when they advertise something I will check it out. I find that people who are active know more about the cats, breed better cats and are knowledgable about prices, plus I like supporting their passion and interest. Also if anyone chats with me and recommends their shop I will visit it, even if I have never heard of them before and they started kitties last week. I am terrible shy by nature but like the sense of community. Happy, friendly people are fun to support.

3. Shops that circulate and stay stocked. I'm not a fan of empty shops and usually pass them by thinking they have nothing of interest, which is probably a mistake - perhaps they hide a snowshow cream they priced for L$100 in that deserted corner?? I really like to see shops that have a lot of turn-over or who rotate their stock. If I was there last month and the same cats are still out with nothing new or tempting, I will probably keep walking.

4. Shops with clear and honest labels on the cats and market-fair prices. In short, I buy from people I think are going to be good for the cat community and who are going to be around for a long time for me to revisit.

The kinds of shops I do not LM...

1. Shops that are really cluttered and disorganised. I usually glance over the stock before zooming in on some favourites, so if I can't tell what's going on, I can't shop there. I love decor and I realise many sellers may be renting land they can't restart so it isn't their fault if I lag, but some places are too chaotic and I can't load anything, sometimes cannot even see the cats from all the decor.

2. Fire sales, starving cats. It's tempting to buy the L$50 cat but I already know it won't do much good for my cattery, so I don't stop by. I used to buy hungry cats out of pity but really don't do that much anymore. I don't want to feel disappointed about money spent on cats, I want loveable, wonderful, well-loved kitties from good homes that go to a good home with me. If the place has a few hungry cats I will usually IM the owner and let them know, and if it seems like a mistake (almost always) I'll continue to shop there, but if that's the way they do business it doesn't work for me. Oh yes, and I don't shop at places where the cats are named mean things. I once saw a shop where all the cats names were insults. I'm a bleeding heart.

3. Places where the cats seem to be mis-labelled for the purpose of misleading buyers. We really can't guarantee what a cat has hidden, sometimes you breed your third generation "pure" Ody Rainbow and get Ody Bellini, but if I see a cat being advertised to hold a trait that based on the pedigree it doesn't have a ghost of a chance of hiding, I am not going to buy it. If I see a lot of cats like that, I don't go back to that shop. I'm perfectly fine with someone saying "hidden" when they mean "a decent chance of hiding" but if I don't see any trace of the trait in their pedigree, I am going to be sceptical and expect to see a pedigree to prove it. I also tend to avoid places that label impossible hides like "Ody Bellini hiding Tapestry Harvest!"