Stylish with Substance

PopSugar has started their own brand new Facebook game, and it's for shopping/clothing. (Why not FabSugar then? Anyway....)

In the game, called "Retail Therapy", the player owns her own boutique and buys/sells fashions. One also makes an avatar after him or herself, like usual, but this time we get to download ours for display on the web, etc. That's me (or the Amazonian-me with washboard abs) to the right!

If you'd like to check it out and play, I want to first give you tips so you don't make the same mistakes I already made as a newbie. I always mess up the beginnings of my FB gaming, somehow. But now you will have a head start!

• It's built for a strategy just like those Facebook restaurant games. So you'll want to place your "storage" containers (where the inventory comes in) near the clothing tables/racks as well as near the register (as seen in the screen capture below). Otherwise in the beginning of the game, when it's just "you" working, some customers could get too impatient to purchase, or perhaps you'd just dilly-dally too much to bring in inventory fast enough.

• When one gets to level 5, he or she is allowed to hire one friend as an employee, which would help greatly. The one problem is you'll need to hire your real friends who are neighbors/players. I suggest inviting your female or fashionista friends early, and while you're at that, you may friend me (then invite me). Just please note that you're from my blog or Retail Therapy.
• Don't start playing right before bedtime, because it's quite difficult to earn enough coins to afford an 8 hour shipment. It's very different from other games, in which, for those, it's easy to build enough coins to afford all the *contracts-to-the-factories* etc. The more one orders (and the longer the order takes) the higher markup, or the more money one makes. Again, you'll need a lot of coins to afford three eight hour shipments.
• In later levels, one is allowed to purchase changing rooms, which will slow down customers between entering the store and getting in line to buy (but it will not make them more patient once waiting).
• The better a boutique is selling", the more customers will come in. In the beginning do not add too many tables and racks. I say 3, 4 max (with at least one rack if selling skirts) because even with this number, one's store will sell out before it can stock. I haven't yet (in my day of playing) found the secret to keeping stocked.
• Like I wrote, skirts require a rack, for some reason they cannot be on a table. Sensically, bags and shoes need tables or shelves.

If you have your own tips, please comment!

Now that you're sufficiently schooled, go ahead and try the Retail Therapy game!