Comments on: Virtual Goods, Accounting, and the Power of the “Rental” Model http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/ ...focusing on the evolution and economics of high technology business and strategy. By day, I am a venture capitalist at Benchmark Capital. Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:25:49 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Virtual Goods, Accounting, and the Power of the “Rental” Model | My Blog http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-3652 Wed, 26 Oct 2011 23:18:06 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-3652 [...] Comments RSS Feed [...]

]]> By: musicdesdotcom http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-3230 Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:13:06 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-3230 I would ask to consider caps on inventory and charging for having a larger one. Lots of options and choices are good. thanks

]]> By: EVCin » Zynga Making 4.4 Cents per DAU http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-3220 Wed, 06 Jul 2011 10:25:54 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-3220 [...] typically is amortized over the life of a user – for more discussion to revenue recognition, see this blog post from Bill Gurley). Zynga was only able to discern consumables versus durables starting in October of 2009, and only [...]

]]> By: Greho http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-2785 Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:18:08 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-2785 As a Second Life user, I concur. However, I like the idea of expiring goods as it would apply to trial uses or short-term commitments.

I’ve purchased many things for one-time events, which I would have gladly rented for the event and allowed to return. I have over USD $100 of inventory items which I’ve used maybe a dozen times in the last three years.

Had I been given the ability to rent these things for 24 or 48 hours, maybe including set-up help, I’d have jumped at the chance.

]]> By: JS Mackie http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-2496 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 16:00:12 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-2496 The use of virtual goods, or at least the valuation of these actually makes for an interesting case study and could arguably be used as a market research tool to analyze specific trends, preferences and consumer purchasing decisions with respect to specific demographics that are engaging within these virtual worlds. Accountants Motherwell

]]> By: Sebastian http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-1678 Tue, 20 Apr 2010 08:20:06 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-1678 Just from a user experience perspective, “renting” somehow feels weird, but if all items come with a (pseudo)natural decay, that would feel in-world, avoid currency/inventory glut, and allow for new revenue models. You could buy, rent or find them, epic items might be more durable (hence part of their value), but all of them: perishable virtual goods.

]]> By: Bill Gurley Discovers Virtual World Bean Counting | The Alphaville Herald http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-1652 Sat, 06 Mar 2010 19:58:12 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-1652 [...] on  above the crowd blog, Linden Lab board member Bill Gurley talks about a sit-down meeting with Jeff Grabow of Ernst and [...]

]]> By: Odds & Ends: Facebook TX, BillMyParents, gWallet, Happy Island, Hi5, Yoo-Mee, Tiki Farm | Frisky Mongoose http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-1645 Mon, 01 Mar 2010 06:15:07 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-1645 [...] Goods, Accounting, and the Power of the “Rental” Model (via AboveTheCrowd) – “American journalists and corporate executives have been slow to appreciate the [...]

]]> By: Lance http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-1622 Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:33:06 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-1622 More marketing opportunities. When an item expires, it offers a unique time to re-market to the user for either an extension of the current good, to a trade to a newer, fresher, and perhaps more interesting item. – I agree with this third point.

]]> By: Weekend Reading http://abovethecrowd.com/2010/02/08/virtual-goods-accounting-and-the-power-of-the-rental-model/#comment-1619 Sat, 20 Feb 2010 00:01:01 +0000 http://abovethecrowd.com/?p=589#comment-1619 [...] Virtual Goods and the Power of the Rental Model: by Bill Gurley. [...]

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