It’s stipend day at Second Life and the economics spectre
The economy forums at Second Life (registration required) have some threads about the possibility that Tuesday stipend day will go away. Every Tuesday premium accounts receive L$500 and free accounts receive L$50. I see the 10x stipend bonus as an incentive for getting a premium account and if one does the math at current economics and purchases a yearly premium account ($72USD) you actually make a little profit.
L$500 x 52 = L$26,000
L$26,000 at current Lindex exchange (Lindex) rate of L$295 per $1USD = $81.77, almost a $10USD profit. Interestingly the Lindex has gone up from L$280 to L$295 in the last week or so. I wonder what’s driving this up so sharply. I’ve only been an SL resident since December 31, 2005 and back then it was around L$270. So it’s gone up L$30 since I joined.
Will the $Linden keep rising as more free accounts get on board? Is there more selling of $L than buying going on? If you read the economy forum at SL you’ll get depressed in a hurry, but I’m a little more optimistic of things at this point.
SL Land and Economy recent threads (registration required)
“I am fairly certain that stipends are contributing to the decline of the L$.”
Vasudha Linden - “the economy does not need stipends to sustain it.”
Over 2,000,000 L$ at 300!!!!!by Markie Macdonald
Have you put in more (bought $L) than you’ve taken out (sold $L)? So far, I still haven’t made a penny of profit from SL, but I think at the current rate by next month (hopefully) I should finally be able to see a profit, albeit a small one.
Your thoughts on the SL economy?
March 28th, 2006 • 
TD Goodliffe • 
