Virtual Credit Cards

 

 

manna rosewood says:

So these group of people started an amazing Second Life magazine called The Homme Mag. Absolutely wonderful! Beautifully written and visually pleasing. At-least it has all the aesthetics I appreciate. Honestly I’m more of a skimmer than a reader when it comes to fashion magaziness and blogs. I feel the visual presentation of fashion is more important than the wordy fu-fa! You know what I mean? — The Homme Mag caught my attention with astouding presentation and kept my interest with witty content. Check it out!

Anyway, the point is, after I finished flipping through The Homme Mag I noticed an ad for a virtual credit card company in SL. I also noticed a shop earlier this week using the program and the credit card purchase is cheaper than if you buy with lindens. Let me just say that after the whole GINKO incident last year I assume people would be more wise about their virtual decisions. I had friends who were “depositing money” in the GINKO bank and I’d ask them Why? For what? This is virtual!

And now a new trendy credit card program has risen with many stores participating. My personal advice: don’t use money you don’t have or own! Find a sugar daddy for goodness sake but don’t use or fall into these kind of virtual devil-deals that has trapped so many in first life. I understand that Second Life we value any closeness to First Life. We want to indulge in this new world but sometimes don’t want it to be too different than our original one. We want big breasts, or a six-pack and the height of Michael Jordan. Fine! That’s fine! But see credit in first life has a purpose. We build credit to show how responsible we are. We put money in first life banks because it’s safer than keeping that $10,000 in a shoebox under our beds.

Second Life is different. Our money is secure in neon green at the top of our screens. If you don’t have an account to convert real money to virtual money or you’re currently not making money in-world then don’t sign-up for a virtual credit card. It’s trouble, trouble, trouble!

On another note, there is good virtual plastic. Specifically the kind being used by BLAZE Fine Fashions and some other stores.

The look is as chic as a credit card so it can tickle your fancy if you really want a virtual card. However it works like a Gift Card (Psychologically convince yourself it’s a credit card). You buy a certain amount and when it runs out you fill it up again (or the sugarpapa or sugarmama fills it up for you). This is the practical way to enjoy virtual credit as a virtual consumer without your strings getting mangled in virtual debt.

Articles about GINKO:

http://www.wired.com/gaming/virtualworlds/news/2007/08/virtual_bank

http://www.secondlifeinsider.com/2007/08/09/ginko-financial-finally-dead/

http://www.secondlifeherald.com/slh/2007/08/ginko-financial.html