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RL T-Shirt Store Opens Branch in Second Life

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the get-your-red-hot-shirts dept.

ches_grin writes "The (very real) t-shirt maker American Apparel has opened a virtual store in Second Life, becoming the first major retailer to set up shop in the SL universe. Though items cost only $1, the company hopes to bolster real life sales. Article includes some screenshots of the store and clothes." From the article: "The amount of money American Apparel has made so far on Second Life is probably not as much as they would make in a day at a single store ... But the idea meshes existing Korean online game models in which players can buy accessories for their avatars in micro-transactions, with the idea of the social Web--an online, virtual community. American Apparel's store suggests a new form of videogaming only starting to be explored in the U.S."

3 of 55 comments (clear)

  1. Next... by DaSenator · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...we're going to see Abercrombie. Now your 'hard earned' Linden Dollars can be used to buy a $25 not real t-shirt, instead of a $50 real t-shirt!

    I for one welcome our new virtual overpriced fashion masters.

    --
    Entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem.
  2. Can you do it yourself? by Rob+T+Firefly · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I don't know much about SL, but I have heard that people have an unprecedented amount of freedom to create their own items. Does this extend to player-created clothing? If so, how long until someone bootlegs the $1 t-shirt for 50 cents, or even better, for free?

    --
    Slashdot Burying Stories About Slashdot Media Owned
  3. This isn't such a bad idea by NexFlamma · · Score: 2, Interesting

    The demographic for this kind of thing is probably larger than you'd think.

    Think about the number of people who go to great lengths to personalize their avatar in a game like WoW which has very limited customization options. With a game like Second Life, where your character IS YOU, the desire to "pimp your toon" is HUGE.

    Also, this business model, has almost no overhead costs. Sure, advertising factors in, but you only need to design the items once, and never actually need to manufacture them.

    Sadly though, because of the smaller populations of a game like Second Life, I dont think it's going to be a huge cash cow any time soon. However, once a game like Second Life that's more of a Life Sim than a game like WoW (which is a murloc-killing sim) becomes the top MMO, the profits could be amazing.