Retail Sims

[BlueSoup]

What about sending people a gift they don't know about before they donate?
(But that would probably not work for long because people would tell they got a surprise.)

I don't think there's anything wrong with accepting donations, and I feel that if a site creator sent the donator a little something in appreciation, that's awesome.  And it wouldn't really matter if word got out, people should not be expecting anything if they're just making a donation because they want to, and not a payment because they want a specific file.

[twojeffs]

People really don't need a gift for donating. They've already gotten the gift, which was the freely available files for download on the site. Holding certain items 'hostage' until someone donates is not a donation, it's a sale.

People have always been willing to donate to free sites (big and small) to help defray costs, as long as the site provides good quality stuff. That's been going on forever. People trying to make their living off creating and selling custom content for the game need to be convinced that this is a not a viable business plan.

[photo]

i have a paypal donation button on my site but thats all.... all of my stuff is free.... does that count as a paysite

[Xerolize]

no. your site is free and you have an optional donation button.

[Lackey]

No, that is not a pay site. A pay site is one that you states you can not have this file unless you pay me this amount of money.

[photo]

thats good....

[Ensign EO]

Well, even if it was considered a paysite, I'm sure PSMBD would be more than willing to helping you alleviate those pesky bandwidth costs  by uploading your stuff.   :wink:

Just having the option up for people to donate isn't a problem in my eyes (as long as it isn't accompanied by a sob story about starving children or mental instability).  I usually just ignore it since I'm piss-poor and can't afford to pay for things I can live without anyway.

Sending people a gift for donating and the donaters were completely unaware of getting something nice in return for cash, I'm ambivalent about.  On one hand, it is a gift and wasn't being "sold" to the donater in exchange for the money.  However, word would get out (Omg, where did you get that?) and either people start sharing it or you get some people beginning to donate because they want the item but no one would share with them.  (Assuming it was some sort of item that could be used in the game itself.  A nice graphic like a button or avatar wouldn't really stir up much jealousy or curiosity, I don't think.)

[photo]

i'm just trying to upgrade my site.... its not a nessecity, just a want... if i don't get the donations it won't kill me.... lol

[Ensign EO]

You know it will.  :wink:  What's your story?  Dying children?  Mental instability?  You know you dooooo.  

[photo]

my pet iguana is dying......  :lol: he needs surgery!!!!!!! help me PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!

hehehehe lol.

[yamikuronue]

The difference between a donation gift and a purchase:

A donation gift is a gift for donating. the act of donating gets you said gift, regardless of amount. Webcomics frequently use wallpapers for donation gifts because they cost nothing to make, though it's common to make a minimum of $1 donation (so it's not all eaten up by paypal fees)

A purchase is when you pay a set amount for an item.

donation: http://venusenvy.comicgenesis.com/donation.html

purchase: http://www.carlaniven.netfirms.com/ready%20to%20wear%204.htm

[Ensign EO]

Heh, I've seen a fair share of drama caused over wallpapers.  It's so silly.

Although it may start out as being a nice gesture to the donaters, having some people donate because they want in on the donation gift might go to the creator's head and have them start down the path of becoming a paysite because they know people are willing to pay to get some of their files.  Not that, y'know, they wouldn't have already made people pay for their stuff regardless of quality because, hey, anyone can make cash off Sims stuff, right?  :wink:

It's such a small icon for RetailSims, but hopefully before long there'll be a plethora of them on the front page and we can all point and laugh.  

[Buttpickle]

My concern with this whole RetailSims thing is that she will suck some poor naive yoot into the empty and boring world of HRH Ayn Rand. Although The Fountainhead can be useful to people who have trouble getting to sleep.

Gah. Does the larger Sims 2 community have its own entry in Encyclopedia Dramatica yet?  Because it really should.

[Motoki]

Haha, that's true. It would be a good idea to put all the summaries of various incidents, rumors and gossip about the TS2 community in one place.  

[Buttpickle]

Yeah, seriously, I think you could get that meta with it. It would be like a cross between Snooty Sims and The Superficial.

"And then on Wednesday LyricLee really started losing her shit." We could call it ScandalSims, because by LAW all Sims websites must be a play on or contain the word "sim."