Over a Thousand Second Life Residents Sign Petitions to Keep Linden Exchangers Open

In the latest article from Hypergrid Business about Linden Lab's announcement for third party currency exchange businesses to shut down after the end of the month, it seems two petitions to keep them running have gotten an number of signatures. One at "savetheexchanges.com" at over 300, and a German language one at "Open Petition" at over 750, for a total as of the writing of this article of over 1050.

Linden Labs says it has many advantages to buy through Lindex, but the fact is, that they will ask you for your RL data, this is something many people in Second Life don’t feel comfortable doing.

We fear the problems, that will be caused by this, will have a great impact on Second Life and its residents. It will be of influence on shopkeepers, residents, and communities. Many SIM’s will have to close down, events, depending on Exchanges, cannot take place and shops with ATM’s and other possibilities to buy Linden Dollars will have to accept losses. 

We need your help! We call on everyone to protest against these incomprehensible and damaging steps that Linden Labs will take from 1 August 2015! Help us to keep the Exchanges in Second Life!

The article described  various residents describing their problems with the upcoming exchanger ban.

“I have no other option than to buy Linden dollars on the Eldex and was shocked about what Linden Labs has done,” wrote Pfister Hammer Matthias from Vilshofen. “My preferred payment option is the Paysave card.”

“I pay through my bank,” wrote Günther Kaffrell from Fürth. “Not with plastic.”

“Unfortunately, the majority of the world’s Internet-enabled population still has neither PayPal nor credit cards nor MoneyBookers,” wrote Beate König from Heiligenhaus. “This poses a huge hurdle for new and current Second Life users.”

“I don’t want to put payment info on file, there are too many griefer tools in Second Life,” wrote “Havoxx Resident” from Berlin. “If they stop the Reseller Program, I’ll stop buying Lindens.”

“I have always used Podex which has provided great service for years,” wrote an anonymous user from Dillingen. “I want it to stay.”

“It is easier and faster to buy L$ with VirWoX,” wrote an anonymous user from Mülheim an der Ruhr. “An immediate transfer is possible.”

“Using PayPal, it takes me two weeks to get money into Second Life,” wrote Ralf Secker from Heilbronn.

Maria Korolov, who wrote the article, added in the comments afterwards, "Those who are using the third party exchanges use them because they have to. The thousand people who signed the petitions signed them for a reason. If they thought the exchanges were ripping them off, they'd go right back to the Lindex."

Unless Linden Lab can be persuaded to change it's mind, the third party currency exchangers will have to close on August 1.

Source: Hypergrid Business

Bixyl Shuftan

Second Chance at Gachas

Linden currency exchangers have been in the news lately. But what about gacha resellers? Have you found out about a cool item that was on sale at a gacha but it's now over? Syndra takes a look at the market for goods obtained from gachas and are now up for resale to anyone interested.

Read more in Design.

Update on Linden Lab and the Third-Party Linden Exchangers

By Bixyl Shuftan

It's been two weeks since Linden Lab announced that it was ending it's deal with Linden Exchange services, essentially telling them they could no longer buy Lindens after June 30 (today) and had until August 1 to sell their inventory of Linden dollars and then shut down. When they told the Linden exchangers to shut down two years ago, as word got around in just a few days, the result was an uproar, especially among residents outside the US whom had problems with using Lindex, the official Linden exchange service from Linden Lab. Eventually, the Lab partially relented, allowing the exchangers to join an "authorized reseller" program to stay in business. But they could no longer buy back Lindens for real world currencies.

This time the response has been a little less vocal, possibly because of the timing of the announcement with the Second Life Birthday. Linden Lab's decision wasn't mentioned in New World Notes this time. Though it was in some blogs such as Inara Pey's Modem World, Daniel Voyager's Blog, and Across the Grid with Lindal Kidd. Lindal was particularly critical of the Lab's decision, "In my opinion, the move us ... yet another attempt on the part of LL to appropriate a Second Life revenue stream developed by the residents for themselves. ... when clever residents come up with ways to make money in SL, it smacks of bullying for LL to usurp those income streams by fiat." She felt the Lab had "shafted the residents and merchants that support Second Life and shot themselves in the foot into the bargain."

Hypergrid Business' Maria Korolov has written some about the issue, on June 15 and 27. It reported that one exchanger, Crossworlds, announced it would be folding on June 30 (today). "There is nothing else to do," Crossworlds owner Tony Bastianelli was reported as saying, "Linden Lab has left all exchanges with no options." RUExchange was stated as saying (in Russian), "Unfortunately, the official payment methods, Paypal and Skrill, do not satisfy the majority of our users. ... At the moment, we are negotiating with Linden Lab about the future of the Russian community, and unfortunately our technical support can not give you a comment on the situation."

Korolov stated that the Podex Exchange was planning on staying up, quoting it's CEO Jacek Shuftan as saying, "Linden Lab is not stable in it's decisions, as history taught us before, so I do hope that their decision would be changed in the future, as it happened before with 3rd party resellers closure. ... The motives of present shutting down are completely unclear," he added, "Last time we could suspect FinCen influence. But as far as I know, there were no big changes regarding virtual currencies last days in American law, so I do not understand why Linden Lab made such (a) decision."

Jacek felt "the Lab is only shooting itself in the foot," stated Korolov, quoting him, "Payment methods wich they offer are not accessible in many countries, so they will not only lose profit but also their best clients who invest real money in (the) grid, and now will not be able to do it."

Jacek predicted that Linden Lab's move would encourage people to head to Opensim worlds. Since the first time the Lab threatened to drive away his business, Podex has diversified by expanding to InWorldz, Avination, and other grids besides Second Life. On June 29, it announced it had set up an exchange service on it's 16th virtual world. "Linden Lab('s) decision will affect the Podex Exchange, as well as all other currency resellers, but Second Life is only one of the 16 grids which we serve, so we only lose part of our profit."

There is a petition for Linden Lab to keep it's Authorized Reseller Program , started by a Norman Zimmerman. As of the writing of this article, it had over 660 signatures.

As the deadline for the exchange services is a month away, what happens next is uncertain. But as Jacek stated, the Lab has changed it's mind before.

Podex is a sponsor of Second Life Newser.

Source: Hypergrid Business

Bixyl Shuftan

The Third-Party Linden Exchange Services Two Months Later

It's been about two months since the Linden Exchanger Crisis in which Linden Lab briefly closed down the Third-Party Exchange Services. The result from the residents was an uproar, especially from non-US residents as they often had problems buying Lindens directly from Linden Lab. Most exchangers folded when the Lindens demanded they shut down. But one, the Podex Exchange, instead tried to reason with the Lindens. It was ignored and then shut down by force. Eventually, Linden Lab partially relented, allowing the exchangers to apply for approval as Third-Party "Linden Resellers." After a few weeks, Podex was back in business.

There were concerns that the market would be dominated by Linden resellers that were subsidiaries of real estate businesses, thinking they'd be able to offer the best deals. But this has not been the case. Of the top five exchangers on the Linden Dollar Authorized Reseller Program website, only one was known for it's sales of virtual property. AnsheX, the most well known, never even made the top ten.

In terms of Euros per 1000 Lindens, the top three exchangers were The Teledollar Cash Service, The Podex Exchange, and the ELDEXchange. Teledollar made the top of the list at 3.34 Euros needed to buy 1000 Lindens. Podex was second at 3.40 Euros. But, Teledollar only did business with US Dollars and Euros. The Podex Exchange worked with those and more, British Pounds, Japanese Yen, Russian Rubles, and more. Recently, they have began accepting Mexican and Colombian Pesos and Peruvian Nuevo Sols.

Podex also offer many more payment options, from Paypall, to credit card, bank transfer, and more.

So despite it's rough treatment from Linden Lab earlier, Podex is alive and well, and offering it's customers good deals.

Podex is a sponsor of Second Life Newser.

Bixyl Shuftan

List of Authorized Linden Sellers Expanded, Podex Back in Business

By Bixyl Shuftan

Almost a month after Linden Lab sparked a crisis by changing their terms of service to shut down Third-Party Linden exchangers, and over two weeks since an initial five "Linden Resellers" were authorized to do business, the list of companies residents can buy Lindens from has been noticeably extended. It's possible to once again possible to do business with many of those who shut their doors, or in the case of Podex had the doors shut for them despite repeated attempts to negotiate with the Lab. Podex is among the exchangers now back in business as "Authorized Linden Resellers."

"We are very happy to announce that Podex has been given permission to sell Linden dollars as a member of the Authorized Reseller Program" Jacek Shuftan stated on the Podex Website, "All our clients are welcome to buy Linden Dollars again."

Besides getting it's main source of business in Second Life back, the Podex Exchange has also made a deal with the OpenSim world "Virtual Highway." On this world which recently passed the landmark of one thousand registered users, Podex now offers business buying and selling Virtual Highway Dollars (V$) in addition to Visa cards and the "possibility to earn your own profit in our affiliate program."

Not all of the Third-Party Exchangers have been allowed to return to business yet. Some, such as Moneyslex and the Brando Estate's exchange service are still closed. But for the customers of many once-closed exchangers, their bank is back in business.

The Podex Exchange (http://www.podex.info/) is a sponsor of Second Life Newser.


Sources: Second Life Wiki, Hypergrid Business

Bixyl Shuftan

Third-Party Exchanger Update: No Additional Authorized Linden Resellers

It's been about a week since the last of the Third-Party Linden Exchangers were closed. AnsheX, owned by SL tycoon Anshe Chung, quietly ceased trading. Podex, owned and operated by Jacek Shuftan, was shut down when Jacek's account was suspended by Linden Lab. On the same day, the Lab announced it's new terms for "Authorized Linden Resellers." Of the many exchangers that had once been operating, only five had been approved for the new plan. Among them was AnsheX.

A couple days ago, Jacek's suspension was finally lifted. He however had not gotten a response from Linden Lab concerning his application to continue trading Lindens. And now about a week after Linden Lab's last announcement, the list of five allowed resellers remains at five.

It's unclear why no additional new Linden Resellers have been authorized.

Bixyl Shuftan.

Linden Lab to Allow Several Third-Party Exchange Services to Reopen, Podex Still Closed.

In a partial reversal of it's earlier ban, Linden Lab announced earlier today that they will be allowing Third-Party Linden exchange services after all. But so far, only five of the many exchangers have met their approval. Plus, the services now operate under tighter and more limiting terms and conditions.

Now, to give users more options and make it easier to purchase L$, we’re launching a pilot program of Authorized Resellers of L$. These sites are authorized by Linden Lab to purchase L$ on the LindeX and then resell those L$ using a variety of international currencies and payment methods. To be clear: per the Terms of Service, these resellers will not be allowed to purchase L$ outside of the LindeX (i.e. they will not be able to buy L$ back from users and cash people out). The list of Authorized Resellers participating in the pilot program is available here.

So far, only five exchange services, now officially called Linden Resellers,  have been approved by Linden Lab. They are AnsheX, Buildo, vForEx, VirWoX, and ZoHaIslands. As of the writing of this article, only two had operational ATMs, Bulido and ZoHa. ZoHa announced the news on their blog, "We are proud to announce that ZoHa Islands became today an Authorized Reseller of Linden Dollars," followed by a short description of what this means and the conditions.

The Podex Exchange, which was shut down early Friday morning, was not among the approved exchange services. On the Podex site, Jacek announced they had applied to become an official reseller, but were still stopped from doing business. On "Hypergrid Business," he stated, "Undoubtfully, it is a great news for residents who are not able to use Linden Lab payment methods. ... It will lower the profits of independent exchanges but gives a sparkle of hope that we can continue our virtual existence."

The new terms and conditions are more limiting for the exchange services than before. From now on, they can only get their Linden Dollars from the official LindeX Exchange, and nowhere else. They can no longer buy back Lindens from residents for US dollars or any other currency.

These new terms mean Linden Lab now has a more tighter rein on where it's Linden dollars go. It's very likely they were made with the US Treasury Department's FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) new guidelines about virtual currency in mind. Other conditions include resellers taking steps to "take commercially reasonable steps to prevent and deter credit card and similar types of fraud." They're also required to make sure no business is done with or anyone from any country with which the United States has an embargo with, such as Cuba or Iran.

The new terms have one serious weakness. With residents unable to sell Lindens to anyone but the Lab, Second Life business owners dependent on Third-Party exchangers to convert Lindens to real currency are still out of luck. It's possible that there may be changes in the terms and conditions in the near future to allow this.

So why didn't Linden Lab offer something like this earlier? A few residents in forum threads and article comments thought the Lab was genuinely surprised by how many expressed anger at the move and how many were dependent on the Third Party Exchanges. Other posters expressed suspicion that all this was really about FinCEN, feeling profit was their main motive, noting everyone would have to use LindeX, including the resellers, one poster on SL Universe commenting, "This is a brilliant plan to let Anshe stay in business … ACS and the other land barons have all this L$ they get directly they can sell. Everyone else has to buy it on the Lindex, mark it up, and resell it."

Residents are breathing a sigh of relief, but Linden Lab has once again shaken the confidence of Second Life's users.

The Podex Exchange (http://www.podex.info/) is a sponsor of Second Life Newser.

Links:  Official forums, SL Universe forums, Gwyneth Llewelyn,  Hypergrid Business, New World Notes,  Hamlet Au,

Bixyl Shuftan