It’s not Monday? Oh well! This warrants a non-Monday post anyway! 
I have a review of the newest vendor system to hit the grid, and it’s a good one. In the rising climate of copybotters and content thieves being able to steal items from right inside prims, ReachWorks SecureVend solves the problem by having your content hosted on private, secure, access list only land – and using scripts to deliver your products to the customer – meaning the only things inside your vendors are no mod scripts! You get a total of 4 scripts (Delivery Script, Pay Script, Redeliver 1, and Redeliver All) and a Buy converter. A SecureVend server, which is just a prim, with the Delivery script inside, and your products (Boxed of course) – will deliver a product when prompted by your vendor, which again, is just a prim, with the Pay script inside it. That’s just how simple it all is!
I love it. It’s easy to use, takes seconds to set up, to follow the simple instructions and be happy and feel safe that your objects are in a secure, private location and people cannot access them until they pay for them. The scripts are quick too, a few moments between your click and you have your merchandise. There are also extra options such as splitting profit, redelivery, group discount and consistent updates maintain a high level of service that you come to expect from Reacher and Jori.
Currently the service is free, and is available to any legitimate content creator who contacts ReachWorks for a copy. Here’s the contents of the help file included.
ReachWorks SecureVend™
________________________[INTRODUCTION]
ReachWorks SecureVend™ is a custom-built product vending system designed with the ongoing problem of Second Life® content theft in mind. It features efficient, low-impact product vending from networked servers, which allow both ease of inventory management, and the increased safety of remote content storage.
Rather than try to be a one size fits all vending system with soaring complexity, SecureVend™ has a smaller feature set with a well understood code base. It also aims to be simple to use, for both merchant and their customers.
[FEATURES]
• Low impact: no persistent listeners, sensors, or timers = lower sim lag.
• Efficient: uses HTTP-in for data exchange, not e-mail polling or xml-rpc, for instant product delivery and no scalability bottlenecks.
• Scalable: products stored in prim servers located anywhere on the grid – up to 1000 objects per server – up to 38 servers per avatar.
• Simple: intuitive setup and use, without noteards to edit.
• Safe: free space on our private sims for those without a secure place to store their servers.
• Vendor script supports Pay for self-purchase and Gift for direct delivery to another avatar.
• Optional profit sharing to split payments between any number of avatars.
• One touch Redelivery Terminals offer customers a menu of all past purchases.
• Lifetime updates, with built in auto-update to easily upgrade all parts of the system.[SECURITY]
The security of this system rests on the assumption that you can store your servers on a private sim that most avatars can’t get to. The idea behind this is simple – if a thief can’t get to your objects, your objects can’t be copied by them. With the content stored in a remote, safe location, someone intending to copy it would have to buy it from your shop and have it delivered to them first, making it much less likely. They are no longer able to just drop into your shop with an anonymous avatar and mass copy all your content.
As stated above, you can put your servers anywhere on the grid – they don’t have to be on the same sim where your shop is at all. While ReachWorks SecureVend™ works fine with servers stored in a public location too, we highly recommend a private location to keep your content safe. If you don’t have access to a private sim, storage space on one of our private sims is available to every SecureVend™ customer, at no extra cost!
________________________
© 2009 ReachWorks Inc.
http://reachworks.reachisles.com/
This really is a step in the right direction, giving content creators the ability to keep their merchandise safe from the unscrupulous sons of bitches who decide to copybot and steal – this is such an easy system to use, and it’s such a godsend in the current trend of nothing on the grid being sacred. Along with other content coming out to help protect legit content creators from theft, I think we’re taking the right steps to keep our content safe!
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My name is Dream Resistance, and I support this message. No seriously, I just put it in my main store. Its simple, easy to use, quick, awesome gift option right at the poster on your wall, fabulousness. You get a little skybox on their secure sim to host your server and MagicBox. And the creator listens to suggestions and is updating with all kinds of new updates. It's just really cool!
Hi, how long does this really take to set up?
Someone with hundreds of items?
How much will it be when there becomes a charge?
It depends on the merchant's current setup of course, but I've included some helper scripts to ease the transition for the most common setup where the products are set 'For Sale' to dispense contents on purchase. Most clothing/hair/skin shops for example are setup this way.
The helper script can automatically box the contents of these 'For Sale' prims, and also install the new Pay script inside it. So a shop with a couple hundred items i'd say shouldn't take more than an hour or so.
As far as future cost- not sure yet. My personal view is that our money is made elsewhere (our estate business), so products like this are more about trying to help content creators with a new paradigm that I really do feel will help curb theft, until LL gets their act together. We do carry some expenses with SecureVend such as tier for the hosting sims, so future costs for the system will be geared towards 'breaking even' on that. I will say however, that we won't retroactively ask for payment, nor will we charge an ongoing fee (per week/month). It will be a one time charge only, which for now is 0L.
This system is great so far! It has such a fast response time and adore the gifting option. Ivy got a hold of it and we're now using it at Atomic. I mean, it even offers redelivery which saves us designer some headache when a customer doesn't get their purchase. We have yet to see how it responds with a full sim but so far so good.
As a current user of the system, even with having hundreds of items its fast and efficient. Whether your setting up in one store or in 4 as in my case, its worry free and easy. I've been looking for a way to not only protect my product but also have an easy system to work with. No notecards…wow finally, seriously I was SICK OF NOTECARDS. It is the best system by far I have come across, and I have spent tens of thousands of lindens on systems, as I am sure most of the content creators have. So all in all if you asked me my honest opinion I would say without hesitation that this system is the best. Your also worry free with support, both Reacher and Jori are there for you. Well that's my two-cents!
These guys will become extremely rich from this amazing idea!
Do I get this right that the system also stops the legit customer from inspecting the vendor prim for its content, just to check on – say, for example – which layers are included for a piece of clothing, if there are various included attachment options for prim parts etc? Shortly spoken, that kind of info that is usually not given on the vendor pic?
Or does the script present you with the content summary once you click the vendor to initiate a purchase? With an option to terminate the purchase, of course, if you don't like the options?
This is really free?
Kudos, ReachWorks. I wish it was viable for my business, but I really hope this is widely adopted.
There is no buy option on the vendor prims, so no, you cannot see what is inside – if you were to find your way in – you would only find a single no mod, no trans script.
It is a content creators responsibility thereof to make sure that they label their vendors properly and their ads too. When using items that I didn't create in my own ads, I always make sure that I give due credit. Usually well named products can let the buyer assume what will be inside.
In any case I think the need to know what is inside by inspecting etc is wayyy overshadowed by the need to protect items from being stolen.
To buy the item, you right click, Pay – or just left click, like any other Pay vendor. I know it's gonna sound harsh, but if you don't pay attention to ads or descriptions, and then you are disappointed, then it is your own issue, and not the content creators. I don't know about anyone else, but I am pretty damn clear about what you're buying from me.
If they were going to make a profit off it, which they're not as Reacher has said
Well, i dont know.
Maybe not so much with something that is all prim, but most of the times when buying clothes, lack of layers is a total deal breaker no matter the cost. I'm sure a lot of other people feel like this too.
So naturally, folks that feel like me like to see what is actually inside the vendor since nobody really says what layers does everything come in.
There are similar systems around for some while and i HATE them. As chilliho said one doesn't see what one gets. And as less and less info is written on the vendor-pics these days the 'buy' function (which lists what is inside with the permissions) or at least the 'pay' function, which i don't like so much as one can only 'inspect' the vendor and it doesn't tell you anything about the permissions (especially important for prim attachments which suck big time if 'no mod' (did i mention i HATE resize scripts)).I NEVER buy from pay-script vendors if permissions are not written somewhere (at least in the store) (had some very bad experiences). And i NEVER EVER buy from these above mentioned systems as i had really really bad experiences where what i got was completely different than what the vendor pics suggested.
We've been using the system for a little more than a month and It's been the answer to so many of our needs. Reacher and Jori have been extremely helpful with the entire process. To me it's worth the change over time to protect the content even if a little bit. I also love the feature of gifting that is offered and the "redelivery" option as well. Saves so much time looking for those missing items in account history. As far as not being able to see product inside, I typically list all items that I can in the description line, and my regular customers know this. What doesn't fit I will list how many items are included but most important they know clothing is on multiple layers etc. I guess we as content creators will just have to be diligent in making sure our customers are aware of what they are buying as well as the customer questioning if they are not sure.
This system is very easy to use and is customer friendly. I can't imagine not having it now. I also know that Reacher is striving to have the best product he can offer, and when something isn't working just right in this beta stage before release he's been right on top of issues. Many thanks to him and Jori both.
I have been using this system for a few weeks now and I love it. My customers love it too. It is very easy and fast to set up.
An answer to anyone who is concerned about not being able to see the contents. I have my sale prim ads that explain everything on the ad itself. If anyone has questions, all they need to do is contact me and I can show them anything they are interested in seeing as I did before I started using this system.
Reacher has very good customer service. If you have a problem contact him. Again, I am very very happy with this system and I have heard nothing negative from the customers that buy from me.
One more thing, no system is going to be perfect for all. There will be those that do not want this type of system for whatever reasons and there is nothing wrong with those who do not wish to use this type of system.
I am replying here only to show my support for this system. For me, this system does what I want. Again, I am very satisfied with Reacher Rau's customer service as well.
Then lets hope vendors who do use this are kind enough to mention layers etc – when making up ads – because when you weigh up the risk of losing customers who don't buy if they can't see what's in the box, against having it open to theft, which in turn not only loses you business, but damn near puts you out of business, I can certainly see that the former is the logical option.
The difference between this, and any other is that it is for legitimate business owners, ie people who aren't dicks. If someone is a dick and says one thing on an ad and puts something else in the box, then they're not imo legit – they're scam artists.
I didn't mean scam artists. Sometimes on vendor pics one just cannot see whether it's a prim attachment or drawn on the texture (which gets clear on inspection). Sometimes variations are shown and it's not clear whether they are different attachments or just left away in the second model. And so on.
Nothing against this system, i just don't buy from such vendors anymore as i don't buy clothing with attachments on no-mod with resize script. As i don't buy double boxed items. Unless the shop has a clear store policy where the content is explained, or vendors with sufficient info written on it.
@ Monolock – you raise allot of good points. sometimes it's very helpful to look inside the contents, and on the other hand that can be misleading (such as items that show permissions wrong e.g, no copy AND no trans). i think either way the onus is still on the merchant to properly display what you are buying, and what permissions your purchase comes with.
that said, remember that SecureVend is a response to an imperfect situation. in an ideal world, content theft would be rendered nearly obsolete by LL allowing only approved/registered 3rd party viewers to connect to their grids. Until then, there is no magic bullet, and some compromises have to be made unfortunately.
That comment adds some valuable info for both shoppers and creators, IMHO.
I didn't meant to negatively critize the whole system in my earlier posting at all, just questioning the information politics of some vendors and Cyclic's reply seems to rely on the idea that each vendor always includes all info – which is unfortunately not the case all over the grid.
Maybe, no idea if that's possible at all, there could be an option to hand out a list of the content of the vendor, number of items, their
permissions… really no idea if that works within SL's scripting.
Well, tell that to Miss "My hair is mod, oops, no, it isn't … suck it up" Atomic…