Difference between revisions of "Linden Lab Official:Merchants FAQ"

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# Add a new item and go back into Edit Mode.
# Add a new item and go back into Edit Mode.
# Locate the '''Distribution''' link next to the '''Price''' field.
# Locate the '''Distribution''' link next to the '''Price''' field.
[[File: Distributions1.png]]
# Click the '''Distribution''' link and type in the name of the person you want to split your sale with.
# Click the '''Distribution''' link and type in the name of the person you want to split your sale with.
[[File:Distributions2.png]]
# Click '''Continue'''.
# Click '''Continue'''.
# Enter the amount in L$ (the actual amount, not a percentage of the sale) you want to pay the person. The intended recipient must be a Second Life resident.
# Enter the amount in L$ (the actual amount, not a percentage of the sale) you want to pay the person. The intended recipient must be a Second Life resident.

Revision as of 15:26, 1 March 2010

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This article answers some questions frequently asked by merchants in Xstreet SL.


Do I have to mark my items as Adult? Why?

Xstreet SL isn't a members-only website; it's open to the public. Therefore, the law dictates that Xstreet SL must ensure that only PG-rated material is available to the casual browser. The following items must be marked as Adult:

  • Patently offensive, obscene, vulgar, or profane language
  • Visual depictions of death, dismemberment, or serious bodily injury
  • Visual depictions of patently offensive sexual conduct including, but not limited to, sex acts between consenting parties and masturbation
  • Visual depictions of nudity including, but not limited to, exposed pubic area,genitalia, buttocks, and female nipples

Is it really against the rules to delete a listing I have and re-list it at a later date?

Yes, that is a direct violation of the Xstreet SL Terms of Service. When you create a new listing for an item, you're implying that it's new to Xstreet SL, so reposting an old item is a misrepresentation of your product. If you've upgraded your item, you may re-list it, but you must clearly explain what's "new and improved" between your original and your upgrade.

I see other merchants with banner ads. How do I get one?

Banner ad space is purchased through the Marketplace. To review the cost of banner ads, please see the following links:2,000,000 Ad Impressions500,000 Ad Impressions200,000 Ad Impressions100,000 Ad Impressions

How do I split my sales with other people?

To split your sales with other people:

  1. Add a new item and go back into Edit Mode.
  2. Locate the Distribution link next to the Price field.

Distributions1.png

  1. Click the Distribution link and type in the name of the person you want to split your sale with.

Distributions2.png

  1. Click Continue.
  2. Enter the amount in L$ (the actual amount, not a percentage of the sale) you want to pay the person. The intended recipient must be a Second Life resident.
  3. Click Add New Distribution button to finalize the payment. On the next page you can view and remove your distributions.

How do I cancel my Enhancements?

Click on the My Account button at the top of any Xstreet SL page and go to My Subscriptions. From there, you can choose to let your Enhancement renew automatically, stop immediately, or stop after the enhancement period is up.

KBnote.png Note: No refund or credit will be given for a listing enhancement which is stopped immediately before the end of the period for that enhancement.

How do I get free Magic Box hosting?

To assist new merchants in getting started, Xstreet SL provides free Magic Box Hosting for 60 days. To request a space, please go to our Support page. You will be contacted within 72 hours.

I'm trying to list a new item, but I don't see it in the list on the Add Item page.

There are several reasons this could be happening. Here are the most common problems:

  • You put an item in your Magic Box that you don't have permission to transfer. Since you cannot give away items that you do not have transfer permissions on, Xstreet SL prevents you from listing them by accident.
  • You have used one of the following characters in the name of your Magic Box:
    • &
    • "
    • '
    • <
    • > Those symbols can throw off the scripts that control listings; don't use them.
  • The scripts in your Magic Box stopped working. Conditions within the Second Life virtual world related to unforeseen technical errors can sometimes cause your Magic Box to stop working. If this happens, try resetting the Box by touching it and selecting Reset. If that doesn't fix the problem, try downloading a brand new box from Xstreet and using it instead.
  • The inworld Region where the Magic Boxes are stored is having problems. To test this theory, find a place in another Region where you can rez a Box. Having a back up of your Magic Boxes in another Region is a good idea anyway, because it helps ensure that your items are always available for purchase.

I've put my items in my Magic Box, but they're not showing up in the marketplace.

You must create listings for your items before they'll show up in the Marketplace. To do this, go to your My Items page and click Add New.

How do you access my inventory to deliver items?

We do not directly access your Second Life inventory inworld.

When you purchase an item at the Marketplace, an object somewhere in Second Life delivers that item to your avatar. Functionally speaking, it's the same as another avatar giving you an item, and it works whether you're logged into Second Life or not.

Take a look at the following Knowledge Base article on How to shop.

In order to sell items, you first have to put copies of those items into an Xstreet SL Magic Box that you can get free at the Marketplace. The Magic Box is what performs deliveries of your objects, and it must stay rezzed somewhere inworld.

Take a look at the following Knowledge Base article on How to list your items.

I have a set of items I want to sell together; how can I do that if a listing only lets me pick one inventory item?

To sell multiple items together as a set, you must package them into a single object, then place it into your Magic Box. It's similar to selling a puzzle outside of Second Life -- you don't sell it piece by piece, but instead sell a box that contains all the puzzle pieces within.

I need to move my Magic Box, but you say it must be in a permanent place and rezzed at all times; how do I do move it?

Moving your Magic Box to a new location isn't problematic. The reason we stress keeping your Magic Box rezzed inworld at all times is because you won't be able to sell anything through the Marketplace if your Magic Box isn't rezzed. To "move" your Magic Box:

  1. Go to your Inventory page and delete the Magic Box listed there.
  2. Log into Second Life and take a copy of the box with all your items in it.
  3. Rez the copy in your new location.
  4. Go back and delete your old Box. To your customers, it will look as if nothing's changed.
KBnote.png Note: For about four days, you Inventory page may look a little weird, but this condition has no technical bearing on your sales, and will clean itself up.

Why are some or all of my items listed as "Unavailable"?

"Unavailable" items are items that Xstreet SL cannot find in your Magic Box inworld. This means that one of the following things has probably happened:

  • You changed the name of the item in your Magic Box. If you rename the items in your Magic Box, you need to go back to your Item Listings and select the new item name for that Item. This is the only way Xstreet SL will know what to deliver when someone wants to buy it.
  • The scripts in your Magic Box stopped working. Conditions within the Second Life virtual world related to unforeseen technical errors can sometimes cause your Magic Box to stop working. If this happens, try resetting the Box by touching it and selecting Reset. If that doesn't fix the problem, try getting a brand new box from Xstreet and using it instead.
  • The inworld Region where the Magic Boxes are stored is having problems. To test this theory, find a place in another Region where you can rez a Box. Having a back up of your Magic Boxes in another Region is a good idea anyway, because it helps ensure that your items are always available for purchase.

How do I turn off email notification on my sales?

Go into the Edit page of the item you no longer want to receive email about. Once there, you'll see two check boxes:

  • Receive Sale Notifications
  • Receive Post Notifications

Uncheck the Receive Sale Notifications checkbox to stop receiving sales emails.Receive Post Notifications are for emails alerting you that someone has posted a review or comment.

I have a sale "Pending"; what does that mean?

A "Pending" sale usually means one of two things:

  1. The person was purchasing it with PayPal and their PayPal payment was held for review. In those cases, the item is not delivered, and the funds are not credited to your account until the PayPal Payment involved is approved.
  2. Xstreet SL is having trouble delivering the item due to problems inworld within Second Life. Xstreet will attempt to execute the sale for two hours, during which time it will appear as a "Pending" sale on our website. If the delivery succeeds, the sale will be completed and you will receive the funds for it. If the delivery fails, the sale will be cancelled and the customer's funds that will be returned to them.

How do I add a picture to my listings?

Please refer to our step-by-step instructions on how to list your items for how to list your items on Xstreet SL. Pay special attention to Step 4. Images should be no larger than 800x600 and may use the following file formats:

  • bmp
  • tga
  • jpg
  • gif
  • png

How do I join the Merchant's Forum?

If you are a Merchant with items listed on Xstreet, go here to submit a request to join the Merchant's Forum.

How do I update my Magic Box?

To update your Magic Box:

  1. Get a new Magic Box.
  2. Remove your Magic Box(es) from your Xstreet Inventory Page by using the Remove link.
  3. Rez the new Magic Box.
  4. Copy the contents of your old Magic Box into your Inventory. Using Open should work, but if it doesn't, create a folder in your Inventory window and move the items from your Magic Box to that folder through the Contents tab of the object's Edit window.
  5. In your Inventory, remove all the Magic Box Scripts in the Magic Box Folder you've just created.
  6. Copy the remaining items from that Inventory Folder into your new Magic Box.
  7. Wait one hour for the new Boxes to come online on Xstreet. They should show up much sooner than this, but if they're not active after one hour, go to our Support page for assistance.
KBnote.png Note: You do not have to relist your items on Xstreet SL. The Magic Box will take care of maintaining the connection between your items and your existing listings.

How do I use BBCode with my listings?

You can enhance your listings with BBCode to make them stand out. If you're unfamiliar with BBCode, you can read the BBCode FAQ here . A link to this BBCode FAQ is also available on every Item's Edit page, and can be found just to the left of the Description field.

Why do my traffic and sales stats seem to fluctuate?

The numbers that show up for Today's Sales and Today's Traffic in the My Xstreet SL box are not always accurate because that data is cached, and not realtime. Displaying cached data can sometimes result in inaccuracies. However, if you're ever in question about the sales or traffic numbers you're seeing, simply click either link and you'll be taken directly to your Stats page. That page is displayed in realtime and the data there is 100% accurate.

How do Item Ratings, Reviews, and Discussions work?

The following are some things to remember about item ratings, reviews, and discussions:

  • An item must have three ratings before those ratings will appear in a listing.
  • Changing the price of an item by 50% or more will hide the ratings at the old price. The ratings will return to view once the price is changed back.
  • Reviews will appear regardless of the number of ratings or the current price of the item.
  • Xstreet SL will not remove a Review or Item discussion unless it violates our TOS or Privacy Policy.
  • Item discussions may be deleted by the merchant after 30 days.

We encourage all merchants to read through the following article: Tips for merchants: negative item reviews. This information has proven useful to many, many merchants, and has helped to turn many disgruntled buyers into loyal customers.