So Much Stuff

So many things happened this past week with Meeroos I do not know where to start! For one the Pre-Order and initial Release Meeroos all turned sixty (60) this past week. Either on Sunday or sometime Wednesday, depending on when they were Coaxed. This means they have reached Elder status and can no longer breed. Many of them were subsequently Released as a result. I personally went up about eight (8) levels due to Releasing my Elders that I did not want to keep. I say I did not want to keep them: I did. I can not keep forty (40) Meeroos around forever, even as MeePets.

Yes: MeePets! The release of the MeePet option has been announced on the Official WW of Meeroos blog in THIS post. The option is out now at the Roo store. One fantastic piece of news: players who use the MeePet option will receive the Regard points from their converted Meeroos. So keep petting those Meeroos, even if you plan to MeePet; you will still get that Regard! For those of you who have had Meeroos starve and run off the Whistle to call them back is also available, right next to the Honey Dipper. MeePet Honey Dipper is L$999 and the Whistle is L$350 both are single use items. The Whistle will not work on Released Meeroos, only ones that have run off due to hunger.

Honey Food Bowl for MeePets

Team Meeroos also announced the release of a few more products planned for the near future. As well as the opening of the Regard Store; where having certain Regard levels unlocks the ability to purchase specific Malevay Studios Meeroo related products. There will be a Seasons calendar available if you are level five (5) or over and for level ten (10) and up: the fabled Primbie bird. Slated to open this weekend.

It keeps going, there are now starter and non-starter Meeroos. I did not see that coming. I am OK with it, just took me by surprise. Before recently you had a chance to pull extremely rare Meeroos from starter Trunks. According to Tiger player Regard was playing a part in that as well, pushing the chance higher for players with massive Regard. The chance of getting rare Meeroos from a starter Trunk right now is 0%. Team Meeroos says it can not be done. So there you go, all rare Meeroos are non-starters. From what I can tell that means the only coats you will be able to get from starter Trunks are: Winecoat, Fawn and Ursine.

While you may no longer be able to randomly obtain super rare Meeroos from starter Trunks it is now a bit easier to do so through breeding. Once again Malevay Studios has raised the effect of Regard [Both Meeroo and player] on breeding. This means that having 10,000 Regard points will have more of an influence now than it did a week or so ago. The posts points out that "...it is more of a nudge in popping out coveted traits, not a sledgehammer." There is no guarantee that high Regard will pull out any traits at all. If there are none in the Meeroos genetics it is impossible to get no matter how much Regard you or the Meeroo has. It is time to put the starter Nest lottery aside and concentrate on breeding. It is now the only way to find new rare Meeroo traits.

Tiger notes that the number of rare genes has been reduced in starter Nests a few times now. That, in combination with the fact that Nest genetics are permanently set when the Nest is first rezzed from the Trunk, means that older starter Nests potentially have more rare genes hidden within than newer ones. His advice is to not only buy Nests from the secondary market, but to keep an eye out for older (lower Nest number) starter Nests. I suggest any of you with Nests out for sale check to make sure none of them are low Nest number starter Nests, they may be much more valuable than you think.

As for the Oracle, there are more new questions coming. To quote Tiger: "new oracle questions? these are still coming, i know, i know..." I believe Team Meeroos has been working on more important updates, like the MeePet and the Whistle. Both of which people have been very much looking forward to. Getting the MeePet option released close to the time that the oldest Meeroos would become Elders strikes me as far more important than new Oracle questions. Of course, I do want more Oracle questions, with more trivia and fewer song lyrics! I just do not mind waiting until more important projects are finished.

I have been paying a lot of attention to this Meeroo alphabet that has been cropping up on statues and around the Meeroos stores. I do not have anything of interest to say about it yet, other than it looks pretty cool. I have photographed all the glyphs I can locate and will be attempting some analysis over the next week or two. I have already noticed the symbols for "Meeroo" on one of the statues but with another character in the middle. What might it mean? I think we might just have to wait and find out.

On a personal note; the Elders I Released were replaced, plus a few, with newly Coaxed baby Meeroos. They all turned five (5) last night and began having Nests of their own. Already I have my first ever Very Short Tail! Interesting to note it came from two (2) Short Tail parents. There should be some interesting discoveries before October. I know I have high expectations for my Meeroos and my breeding program. There are tons of breeding Meeroos out there on the Grid now, tons of Meeroo breeders. I have not even seen all the currently known traits in person yet, I can not wait to see what shows up next. The Azure coat is amazing by-the-way, if you have not seen a picture I suggest you ask for one in Group chat. I have not found one to photograph personally, but I will post pics here when I do.

Going once, going twice, I just keep going: Meeroos Auctions

Meeroos auctions are a lot of fun. If you have any interest in buying for selling Meeroos I suggest you check a few out. I do mean a few and I will tell you why a bit further down. Even if you do not have a Meeroo to sell or any plans to purchase one you might still learn a few things from watching an auction. It gets more exciting if you do have a Meeroo to sell. Or if you are looking to bid on something special and hoping to get a deal. There are certainly deals to be had and the auctions are not nearly as scary as they might appear if you have never participated in one before.

Auctions are a good place to buy and sell more unusual, rarer Meeroos. A normal Meeroo without any special traits is not going to be cost effective to sell in most cases. Where auctions really come into their own is with rare Meeroos and Meeroos with exceptional heritage. The parentage of Meeroos can be highlighted better in an auction than a store. Many of the people attending auctions have an understanding of the importance of genetics and they pay attention when Mother and Father data is read out. If you have a Meeroo that is not overly special itself but has rare trait parents; an auction may be the way to go.

Of course special Meeroos are even better, sometimes ultra new traits are only available at auction. Attending an auction or two will give you an idea of the current value of new traits and where prices have dropped to on older traits. The secondary market can be a volatile place and prices change rapidly. Store and marketplace prices take a few days to catch up to auction valuations. Some store owners are very active with pricing and stay right on top of current market prices. Others are less so and their prices may not be indicative of the current market value of a specific Meeroo. You can go to a lot of markets and still be unsure what the Meeroo you have, or want, is worth. Attend an auction or two you should have a much more accurate idea of what you should ask, or pay. [All Meeroo value is, of course, subjective. They have no objective value, but are worth what people are willing to pay or what it would cost for you to be willing to part with one.]

Not all auctions are the same. I am not going to use any auction house names here but some are better than others. It is all about the auctioneer. The auctioneer brings their personality to the table and they use it to sell Meeroos. An interesting auctioneer can hold the audiences attention, keeping people interested and, most importantly, in their seats. A good auctioneer brings excitement to the auction, they talk up the Meeroos and point out their rare traits and parents genetics. A good auctioneer makes the auction process fun and keeps you entertained. The last thing you want is someone you can not understand, or who talks in an eternal monotone. A good auctioneer is organized and fluid. While there are always problems with everything in SL, having a good speaker at the helm makes for an enjoyable experience. Before you book an auction space, drop by an auction and check out the auctioneer. If you are not impressed your potential buyers probably will not be either. The more auctions you observe the better you will be able to separate the good from the bad ones. Keep looking until you find an auctioneer you like.

Check how quickly the auction you are interested in fills up. If they still have over half their slots open half an hour before the auction starts... well it might be an off day, or the middle of the week, or it might be an unpopular auction. The popular auctions fill up fast. You may find you have to reserve your slot almost immediately after the preceding auction ends. Auctions that are filled far in advance tend to be well attended and, for me, much more exciting for buyers and sellers both.

You do need to be able to run voice for most, if not all, auctions. The auctioneer will be using voice to conduct the auction while bidding is done by shouting in chat. This ensures that the auctioneer can see/hear your chat and does not miss any bids. I would not suggest trying to enter, or bid, in a voice auction if you can not use voice on your computer. To prepare you for one thing that amused me: some people say "Meeroos" in, well, unexpected ways. I do not know what the correct, or official, pronunciation is. I do know that hearing people say it differently than I do makes me smile.

The process for entering your Meeroo in most auctions is as follows: A few hours [or more] before your auction starts you go to the auction area and select the slot, or slots that you want. The norm seems to be to limit individuals to two (2) slots each. Some auction houses allow multiple items on a single slot so long as they are sold as a lot, not individually. After paying the rental Object for the slot you want you will need to join the auction house Group so you can rez and fill out a notecard about your Meeroo. Often the Group invite is automatic when you pay to rent the slot, other times you may have to find a group joiner sign or Object. If you find you can not rez your Meeroo it may be because you are not in the land group or are not wearing the correct Group tag. There are different guidelines on when you can and should rez your Meeroos for auction. You can normally find that information in the notecard you fill out for the auction. That notecard will need to be filled out with all of the important information about your Meeroo. The auctioneers can not do their job whilst camera controlling about and clicking on Meeroos, so they work off notecards. It is important that you get all of the information requested on the notecard and that it is correct. Most auction houses request that you get your notecard turned in no later than two (2) hours before the auction starts.

A word on pricing: one way to keep the auction fun and exciting rather than scary or nerve racking is to set your minimum price at what you would be happy to accept for the Meeroo you are selling. Ask yourself if you would be happy selling the Meeroo for the opening bid and no more. Do not price your Meeroo so low that you could be disappointed with the price you get for it. If you feel your Meeroo is worth L$3,000, then set its minimum bid to that. Even if you saw one go for L$2,500 yesterday, or you think if you start low people will bid it above 3K. That way you can sit back and enjoy the auction and if your Meeroo does not sell then you are only out your slot fee, normally L$50 to L$100. You can always re-list it again another day, or at another auction.

Be aware that auctions are lengthy. There are speed auctions that complete in half an hour but that is not the standard. Auctions can take quite some time depending on the number of slots they have and how many are filled. I estimate it can take two (2) to five (5) minutes a slot in a normal auction, sometimes more. If you are slot number ten (10) you might be waiting almost an hour for your turn. Of course if you are there to buy as well then it is not really waiting, is it? Just be aware that you will need to be present when your Meeroo is auctioned. As soon as the auction completes you need to be able to set the Meeroo for sale so the winner can buy it. If you are not there your Meeroo can not be sold. Auctions are time consuming but worth the effort especially when that clear eye goes for twice what you expected for it, or you buy that teacup you wanted for half what you thought you would have to pay.

Final thought: If you are not having fun, you are doing it wrong. For me Meeroos are all about having fun. If you are only involved with Meeroos to make a profit then auctions may, or may not be for you. If you want to have a good time and maybe make a few L$ in the process I suggest you check some out. You might find that perfect Meeroo for less than you expected.

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.