I was looking through the marketplace trying to get a feel for whether or not I should put up some assets. I'm not particularly talented, but I can do a few things so I thought I might try to offset the cost of a GDNET+ account by making a few dollars.
I looked at the "Top Downloads" (month) items, because after all, if this is what people are buying, this is probably where I should look for inspiration. I noticed the first item had 447 views (good), 1 download, and 0 purchases. That seems a little "off", because how could it have been downloaded if it wasn't purchased? Was it free? Maybe. All the rest had 0/0 for the downloads/purchases. That seems a little odd in a "Top Downloads" list. Does that mean it's been an abysmal month?
I looked at the all time "Top Downloads", with the number one item having 72,354 views (nice!), 1,204 downloads, but only 20 purchases (and one of those was mine...I needed some theme music). So...20 purchases but 60x that in downloads...that seems odd....
So, first off, I am asking are the numbers accurate?
And second, should they be shown at all? If I see nobody else is downloading stuff (0s or low numbers), this has the double negative effect of (1) making me think "why should I want this if nobody else does" and (2) "why should I try to create an asset that nobody is going to buy". While the first effect is somewhat subjective (if you like it, you may buy it even if you are the first), but I absolutely felt the second when I saw the numbers and I have to think I'm somewhat "normal" in thinking that. You make stuff because you love to, but you sell stuff for money. And if you don't think you are going to get the money...
Most business will NOT tell you how many of the actual units they are moving because they realize that it can create a negative impression. Unless the numbers are compelling you to feel like getting on the bandwagon (the opposite effect). This has nothing to do with the quality of the offering and everything to do with human nature and selling "stuff".