Curse

Malice Black · Mar 15, 2007, 03:04 AM // 03:04

Spamming in local = loser

Even worse is people who spam in guild/alliance chat <~~that will make me leave a guild in an instant.

xRustyx · Mar 15, 2007, 10:46 AM // 10:46

Quote:

You can just copy and paste all my posts if you want any of it or I can delete them as you said you will update the guide.

Actually I would rather you post them in the thread, so people reading the guide would also read the comments and gain a ton more knowledge. I want you to take full credit for spending your time and effort to posting additional information, and me copying and pasting would detract from the credit.

I apologize if I may have sounded rude in my previous posts, that was not my intention.

It's better to have multiple view points and not just MY viewpoint, as people can get a sense of what it's like to be a successful merchant from other perspectives.

oHcHeese · Mar 26, 2007, 11:10 AM // 11:10

Very nice guide, had a few good laughs too.

I just started trading, and this guide has helped me quite a bit so far

Never knew about la American dis 1 , but I'm definitely gonna set up a mule on american disctricts and get a character run over there.

Looking forward to the next guide ! ( Good thing I'm in the [dark] alliance , we got alot of merchants there, can always ask for help ^^ )

=HT=Ingram · Mar 26, 2007, 12:34 PM // 12:34

This is just my opinion here , but the should just have a trade town. no quests no missions nothing but traders... Then the spam in LA 1 and such would possibly be bearable... But my goodness the stuff they try to sell anymore... Its even worse in Ascalon, with the n00blettes trying to sucker the people coming into the real game for the first time. I'm sorry but most of the stuff being traded are easily attainable from collectors crafters or a simpile boss farm later in the game. I try to explain that in detail to EVERY NEW PLAYER to the game I see... and tell them to avoid trades of ANY KIND, unless they personally know the players or are guildies with them. This does not mean they too will not scam you, but more often then not they will be more reasonable then a stranger will be...

Generally if I have a new player I take under my wing the first thing I do is see what class they are using and either go get them a max collector weapon (20/20) and offhand +12 and mods , or I go craft them some 5k weapons in Factions or nightfall... to give them in Ascalon... then tell them Thats good stuff to customize and use, but basically worthless. Those should be your basis from then on... anything better keep, Greens golds, check around and either keep or drop it on the inflation market(if they like that kind of thing), anything else sell to merchant NPC for the gold... Don't waste money. Before long they are well on their way to the desert for free collector max armor at first, and then later whatever they want... I push them towards the Kourna 1k armors cause they are max and cheap and customizable.. But not forcefully. in the end the new player is well on their way to 500k+ and a well stocked materials storage by the time they finish one or two chapters because they didn't waste their gold. Then they can get ANYTHING they want really... Or start farming like the millions of others... sheesh...

Once 1 character is through to the end game areas and has access to collectors and armories... hell your basically set for your entire account... no hand holding ever needed again... thats all it takes is 1 character. and your set.

That's why I never understand the drive for all the spam selling... the entire meta game of merchandising seems pointless once you have 1 character at the end. All people market really is a skin. nothing more... not really. not when you can mod your weapons to whatever you want now... I just don't and never will get it the attraction of scamming the less fortunate.

cataphract · Mar 26, 2007, 01:00 PM // 13:00

Quote:

Originally Posted by Malice Black

Even worse is people who spam in guild/alliance chat <~~that will make me leave a guild in an instant.

I have to disagree on this. As far as the guild is concerned - we have a policy of NOT selling stuff to each other. Items and materials are frequently given for free. Ofcourse, there are times of covert trades when high end, expensive items, are traded.

Alliance chat is a useful resource when you want to sell/buy an item. But no, you do not yell "WTS Imba Item of Pwnzoring". You politely ask if someone needs equipment or materials. It helps to remind them that you will give them a discount, being your alliance mates and all. I've sold quite a few items this way and I love it for sparing me the WTS ordeal of trading districts.

Pyro maniac · Mar 26, 2007, 01:43 PM // 13:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by cataphract

I have to disagree on this. As far as the guild is concerned - we have a policy of NOT selling stuff to each other. Items and materials are frequently given for free. Ofcourse, there are times of covert trades when high end, expensive items, are traded.

Alliance chat is a useful resource when you want to sell/buy an item. But no, you do not yell "WTS Imba Item of Pwnzoring". You politely ask if someone needs equipment or materials. It helps to remind them that you will give them a discount, being your alliance mates and all. I've sold quite a few items this way and I love it for sparing me the WTS ordeal of trading districts.

same goes for us either, tho we don't spam guild chat.
sometimes some guy starts with a storage clean-up, giving everything away what he doesn't need.
is someone looking for a cheap monk staff? in 5 secs, 3 guys are offering kepkeths, stoneweaver and yakslapper for free. Just give someone Lians Lantern back for their ele and it's fine. Got rid of my full storage this way, while getting some expensive and good weapons for free.

as for alliance: we allow to sell in the chat for 1 hour per day. This way the chat can be used for selling, but not all the time.

BenjZee · Mar 26, 2007, 04:13 PM // 16:13

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryanryanryan0310

SPEED SELLING: Sell for less and gain more

If the market value of an item is 100k just sell 80-90k. I usually sell my items 10-15 percent less than market value. You'll usually see the same people everyday trying to get that extra 10-15k, while you selling multiple items.

Also remember the market changes real fast. One week an item will worth thousands the next week it's worth 50% less.

-----------------
I'm not rich cause I have a problem of buying too much items and customizing them, then never use them. It's just like RL....

I like this point, alot of people spend about an hour trying to sell something for the full price and end up not selling it at all. If you sell everything cheaper, you will therefore sell it quickly and spend your time doing something else

=HT=Ingram · Mar 26, 2007, 11:12 PM // 23:12

Now I am just talking ou loud here.. the other thing I would love is a place in our guild hall, JUST FOR OUR GUILDIES, Not the alliance. that I can go into and just dump stuff off. (Like instance dropping)

Then if anyone in my guild wants it they can loot it for what they want and do whatever... I often just want to dump some out of date golds or greens.. Stuff that useful to new people or for their heroes, whatever... But I don't want to destroy it and I certainly don't want to just sell it to a NPC for almost nothing. its actually better off being nothing at all IMO... But if I had someone to give it to great... Every once in a while the loot chamber, (armory) would be cleaned up by the leader with 1 push of a button(and a verifier) and cash in all the stuff in there to a merch for a guild fund (treasury). then that kind of stuff goes towards funding things like services and events in the guild whatever... I'm getting side tracked here... But you see what I mean. there is just too often a time that I just want to get rid of it now, i really do not care what I get for it... I just want rid of it. but I would rather it be used then just hoarded... if no one finds it useful it should just be deleted at that point...

Jeremy Untouchable · Mar 27, 2007, 12:42 AM // 00:42

i cleaned out all my mules and merched everything, made 11k in just junk. got a mule full of ID kits and Salvage kits, stored all my dyes in one spot, I had 3 blacks in 3 differnt places...what i'm trying to say is: Keep an orderly mule and selling things is easyer PS:assassins make great mules

xRustyx · Apr 01, 2007, 07:35 PM // 19:35

Sorry for the delay in the next guide being published, real life commitments have been mashing me in the face.

Arillyn Lifewind · Apr 07, 2007, 10:02 AM // 10:02

Ok, but how do we know what something we have is worth? For instance I have been doing Shiverpeek chest runs the last few days and have my storage full of gold items. But... I have no idea what the value is, for example I today I looted an ankh of something or another with +10 energy and +30 health? or a chakram that was told was worth alot, but also told is merchant fodder.... anyone know where I can find a good gold price guide? Or help me out even a little?

Most people I talk to on the game are pretty evil. I've been playing for about 3 days, got 1 lvl 20, and 2 lvl 10's I'm working on still in pre.

Thanks in advance

Milennin · Apr 07, 2007, 10:32 AM // 10:32

Might want to check out the price check forum?=P

malko050987 · Apr 12, 2007, 06:52 AM // 06:52

I lack the patience for merchanting (in-game, I mean, the guru trade forum rocks) but I often stand in Droks and read the trade chat. There's usually someone there that wants something I have, and I let them know

For small stuff, like dyes (not white/black) and materials (common, and steel), I just post a few lines of "WTB this and that" and someone will have it, and I'll get it at a price lower than the merchant. Since I'm usually poor, this helps. ^_^

As far as common guild storage goes... having one would rock.

Or have a designated guild merchant. You get a gold you don't need, give it to him, he sells it, gives them money to guild leader who adds something to the guild. That would take an established guild with members who trust each other, though.

Or take people who have empty char spaces. Create a couple mules, fill them to the brim with golds, and when the limit is reached, merchant it and use the money to help the newbies in the guild or improve the guild. Again, this needs a guild with people who know each other well and trust each other.

Good tips so far, will be reading this thread.

sporific · May 07, 2007, 11:04 PM // 23:04

Still gonna work on this? Not to rush you or anything but I'm just wondering because it has been a while.

Thanks

Seffapotamus · May 07, 2007, 11:31 PM // 23:31

The condy joke was hillarious.

Keep it up

Melody Cross · May 08, 2007, 01:35 AM // 01:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by xRustyx

Whether I encourage it or not is irrelevant, because everyone spams it anyway.

-----

This is a very general and simplistic guide, but as I go on with more guides it will get a lot more sophisicated, so tell your friends to keep an eye out! We will really start to explore every tip, trick, nook & cranny of merchanting.

I don't. I also don't buy from people who are spamming local chat, even if it is something I have been looking for for while. It is an instant turnoff to me, it has ruined the chat for this game and it serves no purpose for anyone with trade chat and the party window allowing you to sell quickly to anyone in any district of any city.

If its a hard to find item, I wouldn't be look through local anyway. I come here and use the auction house.

Do like me if you don't like All chat spammers. Don't buy from them ever!

Spazzer · May 08, 2007, 02:34 AM // 02:34

You can get all self righteous about people selling in all chat--or you can pressure arenanet to make a real solution for character to character trade.

They have said multiple times that they encourage player trade, and have even given us a loot scaling update backed with the arguement that solo farmers can make money by selling items to other players. However, advertising wares in a system where everyone has to be a hawker is just begging for people to abuse the "chat system", if you can call it that.

Thom Bangalter · May 08, 2007, 05:27 AM // 05:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spazzer

You can get all self righteous about people selling in all chat--or you can pressure arenanet to make a real solution for character to character trade.

They have said multiple times that they encourage player trade, and have even given us a loot scaling update backed with the arguement that solo farmers can make money by selling items to other players. However, advertising wares in a system where everyone has to be a hawker is just begging for people to abuse the "chat system", if you can call it that.

QFT. It's by far the most fundamentally flawed aspect of pve.

Oblivion99 · May 09, 2007, 12:43 AM // 00:43

Well, I've been trading for a while...

I'm not one of the best traders out there(see Akh or Herb, Malice and a few others), but I know what I'm doing.

To me, unless u are buying to keep and customize, you have to have a special mentality while trading.

Thinking Like A Trader (AKA greedy bastard)
You DONT BUY ANYTHING, unless you know, and you have to know the market at all times, that the item you are buying can get you at least 50k net gain with minimal to no effort. The higher status you get, the more this inscreases(I for instance, dont buy anything over 100k to resell unless I can make 100k profit very easily, unless of course I'm keeping

). This DOES NOT mean you lie to people about the value of an item. You can get good deals without lieing. Simply give your offer, if they accept, good, if they don't, then deal with it, AND LEAVE IT AT THAT. But, ofc, if the listed price is great, don't waste time, grab it up right away.

People will try to make up BS to you all the time, but NEVER believe anyone about the value of an item except yourself or people you know you can trust about the prices of an item.DO NOT spend 100k on an item when you know its worth 100k +5-10 e tops and plan on to resell. Time is money, and an hour - 5 hours wasted on spam to make 50k could've landed you 500k profit with the same amount of effort if you managed your money better.

Customer/Supplier Relationship
Like said earlier in this thread, the relationship a supplier has with his/her customers is another very important aspect of trading. A good relationship means good trading. There are a few rules I believe are vital:

1. Answer all questions- answer any question the buyer has, and be truthful as much as possible. You can bend the truth if needed, but people, especially smarter traders, will gladly go to someone else to buy if you bend it too much. People respect and like honesty, so try to give them what they want.

2. Be nice- no matter how the buyer acts, try to be as nice as you can. remember your manners! ty, np, a good hello, anything positive that makes that person more comfortable is a great way to build a good relationship between the buyer/supplier.

3. Be reasonable- if you know an item is worth 100k + 30 e, and someone rlly wants your item, tell them the price is 100k + 30 e, maybe a bit more if the supply is up or if the person needs the item quickly. Don't be idiotic and try to sell a req 9 13% stance purple crystalline for 100k + 200 e.

4. Keep it perfessional- unless you are having a very bad day, keep it together and try to act as professional as possible. You are a virtual business man, try to act like it.

5. Dont lose your cool- there are absolute idiots in GW, as well as everywhere else in the world. deal with them in a good manner, if they become annoying, ignore them. Sometimes you will get pissed and have to respond, but always try your best not to lower yourself to their lvl.

Those are some of my ideas for the game of trading. Don't get me wrong, I am far from a perfect trader. But, when I follow these rules I made for myself, which I follow 95% of the time(no one is perfect), I am much more successful at trading then just plain swap-and-spam trading that occurs so often in GW today.

It can sometimes be annoying, yes, but when you work hard and make a sale, especially on good terms, you feel spectacular, there is no other way to describe it.

Edit: Forgot to add that I think all pts made so far have been pretty good, and that the original post imo was quite witty and enjoyable. However, i just wanted to put my own 2 cents in, just for fun

TempusReborn · May 10, 2007, 09:27 AM // 09:27

I think the point is well raised - Never ever buy anything unless you think you can sell it for double. We all know that a +30hp bow grip is quite rare or worse yet a +30hp staff wrapping, yet because it's such a niche market for them we have to sell them at almost nil prices (with still almost no chance of them selling) I currently have about 20 perfect mods to a selection of weapons that I just can't get rid of.

When Selling I ussually go to Kammadan but instead of spamming all chat (can any1 read much in Kammadan anyway?

) I put in the party tab. Then a quick alt -tab of GW while I go read something interesting...It easy to hear the ding of someone whispering you and it prevents the frustration feeling of watching kammadans population completly ignore you

When Buying I think it's best to have a preset budget in mind. Im currently going after the Sweet Tooth/Drunkard Title simultaneously and I never ever ever pay more than 100g per point/min (which still means Im paying 1 million per title). You have to be firm. So you've just missed out on 30 birthday cakes ...theres always more cake

The only exception to this is when people are selling a lot of items (especially if its spiked 'nog) Il still pay the 100g but Il also offer them a present as well - like a Candy Cane or something like that. Find it makes people more happy

Also I try and explain when they say "ooo go on 150g per point, thats not much" That it'll end up costing me 500k more. Empathise. You both have goals - the other guys a customer too. Tell em some sort of money making tip - wish them luck and always say that if they need anything pricing or advice etc your there to help