Lower Sim Tier, Higher Linden Dollar Purchase/Sell Fees Announced, Residents Can Now Pay Tier With Linden Dollars

Linden Lab had some good news and bad news a few days ago in regards to the fees it charges, good news for sim owners, not so good for the rest of us. 

The good news, if you own a sim, your expenses are going down. The Lab announced it was dropping sim tier by $20 USD a month. 

 

In recognition of our upcoming 20th anniversary, we are ... Dropping the monthly price of Full Regions by $20 for our 20th anniversary – effective immediately, Full Regions are now $209/mo.  

As the chart shows, this is the third sim tier reduction in five years, with sims now being $81 USD less a month than they were in early 2018. 

The Lab would also announce that people could pay for a sim using Linden dollars in what's being called the "$L For Land Beta Program." (see more below).

The bad news, fees for buying and selling Lindens are going up. The Lab would say this was partially due to the expected loss of sim tier revenue, and partially due to inflation increasing their operating costs.

This latest land price reduction, increased development of Second Life features, improvements, and an unfortunate combination of world-wide economic factors including inflation, all bring additional costs to our operations. We’ve spent time considering ways to manage these costs to minimize the overall burden on our Residents. We decided to absorb many of the costs and distribute some by making a change to Linden Dollar buy and sell fees. Effective today, we are changing LindeX fees as follows:

• Increasing the buy fee to 10% with a minimum fee of $1.49 and a maximum fee of $14.99USD per transaction
• Increasing the sell fee to 5% 

This is the latest of several Linden dollar purchase fee increases since June 2017, when they went up from 40 to 60 cents per transaction. Later that year, they would be raised from 60 to 99 cents. In June 2018, they went up from 99 cents to $1.49 per transaction. In April 2021, they went from the $1.49 flat fee to a 7.5% fee that could go no lower than $1.49. 

 

The fee for selling Lindens hasn't been changed as much. They had been 1.5% several years ago, then in Nov. 2017, then went up to 2.5%, and later to 3.5%.

Of the good news that residents can now pay sim tier with Linden dollars, thus for those making Linden dollars able to avoid the cashout fees, there are a few strings attached. The Lab would describe them on a webpage (link). To begin with, it's a trial system that might get canceled after six months. Also, at least for now, only Premium Plus accounts are eligible to take part, and only one sim can be paid for this way. Skill gaming (technically legal gambling) sims are also not eligible, at this time.

Linden Lab would also post a chart of how many Linden dollars would be needed to pay for the various kinds of sim, a regular full sim costing 57,475 Linden dollars a month. To set up these kinds of payments, one has to travel to the "Land Payments" sim, go in the office, find a kiosk, and follow the instructions on the website. 

There's a thread in the official forums to the topic, which as of the writing of this article has 17 pages so far, so discussion has been active.

 

Addition: Although the price changes were supposed to take effect right away, I was contacted by someone saying her sims are still showing the old prices. 

Bixyl Shuftan

Burn ONe's Time Extended Another Month

 

When we wrote about the Burn ONe area in the Highup sim earlier this month, the land had been paid for until the end of July. Last night, it was announced that the time the area will be up was extended for another month.

Wisdom d'Avi (Wisdom Davi) announced the news in the group

Good News

Baker Beach to Remain OPEN through August!

Thanks to Nance who has added 2 weeks to the tier and Mia who will add an additional 2 weeks this coming Friday.

At this time please direguard the Break Camp & LNT notice sent earlier today.

Plans are being made for a celebration at the place this weekend, as of now either one three-day event or three smaller events.

Bixyl Shuftan

 

Linden Lab to Begin Charging Sales Taxes on Sim Tier, Other "Recurring Billings"

 

Yesterday on February 28, Linden Lab announced it would begin charging Second Life's residents in the US sales taxes. The Lab stated they had been paying the costs of what residents would otherwise owe for the past few years but "are no longer able to absorb them."

 Ever since Second Life’s inception two decades ago we have seen many local, state and federal governments impose new ways to collect tax revenue from internet-based businesses. The Wayfair Sales Tax case decision by the Supreme Court was when prior rules about sales tax really changed.  Since then, we have done our best to shield our residents from these taxes as long as possible, but we are no longer able to absorb them.

As of March 31, 2022 we will begin charging sales tax in the U.S. For the time being we will charge taxes only on recurring billings, such as premium subscriptions and land fees. The amount of tax charged will be communicated clearly in the receipt or invoice.

We will continue to absorb the taxes at point-of-sale purchases such as one-time L$ buys, first-time premium subscriptions, and name changes. At some point in the future we will need to begin passing those taxes on to you. We will make another announcement when those charges are phased in.

Your individual charges will be determined by your local jurisdictions. There are more than 13,000 sales and use tax jurisdictions in the United States, with great variation in their rules and tax rates. Tax amounts are also affected by other factors such as the type of goods or services being purchased. To determine the charges, we will be relying on an automated third-party system which closely tracks local tax laws, so the tax amounts are always up to date.

This is news we don’t enjoy sharing, but for the health of the business and of Second Life, we can no longer continue absorbing these tax burdens.

As stated, the Lab won't start charging until the end of the month, and will charge taxes "only on recurring billings." This means Premium accounts and sim tier. For now, things like name-change fees, Marketplace transactions, "first-time premium subscriptions," inworld purchases, and of course the buying of Linden dollars, won't be affected by taxes. But the Lab is saying " At some point in the future" they will begin passing down tax charges on those as well. The Lab will be using "an automated third-party system which closely tracks local tax laws" to determine how much tax a resident owes.

It was the South Dakota vs Wayfair case (of which Overstock.com and Newegg were also involved) in 2018 that allowed states to tax Internet transactions. It's unknown when states in the US first started telling Linden Lab they were owed money. But it is probable that the increase of Second Life's number of active residents in the Covid Pandemic put the Lab in a better position to absorb the costs. And lately, the number of new Covid cases has been plummeting.

In the official forums, response was somewhat muted, European residents saying they had been paying a Value Added Tax (VAT) on purchases for years, one saying, "I like our VAT system. We all pay in and we all get something back in return ..." Some were of mixed views, "This is neither surprising nor unfair, as European users well know. It does, however, perhaps represent a step backwards for the efforts to reduce the role of land cost in the SL economy." And some groaned, "They use this excuse to raise prices. Not so strange with the roaring inflation. But I guess they will use the inflation excuse for another raise later in the year."

In any event, while we've sometimes thought of Linden Lab's fees as taxes on our virtual experinces, real taxes are now coming to Second Life.

To check out the blog entry in full, Click Here. 

Source: Wikipedia

Bixyl Shuftan
 

Sunweaver Estates to Lower Rent Thanks to "A Special Coyote"

About ten days after Linden Lab announced their limited time offer to reduce sim tiers for a fee, it seems the Sunweaver and Angel Estates have now been able to take advantage of it, thanks to the generosity of one of the residents.

RECoyote Mindes, whom owns a place in the estates along with his partner Perri Prinz, communicated with Rita Mariner and Nydia Tungsten, and offered to take care of the fees Linden Lab was asking for, Rita announcing the details.

I got confirmation that the tier on Sunweaver Bay and Sunweaver Isle has been successfully reduced.  Thanks to a gift from a special coyote.  As soon as Nydia and I can discuss the level of rent reduction, I will put that immediately into place on my sims. ...

I have discussed it with Nydia, and for the time being the rent reduction I have put in place will stay.  All of you will see a rent reduction of between a couple hundred to several thousand lindens in your rent, depending on the amount of your parcel.  I Hopefully have hit all the affected rent boxes,  If I missed any, please inform me, I'll take care of it.  Enjoy your savings, courtesy of RECoyote.

Chatting about the deal with others, all of the Sunweavers I talked to were very happy with RECoyote, or "Rec" as he's usually called here. The gratitude did not necessarily extend to Linden Lab, the overall  feeling was the Lab offered the deal not out of goodwill to their customers, but was simply a calculated business decision of theirs, a couple reminding me that past experience with the Lindens has cost them what good will they have toward those who run Second Life, saying what kept them here were the friends they made here. One had some doubts the larger land barons would pass their savings onto the customers. Someone else responded there could very well be some increased competition for renters if it was seen some estates weren't lowering their rates or not lowering them much.

This hasn't been the first example of Rec's generosity as he's recently helped a couple neighbors, both of whom have contributed to the community as well, one with a new computer and another a high-end tablet designed for doing artwork. A couple residents mentioned they were planning on giving Rec a small token of their appreciation. The details of which will be revealed once he sees it for himself.

A fine example of a neighbor helping out his virtual community.

Bixyl Shuftan

Linden Lab Offering Lower Tiers, For a Price

For years, residents have asked Linden Lab to lower what it charges for sim tier. Yesterday, in a "limited time offer," the Lab announced a chance for landowners to lower their monthly tiers to "Grandfathered maintenance rates." This means lowering the rate for regular sims from $295 USD a month to $195, and homesteads from $125 USD to $95.

But, there's a catch. First, the offer is only good until October 4. Second, to lower the tiers, one needs to pay a one-time fee, $600 USD for each regular sim, and $180 for each homestead. The deal does not apply to sims receiving the non-profit discount or those under it's "Skill Games" policy.

This move comes several months after the Lab's decision in November to reduce set-up fees for private sims.

Ciaran Laval, after a joke that the Lab was trying to make the "protest gnomes" (pictured above) redundant, called it "a good deal," at least for those who have the money up front. Jo Yardley commented, "This offer comes at an interesting time because by the time it ends, Sansar will have opened to a lot more beta testers and if all goes well, we’ll be months away from it opening to the main public. Who knows how things are going in SL by then?" She called it, "A good deal and another step in the right direction, but still, $600 is a lot of money," suggesting the Lab could have done a little better by allowing landowners the option to pay in installments. Hamlet Au was hopeful the move could help stop the long slow decline of Second Life's sim numbers, which have fallen below the 25,000 Level, less then 17500 of which are privately owned. In the thread on the topic in the official Second Life forums, reactions were somewhat mixed, one calling it a "cash infusion" strategy for the Lab, another commenting "if I were a non-grandfathered land baron right about now, I'd be doing one heck of a happy dance."

Time will tell how the move will affect Second Life.

For the blog post, Click Here. 

Sources: Ciaran Laval, Jo Yardley. Hamlet Au, SL Universe, gridsurvey.com.Second Life Forums,  

Second Life Statistics Show Continued Slow Decline

For some time, the total amount of privately held land in Second Life has been in a slow decline, and the most recent statistics from The Second Life Grid Survey show the trend continuing.

The latest numbers show the number of private sims to be 26,403. In the SL Universe forums, Tyche Shepherd stated this was a loss of 1568 since the start of the year, or 7.5%. While not as big a decline as last year's 2500, it's still not good news. Daniel Voyager estimated at this rate, the total would drop to about 24,000 in a year.

Hamlet Au had two things to say about this development. One was that the declining tier revenue was being partially made up by Blocksworld and other aps owned by Linden Lab outside Second Life. Should tier continue to fall, the Lab will depend more on it as a source of revenue. The second was a reminder to readers not to expect tier rates to fall, and that was no solution to Second Life's shrinking land area. If for no other reason most virtual property was in the hands of a handful of land barons, whom are doing fairly well. A drop in tier, Hamlet felt, would just mean a severe drop in revenue from Second Life. To stop Second Life from shrinking, Hamlet argued, the Lab needs to find a way for it to attract more new users. Hamlet got a number of suggestions from readers about how the lab could, though they were skeptical about the Lab's willingness, and competence to do so.


So can Second Life turn around, or will the slow shrinkage continue?

Source: Second Life Grid Survey

Bixyl Shuftan

Breaking News: Linden Lab Offering 50% Discounts to Limited Number of Nonprofit Groups To Renew Expired Sims.

By Bixyl Shuftan

According to an article by Hamlet Au, Linden Lab spokesman Peter Gray has confirmed that the company has been "quietly contacting a select number of non-profit and educational" groups who have let their sims in Second Life expire in the past few years, offering 50% off land payments if they renew.

Before October 2010, it was standard practice for Linden Lab to offer half tier for nonprofit and educational sims. Then the discount was stopped. Gray's announcement means a partial reversal of this decision.

Gray wouldn't say how many groups would be given the offer, only "that we've extended this special offer to a targeted number." There is no process for nonprofit and educational groups, whether they still have their land or not, to ask for the 50% reduction, "There isn't currently a way to apply for this; it's a special offer … as part of our customer win-back efforts."

Hamlet called this development exciting news, as it could mean the return of some popular places that faded away due in part to the end of the discount. His enthusiasm wasn't shared by those commenting on his article. At best, people called it "a step in the right direction." Some however had some bitter comments, "will Linden Lab also (pay) for our teeth they kicked out, the surgery required to remove the knife from our back, and the trip to the eye doctor for the dirt they kicked in our face?" A thread started in the SL Universe forums, but as of the publishing on this article, there were just a few entries.

So what do you the readers have to say? Please enter comments below.

Source: New World Notes


Bixyl Shuftan

News & Commentary: Second Life's Declining Sim Numbers

Last week, Daniel Voyager published some statistics from the Second Life Grid Survey. The results were disappointing, if not disturbing. The number of places across the Grid is dropping, the number over the past year having fallen over 11 percent, and residents not staying inworld as long. So why is this happening and what can be done about it? There's been a few opinions on the issue.

Read more in Extra.

Spaceport Alpha/International Space Museum Sim Goes Offline, But Will Return

Some sad news hit Second Life recently when Spaceport Alpha, the home of the International Space Museum, went offline. On the Grid since 2006, the place was a favorite of space fans. However, thanks to some help, the sim may not be gone for long.

Read more in Extra.