New traits - blessing or curse?

[Malicia Python]

Hi, I am interested about what you all think about the new traits on the kitties.
My 2cents: as a breeder I am always thrilled about everything new, but my joy has been overshadowed recently.

Every time new traits are on the market it is merely impossible to sell other cats for their value (in L$ and work) meaning the ones that werent lucky and got one of the first specimen, that usually sell for obscene amounts, are having a hard time to keep up their cattery until things level out again.

That's the market, so far, so good? What makes me really cringe is the thought that this happens every 2 months. (RFL, new starters, Halloween cats and now maybe the xmas ones)

One of my ween cats hasnt even reveiled his hidden fur and the next wave is announced. Isn't that a little fast? I mean why on earth breed a cat out when the new fur only sells for 30k the first week but a 6 traiter for 500 six weeks later? (not to mention the fire sales and promo cats for 88L that might set a benchmark, too)

IMO, it would be better not to overclock the new traits' publishing, it would help the breeders, improve the cats and make a statement about substainability.

Just my thoughts, what do you think?
Mal

[Yoko Leeeroy]

New traits do keep KittyCats fun and exciting! In small doses.

I also understand that KittyCats does not directly regulate the secondary market for their product.

But don't pee on my head and tell me it's raining. KC knows releasing that many new traits at once MURDERS the secondary cat economy and diverts most sales to KC.

Too many new traits make most of the older ones completely uninteresting for a while. We have not been being given time to recover from this before there are new ones that make the new stuff we JUST got suck.

I do play KC for fun, but I also need to pay for my fun with cat sales. I am not even technically trying to profit. I just want to cover my food and milk. I am not the only one that can't whip out a credit card and get anything i want or fill in the blanks. Instead, when I start to get in a tight the weakest links (sometimes not weak at all) become cat food.

How is that a benefit to anyone? Really? KC is getting k$ instead of L$, I'm sending my precious babies to the menagerie and have a bad taste in my mouth. Its weeks before i am able to raise # of cats so the expenditure on food and milk is reduced.

I would adore a small update to the starters or even a holiday cat with new traits available now and then. Maybe with a higher likelihood of getting the new traits in your cat? (It SUCKS finding out you have all "old" furs + ears + tails + eyes on your starter cats. It really does...) But are 2 or 3 at a time not enough? Do we REALLY need to disrupt the whole way things work and destroy the market all at once?

Of course "old" traits do come back in style after the initial influx of 15 new traits, but by that time I have sent 3 projects to the menagerie and possibly verbally abused someone.

Is this trip really necessary?

[anna Acanthus]

Well just to say i'm here on this .
Not much to add, but sure there seems to be traits arriving since the new traits in the summer which took a while to show and now more with the halloweens ...

So ok it's fine for those who can afford to grab 20 pairs and/or buy the new arrivals and then dump when a new lot comes along.
Too many "breeders" just buy, match traits and churn out for the market as fast and as long as they can make bucks.
But these aren't mostly the people who really take the time and care to breed out all these traits, excepting Thunder maybe and certain who have now left the kitty cats game.

In fact i'm realizing more and more that there are few who really know how to breed efficiently and it's a long haul even for them
All the time money, work and care work put into this is suddenly not worth the while
Too many traits kills the traits maybe ... or becomes stifling anyhow

[Kayleigh McMillan]

nods in agreement

[Stormrunner Laval]

I'm going to post what I posted in another topic not related to this one.

I know others won't agree with me, but IMHO Second Life time passes a lot quicker then RL time. Cats breed every 7 days - that is insane really XD.

But here is what I wrote:

Unfortunately KittyCats has no say on the price changes - it is lead by the customer market. Prices drop because new coats etc come out and also because the market becomes flooded with the previous coats.

Say like the Pink and White Chateau - It was very rare but was from RFL Season of Hope cats. That was months ago. The influx of these RFL traited cats is more what dropped the price then the new Halloween Cats and the update.

Breeders want to breed the new coats, the old ones go to the wayside unless they have new eyes or ears etc then they get bred back into other stock.

I believe (and others may not agree) that KittyCats puts new traits on the market at the right times (after a number of months).

If they do not make the Chrismas cats give loads of new coats (considering there is still a very low quantity of the current "new" items) I think it will stay this way. When I say loads of coats I mean like the what 6+? given with the Halloween kitties. If it is one or two it isn't going to do much to the market as the newer coats are still really new and still really expensive.

[Khea Karas]

I really believe maximum 3 updates to traits per year is all that is needed. Anymore than this and it is too much. You need new traits to keep the breeders interested in the game, yes, but at the same time, too many does kill the secondary market. A careful balance is needed. Already we see that traits (Splash eyes come to mind) that were valued with the RFL release are now worthless as they are overshadowed by the new Halloween Cats. In SL time the release dates seem a fair distance apart, but in the breeding cycle of cats, its actually a very short period of time. Cat breeding cycles are very long in comparison to other breedables so therefore a larger distance between updates should be taken into consideration. If long time breeders are not given sufficient time to breed out traits, make a little money back on them, you will soon be faced with an unhappy and resentful community.

A way to achieve this may be to make the updates to the traits staggered for each trait type. For example: Update 1 might be a couple of new furs and tails, update two, eyes & ears...etc...and so on?

[Nocshadue Balbozar]

I am pretty much in agreement here. While I love finding new things, gosh I was giddy when I got the Ody Sublime eyes lol, it makes me really sad to see no one seeing the very real value in say...a 7T Snow Bengal..because it's line came from before all the 'new' stuff so it can't give you booboo ears or a chop chop tail. With that being said, people will always pay a premium price to be first on the block, I have no problem with that..but..here is what I see happening: New traits are released, people go buy holiday cats or new starters like mad, menagarie and/or fire sell their 'old' cats to make room. Breed the new ones sell anything showing a new trait..keep those breeders menagarie/fire sell the rest ..lather, rinse and repeat. Now, while that won't hurt KC, it kills the secondary market and nearly kills some long time, loyal customers.

When you look at breeding in RL...the age and strength of a 'line' is important. Here, its only what is new. And what is new is being released sooooo fast..there is no time to develop it. Splash eyes were over before they could ever take hold and become a 'thing' like rainbow prism was.

And I also have menagaried more cats lately than I ever have in the past. But I do understand the quandry. KC is kind of in a damned if ya do, damned if ya don't situation. People will complain either way. I all ask is that in deciding what new traits to release and when, you look at the long haul, and the big picture.

Peace,
Noc

[Karen Veriander]

I am a new kid on the block and still learning the ins and outs of "real" breeding. And I have to say I am impressed as heck at KC's commitment to customer support and innovation in their products. They definitely haven't stinted on the updates for existing cats, which benefit everyone.

At the same time, I have to agree with everyone else. I got into selling KittyCats to brush up my rusty marketing skills and have fun. Unfortunately, what I'm seeing is a saturated customer base that doesn't seem to be expanding. Instead, everyone is selling to each other and chasing the "latest and greatest," and the new traits are coming so fast that, as Nocshadoue points out, few traits have a chance to grab hold and become popular.

Meanwhile, there's a lot less energy going into growing the customer base for KittyCats, and this is on the secondary sellers as well. .... which is a shame, because these cats really are an excellent product in and of themselves; beautiful, well-animated and so interactive ... and affordable for just about anyone. What was the last event that really brought an influx of new customers into KittyCats? Maybe, if we had a breather from all the new traits, the KittyCats community could focus more on ways to attract new customers, educate them and get them obsessed, too Long-term, more customers equals more revenue for everyone.

[Tashi Core]

I agree that new traits are coming out too quickly too. Most of you have already spoken my thoughts. I'll just like to add that a slightly longer breathing space will allow breeders more time to enjoy the process instead of exhausting themselves keeping up or falling out of the cat race altogether. They can stay longer in the breeding market as well, which is good for both KittyCatS and the secondary market. Just my 2 cents.

[Vilandra Miles]

I agree. I would love to breed, work and make kitties perfect, but it became a race of who's getting the new stuff first the last weeks/months. For the moment we need a serious slowing down in trait releases, so we're able to breed again. Thank you!