An avatar named John Trihey sent me a message about his new mall called JB’s Super Mall which is located at the Hodu region in Second Life. If I remember it correctly, he sent me a message about a camping location before. Anyway, today I went to his mall to check it out.

The mall isn’t that very big. In fact, it is only 1 level and consists of shop spaces. Below are some data which I have gathered about the mall:

• The mall is located at Hodu (25, 150, 55)
• It occupies a land area of 7,168 sq.m.
• It is only one level consisting of shop spaces
• There are two camping dance pads, the rate is 1L$ per 10 minutes
• There is also a Random Money Giver which pays out every 60 minutes
• Rent on a shop space is 250L$ per week with a 40 prim limit
• Rent on a stall or booth is 75L$ per week with a 10 prim limit
• Advertising boards cost 100L$ per week
• Current traffic when I went there was at 14,072
• and it is beside Envy Jazz clubb and mall (yes they spelled it 2 b’s)

For me, the mall still needs to work on its visual appeal. I’m not saying the place looks terrible or like a flee market. No! What I’m saying is, it can still be improved like covering the ground with something else but that’s just me because I love shopping at beautiful malls (in-real life). LOL! I’m also not sure if a lot of people go there to shop. Well, the mall has some good traffic but did that traffic came from campers or shoppers although I did see only 2 camping dance pads.

The rent, which is 250L$ per week with a 40 prim limit, is a little on the expensive side specially for a new mall (I’m assuming it’s new). I have seen shop spaces that cost only 100L$ per week with 50 prims and 75L$ per week with 30 prims as a limit.

Anyway, the place doesn’t feel crowded because it has a lot of open space and I wasn’t lagging when I was there. For vendors, my suggestion is to visit the place so that you’ll get a better feel for it and you might want to check out a loyalty or rewards program like Second Life Rewards. Below are some snapshots of the mall.

Finally, a general tip when renting, “as much as possible, avoid paying in advance specially if the rent is high” because you’ll never know what will happen in the future. Second Life is a world of uncertainty where the only thing that is certain is change. Pay weekly, if possible, because it is much safer. If the place you are renting shuts down then at least your loss is minimal.