Virtual Commodities – Virtual Regret?
by Burbie52, HSM team writer
Many of us buy things we see and like in the stores of Home — some more than others, myself included. I am a very picky buyer both in real life and in this virtual reality we inhabit. I don’t have much money to spend in either world; I rarely go out to eat, only on special occasions, and it has always been that way for me. I don’t go to the movies often, or even indulge myself with a new piece of clothing or jewelry. When I purchase something it has to have real value to me or I simply won’t buy it; I am not a person who has to have a lot of “things”.
I would actually say that in a sense Home has become the place where I buy more stuff than my real life — it has become the “virtual” reality I can’t afford to live.
What motivates us to spend money in Home? I think the answer to that is probably as different and varied as the people who come here. For some it might be the want to have better clothing than they do in real life, or to own an estate that they would never have a chance to own. For others it might be the love of decorating both their avatars and their spaces, I think I fall into that category. For some it might be a status thing like a virtual keeping up with the Joneses. For others it can be about collecting stuff just for the joy of collecting, I think some people fall into that category; there are virtual hoarders and shopaholics in this reality just like the real world.
As I said, motivations can be as varied as the people in Home — but what happens when you buy something and it wasn’t all it was cracked up to be? Do you suffer a case of virtual buyer’s regret? I think this has probably happened to us all in Home — at least those of us who buy a lot of items, be they clothing, personal spaces, games or companions.
I asked a few people some questions about this:
- Is there a particular commodity have you bought in Home that you still use a lot, long after the purchase?
- Is there something you have bought that you regret buying immediately after the purchase?
- Why did you regret it?
- What could have been changed about it to curtail that regret?
The first person I asked had a lot to say; they have bought a great deal of stuff in the past couple of years. He said he uses his Dolphy space the most when it comes to personal spaces, as he still loves to race them. He has several pieces of clothing that he prefers to use, as he has a massive wardrobe.
When asked about regrets, his first reaction was, “About a quarter of my wardrobe.” When I asked why he said that, it was because when he tried the pieces on in the store showcasing area they looked much different than when he had bought them and put them on in Home. He said it would be a great improvement of the system if the view you see in your wardrobe was the same as the one you see when trying things on in the store. I agree with that assessment; it can be very hard to see what things actually look like because the view is so small by comparison with your wardrobe.
Another thing that has happened to me, and several others I know, is that pieces of clothing bleed into each other when mixed with others. This is one of my pet peeves when it comes to clothing purchases and it isn’t always easy to see this problem in the currrent view allowed in the stores.
A fireplace for a mouse?
Something else that he and I both agree needs to change is for the purchase of furniture items. They need to describe things better! How many times have you bought a piece of furniture and found it to be either too large or too small? He said this has happened to him many times especially, when it comes to ornaments like statues. When doing a description they should lay off on trying to be witty about it and give us the real skinny; is it small, medium or large in size? I bought a so called “modern circular fireplace” when I purchased my Lakeside Luxury estate, only to find it was small enough to sit on a shelf and didn’t do anything but look like a sculpture more than a fireplace. That was a waste of a dollar for me, and one of the few things I regretted buying immediately. What were they thinking?
Having a better idea of the actual size of something would be a huge step toward ending virtual regret in furniture purchases. I have to believe they Sony and the other developers want happy customers, and this would be a way of doing that. How about placing ornaments in the 3D area of the store next to a virtual rendering of the avatar itself, to give some sort of scale? The avatar could even be just a shadow without being defined to make it simple. This would give you some idea of what you are getting for your money as would a better description that catered to the actual scale of the object.
I asked a friend who buys a great deal in Home about this and she said her favorite purchase — the one she uses most — is the Cutteridge Estate, along with several clothing and furniture pieces. Cutteridge reminds her of her old house that she grew up in, and it is why she purchased it. But she was very disappointed by the Zombie DeadQuarters space. She thought it would be a good place to stick her Halloween oriented stuff but found it too small for much of it and also too dark. She also said she is sorry she bought the
Dead Beds?
active beds now available in Home. I myself call them the “dead beds” because you look like a corpse, lying there so stiff. She said when she saw them in the open house she was hoping that they would be different when actually used in her personal space. Oh well. Live and learn. If they could make them look more lifelike when being used, they would likely realize superior sales.
Another lady I asked told me that her favorite haunt is the new Loot Space Station personal space. She watches her movies there, and I know a lot of people who would agree with her about this one. The fact that they came back with an upgrade that added forty-five pieces of free furniture to decorate it properly didn’t hurt either. She wears a particular outfit a lot as well, so it is obviously her favorite garb. When asked about regrets she said the Luxury Racing Box space was a disappointment to her. She purchased it thinking it would be interesting to decorate, but the noise level of the cars going by has been an annoyance, particularly to those who use mics as they can’t be heard above the din. If anything could be changed to make it more palatable, she said it would be the noise level.
My first and still a favorite
I imagine I could go on here forever when talking to different people about this issue; there are so many variables involved such as personal likes and the rest. But I think a few valid points have been made here about the presentation of products and spaces and the need for better descriptions of these products. As Home continues to evolve and grow, developers — Sony included — need to ask themselves a few questions before adding to the already saturated virtual commodity stack.
- Look at it as a consumer would and think about whether there are any things about it they personally wouldn’t like, such as noise levels or bad lighting when it comes to personal spaces.
- The same goes for furniture. I believe we have reached the point where all chairs and sofas need to be ones we sit back in, and any beds they make as active items need to be ones we would look relaxed on, not stiff as boards.
- There needs to be some sort of sizing gauge or chart or at the very least wording in the stores for furniture items, especially ornaments. This one thing would stop a lot of consumer regret.
- The way that clothing is displayed in the store on our avatars needs to be reworked to more closely simulate the wardrobe area of our start menu if possible to give a better look at what we buy.
- Making clothing items more uniformly able to be mixed without the bleeding effect that happens many times would be a blessing to many of us. I don’t know if this is possible, but it would be a nice change.
If some of this comes to pass, I believe a lot of people who may have slowed down or quit buying because they have been disappointed one time too many will look at things differently and start to buy again. Creating stronger relationships through customer satisfaction is always a win-win situation, and such changes would bolster that trust.
May 5th, 2012 by Burbie52 | 8 comments
Burbie52 is a 62 year-old published author and founder of the Grey Gamers group within Home. Born and raised in Michigan, she has lived there her entire life, with the exception of a twelve-year residency on the Big Island of Hawaii. She enjoys reading and writing, as well as video games, especially RPG's. She has one son in his twenties.
Sometimes when I buy furniture and then place it in a personal space, it seems more like doll house furniture than “avatar-sized”. When I was decorating my Paris Clocktower Apartment I was drawn to the antique furniture offered for this space and that’s what I purchased. Wanting to add my “own” touches I bought the globe from the Assassin’s Creed space and put it in the corner where the glass walls meet. I thought the color and style blended in well. I put the tea set out and then I thought I would buy a few extra ornaments for the tables I had placed to the sides of the couches. The one of the orreries and astrolabe seemed like perfect items and I bought them as well. I placed the orrery on one table and then went to add the astrolabe to another. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be larger than the globe!
Great article Burbie,
I love your picture of the little fireplace, I bought this as well and was scratching my head. I use them for bookends (not what I intended) My favorite WTF moment after buying an item was the “tropical bar stools” They are about 3 feet high I think, only your head clears the bar and you look ridiculous. Ahh thanks for the chance to vent Burbie
AH yes I have those as well, lol. You feel like a midget with your nose bumping most of the bars in the furniture store. The one place they actually worked for me was in the Hollywood Hills apartment, that baked in bar is low enough.
Now that is a great idea!
Nice article Burbie. I remember the times I’ve purchased items and have been downright annoyed by what i got. Hasn’t been often fortunately but when it happens it really does make one more cautious. The size comparison idea is excellent, i have hesitated to buy things sometimes until i see what it looks like because of the unclear description. The major problem I have had has been with light items. They are never bright enough. They barely give off a glow. The other disappointment has been buying individual items and later finding out that it is part of a bundle for almost the same price.
Have you see the size of the beds? Quite a range, indeed. Putting the Waterfall Terrace bed next to the Moon Forest Apartment bed would be hysterical. Actually put out three different ones and you could have Papa Bear’s bed, Mama Bear’s bed and Baby Bear’s bed.
Ok my absolute favorite item I have ever bought was the General Kota costume. It’s obvious as it’s the suit I’m wearing in my picture. I recently bought the Luxury Beach Crib and experienced instant buyers remorse.I agree that we should see more technical descriptions that let us make an informed decision, but let me take that one step further; I would love to have the ability to have tour all the homes in the Home store. Yes I know that there is a set of videos online at other sites, but to be fair to the buyers here on home, it would be good to offer a quick video in the Estates Store. Hey nobody here would buy a car with out a test drive. A chance to put your butt in the seat and see it it is just right. Why not allow us a sample video of a home just to make sure we like the feel. I would have never bought the Luxury Beach Crib. As a second thought to the beach crib, the description was rather liberal in its description,almost to the point of false advertising, if I had a more exact paragraph to tell me specifics, then I would have never bought it. Just my take.
Buyer’s remorse moments have been rare for me, probably because I tend to research the heck out of something before spending my money. Rarely will I buy anything on Home without first seeing a picture and/or reading comments from other Homies.
Up until last night I would have listed the Gothic Manor as my biggest regret, but I finally found a decor scheme that works perfectly with the space. The Nebula Airship would have also been on the list, but it has since become my Minibots arena, so it gets a pass.
I instantly regretted spending any real world money on casino chip bundles, particularly since they’ve been pretty generous with free chips so far. I also had some buyer’s remorse after purchasing the Gentleman’s Attire bundle to make my Hitman costume, as the official Hitman costume was released only a few weeks later.
I’d say those are the moments that make me regret my purchases -- when something I spent actual money on becomes free, or goes on sale days after I paid full price. The Dragon’s Lair personal space is on that list.