Monday, September 30, 2013

So far...meh...

My sales update is "meh".  The weekend is usually when I get the traffic sales and there weren't the sales this weekend.  In fact, weekend traffic was way down all over.

So...I am breaking one of my rules at auction today.  Setting out a biochip pair for way cheap.  I shouldn't...I mean it cost me 50K in food and tiers expense to earn the female.  The male isn't too bad - I purchased him from someone else.  But I'm only asking for a 20k start bid.

If they sell, I know I'll regret it, but it's one of those times when you must do what you must do.  My L's are gone, so time for some planning ahead so I don't have to close up shop for awhile.

If they don't sell, that's really not a good sign at all.  And I'll have to do some thinking on my next step.  Not speculating on what that will be until the time comes.  It'll be working towards not having to close up for a few months.

When it comes to Biobreeds, I really am working on thinking in terms of what it cost me to make or buy an animal/crate when it comes to setting them out for sale.  I'm no longer in the party trying to keep the prices up to a fair amount.  People just are not interested in that for buying, nor selling.

My guide:
Base start is 150L... since it costs me 100L to make a BB animal, 150L is the absolute less I'd take in sales versus just turning it in for biochips.
Epics are priced based on their rarity, timing, unique look, passable traits, potential for future goals, and what all this is worth to me.  I've let a lot go already, actually.
Additions to the sales price is based upon:
Line - type and purity
Parents - Epic influence based on types of traits possible, if they're cool and popular, and if the trait actually passed on ...  Biochip epics demand a 300L minimum sales price on ones not showing the eyes, good offspring with eyes showing or not is 350-1500L based on what the other parent is and total number of traits.
Traits - some types will warrant higher pricing...5T and up in dogs will warrant higher price...10T ponies and exotics warrant higher price...certain combinations that appeal to me and I like to keep around may warrant higher pricing
What's it worth to me?  If the crate is something I'd like to birth and use after one is deseeded, I may mark the price up.
Coat difficulty - if the coat is hard to pass on, that adds to the price.  In exotics, Salvadors, Roys, Henris, Lavender, Puce, and Oceans are ones that come to mind right away.  I'm still pricing those at 500L, although some may come down to 350L in another few weeks.
Good deseeded breeders are priced mostly at 300L each.  That's a fair pricing for a pet in my honest opinion.  Priced a few ponies for a little less and a few very good traited ones for closer to 500L.

On the WK...it's not working out so well.  I do think I'm just playing now to save up sanctuary points.  Still trying to decide what to do, how to determine what to keep and what to let go of.  Toying with the idea of only offering the odd sized and twin sets for sale, keeping the good RFL os for myself, and letting the rest go to sanctuary.

I did figure out that although the WK cats are easy on the L's to feed, because of their breeding patterns and that you need catnip to breed them, they cost me 350L on average to make a sack.  Now, this is harder to determine because you never know if you're getting 1,2, or 3 sacks from a breeding.  But 350L for my group is the closest I can come to for an average.

Plus it is a truer estimate than BB because I factored in the cost of the parents, based on buying a starter couple.  I supposed some sacks would only cost me 250L to make because of variations in this.  But for sales I'm sticking to 350L minimum or send it to sanctuary.

I picked up my Imaginimals pair.  Tired of waiting on that update.  They've got a lot of bugs to work out yet.  I have three shells from them that will be good to use once the next update comes through.

Not sure of the bushes.  Did very well with my CannabiSL round, but "OH SO BORING!"  LOL  I doubt I'll stick with this breedable for long.




Thursday, September 26, 2013

Fun stuff...

I've been asked a few times why I didn't compete in the building contest.  Well, I did have a piece started, but it was too big and I just wasn't in the mood at the time to be confined to such a small piece.  I am working on a few buildings on the side.  I think they'll go up at my deseeded corral. I'll have one rezed out at a time and the others on a vendor board with a picture of them.

I did have a few pieces that would have fit.  I could have set them out and tweaked them.  But I'm honestly swamped right now...not sure if I'm coming or going.  Had an unplanned workday away from the house yesterday due to one kid needing something...and was just hinted that we may have to do something with the other tonight.  I'd rather stay home.  LOL I do need to dig out more jewelry for the Christmas fair table.

Eww...tried a new coffee with herbal undertones this morning and just took a sip.  Perhaps putting the chocolate/caramel creamer in it wasn't a good idea.  LOL

Had a deseeded Biobreeds patron auction this week.  Of course, it wasn't as L-lucrative as before, but I'm very happy.  Cleaned out the lives in storage.  I'm not one to "own" a line and keep it all to myself - mainly because I believe mixing in new blood helps the lines.  And I've discovered that keeping the lives forever just isn't working for me...I end up with babies to use instead.  So I'm starting a deseeded store area.

Good day yesterday with biobreeds.  Got a lavender exotic, a roy turtle exotic with st paddy's hair, and a few more chips.  I birthed the female hellish dobe and set the extra male with her at The Farm store.  I just am not selling them cheap as others are, so they may be around awhile.  When I have extra Ls I'll pick up one from someone else selling cheap to set out for resell.  Give me stock to sell and help someone with their weekly food bill.

And the tigers were really good as well.  A pair I kept for myself and was banking on came through with triplets.  Two females and a male.  Two were level fives.  I kept the level five Sumatran Jambi to go with my padang male I got last week.  The other two go into tomorrow's Camelot auction.

Auctions... think I'll have to leave tomorrow's early, which is probably going to be the norm for many.  And I hope to make it to the end of Thursday's auctions to get a spot at the Farm for Monday's.  I am out of spending money but should have visited last night's auction for moral support.  But was totally beat after 8 hours away from home, of which 3 hours was driving time.

And to be honest, being scarce for awhile may be a good thing.  I don't friend my breedable friends so I don't get "business calls" on a game, which is a game to me, and all those tp requests and so forth that people think other people want all the time for auctions to come spend money.  I'm a RL copywriter who detests being sold to.  Why my work is more informational than advertisement.

And I spent a lot this week that I'm still not caught up with, even with the patron auction.  That attracts attention, and I've gotten a lot of "hey, I just put out (breedable) that you may be interested in" IMs afterward.  I'm sorry, friends.  I appreciate you're trying to inform those who may be interested and probably giving me first chance in many cases, which I emphasize that I really do appreciate.  But that approach isn't for me.  Send spam in the ad group.  Rent a shop at Camelot or The Farm.  Those odd moments when I want to shop...I'll check those places.  Usually I just choose two or three auctions a week and just shop there though..when I have L's, which is dwindling way too fast...I could be down to just a few breedables within a month if things don't change.

And I have to admit, I'm WAY overloaded now.  Anything I do get for quite awhile now is: very specifically traited (and no, I'm not looking for anything specific), something I want to resell, or a cheap buy to get 5 biochips.

Fish and seahorses: definitely done buying for a long time.  I have about sixty of them now, and birthed all I could...still have about 35 or so to work my way through.

Biobreeds: I'm set. Don't need any.

Cannibi:  Good there for a long time now.

KittyCats:  Not interested in buying, although I will admit.  Got my eye on a cheap mega right now that someone better buy quick!

Imaginimals: Sticking with the two I have now.  Haven't birthed the three babies from them yet.  Waiting to see what changes/improvements the next update gives.  They still have a long ways to go in movement performance.  If the next update doesn't improve it much, I may let the two adults go and just hang on to the shells while they finish beta.

Wild Kajaera Cats:  Oh, I'm really set for awhile.  At my food budget limit now, with an extra male who should be sent to sanctuary really.  Waiting to make sure no friends want to take him on though first.


Lillith really missed Bram Stoker after he swam out to see and was lost.
Luckily, he was rescued right after this was taken.


The cats had a secret meeting together at the scratching post.
I was nervous.


The St. Patrick's Day hair on a Roy Turtle.  Awesome.
Smmu's taking him for her side of ranch as her Roy is almost deseeded.


New Camelot Ranch home is set.
At least for a month...hoping sales justify returning to a private sim home.




Monday, September 23, 2013

Wow! Two weeks!

I knew it had been awhile since I've been here.  Two week check in seems just about right though.

Life has been very busy.  Including some fun time with my newest steampunk friends.  We went on a "Safari Hunt" to the zoo's dino exhibit together.  Twenty of us all dressed up in goofy clothes.  And one painted up as an automaton.  (He got the most attention of course.  LOL)  It was terribly fun.

My first time out with our group, and I left myself a ton of room for improvement.  Being socially unfamiliar with their normal routine, I concentrated too much on matching some color of my outfit to the theme instead of just making an outfit to be comfortable with.  It did not work so well and I looked like the town idiot that everyone adopts and takes care of.  LOL  But now I know how they work and I have a kickin outfit started for next time.

We have been working overtime and socializing ourselves exhausted, so we did skip the festival this weekend to recharge a bit.  Sorry to miss seeing my friend who I haven't seen for a year, but think it was for the best.

I was still in the midst of an SL move too.  I'm now an official Camelot Ranch tenant, as I took a large piece of land on the non-market side.  Giving up two of my mainland parcels to offset the cost, but kept our sales yard in the same area.  Mainly because I don't want to leave the beloved Zen group, even though I don't get time to hang with anyone there.  And Smmu and I love having our salesyards with Jason...he's so great to work with.

I have five Heaven and Hell epics total from Biobreeds now.  The Zulu female I put with the Hell male was the best investment ever.  Those two together make some kickin Ivory dobies.  Of course, they're making them males, and I'll only keep females.  But as long as they sell easy I don't care.  I made 3K on the first one and 2K on the second.

I was going to let my inferno pony male go at this week's patron auction, but decided I couldn't.  We love him so much, and putting him with a Hell pony just seems so right.

Still rearranging but going to be taking my epic breeding herd off sale and back home...just use the big Camelot corral for deseeded ones.  Epics and regular breeders both.  I have a building idea too that I may design and set out for sale there.

KittyCats did a turn on me.  Thought I was sending her away?  LOL  Had a chateau give a male like her with stubby tail and blonde streaked whiskers.  She was bred back to her LE father, so the thought of drawing out interesting traits is intriguing.  So I birthed it and kept her.  Growing by two instead of decreasing by one as planned.  LOL

The Imaginimals are cool.  Need some improvement though.  Their movement is not so natural.  Like little automaton kitties.  LOL  But cool.

WK cats did excellent.  One pair gave triplets: female lvl 4 cougar, male lvl 6 Sumatran, male lvl 6 Sumatran.  Sold the dark male and kept the lighter one for myself.  I prefer lighter in tigers.  Put the allowance in food dispenser for them and spent the rest on more breedables. :-)

Sakiya gives her last litter today.  So sad to see her breeding end.  But I did keep a lot of her babies and babies' babies for myself.








Pepi's been swimming too.  :-)



Monday, September 9, 2013

Sucks...

It's been a long weekend of SL sucky performance and now that Monday's here, it's still happening.

Sure do wish they'd learn how to properly manage the grid.

I normally have wonderful Mondays.  One of the perks of being a freelancer.

This Monday is sucking all the way through...wonder if I should even attempt working at all today and just work some 15 hour days later in week instead....


I done...

Well, done buying.  For a bit at least.  My monthly allowance for food and rent will still be there.  For the budgeted amount of animals.  But I hit my financial wall and is a poor breeder again.

I'm just hoping I get food money in next day or two, or else the extras at market will have to be picked up.

Even for the WK, the most affordable of all to feed.  They're tougher to figure out during the slow times, because they cannot be frozen or stored without eating.  I have enough for my 20 allowance for another week, so must do something if my sack in Tuesday's auction does not sell..  They're not included in my monthly game allowance.

Nor are the KC and they're a bit expensive to feed in comparison to BB.  I am just going down to the two breeding megas at a time and what ones I can pet out.

Right now they're hungry, but making them wait to see if I get anything today.  Set out all my saved epics for 500L...special ones are still full price, of course.

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Back to breedables...

Been a full four days in RL.  Hubby got extra time off for working 12 days straight and we made the most of it.  The one day we stayed home, the back deck got repainted and some more of the house organized.  We have guests coming to visit for a meal during this week or the next.  They're from China, so we're wanting to make a good impression.  LOL  Could be interesting...not sure how well they speak English and we don't speak Chinese.  And hubby gets to train them.  :-)

We found a farmer's market we hadn't seen before.  Bought some yummy bread from a bakery we never knew existed.  Tried a new coffee shop. Met some wonderful people at the Renaissance Fair, including a few from our Steampunk group.  Had some semi-successful shopping for our attire for the safari trip next weekend.  We're hunting dinos at the zoo.  :-)

Smmubert and I decided to make the Biobreeds stores at our sales yard our 150L special sales areas.  These are the good buy ones that don't quite make our requirements for breeding, nor do they sell quickly, but they're good stuff.  High traited Mavericks and bred out coated Chihuahuas are Smmu's specialties.  Mine are the bred out exotics and 4T dogs.

Our more premium crates will set out at our Camelot spots.

Wanted some color on the sales yard so we have a mix of reptilia coated exotics and verdant and the Xanthous cheetah coated exotics.  They're not priced too easy...we don't mind if they're around for awhile.  :-)

KittyCats boxes were really good this time.  I got a matching mega to the one I have in reserve for later.  My stubby seal coats gave a petite for later.  Still, I'm cutting back.  I have about 20 boxes from my breeding in reserve, so will have something out for sale for a long time.  But going to work on a few pets and finishing the special free editions to pet them and set out for sale.  Do have a set of retired LEs set back in storage.  Love the phoenix edition pets...wish they had teamed up with Biobreeds for a matching pony.  That would have been so cool.

The WK store on sales yard is our 350-500L discount area, but it does have some higher priced and full priced sacks of mine still.  These are ones with future potential for our own use but we're offering for sale still.  I just have the market areas too full to set them out.  I do need to get another market store sometime.  I may do that this week if the sack in Tuesday's Camelot auction doesn't go - it's a doozy, but sales for WK has been super slow there.

The Imaginimals beta is still ongoing.  My beta pair right now look as though they're hoarking up hairballs on my Relto rug.  Poor kitties suffering through the server troubles.  Hope they get the adjustments figured out soon.


Wednesday, September 4, 2013

My SL Breedable Mood Swings...

Being brought up in the secondary breedable market in Second Life has sort of ruined me.  All this talk of prices and such...we shouldn't need it.  I don't like it and, honestly, would love to just go through and price all my breedables at 150L no matter what.

And I've been seriously wanting to, but still afraid of who will think what.  Think the few years of dealing with a breedable market where you got hate "mail" for underselling and the time I've had the need to price things higher drilled into me just has too much of a hold on me.

But I feel myself changing...really.  And starting to like the game now.

Like Biobreeds, let's use it as an example.

I seriously am wanting to go through and price everything down to 150L.  I won't.  Because, well, some things I want to stay around a little longer, as they're harder to get and the crate or animal may be of the type that I'd like to use it later, not see it go so soon, or pricing it down may make it look less valuable.  I know, that may sound confusing.  But the fact is that in any market, virtual or real, people associate the worth of a product with the price that's marked on it.

Explains why sometimes I'll price something way up there to keep it around a bit longer - and that's the something that actually sells.

So, no, I won't price all things down to 150L but I won't price everything at the top dollar anymore either.  Shooting for something in between.

In BB, the exotic bred out coat market has calmed down, so many of those are down to 500L base price for me.  Right now, however, I have a sale going on to make space for new stuff. 150L on the crates and animals I'm going to heaven and most of the others have a discounted price on them until I do the heavening.  Not sure when...hubby is off work for next four days and we have some outings with friends planned, so if it's too busy, it may be next week.  Or it could be tomorrow if we're home and I'm bored.  LOL

I also realized I have about 100 animals with 0 seeds stuck in storage.  Well, I don't need them.  I've decided that except for a small few, I don't want to keep lives in storage now.  Hoping to have them healed and heavened or sold by the end of the year.

My October auction will be deseeded animals now.  I took out a selection of dogs, ponies, and exotics for the regular panels to heal between now and then.  And decided to give up some of my special epics for the special panels.  I may not make as much lindens with this plan, but hopefully I'll make a few and provide some of the newer breeders with something new.

Other critters:
WK cats - update came through and they seem to love their toys more.  Sales aren't so good, but hope to make enough to load up the food within the next two weeks before it runs out.
Imaginimals - I think my betas are doing good.  LOL I need to read up on them so I can tell!
KittyCats - got the new free kitty from them.  It's cool looking!
PetPeddlers - yep, we're getting ready for the fish now too
Odessey Seahorses - rather than just deleting the three I bought at RFL auction, I got some food and set them out for decoration.  In three weeks, I'm deleting them and starting to breed the PP ones.  Odessey team isn't active and the seahorses in their tanks were dead.  They only live 60 days...that turns me off totally.


Sunday, September 1, 2013

Really? I gotta be patient?...

LOL  With the cutback to 100 Biobreeds, now I have to learn how to be patient all over again.  It's not as bad this time, really.  I think working with the KittyCats cycle and now the WK one has helped a lot.  I'm slowly getting used to days like today where there's nothing to check.

It's been good though, especially with the addition of the heaven and hell editions.  Now, the crates I can't use don't bother me.  I welcome the five biochips.  LOL  Funny thing is the borderline crates are the ones who bother me.  Like dogs...I prefer to keep just the 5 traited dogs in certain breeds.  But I get a nice 4T one and think "crap! that one has to stay for breeding later or for sales."  So, I keep it and mourn the loss of 5 biochips now for a few moments.  LOL

The first biochip coat I bought was a male shiba.  For some reason, the system double registered my request and sent me two.  Which kind of screwed me up.  My goal was one male shiba, one male doberman, one male pony of heaven variety, and then maybe the hell pony as an extra.  I had saved enough for four.  (kind of wish I hadn't used some one starter packs early on...may have been able to get a fifth.)

But it's all good.  I have a friend who had 80k of biochips to use so she's reselling hers.  She buys from me a lot, so I made sure to get the dobe the system didn't give me.  I could have ticketed it and they exchange it for me, but decided to keep the extra shiba.  I breed them anyway so it's all good.  I won't be selling mine off for less than they cost me, and I figured they cost me at least 50K lindens each...so my extra one is sitting out for 50000 lindens.  Won't sell, but makes a good show piece for the sales yard.

BB didn't make the heaven or hell hair pass.  Kind of unusual for them.  I really like the hair, so hope it means they held back for some future plans.

Patience aside, I would like to set out more.  Have a good showcasing idea for the salesyard I think would be fun to play with.  But that would mean increasing my allowance, which I cannot do...and I have some serious work to do these next few months...

I did get two imaginimals to play with.  Or to let sit there.  Sadly, not getting time to play with my critters.  But I guess that's a good thing too.