
Above: A Linden Lab staff response to SL creator's request for credit processing increase
A successful Second Life content creator who makes a real life living from selling SL-based virtual goods tells me she's been suffering financial hardship due to the way Linden Lab handles credit limits for cash processing. While SLers can sell Linden Dollars for US dollars, there's a delay of some days before that cash goes into the user's PayPal account. And more significantly, there's a limit to how much cash can be processed during a given period of time.
"The main problem," this creator, who I'll call "Merrill", tells me, "is being forced to wait months (2-3+) to get the process credit limits increased after you've started exceeding them, and the criteria for limit increases remains unpublished and vague." (As proof of that, see the above screencap from a Linden staffer, in response to her request to have her limit raised.)
This has proven pretty pressing to Merrill's financial means:
"I have had my store open for years and only started focusing on SL content creation full-time this year," she tell me. "[S]ince March, I've only been able to cash out (to PayPal) 70-80% of what I'm earning each month and need for RL expenses. This hurts me because it's forced me to fall behind on necessary bills due to the sudden cap, and makes the transition to a full-time creator much harder to sustain. I increased the amount of RL work hours needed for content creation so I could finally increase my SL earnings, only to be met with a new monthly limit; it's a little demotivating."
Merrill contacted me after finding out other content creators were in a similar position, and began voicing their own complaints in some online forums:

Chat forum of SL developers discussing credit limits
"Some of the responses I remember were - 'This is so infuriating. We can't get money out of our accounts now.' 'I went through hell to get mine raised', 'LL needs to get on that before they lose their designers (...) creators are trying to make a LIVING, not a scraping by'."
Now, there's a good reason for having some limits on Linden Dollar-US$ processing: You don't want a land baron, for instance, suddenly processing hundreds of thousands of US dollars in L$ out of Second Life, leaving its economy in tatters. But in Merrill's case, the limits seem low, and arbitrary:
"The limits seem to vary per creator, I've heard of them being set as low as $999 per 30 days, mine is currently set to $1999 per 30 days," Merrill tells me. Which isn't all that much in relation to the greater Second Life economy -- and certainly not enough to live on in most of the real world.
In fairness to Linden Lab, this could be a relatively isolated case and there may be unique circumstances for Merrill and these others. I've asked the company for a comment and will update this story when/if I do.
they definitely don't have there trust level built up with LL...many things factor...are they cashing out regularly on a weekly basis or random times... random amounts ...they have stated many times that there is now a trust relationship you must build to get faster cashouts ... most people have no patience to wait this they want it now or yesterday....put in your ticket for an increase if its not been addressed ask for it to be escalated to a supervisor...these new rules are not all LLs doing the US government has also put in new laws that have come into effect recently for money laundering....are you in a country that has a high risk for these things then you have to wait...remember we are all LUCKY to even be able to earn money in this virtual world don't become entitled ...be patient and do your steps to build your trust portfolio with them...and no your years of history do not count with this new system
Posted by: Sweet Valentine | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 05:31 PM
Gee mommy. LL likes to leech the interest off other people's money. What surprise.
Posted by: phil | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 05:43 PM
Not cool. There's only so many costs these creators bear that can be handled by leaving USD uncashed out at LL. While prudence is important in financial matters, it should not be at the expense of significant speed in getting creators the US$ they need to sustain their RL selves.
LL's closure of the reseller program and declaration that the Lindex is the only allowed way to trade between L$ and USD leaves it saddled entirely with the responsibility of ensuring the velocity of cashflow is sufficient for all resident needs. Continued failure to ensure this happens will only encourage residents to work out ways to get around the ToS. When creators trade in kind or make contracts with each other externally in USD-only amounts, this is money that LL cannot take a cut of.
Posted by: Patchouli Woollahra | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 06:20 PM
The SL Market shows a Paypal vendor and I use a Paypal Tipjar and Paypal rental box on Opensim - JUST SKIP THE MIDDLEMAN !!!
Posted by: Carlos Loff | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 06:46 PM
@ Patchouli
Oprah fans can be a rather obsessed bunch. I've heard rumours of a fan who was so dedicated to her and her show that he built himself a home deep within the basement of her studio. He lived off of leftover danishes and coffee, and got around the building unseen by using a series of employee only passages and catwalks. He watched every broadcast from perches under the stage and above the ceiling, and here's where it gets really creepy, he even had a peephole into her dressing room.
What's worse, it's said that he had a terrible temper and was prone to violence. Any changes to the show's format would result in sabotage and death threats on the studio execs' desks, and upon hearing a (baseless) rumor that her show would be cancelled, he beat one unfortunate company vice president half to death. Finally, his hideout was discovered during renovations to the building. He attacked a construction worker, then fled when confronted by security. After a late night chase down the Chicago river, he was killed by a mob of drunken teamsters.
But his legend lives on. You may also have heard of this strange individual. The man known as...
The Phantom of the Oprah.
Posted by: Yourthere Sometimes | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 07:51 PM
@ Carlos
By using the "MIDDLEMAN!!!"..some of us can keep our real lives private -_-
Posted by: Yourthere Sometimes | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 07:55 PM
There were indeed several long and heated threads on the SL Forums on this. The conclusion by many was that this was simply a way to get a larger fee as some folks (like me) were holding on to their US dollars until they had over the breaking point and thus "saved" some dinero on the fee.
Some folks who kept a LOT of US dollars in their account (and I do mean a lot) were hurt the worst. I got back to normal (paying more fees of course) in a month or so since I don't make tons of money :D.
What is STILL puzzling to me is that I have friends who have a credit process limit FAR greater than they ever have used and ever will, while others who obviously could use a higher limit in order to cash out the huge reserves they now have and can't send to Paypal just get that canned message.
Something is definitely faulty and it isn't only about making more fees, the whole process needs a better plan IMHO.
At least one creator just stopped making things and is slowly getting her money out -- 1999 at a time :D.
Posted by: Chic Aeon | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 09:45 PM
Not a new problem, upping the cash-out limit has always been hit or miss. We got ours raised one time and then refused a second time. My wife and I got around it by both of us cashing out to our limits but realized we were at a dead end for earning potential.
Between that and the ToS changes, we had to let our business fizzle out.
Obviously it's still going on today, even though they're claiming a new, more fixed policy.
Posted by: Dartagan Shepherd | Wednesday, June 07, 2017 at 10:08 PM
Yourthere Sometimes - The systems I use only require me to write my email on the config notecard that is not accessible to others - People who tip or pay do not seevwhom Im in anyway - If you are talking about the privacy of the person who pays, now you may be right, but eve there Im not sure if the seller sees the Payer name or paypal address, I believe not - Only the Avatar, witch is the same as Paying in L$ - Kayaker Magic, a very well known creator on SL - Ocean Engeneering - Sells thos systems on Kitely Market and points out the advantage of privacy, by using a dedicated server (middleman), but the bottom line is - When someone pays you it goes right into your Paypal, and that is quite a considerable advantage to think about - We cant have it all but is worth taking it in account
Posted by: Carlos Loff | Thursday, June 08, 2017 at 05:26 AM
Stop using paypal and have it directly deposited into your bank. Use a REAL BANK, paypal is not a bank! When you use a real bank for transfers theres no issue. And if you don't want to use a bank that's on you. You will have to suffer.
Posted by: The Secret | Thursday, June 08, 2017 at 09:31 AM
The Secret - You must tell that Linden Labs - They are the only ones that can start accepting direct bank accounts into Inworld transactions, LOL
Posted by: Carlos Loff | Friday, June 09, 2017 at 03:30 AM
Wait a minute - Just wait a minute !!!
I have never sold L$ and right now Im renting from a Land Baron and do not even have a premium account , and my selling limite is 1.999$ for a 30 day period
Im pretty sure regular merchants have at least one level above me of selling limits
In Portugal, a regular middle class salary is 900€ to 1.000€ and people run their lives with it
To be honest, I have no pity on a person whose problems is how to redraw more than 1.999$ for 30 days
Just go and create 5 alts, than offer the money inworld to those alts and than use them to redraw the L$s
Posted by: Carlos Loff | Friday, June 09, 2017 at 04:41 AM
Carlos The world is bigger than Portugal. $1.999.00 per month is $23,988 per year.
The 2017 US poverty rate for a family of 3 is $23,480. So this, as a single source of income for a married couple with a newborn, would put them in poverty. If you live in some areas of the east or west coast, this might not even pay your rent.
I'm just going with the information presented because I haven't really researched the claims made in this article. One thing I will comment on is that $1.999.00 is a nice amount to supplement a family income if you have a job outside of SL. But LL has not made policies in recent years to help those who are not professional content creators or professional land developers. Paying professionals at poverty rates doesn't work. So obviously some larger enterprises in SL are functioning with much larger cash outs. Like with every money making venture in SL, the key is not to work with the regular system but find a way to get into the deeper system behind the system.
Posted by: Clara Seller | Friday, June 09, 2017 at 06:52 AM
Im sorry, I do not want to say it is enough, I want to say it is not preventing anyone from making a living out of SL on the very begining - If your problem is you need more than 1999$ than you are already on the go and do not need another joj outside SL, of course every creator needs motivation to expand and improve but is not preventing anyone from leaving RL income on the first moment
Posted by: Carlos Loff | Tuesday, June 13, 2017 at 01:40 AM
Currently waiting on 4 different cash outs (total of about 4000.00) and per usual they are taking their sweet ass time. I understand security/fraud precautions but in this day and age... its just an excuse for them to take longer while our money sits in their pools collecting them interest and or hoping the smaller amounts pending, will get fed up and cancel the cash out all together. Its frustrating and pretty much feel for anyone having difficulty taking out their hard earned linden. They like to take but giving back is not a priority for them. No matter how much they say otherwise.
Posted by: Kristopher | Thursday, November 30, 2017 at 07:04 AM