Downtownies as customers / Moving lots to subhood

[sloppyhousewife]

I have noticed that downtownies never seem to visit my home business lots in the main 'hood, which is normal, I guess. But what about home businesses located in a downtown subhood? Will downtownies shop there?

If so, can I move a home business from the main 'hood to downtown? IIRC, it's no problem to move occupied lots within the same neighborhood (never tried it, though), but businesses are yet another category, so I thought I'd better ask before I blow up my game.

And what about graveyards? Can I move them to a subhood without the risk of losing tombstones?

[J. M. Pescado]

I have noticed that downtownies never seem to visit my home business lots in the main 'hood, which is normal, I guess. But what about home businesses located in a downtown subhood? Will downtownies shop there?

Downtownies will only appear at downtown hoods. To make downtownies appear at other businesses, use the Customer Selector to fine-tune the results.

If so, can I move a home business from the main 'hood to downtown? IIRC, it's no problem to move occupied lots within the same neighborhood (never tried it, though), but businesses are yet another category, so I thought I'd better ask before I blow up my game.

Home businesses cannot be moved. Period. And NEVER move an occupied lot ANYWHERE. NEVER place an inhabited lot into the simbin.

And what about graveyards? Can I move them to a subhood without the risk of losing tombstones?

I doubt it. Move the tombstones first.

[sloppyhousewife]

Downtownies will only appear at downtown hoods. To make downtownies appear at other businesses, use the Customer Selector to fine-tune the results.

So the Customer Selector can/will force downtownies to show up in places they wouldn't visit otherwise?

[Surelyfunke]

Downtownies will only appear at downtown hoods. To make downtownies appear at other businesses, use the Customer Selector to fine-tune the results.

So the Customer Selector can/will force downtownies to show up in places they wouldn't visit otherwise?

Yes. Just select "OR" when the option pops up.

[sloppyhousewife]

Downtownies will only appear at downtown hoods. To make downtownies appear at other businesses, use the Customer Selector to fine-tune the results.

So the Customer Selector can/will force downtownies to show up in places they wouldn't visit otherwise?

Yes. Just select "OR" when the option pops up.

Yay, so I don't need to change anything in my hood setup after all, just buy Customer Selectors for my home businesses. I wished everything could be solved so easily. Thanks for clarifying!

[Zazazu]

If so, can I move a home business from the main 'hood to downtown? IIRC, it's no problem to move occupied lots within the same neighborhood (never tried it, though), but businesses are yet another category, so I thought I'd better ask before I blow up my game.

Home businesses cannot be moved. Period. And NEVER move an occupied lot ANYWHERE. NEVER place an inhabited lot into the simbin.

Selling it back to the community, binning, and moving should work, shouldn't it? You'd lose your stars, but that can be a good thing.

[jolrei]

uhm it's quiet strange to me because whenever I start a home business at home even in the main hood , sims keep coming to my place and start to check things out .

[edited to be more in context after reading the thread again]
If visiting sims are not able to buy something when you indicate your home business is open, they will use whatever facilities are available (hot tub and TV are favourites).  The game does not divide the lot into a business section and a private section.  To limit this, use lockable doors and gates and set them to allow only the household sims.

Also, get the customer selector (to select the customers you want) and noplayableshoppers to make sure your other families are not spending all their money on useless robots, flowers, toys, or whatever.

[sloppyhousewife]

uhm it's quiet strange to me because whenever I start a home business at home even in the main hood , sims keep coming to my place and start to check things out .

I think you misunderstood - I want to make downtownies show up at a home business in the main hood, not "regular" townies or playables. On the contrary, having playables shop there would be a bad idea because the goods are ridiculously overpriced, and townies are non-existing in this hood, because they're all either playable or dead by now.

[Zazazu]

Oh, I misunderstood as well. For some reason I thought it was a community lot biz. You could still use stay-things shrub to keep everything there, move out the family, move the lot, and then move the family back in. You'd restart the biz and lose your stars/level, but could regain them.

Easier, though, is to get the customer selector and mess with the settings. I don't have a downtown, but I know there are options to get locals and nonlocals and all types of sims to come. Just be sure to enable playables if you want them as customers, since Pescado denies them by default. This is fine for my founder's lot, since it supposedly started when a tourist decided to stay there and sell veggies to other tourists, but for my hair stylist and whore, I want all possible sims using their services.

[Lord Darcy]

Customer selector is the single most useful Awesome business hack for me. (I don't use BRY much, because I tend to run businesses entirely staffed by family members.) Without it, businesses will never hit the level 10, as all existing townies already maxed out their loyalty stars. With customer selector installed, each EP brings fresh influx of customers like Tourists or Vacation locals, in addition to all YAs and downtownies. I ban NPCs, because they don't seem to spend any money.

[notovny]

I ban NPCs, because they don't seem to spend any money.

That's because the NPC family started out with $20,000, and that depletes rather quickly into your business-running career. I used to dump a million on them with the Money Order. Pescado suggested using "familyfunds NPC 1000000", which worked as well.

[sloppyhousewife]

Oh, I misunderstood as well. For some reason I thought it was a community lot biz. You could still use stay-things shrub to keep everything there, move out the family, move the lot, and then move the family back in. You'd restart the biz and lose your stars/level, but could regain them.

Easier, though, is to get the customer selector and mess with the settings. I don't have a downtown, but I know there are options to get locals and nonlocals and all types of sims to come. Just be sure to enable playables if you want them as customers, since Pescado denies them by default. This is fine for my founder's lot, since it supposedly started when a tourist decided to stay there and sell veggies to other tourists, but for my hair stylist and whore, I want all possible sims using their services.

Actually, I don't want to move the business at all, I just thought I had no choice if I wanted downtownie customers. I'm really relieved that it can be done with the Customer Selector. Said lot is part of my Victorian hood, and the family just belongs there. They're dirt poor like the rest of the citizens, they have no business in the wealthier suburbs (aka downtown). They're lucky that they're allowed to run a home business. Most of the others have to work for the local business tycoon.

[Zazazu]

I ban NPCs, because they don't seem to spend any money.

That's because the NPC family started out with $20,000, and that depletes rather quickly into your business-running career. I used to dump a million on them with the Money Order. Pescado suggested using "familyfunds NPC 1000000", which worked as well.

I either use BRY to kick them off the lot ("Begone, looky-loo!") or if I have a grumpy sim on the lot I'll have them pick a fight with them. I'd get negative stars from the browser, anyways, so I might as well get them while having fun about it.

[Lord Darcy]

I ban NPCs, because they don't seem to spend any money.

That's because the NPC family started out with $20,000, and that depletes rather quickly into your business-running career. I used to dump a million on them with the Money Order. Pescado suggested using "familyfunds NPC 1000000", which worked as well.

I didn't know that NPC family comes with the fixed amount of family funds, unlike other type of townies. Thanks, I can always use fresh meat to suck the blood from new clientele.

[Iridium]

Home businesses cannot be moved. Period. And NEVER move an occupied lot ANYWHERE. NEVER place an inhabited lot into the simbin.

Does that apply to just moving them around? F'rinstance, if I wanted to plop the Broke trailer across the street from the Goth mansion to piss Mortimer* off, that would be a VBT?

*I doubt he'd care, but one can dream.

[Roux]

Home businesses cannot be moved. Period. And NEVER move an occupied lot ANYWHERE. NEVER place an inhabited lot into the simbin.

Does that apply to just moving them around? F'rinstance, if I wanted to plop the Broke trailer across the street from the Goth mansion to piss Mortimer* off, that would be a VBT?

*I doubt he'd care, but one can dream.

As long as you don't bin it while it's occupied by sims, you're fine. Fortunately, to move the Broke trailer across the street from the Goths only requires for you to make sure there's room for it, pick it up using the 'move lot' tool, and put it in the new place. No binning required; therefore, not a VBT.

And you're right: Mortimer will neither notice nor care.   I suppose you could have Brandi or one of the kids look through the telescope to piss him off, though.

[Emma]

The Broke lot is strange though, you can only place it where there is a 'corner' in the road, like where it is originally placed.

[J. M. Pescado]

I didn't know that NPC family comes with the fixed amount of family funds, unlike other type of townies. Thanks, I can always use fresh meat to suck the blood from new clientele.

NPCs make really shit customers, though. If you're using the customer selector, it is suggested that you set them to NOT instead, as NPCs show up permanently crabby and pissed off and frequently reject sales socials because they motive-lock themselves to near-permanently pissed off levels on arrival.

Does that apply to just moving them around? F'rinstance, if I wanted to plop the Broke trailer across the street from the Goth mansion to piss Mortimer* off, that would be a VBT?

Lots can be picked up and moved within the same neighborhood freely without any apparent harm. The sims don't even notice this has happened. Much. If you use "localwalkby", the composition of walkbys will be altered based on the actual physical placement of the lots within the neighborhood, and if you use "wolfwatchers", the appearance of wolves is similarly affected by whether or not you drop the lot in the middle of a crowded residential neighborhood or the outskirts of nowhere. But STOCK EAxis code pays no attention to any of these things.

[Roux]

The Broke lot is strange though, you can only place it where there is a 'corner' in the road, like where it is originally placed.

Oh, yeah! But the Goth lot is on a road that has two intersections nearby, I think. So it should still be doable.