Please note that I will be updating this blogpost as I hear about other major Second Life mesh head, mesh body, and skin stores (or lists of SL stores in general) that are having Black Friday sales. I can’t promise that I will cover them all, though!
Black Friday comes up on the Friday after American Thanksgiving (which is always the fourth Thursday in November; we Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving in October, because by the time American version comes around, we are knee-deep in snow!). Black Friday never used to be a thing up here in Canada; we followed the British tradition of Boxing Day sales on the day after Christmas instead. However, over time, Black Friday weekend sales have crept north of the border, and now it seems as if every store throws a huge sale with significant discounts at this time of year.
The stores in the still-popular virtual world of Second Life, much like real life, also tend to throw Black Friday sales. In fact, some sales have already started!
For example, the wonderfully creative womenswear store Web Dew is already having a 50%-off sale in their store, running from Nov. 15th to Nov. 30th, 2023. You pay the full price of the item, and are automatically refunded 50%. I decided to splurge and treat my medieval/fantasy roleplay avatar, Scarborough Fair, to this beautifully detailed cyan Marquise dress for half price! Web Dew makes such wonderful historical costumes that I simply could not pass up this bargain.
Always check the official groups for the various brands of mesh heads, mesh bodies, avatar apparel, and accessories, for announcements of the dates and details of sales (and, of course, follow your favourite Second Life bloggers…like me 😉 ).
You should also monitor the following lists of Black Friday sales (please note that these lists are subject to update and change, so re-check them often):
- Second Life Syndicate’s 2023 Black Friday Sales List
- UPDATED LINK Nov. 23rd! Seraphim’s Black Friday Sales List
- TeleportHub’s Black Friday Weekend Sale 2023
- NEW Nov. 21st! FabFree Black Friday Sale Listing
- NEW Nov. 21st! Sugar Black Friday Sales List
- NEW Nov. 21st! Essential Inventory Black Friday Sale List 2023
Mesh Bodies
Black Friday is also the time when most Bento mesh head and body creators have sales. If you’ve had your eye on that pricey mesh body, this is the time of year to buy! For example, the mesh body maker Inithium sent out the following notice to their group (the Inithium group is free to join):
Enjoy a 50% discount on Kupra, Kups, Khara, and Kario for a week! Seize this fantastic opportunity, available for a limited time only. Both at the main store and at The Inithium Event. The Inithium group tag is mandatory to get the discounted price.
With the 50% discount once you join the free store group, the prices for the various Inithium mesh bodies are as follows, for one week only:
- Inithium Kupra: L$2,000
- Inithium Kupra Kups (Kupra with smaller breasts): L$2,000
- Inithium Khara: L$1,750
- Inithium Kario (male body): L$2,000
Likewise, you can expect that Maitreya will be having a (usually unannounced) half-price sale on the ever-popular Maitreya Lara female mesh body, as they have in previous years. Usually, the Maitreya sale runs from the Friday through to the Monday of the Black Friday weekend (November 24th to 27th, 2023). Word gets around, and the Maitreya store is usually jam-packed that weekend, and next to impossible to get into, but keep trying!
Remember that all purchasers of the Maitreya Lara 5.3 body will receive a free upgrade to the hotly-anticipated LaraX mesh body (and there are some rumours flying around that Maitreya might even release the new LaraX mesh body in time for Black Friday!).
UPDATE Nov. 20th, 9:14 p.m.: Guess what? The rumours were true! Hit the redelivery button on your Lara HUD to get the new LaraX body, starting tonight! Also, you might want to unpack and look carefully at everything in the LaraX package before you go out and buy any Velour body skins (see section below).
UPDATE Nov. 23rd, 7:10 p.m.: It has now been confirmed that Maitreya will, as they have in previous years, have a 50%-off sale this year! Vendors will be set to the sale price, and you can use the 50% discount when gifting other avatars. The Black Friday sale will take place at the Maitreya mainstore, between Friday, November 24th and Monday, November 27th. The half-off price for the Maitreya Lara mesh body will be L$1,375, and the package will include both Lara 5.3, and the new LaraX body—that’s right, you’re getting two bodies for L$1,375! Now that’s what I call a bargain!
UPDATE Nov. 23rd, 2023: Meshbody has announced a 50%-off sale on their Legacy line of mesh bodies, running from Friday, November 24th to Monday, November 27th, 2023. These expensive male and female mesh bodies rarely go on sale, so now is the time to buy! The prices for the female Legacy, female Legacy Perky, male Legacy, and male Athletic bodies will be L$2,500 instead of their usual L$5,000.
UPDATE Nov. 21st, 2023: Belleza has announced a Black Friday sale running from today, November 21st, to November 26th, with “up to” 50% off mesh bodies—but note that the popular Belleza Jake male mesh body has been “50% off” for a long, long time already, so at L$1,500 it’s not any cheaper than it was before the sale. However, it’s still the best bargain among the Big Three of male mesh bodies (Belleza Jake, Signature Gianni, and Meshbody Legacy). Other Black Friday sale prices are:
- Belleza GenX Classic: Lite L$1,550, Regular L$1,750, Premium L$2,750
- Belleza GenX Curvy: Lite L$1,550, Regular L$1,750, Premium L$2,750
- Belleza Freya, Venus, and Isis: L$625 each (of the three, Freya was probably the most popular, but keep in mind that many designers have stopped creating for all three of these older bodies)
Skins, cosmetics and clothing seem to be 50% off throughout the Belleza store.
UPDATE Nov. 21st, 2023: eBody Reborn‘s Black Friday sale also started today, and it runs until November 28th; everything in the store is 30% off. The popular eBody Reborn female mesh body is on sale for L$2,400.
UPDATE Nov. 23rd, 2023: Signature is having a 50%-off sale on all their products, including the Gianni and Davis male bodies and the Alice female bodies. The sign in the Signature store is very confusing, because it states that the Black Friday sale runs from 10:00 a.m. Second LifeTime (SLT)/Pacific Time on Friday, November 24th to 12:00 p.m. (noon) SLT Tuesday, November 28th, BUT the prices on the mesh bodies appear to have already been set in the in-store vendor displays as follows:
- Davis male body: L$2,500
- Gianni male body: L$1,950 (one of the “Big Three” male mesh bodies I mentioned earlier)
- Alice female body: L$1,745
Please note that not a lot of Second Life creators make apparel for the Davis and Alice mesh bodies, but the Signature Gianni body is popular and well-supported by creators. Signature also sells a line of male mesh heads, and male clothing for Davis and Gianni, all of which appear to have already been marked down 50% in-store as of this evening, when I paid a visit.
UPDATE Nov. 24th, 2023: The Kalhene Erika female mesh body is on sale for 50% off (L$1,495), running from Nov. 24th to 30th, 2023. This is quite a nice body, adjustable to create both slim and curvy looks, and more and more designers are creating clothing for it. Also, the Erika Mesh Body group is free to join, and you can pick up a number of group gifts, including a large breast add-on, for free!
The Erika Zero X body is a free, limited-feature version of the full-priced body, which you can pick up if you join the Erika Mesh Body group, which is free. It’s perfect for newbies, people who cannot afford a pricier female mesh body, or those of you who just want to test-drive it for a while before buying. More information here.
UPDATE Nov. 25th, 2023: The Anatomy unisex mesh body by Malediction is on sale for 60% off (L$1,800), along with everything else in the store. The Black Friday sale runs from Nov. 24th to Dec. 1st, 2023. The Anatomy mesh body can be used with male or female heads, and can be shaped in masculine or feminine ways, so you can express your gender however you please! You can read more about my drag queen adventures wearing this body here.
UPDATE Nov. 23rd, 2023: The Prima female mesh body is on sale for 50% off, from November 22nd to 28th, 2023. Likewise, everything at the Star Mesh Body store is on sale for 50% off, running from November 20th to December 5th, 2023. Please note that relatively few creators are making and selling apparel for the Prima and Star Mesh bodies, compared to the Big Three of female mesh bodies (Maitreya Lara, Meshbody Legacy, and eBody Reborn), or perhaps we could make it a Big Four if you include Inithium Kupra, which a lot of designers also create clothes for.
Mesh Heads
UPDATE 7:49 p.m.: Leading mesh head maker LeLutka has announced via Flickr:
We are slashing our prices by 50% on all our heads from November 22nd, 00:01 SLT till November 27th, 23:59 SLT. You don’t want to miss this, so go get your demos before the sale starts. Looking forward to seeing you there!
Like Maitreya, you can expect the LeLutka store region to be absolutely heaving with avatars, so plan accordingly! As they suggest, please pick up your demos before the sale starts, try them on at your home or another location, then come back to buy. The half-off sale price of LeLutka male and female mesh heads is L$1,995, which is quite the bargain!
UPDATE Nov. 19th, 2023: Akeruka is also having a 50%-off sale on all its EvoX-compatible Bento mesh heads. The sale runs from Nov. 19th to 28th, 2023.
UPDATE Nov. 20th, 2023: Genus has announced that they are having a Black Friday sale, running from today, Nov. 20th, to Nov. 27th, 2023, with women’s heads and skins 50% off, men’s heads and skins 30% off, and older female skins (version 1.0, the non-4K ones) selling for 75% off. Hurry on down!
UPDATE Nov. 24th, 2023: Catwa (which used to be the leading male and female mesh head maker until they were dethroned by LeLutka) has announced that they are throwing a half-off sale from Nov. 24th to 29th, 2023. The sale includes Catwa’s expensive HD PRO line of heads, and their first EvoX-compatible head, Reema.
UPDATE Nov. 24, 2023: LOGO is throwing a 50%-off sale on everything in their store, running from today until midnight on Monday, November 27th. All male and female heads are L$1,000 each, and three female heads are featured at the front of the LOGO store at only L$400 each! Note that LOGO is another one of those stores where you buy the HUD once, and it works for all LOGO heads.
Head and Body Skins
UPDATE Nov. 20th, 2023: Velour has just announced that they are having a 50%-off sale on everything in the store, except for their new line of Picasso skins, which are 30% off. Why is this important? Because so many head skin makers use Velour skin tones, and because Velour so rarely has their body skins on sale at all—let alone at half price! This is a major deal, folks.
I use the Venus body skin tones, to match with various free head skins I pick up throughout the year, and during Velour’s Black Week sale (running from Nov. 20th to Nov. 26th, 2023) they are only L$150 per skintone, L$400 each for the lighter skin tone fatpack and the darker skin tone fatpack, and L$650 for the super fatpack of all Velour skin tones! I can guarantee you that the Velour region will be absolutely jam packed with avatars once word gets out, so go go go!
UPDATE Nov. 23rd, 2023: Here are the details on a few more Black Friday skin store sales happening in Second Life (please accept my apologies if I have forgotten any):
- Ives Beauty: 75% off sale at their main store, Nov. 20th-30th (L$200 per skin tone for women’s and men’s skins, L$60 for makeup)
- Amara Beauty: 50% off sale, Nov. 20th-27th (and don’t forget that their body skins are free!)
- The Skinnery: 40% off sale, Nov. 22nd-27th; no discount for store credit purchases
- Nuve: 50% off sale, except for latest releases and new event releases; Nov. 23rd-30th (Nuve’s body skins are included with their head skins)
- WOW Skins: 50% off sale, Nov. 24th-27th
- Glam Affair: 50% off sale, Nov. 22nd-27th
- Tres Beau: 50% off sale, Nov. 20th-29th
- Gloom: 50% off sale, Nov. 20th-30th
- Voguel: 50% off sale, Nov. 22nd-Dec. 2nd
- Stray Dog: 50% discount, Nov. 25th-30th
- Birth: 10-50% off sale, Nov. 24th-26th
- enLight: free group join during 50-70% off sale, Nov. 24th-28th
- Rebel Gal/Bold and Beauty: 50% off sale, Nov. 22nd-27th
- Izzie’s: 50% off selected items, Nov. 20th-30th
- Aimi Skins: 50% off sale, Nov. 20th-26th
- Alexandrite: 50% off (refund after purchase), Nov. 20th-24th
- Guapa: 50% off sale, Nov. 20th-30th
- Moccino: 50% off sale, Nov. 22nd-30th
- Pumec: 50% off sale, Nov. 23rd-27th
- Mila: 50% off all skins, Nov. 23rd-26th
- GA.EG: up to 50% off sale, Nov. 24th-27th (must join the free store group to get sale price)
- DeeTaleZ: 50% off last season’s skins and 35% off this year’s skins (last month’s skins, add-ons and body skins excluded)
- Purple Beauty: 50% off sale, Nov. 21st-Dec. 1st
- ALT3 Beauty‘s Black Friday sale runs from Nov. 20th-Dec. 4th. Details below:
ALT3 has TWO Black Friday deals going on – the first is exclusive Discord membership access to 75% off mainstore wide savings. Everything and anything is up for grabs using a promo code that starts today! The second deal is a universal user promo code that starts on the 24th, for 30% off. If you would like to get the best savings of the entire year – join the Discord and get the exclusive promo code! Join – discord.com/invite/sWxS99eNRz
Clearance Sale on LAQ Mesh Heads and Skins
UPDATE Nov. 18th, 2023: Technically, it’s not a Black Friday sale (it’s more like a a clearance sale), but another Bento mesh head creator, LAQ, is having a 99%-off sale on everything in their store! All their mesh heads are now only L$15 each!
Apparently they are clearing out in preparation for a new line of heads. In a note posted to their group, they state:
After 4 years in the making, Era2 is now about to take off – and we want to make a special celebration only for our group members. We invite you to a pre-party with the entire collection marked down 99% as we prepare for the new arrival!
The celebration will last for the rest of November, and the store is exclusively open for our group members. Your friends will need to be invited to the group in order to get into the store during this time.
Please note that you will first need to join the LAQ Updates group for free before you can teleport into the store. Also, please note that the heads on sale are not EvoX compatible (but apparently, the new Era2 line of heads will be). The heads all come with skin appliers (sold separately), and you can also use Bakes on Mesh skins with them if you get the free BoM relay in the store (see red arrow in picture below):
I do have the LAQ Vivien head for one alt, and I am quite happy with it! So I might take advantage of this 99%-off sale and pick up a few more heads and skins for my small army of alts… 😉
You will need to buy the HUD once (also 99% off, now L$15), and it will work with any LAQ head. Matching body skins are available on the opposite wall, also on sale for L$15 for each fatpack (Maitreya, Belleza, Slink, Legacy, and Omega). LAQ also sells eyes, eyelashes, hairbases, makeup, and other related accessories (such as a cute motion capture, bubble gum blowing-and-popping animation, now on sale for only L$3!).
Here’s a look at the LAQ Zahra mesh head. Total cost for everything—the Zahra head, the Zahra head and body BoM skin 1.0 package, the HUD, the BoM relay, plus a set of version 2.0 tattoo-layer body skins for Maitreya Lara mesh bodies—came to only L$43! Now that’s what I call a real bargain.
And here’s that L$3 bubble gum popping animated attachment I mentioned earlier:
And One Last Black Friday Gift… (NEW Nov. 25th)
Semotion Libellune, the animation and animesh attachment store, is having a 50%-off sale on selected items in their store (SLURL), but to sweeten the deal, they are giving away a group gift if you join their store group for free: a rideable unicorn!
I mean, c’mon, how could you pass this up?!?? The unicorn comes with a HUD with three different sets of stand/walk/run animations. The Black Friday sale (and presumably, this wonderful gift) is on from now until November 27th only, so hurry down!
Happy bargain shopping!