Iris Wants to Know: When You're Shopping in SL, How Often Do You Really Try the Demo?

Janine "Iris Ophelia" Hawkins' ongoing review of gaming and virtual world style

It's the one piece of Second Life fashion advice that's universal no matter who you ask. This kind of consensus like like a damn unicorn, but just about every designer, blogger, and fashionista will tell you the same thing: Try the demo. Try. The. Effing. Demo.

But how many of us actually do?

We all know that trying on a demo is a free and easy way to make sure that you're buying what you think you're buying, but... Well... There's always an excuse not to, isn't there? "I know this brand well enough", "I'm in a hurry", "how different could it be?" Recently I picked up a new mesh head from a certain super-sweet skin shop. I didn't bother with the demo, and I ended up with a skin tone slightly darker than I was anticipating. It's far from the end of the world (and far from the worst no-demo story I've heard) but it was a little disappointing. To be perfectly honest I try demos once in a blue moon, and usually only when I don't trust the vendor ad to be accurate. The fact is that there are a lot of other reasons to demo an item, even from designers you know and love.

So here's what I want to know: How often do you take advantage of the demos? Are you a diligent shopper, or a risk-taking loose-cannon? As always, share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart on Twitter, Iris Ophelia in Second Life) has been writing about virtual worlds and video games for nearly a decade, and has had her work featured on Paste, Kotaku, Jezebel and The Mary Sue.

Comments

[Verity Goodnight]

It depends what it is - if it's a store I know to have consistent sizing on stuff, I might skip it. On the other hand, I've been trying demos more and more as a money-saving method - not so much to weed out stuff that doesn't fit, but because my method of using demos is to go home and try a whole bunch of demos in one go and delete all the ones that don't fit right. Then I hold off on going back to the store/event until the next day to see if I really want the thing or not.

Basically, I've started applying my real world shopping habits to the virtual world.

[Janine/Iris]

@Verity Ooh that is a really good point I hadn't even considered! I'm also NOTORIOUSLY BAD about trying things on in-store, I'd always rather just do it at home and return stuff later.

[val]

if there is one, always, if there isn't one, I often won't buy from that store.

[Kitty Revolver]

Demos are annoying because I have to take everything off that I am wearing and then get the right alphas, so it really depends. Usually if it is expensive and a cut that I really don't know is going to fit, I try it on. One designer is doing the L$1 demos again (almost everyone is free now compared to 2008) to which I won't consider. IDK. I hate demos, but honestly, I would waste a lot more of my money.

[Tracy RedAngel]

I always try demos because something that looks good in an ad, in the store might not look good on my avatar. Even the best brands can churn out a lemon and might have some weird rigging issue. I won't buy something if they don't have a demo.
I have a basic outfit I wear to events with just a simple bun hairdo, a texture swimsuit or t-shirt & shorts, then just my Slink hands and feet (usually the high feet so I can try on shoes). This way, I can try grab what I want, try it on and take it off quickly. I don't care what I look like at events, because I'm there to shop, and most people in a sim with 40+ avatar aren't going to fully rez even on a super fast computer.

[shirc desantis]

Always, if available. OK caveat - buying clothes is not even a monthly activity so trying a demo is part of the novelty. Full quads now...

[Jessica Pixel]

I always try demos. If there is no demo, I won't buy it.

I used to never, ever buy $1L demos, but lately I don't mind so much. $1L isn't much and even if I don't buy the item, the creator still had to at least pay to upload it, and I think giving someone less than a penny for their time to make a thing is fine.

[Tracy RedAngel]

The $1L for the demo seems like a jerk-ish thing to do. I mean, it's not going to make you any money. Why should someone pay to try your product? No, it's not much money, but there is a principle behind it. Just...don't charge people for demos.

[Shockwave Yareach]

No, I have never used a demo for clothes.

I love being able to see furniture and landscaping gear before buying it though

[Mellyn Llewellyn]

I always try the demo and won't buy if there isn't one. The problem isn't the fit so much as the alpha. Many times they don't fit right, odd invisible parts of the body showing, cleavage with a huge hole where breasts should be, armholes that gape, etc. It's my biggest complaint about mesh clothing, when the alpha just doesn't work right.

[Landaree Levee]

I always try the demo. I’ve been had enough times, even by those shops that I trust... or do I? So no demo, no purchase, no matter how awesome the vendor pic looks... the only exception for a time was Hoorenbeek, which at the same time I kinda “trusted”, and offered no demos anyway (they do now).

[zz bottom]

I always try the demo unless i already saw the product in world being used by someone else.
Before i got a fit mesh body i tried all the demos available.
Yesterday i got a new mesh hair and tried a lot of the demos before.
It makes it easy when you buy always on same brands, as you already know what to expect, but a lack of a demo on a 20 linden product is not the same as on a 4000 one.
Still what i keep not understanding is the need for most Sl fit mesh bodies to not be copy/mod, do they have some to hide? Most hair is copy/mod, cant understand why a fit mesh body is not set to be mod!
So i will name the fit mesh body i wear and bought, cause it is the only one that is copy/mod that im aware.
Kitty's Lair Lena perky!

[zz bottom]

Hoo and i only buy on marketplace, if i can see the shop in world, sorry but my rule is very simple, no inworld Shop, no sale!

[Rin]

I always try to get a demo and only make an exception for things that look really good and are cheap (150L$ or so .. but not more).
I also very often collect demos and then try them out in big sessions like ... just last week where I collected more then 40 in one big shopping spree and ended up buying around 5 because the rest just did not looked as good inwolrd as on the picture, or was not a good fit on my shape or I decided against buying it. Demos are great and stores that does not offer them does not get any money from me (and this includes stores I already know things from and consider them good ... there are some exceptions when it comes to shoes made to fit certain mesh-feet, but I prefer to see a demo of those first even when I know that they would fit).

[Rin]

And to add ... 1L$ for a demo, while cheap, is a reason for me not to get it. Luckily some stores that do this on the Marketplace have free deoms inworld so at least I excuse this as a way to make people visit their places.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

On my budget I can't afford mistakes. Demo early, demo often.

[Imagin Illyar]

When I shop for mesh clothing, I always first take home a bunch of demos. Because I run an estate and my time is limited the demos often pile up in my inventory demo folder before I get a chance to try them on. When I do I go through all the demos and usually end up deleting most of them and then I put the ones I do like in a folder called "buy me" and when I get more time I track them down and buy them. My biggest pet peeve - designers who do not put a landmark to their store in their demo box. I never buy without trying a demo so stores that don't offer demos do not get my business.

I do most of my shopping at the monthly places - Fameshed, Collabor8, Uber, etc. I do have some favourite stores I'll visit if I'm looking for something in particular, especially shoes. I'm really picky and won't buy an item if it doesn't fit will, has a poorly done alpha or - the biggest one - the rigging isn't done properly and my body pokes through when I walk.

[Paypabak Writer]

Early on, I was cavalier about demos, but enough disappointments and now I always get the demo first. Even for Slink-compatible shoes, which really ought just to work, right? I demo hair mainly to see if it looks good on me but clothes to ensure that they fit well, especially moving about in them.

[Shug Maitland]

With the advent of mesh clothing Demos are a must. In the event that I do buy something without trying the demo, it is at my own risk; no complaining, badmouthing or otherwise whining.

[Adeon Writer]

For mesh clothing? I get the demo every time.

As someone who only uses male clothes, the selection is very limited, and if like me you have close attention to detail and are super picky about quality and things fitting properly, less than 5% of the stuff you demo will actually fit. If there is no demo, there is no purchase. The chance of it being a waste of money is too high... I buy countless demos without buying the actual product. The reason is they never fit.

[Cicadetta Stillwater]

I use non-human avatars (often colorful) and with shapes that don't necessarily work with standard sizing and attachments that can easily clip clothes. I typically demo the heck out of things. At a friend's store, whose clothes I like, which aren't terribly expensive? I'll demo the heck out of things. (She expects it, I think, and seems to enjoy seeing her clothes worn in unexpected ways.)

Most stores, I won't buy a mesh garment if I can't demo the thing. I've really only made an exception for one, and I would probably shop more from them if they would put demos out. Beautiful clothes. Wish I could wear more of them. They won't budge on the demo thing, however, which is frustrating. So I limit myself to group gifts (as demos), and the occasional gamble.

[Eddi Haskell]

It all depends on the price. If it is under 250 Linden, I will just buy it since my time is so limited. It is not worth saving that much if the article looks good, since I am rarely disappointed in mens clothing.

[Flashing Merlin]

Time is money; time is life. It can take several minutes to try a demo, then go back, find the full cost version and buy that. Since I bill my time at over US$1 per minute, it actually can cost me more in lost time to try a demo than what I would lose if the full cost version doesn't work. Therefore over about L$1,000 is when I decide it's worth trying the demo first.

I usually shop in the Marketplace, rather than inworld, again to save time. Merchants who put demos in the marketplace should be sure to provide a link to the full cost item on the demo page. I don't want to spend time searching through hundreds of items in your store to find what I want.

Mesh is fine for furniture, but I hate mesh clothing because of the fitting problems, and will always buy non-mesh clothing first, if it's close enough to what I want. I especially hate merchants who tell me to resize my avatar to fit their mesh clothing, and will not buy from them again.

I already have all the outfits I normally will need. I don't try to keep up with changes in fashion, because I maintain only people who don't have a sense of personal style need to keep changing with fashion trends. These days I typically only buy new outfits if I need them for some new role playing adventure.

[Colleen Criss]

ALways. No demo, no sale. 1L charge for demo I never go back.

[Harper Ganesvoort]

I try it on about half of the time. Generally, if they're following Standard Sizing, there's no problem, except for the occasional odd alpha or curl of fabric. If something looks distinctly odd, or I know I usually have problems in that region of my body, I'll try it on if I can in the store.

[Arwyn Quandry]

*Always*.
I don't buy a new item unless I try it out first. I'll happily spend an hour picking out demos, taking them back to my place, trying them on with different items I already own to see if they work with my wardrobe, then deleting or purchasing them. There's a few times I've seen something, thought it looked nice and then tried it on only to realize it wasn't as pretty as in the demo. And on my male av, forget about it - I won't touch anything without trying a demo because male sizes are so wonky. However, if the demo is L$1, I write off the item and won't even try it.

[irihapeti]

as someone who mostly shops at the cheap end of the mesh clothes market then I pretty much always end up with stuff that has a flaw in it somewhere. Sometimes tiny and sometimes oh! well

I accept this. I usual work these into combinations with stuff I get elsewhere to compensate as best I can. So all good

+

when I do shop in a higher price bracket which I do sometimes (not often) then I want a demo every time

+

the things I notice most are:

there is a shop with higher priced items overall. There is a box with something in it which is way under priced to the rest. Everytime there is something wrong with it. I think hmm! maybe is something wrong with the others on the walls as well. So I never even think about buying them. bc whn higher price above my normal purse then I am really cautious. Even if is demo available

is the same with gifties. You get and is not good. Like oh! well. And you start to wonder about the other stuff on the wall

why do creators shoot themselves like this? If is rubbish (like not up to your usual standard) then why make me think that all your other stuff might be rubbish as well

you be better off I think to not put it out as a giftie or cheapie at all