Shopping in the Second Life Marketplace (2024)

TheSecond Life Marketplaceis the place to buy an amazing assortment of virtual items sold by fellow Residents.

TheMarketplace fee and listing policiesgovern the types of items for sale, as well as advertising, fees, and other guidelines for using the Marketplace.

To start shopping in the Second Life Marketplace:

1. Go tomarketplace.secondlife.com.
2. If you're not already logged into secondlife.com, clickSign Inin the upper-right.
3. Enter your Second Life name and password, and clickLogin.

You can look for items you wish to purchase in several ways:

• By using the search box at the top of the page.
• By browsing theCategoriesandCommunitieson the left.
• By scrolling through theFeatured Items.

To search for something specific:

1. Enter keywords in the search bar at the top of the page. You can use the boolean operators AND,OR, andNOTto refine your search. As you type, the search bar attempts to automatically complete your entry based on current marketplace listings.
2. If desired, click theAll categoriesdropdown to specify a category.
3. Select your preferredoption from theShow maturity levelsdropdown.
4. Press theEnterkey or clickSearch.
5. Items matching your search parameters are displayed on the right.

Tip:To search for a particular merchant or store, click theMerchants/Storestab. Once you have located the store, clickSearch this storeto search only within that store.

Using boolean search operators

Boolean operators are simple words such asAND,OR, andNOT that can be used to either combine or exclude specific words in a search, which can help to achieve more accurate search results. Here is a short guide on how and when to use each available operator:

• AND - Narrows your search by requiring both words to be included in each search result. For example, a search of "red AND green" returns only results containing both the words "red" and "green".
• OR - Broadens your search by only requiring one of the words to appear in each result. For example, a search of "boats OR planes" returns results containing: only the word "boats", only the word "planes", or both the words "boats" and "planes"
• NOT - Narrows your search by excluding results that contain the words after the NOT operator. For example, "summer NOT winter" returns results that contain the word "summer" but does not show any results containing the word "winter".

Boolean search operators must always be written in CAPITAL LETTERS in order to be recognized by the Second Life Marketplace search.

Determining usage requirements

Some purchases may require certain conditions for use. For example, a prefabricated building requires that you own land upon which to place it. Some purchases may also come inside boxes, which require a specific un-boxing procedure as described inOpening boxes.

Usage requirements can be found on the right side of all item listings in the Second Life Marketplace:

• Use It Now: This item will be delivered directly to you or a friend in Second Life, unpacked and ready to use. No land or sandbox required.
• Unpacking Required: This item requires you to find a place in Second Life (such as a sandbox) to unpack and use it. SeeOpening boxesfor additional information.
• Land Required: This item requires that you have access to land in Second Life in order to unpack and use it.

In addition to these usage requirements, you may also see a message stating, "This item contains wearable items for your avatar," indicating that the product contains one or moreattachmentsorclothing items.

Determining whether an item contains mesh content

Second Life Viewer 3.0 or higher is required in order to viewmesh content. Furthermore, any object that is partially or fully composed of mesh content has a land impact based onprim equivalents, which are determined by calculating the actual impact of the object on computing resources, rather than by simply counting the number of prims in an object.

You can determine whether an object on the Marketplace contains Mesh by checking the right side of the listing, underneathPermissions. If the object contains mesh, there is an indicator stating eitherMesh: Partial MeshorMesh: 100% Mesh. If the object does not contain mesh, this indicator does not appear.

Adding items to your cart and giving gifts

To add an item to your cart:

1. Click the item you would like to buy to see the item's detailed description.
2. ClickAdd to CartorBuy Now.

Add to Cartsaves your purchase to your cart for later payment and delivery. You can keep shopping for more items.

Add to Cart as Giftsaves your purchase to your cart as a gift for another Resident. The item must cost L$1 or more for this button to appear. See Giving gifts below for more information about giving gifts.

Buy Nowtakes you directly to the checkout screen but does not affect or purchase the other items already in your cart.

Giving gifts

If you want to send an item to another Resident as a gift:

1. Follow the steps above to find the right gift.
2. Click on the item and selectAdd to Cart As Gift.
3. Enter the recipient's Second Life first name and last name and clickFind Resident.

   Important:If the recipient hasonlyausername, not a first name and last name, enter the username. The system will show the name as "usernameResident."

4. A gift message window appears.
5. If you would like to include a gift message, enter one here.

   

6. ClickFinished. The gift is now in your cart for later payment and delivery.

Editing your cart and paying

When you've finished adding the items you want to buy to your cart, click theCartbutton in the upper-right.

For each item, you can choose to:

1. 1. • Remove it from your cart by clicking theRemove From Cartlink below the item name.
      • Buy more or fewer of the same item by changing the number in theQtybox and clickingUpdate quantities. You can also update the quantity of individual items by clicking the update link next to that line item.
      • Change the gift message (if it's a gift).

Once your cart is edited to your satisfaction:

1. Click theCheck out button.
2. Review your invoice, then clickBuy now to purchase the items using your Linden dollar (L$) balance..

Tip: While reviewing your invoice, you may clickMore payment options to add or select an alternate payment method such as a credit card or PayPal account.

Note:When you use PayPal or a credit card to make a Marketplace purchase, your Transaction History shows a debit or credit originating from "Commerce Linden" or "Marketplace Linden."

Items delivered to the Received items folder

After purchasing an item, log into Second Life. You will see a Received itemssection at the bottom of your Inventory window. Click it to expand the Received items pane and see items and folders you have recently received:

You may drag received items and folders from the Received items pane to one of your existing inventory folders.

If you are using a third-party viewer, the Received items pane appears as an inventory folder namedReceived items.

If your purchase was packaged in a box for delivery, you need to open the box before you can use the item.Learn about opening boxes.

If you bought clothing or other items to attach to your avatar, seeAvatar attachmentsto learn how to use them.

Viewing your order history

You can see what you've purchased in your order history:

1. Log into theMarketplace.
2. ClickMy Marketplace>My Account.
3. On the left, selectOrder history. You can also check other account-specific information here.

   

Automatic purchase redelivery

If an item you've purchased on the Marketplace permitsautomatic redelivery, you can request that a new copy of the item be sent to your Received Items folder from your Order History page. Items from an order must be requested for redelivery individually; you cannot redeliver an entire order at once.

To request an automatic redelivery of a purchase:

1. Visit your Order History Page
2. Locate the item you wish to have redelivered
   • You can search by Product (item name) or Merchant to locate the item's order
3. UnderDescriptionin the Order details, locate the item you wish to redeliver and clickRedeliver item

Unreceived and accidentally discarded items

Has it been more than 24 hours since you ordered? If so, and the item does not permit automatic redelivery or the automatic redelivery is not working, please contact the merchant, explain what happened, andpolitely requestredelivery of the item. If it has been less than 24 hours, please be patient and check again later.

Note:If an item purchased on the Marketplace using PayPal or a credit card is not successfully delivered to you, the credit or debit will not appear in your transaction history, and the merchant will have no record of the purchase. Simply try to purchase the item again.

If you accidentally discard an item, contact the merchant, explain what happened, and politely requestredelivery of the item. Often the merchant will understand and redeliver, especially if the item in question isn't "no-copy." Unfortunately, Marketplace deliveries,unlike items sent manually from another avatar, are completely discarded and can't be retrieved from theTrash.

Writing a review

To write a review for an item you bought:

1. Open your order history.
2. ClickReview Productin the order description for the item.

   

3. Select the number of stars you want to give to that item, give your review a title, and write your review.
4. ClickPost your review.

Tips for writing relevant and helpful reviews can be found atWriting Item Reviews on the Marketplace.

If you find merchandise on the Marketplace that you think is in violation of theMarketplace listing policies, please flag it for review by customer support. To flag an item:

• View the listing.
• ClickFlag this itemon the right.

  

• In theReason for Flagdropdown, select your reason for flagging the item.
• In theDetailed Reasondropdown, select a more detailed reason.
• ClickFlagto flag the item.

You can change the types of email notifications you receive from the Second Life Marketplace:

1. Visit http://marketplace.secondlife.com.
2. If you are not already signed in, clickSign in in the top right corner of the page.
3. ClickMy Marketplace at the top of the page, then selectMy account from the dropdown menu.
4. ClickEmail settingson the left side of theMy account page.
5. On the Email settings page, under Shopping Notifications, clickOn orOffnext to each type of email notification to set your notification preference.

As a shopper on the Second Life Marketplace, you may receive the following types of email notifications:

• Order confirmation
• Gift notification
• Redelivery notification
• Revenue distribution notification
• Revenue distribution addition/removal notification