Architect Archive
Thread: lowballer scams?
Has anyone ran into customers quoting prices that they've seen that seem too good to be true?
For example do you get the following kinds of conversations?
Customer: Can you build me a large house?
Architect: Sure I can make one real quick, I charge 120k.
Customer: Oh, come on, 120K? The architect in our town sells them for 50k but he's busy, can't you cut me a break?
Or similar.
Or how about just the basic:
Customer: Can I get a BER13 heavy mineral?
Architect: Yes, I charge 135k for them.
Customer: 135k? Thats crazy. Those cost like 90k max!
(The price numbers used above will vary server to server.)
So how many of us have seen this all the time? I'm guessing most of us have seen some variation of this more than once.
But how often do you take the numbers that customers quote at face value? Do you ever check out their story? Or do you even press them for any details?
I suspect that a lot of people quoting low numbers are just bluffing to see if they can get a deal. This is mostly just a suspicion for most people cause I know there are a lot of architects out there charging low prices so some of the lowball numbers aren't hard to believe. (Gee I could be accused of being an undercutter myself but I am sure I could find someone cheaper).
But it seems that if you even just ask them WHO it is that sells for such a low price that they usually don't know or at best its "some guy my friend knows" and they conveniently forgot the name.
However, I have ran into someone pulling a definite scam a while back. Here's how that one worked.
Twilek Dancer: Pawlin can you be a hon and make me a large house?
Pawlin: Sure, no problem. I charge 120k for them.
Twilek Dancer: Oh thats a lot, well I'll have to save up my money, thanks.
Bystander: 120K? Geez, Architect2 sells them for 60k.
Pawlin: Are you sure thats a large and not a medium?
Bystander: Yes I'm sure. He sells them to everyone in our town for that much but I could get her one for that price cause Architect2 is my buddy.
Pawlin: Well thats pretty cheap, I can't compete with that.
Bystander: Well why don't you just be nice and cut her a deal?
Pawlin: 60k is less than my cost of materials. I can't sell for that low.
Bystander: OK then I guess if you just want to rake in the money you can do the greed thing but I'll just have to buy a bunch from Architect2 and sell them to people to keep you from gouging everyone like that.
etc. etc.
SO I send a mail to Architect2 "Hey someone said you sell larges for 60k, is that true? ... Architect2 : "No, I charge 5 cpu ... who told you that?" I tell him who it was and he says "Ya they've been doing that kind of stuff to people. I'll have a talk with him".
Turns out that Twilek Dancer and Bystander work a con together. She sets someone up with the how much do you charge question and then he steps in with the claim that your way over price and that he cna get it cheaper elsewhere. Then if they succeed they get you to sell really low then resell for market value and split the profits. They are probably not the only people in the game that have thought of such a scam, so keep your eye out. Thing is if they hadn't been so excessive in their lowball number I might have fallen for it and not bothered to check with Architect2. But they were greedy.
So I guess this is both a bit of warning about such scams and a suggestion that you not take price quotes from potential customers as accurate until verified.
Anyone else have similar experiences to relate?
That's a nice little story you wrote there. Only a fool would let those type of customer responces influence your sales price. Thou I will say that the initial prices in your story are high.
Mine your own resources if you want to make a good profit.
I sell houses at 8k, 45k, 90k. Exceptions are medium generic 50k. BER10 mediums 34k, BER13 heveys 95k.
Your post sounds like another TROLL for price fixing.
CheeseBurgerAnimal wrote:That's a nice little story you wrote there. Only a fool would let those type of customer responces influence your sales price. Thou I will say that the initial prices in your story are high.
Mine your own resources if you want to make a good profit.
I sell houses at 8k, 45k, 90k. Exceptions are medium generic 50k. BER10 mediums 34k, BER13 heveys 95k.
Your post sounds like another TROLL for price fixing.
Ummm, I didn't think that his post had ANYTHING whatsoever to do with "price fixing". I'd have to say that Pawlin has contributed a HUGE amount to this forum. I don't think that I've ever seen him advocate price fixing at all.
Change the numbers however you want - cut them in half if you will. To me the key point is that people were explicitly lying in an attempt to get products for less.
And frankly, I think that if we could do an honest to goodness objective survey on any server, and actually FIND the architect who happened to be consistantly selling a product (e.g., large Naboo house) for the absolute lowest on the server, I am willing to *bet* that that architect has stories to tell about customers telling them that they could get it cheaper elsewhere.
So the point of this post isn't the specific price point that you sell at, it's to be aware of scams and also to take stories of "I can get it cheaper elsewhere" with a grain of salt.
My typical answer is "great! that sounds like a truely low price to me also. I think that you should go buy it from them." And sometimes they come back and buy it from me and sometimes they don't - I never ask them "why" if they come back.
Thanks Zen.
If anyone has been paying attention my view on pricing is that debating it is a pathetic and total waste of everyones time. Case evidence is my summary of every such example debate:
http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=architect&message.id=21646
My post was entirely about potential scams run by customers or made up numbers that they might quote us when trying to get a price break. To think that I was advocating price fixing is way out there in left field and you should lay off the Muon gold.
Pawlin wrote:
To think that I was advocating price fixing is way out there in left field and you should lay off the Muon gold.
LOL, ok. Its just thoses architects that have tissy fits and insist that I can't possible make a profit at my price point, they drive me up the wall.
Pawlin, alright I apologize. I'm really, really sorry. I apologize unreservedly. I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basic in fact and was in no way fair comment and was motivated purely by malice and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you or your family and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.
If it makes you feel any better, just substitute YOUR prices into his story. This is a thread about scammers and people being less than truthful when they want something from you.
Wow, noone has pulled the guildmate thing on me, but I build for profit share within the guild. I make them the harvs they want and split the profits of resources sales with them.
I've had a few people say " but <RANDOM might actually be an Architect NAME> sells them for half that"... my responce is normally, "WOW", followed by "Why don't you have them make it for you then?" That tends to end all the BS. If they are trying to Con me, they give up at that point (usually) and either buy or wander off. If they just think I'm too high, i send them names of other Architects, I'd like to make some creds for my work, but I'm not gonna give my time and resources away 'because <RANDOMARCH> is too dumb to make money'
CheeseBurgerAnimal wrote:
Pawlin wrote:
To think that I was advocating price fixing is way out there in left field and you should lay off the Muon gold.
LOL, ok. Its just thoses architects that have tissy fits and insist that I can't possible make a profit at my price point, they drive me up the wall.
Pawlin, alright I apologize. I'm really, really sorry. I apologize unreservedly. I offer a complete and utter retraction. The imputation was totally without basic in fact and was in no way fair comment and was motivated purely by malice and I deeply regret any distress that my comments may have caused you or your family and I hereby undertake not to repeat any such slander at any time in the future.
/picks up data terminal earplug
Ok ya you know that thing? No the other thing. Ya that thing, the one with the guy. I need to call it off. Why? Well he apologized... ya go figure... no I know you keep the 50% I gave you. Thats how it works, I know. You think I'm new to this? Ok. So you're sure that the wookiees will hear in time right? I don't want anything unfortunate to happen, ya know what I mean?... oh.... oh... I see... ok well I guess whatever happens will happen. No I don't think we need to worry about the Trandoshan... he had a little accident himself. Ya. OK.
/returns earplug to socket
/returns cigar to mouth
/turns back to crafting station
(sorry, I indulge myself with my odd sense of humor but I bet someone will appreciate that)
No sweat CheeseBurger. I can understand getting on the defensive if your prices are low, seemstheres a few folks that like to bash lower prices.