Sunday 12 June 2011

What Market Crash?

Some people think that the Meeroos secondary market has crashed, or is in the process of crashing. I take issue with that. The market has not crashed it was simply never hyper-inflated in the first place. The prices, as they are now, are in my view: realistic.

There are always going to be new traits and people are willing to pay to have them first. That is completely natural. When a breedable the size and scope of Meeroos is released there is bound to be a period of normalization where prices can fluctuate wildly. In the beginning it is not always clear what is rare and what is more common. People are still deciding what they like, and do not like. So yes; over the past few weeks prices have been very high. But not ultra-high, not over-the-top. There has been a lot of excitement and people want those new traits as soon as they come out. That demand shows in the prices; there have been some that have sold for huge amounts. What I want to get across is that it will level off. Even now there are more of what used to be quite rare traits. Soon it will only be the very newest traits that can demand those prices. Other, still very cool, Meeroos will be selling for more affordable prices.

What you pay for when you buy ultra new traits is the prestige of having them first and the genetic boost to your breeding program, before other people. In time most Meeroo traits will become affordable to most avatars. What was rare will become more common. The prices decrease accordingly. It should not be considered a crash unless the vast majority of Nests have super-low prices.

Right now the Meeroos I see for sale, both in auction and in stores, are priced about L$300 to L$600 for a fairly average Meeroo going up to tens of thousands for very rare and very new ones. Those prices do not sound low to me, not crash level low. In fact they sound quite reasonable.

Meeroos have an in-built mechanism to prevent Nest prices from getting too low: Regard. There will always be some price that will be to low to pay for the value of the Regard all Meeroos start with [250 Regard points]. Prices should never fall below the level where it just makes more sense to Release the Meeroo. Only individuals who intend to leave Meeroos forever would have anything to gain by selling Meeroos for less than the value of their Regard. Remember that Regard plays a part in breeding, the more Regard you have the more of a "bonus" you get when breeding. More of a chance to get rare traits and throwback genetics. Regard does have a use, and a value, and every Meeroo and Meeroo Nest out there has at least 250 Regard points.

As opposed to the fastest market crash in recent history Meeroos are actually the breedable to find a reasonable pricing model on the secondary market in the shortest amount of time. I believe that is attributable to a few factors: One is that breedables in general are now more mature as a product type. People have a lot of experience with secondary markets for pets and now make better decisions faster than when the whole breedable movement began. That experience and knowledge makes things happen more quickly and more rationally. There will always be people asking the moon but with a seasoned community cooler heads will eventually prevail. The second factor I see, as I have blogged about before, is the way Team Meeroos has implemented the Meeroos. Having nearly all traits being available directly from their store, the complexity of the breeding model (compatibility) and the impact of Regard on breeding helps keep Meeroo prices reasonable. Not low, not unprofitable, just not exorbitant. I think the Meeroos secondary  marketplace will be alive, well and un-crashed for quite some time to come.

= I'm reading about #Meeroos: What Market Crash?Tweet this post!

4 comments:

  1. I have 16 out, most compatible/breeding, and already 3 nests staked up. I'd let them all go to the 1st 10k. That way i would no longer be out $15 a month in food.

    ReplyDelete
  2. trying to sell off all my nests for 50L and no one will even buy them..tells me yes indeed the market has crashed. all breedables have their time in the market..some last longer than others. although the customers with them still try their damnedest to sell them with less n less luck each time. even with amaretto they try to come out with new horses to kick start the market..well didnt work..current customers still play while no new customers coming in.. dozens of bundles and ven more meeroo nets to sell and no one buys even if i try to give them away.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I understand what you are saying, and L$50 is quite low for a Nest. But it very much depends on what type of Nest it is. You don't pay much for a common house cat, in fact people normally give them away. However a Manx can go for hundreds of dollars.

    I think the same applies to any breedable, the super common Nests are not going to be worth loads. That being said: I find the Nests listed on the SL Marketplace below L$100 go very quickly. If you are having difficulty selling your Nests at L$50 I suggest you try listing them there. It is difficult to get an InWorld store noticed. Hope that helps :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually, if you contact me inworld with your 50L nests I'll very likely take a few off your hand. Doesnt hurt to keep some extra's in inventory. IM me Lynna Yorcliffe In-world

    ReplyDelete