*WARNING: VERY LONG BLOG POST*
Hello Beautiful World!
I love my weekends inworld because they can only mean one thing. shopping time!
I can spend hours going from store to store taking advantage of their sales. For example, finding a
house on sale for 60L when its regular price is over 1500L WOW!
Shopping for me is a real task that I get prepared for every week. From the clothes I wear to
how I find the best deals to stretch my Lindens to the max. At this point, I am
not really sure if I am cheap or smart, maybe I am both. :P
By no means am I saying that I am a shopping expert but I still would like to share with you my
shopping routine and maybe you can find some things useful to you. Or you have better
ways of doing some of the things I do and would like to share them with me. ;)
SHOPPING OUTFIT
I usually do most of my shopping on Saturdays but before I head out, I usually put on shorts and a
simple-short top, preferably sleeveless. I find that wearing a two-piece outfit works best for me.
This facilitates things when I need to try either a top OR a bottom without ending up completely
naked in the middle of a store. Wearing a sleeveless top and as much decently-exposed skin on my
torso and legs makes it much easier to try tattoos, any body jewelry, or body enhancements.
One thing that is always a MUST for me is to make sure that my pelvis area is private and will
not be showing when I am out and about inworld. For this, I use my Maitreya HUD to add
alpha to that area. I also don't wear any footwear so I don't have to be removing shoes every time
I want to try some on.
I also prepare the head part by wearing hair that exposes my face, ears, and neck. This allows
me to try any makeup and jewelry without a hassle. I always try to keep the jewelry I wear on that day
simple and small so I don't have to remove it when trying other ones. Now, I could also just keep
my hair base with no hair, but I am not willing to compromise that for the sake of shopping. :P
Before saving my outfit, I make sure that I am wearing both my Maitreya and Lelutka HUDS,
ready to be used at any given moment. I also wear my "What is the Avatar wearing" HUD because
many times I come across people wearing some amazing items that I would like to get for myself.
Once my outfit is saved, I move that outfit's folder to where I have quick access to it,
for quick removing and adding of items. I also create a weekend folder with the date
for example "WEEKEND JUNE 10" and place in there all my purchases and group gifts, LM's
of places I liked, etc. Everything and anything that I have collected during the weekend goes in there.
I make sure to PROTECT it right away so it won't get accidentally deleted.
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AnalideeCoast
Now as we venture into an exciting weekend of shopping, our hopes and expectations are
always to have fun finding those great items that will awe us, especially for the very low prices
they are being offered for. "AHHH, look, a nail clipper for only 50L!!! Regular price 10,000L.
I don't need it since avatars don't really need nail clippers but for the price, I just got to get it,
YOOOHOOOO!" See what I mean?
However, there are times when other shoppers can ruin the excitement when they stand right
in front of the display boards blocking the panorama and making it harder for the people behind
to see.
Another thing for me that is very upsetting is when people don't move from the landing point and you
find yourself on top of someone's head. Even worse when you land in the middle of a tight crowd
because no one seems to want to move, but when you try to move away, and inevitably
push some people on your way, they get upset and you end up getting lynched by a gang of
angry shoppers.
Sira Scarbridge
DEMOS
But returning back to how I do my shopping.
I always want a demo to try on items I am interested in. I rarely buy any items that don't offer
a FREE demo. Yes, I said FREE because I hate with a passion when designers sell their demos to
potential buyers. It doesn't matter to me if they are asking for just 1L.
DEMOS SHOULD BE FREE!
ALWAYS!!!
I find it offensive when they are actually charging us to try their items. Shouldn't those designers be
paying us instead? They are the ones truly benefiting from a sale, right?
"Ah, you like the skirt I made, pay me just to try it to see if you like it, and if you like it
pay me again to get it."
I just won't buy items that don't offer any demos to try and I leave stores when I see
that I have to pay to get their demos. NO, no, NO, I won't do it!!
And with that, they most likely lose a potential returning customer.
Now, trying demos is very important for me. I want to check out the quality of the item and how
it fits my body. All store ads are edited, which is expected and normal. However, some designers
will heavily edit imperfections on their display ads, and not fairly give us an honest view of
what we are really getting. I don't want to end up with a very low-textured-looking item that looks cheap
or with an item that has been so badly executed that when I walk, a hump appears on my back.
Now with makeup, it is very important for me to try a demo. As we all know when it comes
to makeup the final result varies from head to head. What may look beautiful on the model
in the ad, may turn out totally different on mine.
Always get a demo!
Sometimes demos are not in sight, they are required to be obtained by Touching the board
and selecting DEMO on the pop-up screen.
And finally, another thing that I always do when it comes to demos,
I always keep my inventory trash bin empty so I immediately Delete and Purge demos
after trying them on. If I don't, they can very quickly accumulate.
JOIN (NO FEE) GROUPS
Now, every week I come across items that give me two different prices, one price
lower than the other. As we know the lower price applies only to the store's group members.
It is good to check if there's no fee to join the group before purchasing the item. I will join
the group if there's no cost just so I can save Lindens on my purchase. A savings of 7 to 12 Lindens and
even more per item, and little by little it adds up. You'll be surprised at how much you can actually
save by doing this. This is a good way to stretch your Lindens even more.
After, you can always delete the group if you prefer.
I'm the one in orange gown
STORE CREDIT
Another good way to save Lindens when we visit our favorite stores is by wearing their group tags
when purchasing an item. This either will instantly refund you a percentage of the purchase or
accumulate store credit that you can use at any time. Some stores/designers are so gracious when it
comes to this that they will actually provide store credit for all their customers with no need to join their
group. That is why it is always good to check and see if you have an amount in store credit. You'll be
surprised to find that in many of the stores you often visit, there's credit waiting for you.
This week, for example, using my accumulated store credit I was able two get both, on-sale, hairstyles
for free at Truth with a remaining amount of 600L. At Just Because my store credit allowed me to get
two, on-sale, gowns for free, and just had to pay for the third one. And at Salt & Pepper, my store
credit covered for the on-sale top, and only had to pay for the bottom. And I could go on about how
I saved on other stores this weekend simply by using my store credits.
Unfortunately, some stores will not allow store credit on items that are on sale.
I personally think they should. Anyways, it is good to always check store credits
and even gift card balances. ;)
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I got the pink one because I love pink.
But then I wanted orange because it matched my hair.
So I ended with pink and orange! :)
FATPACKS
Sometimes when taking advantage of the weekend sales, I end up with more than one of the same
item just in different colors. However, it is good to check the price on Fatpack to see if it
is the best deal for you when you are undecided on what colors to get because you like them all,
or at least most.
Fashionably Dead always offers great deals on their Fatpacks during weekend sales.
While you'll be paying 75L for a single item, by purchasing the Fatpack you'll be paying less than half
per item. For example, one time one of their weekend sale items was a top I fell in love with. I actually
liked every single solid color and even more all the beautiful prints, so after a long time of thinking it over
I decided to get it in 3 solids and 2 prints. It was 75L per piece totaling 375L. But I thought I checked
the Fatpack before paying and to my surprise, the Fatpack was only 500L, which was just 125L more
for all 35 pieces, including solid colors, prints, plus Fatpack exclusives. That is around 14L per piece!
Now how can you resist that?
MULTIPLES IN ONE
Another good way to stretch your Lindens is by purchasing items that include multiple choices via
HUD. While I don't mind paying for single-color items like a dress, shoes, etc., it is always better
to pay for a dress that comes in a variety of selections which results in getting 10 or more for the price
of one. I especially look for these types of items.
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When sale ads don't give a description of the item that is being sold, I still like to go and check out
the store just to make sure I am not missing out on a good deal. Other times I will buy an item
that I don't completely like but contain smaller pieces/parts that I do. For example, 69L for
a dress and hat, 20 colors/prints options, each, via HUD. I hated the dress but loved the hat so
for me it was a great deal. Other times you will find me in men's stores, trying male accessories,
hair, and sometimes clothing because some of these things will many times look amazing on us girls too.
One last thing, remember to double-check the items you want to buy to see if you
don't have them in your inventory already. While many store systems will automatically refund your
Lindens on already purchased items and even go as far as to redeliver the item to you, there are others
that won't. You don't want to end up with multiple of the same thing in your inventories.
So there you have it, my weekly shopping routine. May seem complicated and exhausting,
but it works for me. By the end of the day, I have all my new purchases nicely organized,
well-selected, and ready to go. These are probably things you already knew or do, but as I mention
at the beginning, maybe you have a better and easier way to shop. I will greatly appreciate any suggestions. ;)
Over & Out
-Lori Novo
❤
Credits On Me
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