1. Top Reasons Why People Buy Virtual Goods<br />In recent years, the virtual goods industry has become one of the biggest money makers worldwide. There is no escaping the fact that consumers are now buying virtual goods of all kinds. Even in economic downtimes, which we are currently experiencing, it is shown that virtual goods are a hot commodity. This is actually both an economic and cultural phenomenon.<br />So, why is it that so many people continue to buy virtual goods, even when they are spending less and less money on other products? We’re going to take a look at why people buy virtual goods to make this a little easier to understand.<br />Virtual goods are sold in four main arenas, though these are not the only venues for virtual goods. Social networking communities, games, online dating sites, and virtual worlds are the four primary places in which virtual goods are bought and sold. In recent years, a new paradigm has been created – one in which these goods have increased in value.<br />One value, or benefit, of owning virtual goods is to help you stand out from the crowd. This means it affects your status either professionally or socially. Tangible goods that help adjust our status might include clothing, accessories, cars, and other objects. The same thing goes for virtual goods – what you have will help define who you are. Online behavior is amplified which means virtual goods are almost a necessity.<br />Virtual goods don’t have international boundaries, custom issues etc and the reach is really worldwide. The durability of virtual goods is another factor that has an effect on their popularity. Virtual goods never wear out unlike their physical counterparts; for example, an ebook will never wear out whereas its print counterpart will.<br />Buying virtual goods can also help you express yourself as they can help you socialize. There are plenty of ways that you can socialize – meet a friend for lunch, talk on the phone, host a party, or even chat online. However, socializing online is a bit different than in person. Virtual goods help you achieve this goal. By buying a virtual good, perhaps a digital music file, you could host it on your personal home page to express yourself.<br />If you want to gain advantage, usually in different gaming experiences, virtual goods can help. These are digital objects that can help you reach a certain goal; sometimes this goal is conquering a computer game or surpassing another player. Just think of all the online games that you have heard of in which players buy and sell cheat codes and level advancements.<br />There are other reasons that people buy virtual goods, of course. In the business world, many people may purchase software to advance their business or protect their computers. There is virtually no end to the list of digital goods out there – just take a look at any virtual goods store to get an idea of what’s available. Basically, if you need a particular virtual good, it is probably out there – or better yet, why not develop and sell digital downloads yourself?<br />