Many Mall Shops Closed or Empty

[Shadowsong]

Originally Posted by Arto

...
Maybe there should be a ShopBuyer item just like a ShopKeeper that allows shop owners to purchase from the general population.

I submitted that to the suggestions shredder at MA a few months ago.

I think it could be a great benefit to low-end hunters, and would prevent much of the stuff ending up in tt.

[Bagman]

Hmmm, not bad but then it would have to come with a tax for MA rather than the landowner as they would miss out on alot of of auction fees with the way it goes now.

I would support the idea on principle!

Bags

[Sarubaboon]

I'm a shopowner and my shop does have items, unfortunately at the moment not very useful ones (just some cheap clothes, blueprints from crafting and bits and pieces I buy cheaply from people) at the moment (like Spod) I'm trying to skill up crafting to be able to provide a better service.

I believe initially many people who were not really into shops bought them, maybe with the intention of reselling, or just of cutting their action fees when selling loot, and now slowly we might get to see more people come in who are actually willing to spend the time to give a good service.... I know for sure that I will keep my shop for a long time, I just need to get the right skills at the moment to sell something that people actually want....

[Ace Wiseshadow]

Hi,

I own the Port Atlantis Mall,
But I think the following can be said for all the malls.

I think over the holidays possibly less people have had time to keep shops up to date,

As for empty shops, there could be various reasons for this, but it seems to me shop demand is high, and mall traffic/sales are high, and the mall has lot of active shops, but I think for the ones that are empty/hardly used, owners will likely want to sell or rent if they do not wish to run a shop, so they will probably be sold to someone who wants to run one. (if you are selling or buying, or renting/looking to rent a PA mall shop, please check out the PA Mall website, shops Buying & Selling section here and/or email me at ace@pa-mall.com and i'll let you know if I hear of any shops for sale/rent, or anyone buying.

I think the malls/shops and visitors will benefit from the massive expansion of players I think we will be seeing in entropia as well.

Also the mall has been really busy, I'm always impressed by
the amount of players I see in the mall. Several new shops have moved into the mall, and I have been getting really positive feedback from owners of new and old shops.

So I'm confident the malls are doing well, and that the malls are a successful concept. the customers and sales are there, the demand for shops is there, and for many shops, the stock is there as well. Thats not to say all shops are fully used . At the time of writing there are several shops closed or with low stock, but I think the amount of active shops the malls have will increase as time goes on and entropia expands, as I think people will likely sell shops if they are not using them.

as for the PA mall, I have been focusing on getting a web site up, which should be online in the future, and has been created by AACB (thanks), I'm adding content, mall info, etc. the website features various sections, including a mall map, a directory listing for shop owners/names, as well as listing the sort of things the shop sells, guns, armour, etc.

I'm hoping this will be of use to shop owners, Visitors, and anyone else.

Thanks

Ace Wiseshadow
PA Mall Owner.

[Arto]

@ACE
All I can go by is what I witnessed walking round all the Malls looking for Armour and as I don't have access to stats it really is a snapshot observation.

There are well stocked shops in yours and other malls but overall I would say that the Malls are (an this is a quick subjective opinion rather than a proper survey) 50% full and a lot of previously well stocked shops are looking a litlle threadbare to say the least.

I think your efforts to provide a directory, map etc will be excellent, and finding players who want to run a shop as a going concern is a good strategy to build quality, increase footfall and turnover.

All we need now is a professional buyer at the PA Mall Teleport with pre-arranged buyout prices and I'm sure the stock will come rolling in
Maybe the saved auction fee could be something towards shop profit margins if it could be avoided.

I'd just like to make it clear that my initial post isn't a criticism of Malls or shop owners btw.

thanks for the post.

Arto

[Arto]

If I could park my Adjusted Omegaton AllRoad 8.0TS at the Mall and just do a weekly shop things would be a lot easier, especially when I have two young pets and a stressful hunting career to worry about.

... maybe it's time to get some sleep

[Harvest]

MA is a master at getting the cart before the horse. IMO I dont see the demand for all these shops. I have 2 sayings about the malls. One, when they(MA) start dropping some loot, then maybe I will spend some loot. Two, if you want to make some money, just take a walk through the mall. By the time you leave the mall, your equipment will be over valued by at least 20-50%.
What was it called, the BooRum? Nice little sales monster that sold ppl some shops in a pit. After all the shops in the dank cave were spoken for the monster magicaly disapeared, never to be heard of again, much like the out of the way shops that depended on that critter to draw busnises down there. Shameless little sales monster.
I will say that there are several crafters who have managed to run sucsesful shops for several years now and sometimes they offer very good discounts on the items in their shops. I also think that in the future shops will be doing much better busnies then they do now, just due to the influxe of AV's. As for me, still....no ped=no sale

[Ace Wiseshadow]

Hi Arto,

Thanks, they are really good ideas.

I understand your posts are not criticism,

I think the malls are still fairly new, as mentioned, perhaps some people that bought some shops before, done so for investment, or just to put the odd item in, so shops were closed/not used much, I think over time, those who did not want to run shops have sold, and we have seen old shops change hands and become used, now we have a large number of active shops, and at the time of writing there are still some shops that are closed/low stock, and as said, I think many of those who do not wish to run a shop will sell or rent.

so not all shops fully used at the time of writing, but There are certainly a lot of very dedicated shop owners, with well stocked shops in the malls.
There are certainly a lot of very dedicated shop owners, with well stocked shops in the malls.

[Arto]

Originally Posted by Sarubaboon

I'm a shopowner and my shop does have items, unfortunately at the moment not very useful ones (just some cheap clothes, blueprints from crafting and bits and pieces I buy cheaply from people) at the moment (like Spod) I'm trying to skill up crafting to be able to provide a better service.
... I just need to get the right skills at the moment to sell something that people actually want....

A couple of ideas more ...
Value Add
If there were staff in the shop, who for instance could give advice on the best armour / plate combination, or recommend a pistol with good eco for the Ava's skills players might prefer to shop there. (of course they could still go to auction and try to get best market price - but without a buyout ... might choose to purchase immediately from the shop)
Exclusivity
What if MA introduced Retail Exclusive BP's that would create (L) items that can't be sold on Auction. This could give the retailers an exclusive capability to draw in customers but wouldn't stop individuals trading items.

I have always liked the shopping in game, all we need is for items to be as easy to locate as they are on auction and the price to be market driven.

[Ace Wiseshadow]

I mentioned this before, I'm happy to help anyone who is looking to buy a shop, or sell/rent one in the pa mall, if you are, please check out the PA Mall website, shops Buying & Selling section here and/or email me at ace@pa-mall.com and i'll let you know if I hear of any shops for sale/rent, or anyone buying.

This will also be of use in helping the unused/empty shops become used I think, by helping those who want to sell/rent find a buyer/renter.

Thanks

Ace Wiseshadow.