Beck’s has now been opened for a week and the response has been just what I had hoped for. There are over 30 new card designs, plus gift boxes with an easy-smeezie menu for controlling hover text, a beautiful wall photo frame with clock on beveled glass (great gift!), and the stepping stones I’ve sold in the past (now organized into three sets of 3).
There are four types of cards: economy, Custom Message (scripted so that you can add a message in chat, made VERY easy by a menu), Ultimate Personalized with your details added in the card and on the envelope, and Ultimate Photo Personalized, which is like the Ultimate Personalized card but with your photo added. I’ll post more details about these four types of cards soon.
All my cards are rezzed by the envelope! Come to the store and touch one of the sample envelopes on the reception desk to see how it works.
A question I’ve been getting a lot: Is Beck’s open?
Not yet. It was open temporarily for Valentines, and there will be a permanent re-opening soon. I have some ideas you’re going to love. You’ll have more options than in any other greeting card store in SL. And, just like at Valentine’s, I promise the highest quality and the best service I can provide. The code monkeys are working overtime. I’ll make an annoucement as soon as I get the first batch of items in the store. That’ll be followed, of course, by a GRAND OPENING.
The question I get the most: Am I accepting orders now?
YES!! I’m making invitations and personalized cards for birthdays, thank you cards, etc. All invitations and cards come in a free envelope. Cards are L$185 and invitations are L$350. IM me if you need to place an order!
The two questions asked most often during the Valentine card shopping season were: “What’s next for your store?” and “How do you put the card back in the envelope?”
One “next” thing is to continue creating cards and related items. I barely had time to get the store opened for Valentine’s, so all of my effort went toward Valentine’s items. Next: items for birthdays, rez days, anniversaries, etc. I’ll also have invitations (a frequent request in those first few days of being open) and frames.
The other “next” thing is to find a better way to indicate how to put cards back into their envelopes. 
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BECK’S CARDS & GIFTS
The building’s up and open, and I’ve made some Valentine’s Day items available. So far, I have cards (personalized and non-personalized), matching gift boxes, and matching house flags. Each card comes in a free envelope, and the envelopes can also be personalized. The recipient rezzes the envelope, touches it, and the card rezzes in front.
I still need to find time to do some landscaping. But getting more merchandise ready is the first priority.
And I hope the building looks at least a little like the drawing in a previous post.
For sale: 2048 sqm parcel on an attractive island with walkways and waterways throughout. The tier is low, especially considering there is a 5% prim bonus (results in 491 prims), and can be paid by L$ or PayPal. It’s a buyer’s market: priced to move at $5.4 L/sqm.
Edit: The parcel has been purchased.
Sukhumvit 246, 106, 21
The first thing I made in SL was a large fireplace. Even before I was halfway finished, I was addicted to creating in SL. It went well, and Plan A was based on that creation: make more home decor items and furniture, then open a store. RL intervened, and an extremely busy autumn forced me to put my plans on hold.
At the beginning of December, I took a few hours to make personalized Christmas stockings for close friends. I was happy with the results and I decided to open a store to offer these and a few other Christmas items.
A Surprising Start
My expectations for sales were low — many other stores had started offering Christmas items several weeks earlier and I had no experience selling. But during the first week, sales increased every day and the store rose to #1 in most in-world searches for “Christmas stockings,” “tree skirts,” and other related terms. Only one week after the opening, Kghia Gherardi reviewed my merchandise in the Prim Perfect blog and had some nice things to say. Sales continued to rise exponentially through the holiday season.
Too Successful to Turn Back
Customers constantly asked what I’d sell after Christmas. When I said I planned to open a furniture store, they usually responded by complimenting me on the quality and telling me I should continue to offer personalized things. That scene finally repeated itself so many times that I had to consider continuing with Plan B. I had had so much fun meeting people — there’s so much more contact with customers of personalized items than with typical merchandise — and I didn’t want it to stop. (I’ll write more about why this was so much fun in a future post.)
So . . . long live Plan B! Version 2.0 will consist of personalized cards, house flags, and other items, as well as some non-personalized greeting cards and gift items. I’m determined that the quality and service will be at least as good as it was for the Christmas items. And I’m determined to have as much fun, too.
