Architect Archive

Well I just can’t sit back keep my mouth shut any longer on this topic.

As I read this topic on what other charge and about being undercut by others, I can’t help to think about all the money grubbing whiners that in my characters chosen profession. The fact that some people referee to the prices they charge for buildings and such in Credits per Unit (CPU) sickness me. The fact that you break down an elite profession to such a simple formula of 3-5 CPU across the board from everything a novice to a master could make is just simply degrading. I truly have to wonder if your just in this profession to make some money and buy the uber items in the game in order to make an uber character as quickly as you can with out putting any effort into it.

My character is a career Architect. I didn’t chose this profession because some item in the game said this is the path I need to go do to unlock some unique slot, which I must say probably why a majority play this game because they want play the Jedi’s. I’m here for the role-playing not the roll-playing I see a majority of the time. The player vs. player aspect is only part of the game, and its the most boring part in my eyes.

I’m well aware of economics, supply verse demand. I hear of Architect whoring themselves out for jobs and sales, selling themselves short by asking the same CPU across the board and not even thing about what skills or what it took them to get there. When I see or hear this by those who call themselves master, belittle themselves and everyone else who has work hard to get where. My character may undercut a majority of people for what I charge, but I have more reason then just simple CPU for why I charge what I do. My rates are fairly simple:

Small houses 6.5-12k (mostly depend on my mood and what I have at hand)
Medium house 60-65k (same reason as above)
Large houses 100-140k (same as above)
PA Halls 200-250k (I have gone cheaper depending on who referred you)

The main reason why I charge these rates, as many of have already know, it doesn’t matter what resources one use to make them, as the quality of the resources used or the extermination is completely pointless and means nothing as long as one don’t critically fail (at leas as I’m aware). I don’t put a high priority on these sales because; there’s always someone else who has them for cheeper and its a waist of resources to keep these items in stock in my vender and as it takes way from making harvesters which keep my operation an float.

I don’t make furniture, expect for my close friends and my employee’s. Most of my capital comes form selling heavy harvesters (I don’t make the others) and there’s no way would turn around sell them for a flat rate across the board based a CPU price. I base the price of them off the base extraction rate. I would have now problem selling one with a base of 7 or 8 for 45-50k apiece just get ride of them. I’m producing 10’s and hopefully sometime in the future I can create higher ones. Those I sell for:

Water: 90k
Gas: 100k
Chem and Floral: 125k
Mineral: 135k
Fusions: 135k

My character is quite firm on the price, but may lower them if people know his weak points or are willing make other arrangements. I now have some rather deep pockets for some arrangements I made that go a month or two with selling a single item and still pay all my employee’s, rent, maintains costs and moving cost. I truly can say I’m in this role for the money, but I’m not about give the stuff either.

I truly look forward to cities patch to open up all new types of role-playing aspects with my character. I know I’m going to try to be there on first day, and start pumping out those first few Town Halls. I already know what I’m doing with the first 2. I have enough resources queried away to make 5 city halls right away should the patch come out today, and ever day that passes I put even more away.

I plan to charge a rather step fee for the city hall based on planets limits and plan to sell them right around a 1mill if not more that first day. I’m even think about giving one way, if those I gave it way to where willing to give me the exclusive contract to build all there city building and have all future houses and structures build by myself and force all current homes to be replace with ones I built (for a small fee of 5% of what the house costs per my above rates and the old deed), just so I could have the bragging rights to be able to say ‘I built this city’.

I could go on an on this and many other topic, but I don’t wish to boar people more then I already have.

Eirn,
Independent Contractor.
Master Artisan, Master Architect, and soon to be Urban Planer
Starsider

I belive Urban Planner is not comeing...so that soon to be urban planner u got in your sign...*cough*

anyway regarding what things should cost....who the hell cares we all sell it as cheap as we can and make cash. I myself sell dirt cheap cause i got 70 heavy harvesters placed. So i get the resouses very cheap and lots of it.

Although I agree with your prices asmine are about the same, I do set my prices there because I am a money grubbing parasite. I am getting rich by selling for less than most of the others, I get more business that way.

i'm not a money grubbing parasite, but rather use a CPU so i explain to my customers why prices are what they are. I can say, i charge 3 credits per unit on all structures and people know if they are getting a deal or not. Plus, if i charged based on my mood my prices would be allover the place.

G

It wouldn't be so bad if houses, harvesters, etc. decayed over time, but they don't. If people keep putting maintence in them they will exist in the game FOREVER.

There is a finite demand for these items, but a potentially infinite supply. The archictects that started on the server first had the opportunity to make huge amounts of cash because the demand was so high.

Demand is dwindling, and as new servers are put online, your server will stop growing in population and demand will dwindle to a trickle. People only have 10 lots, how many repeat customers can an architect get?

It would benefit all architects if we kept prices high, everybody gets a piece of the pie. But with people selling dirt cheap they are only saturating the market. Once the market is fully saturated, say goodbye to income from Architecture.

This won't happen immedietly of course, it all depends on the number of new players joining your server. But at some point, after everyone has enough heavy harvesters, large houses, and city components, and it will be tough to make a living in architecture.

I'm not telling people NOT to sell dirt cheap. It's your 13 bucks a month, do what you want. But sooner or later the architecture profession will be almost worthless. If you are just grinding for a holocron, then obviously you don't care, but if you actually like the profession, **edit** is wrong with you? :-)

If you ask me, Weaponsmith is starting to look like a mighty nice profession. Mmmmm, item decay, potentially infinite demand :-)

Well, only to other architects am I a money grubbing parasite, to my customers I am a reliablesupplier of low cost high quality structures.

Which is all I ever wanted to be, business wise.

But when all the customers are gone because nobody needs *new* structures (The market will be decent in used ones I suspect), you'll just be a schmuck with no income like the rest of us architects :-)

Very very true, which is why I support decay for every single craftable item in the game to one degree or another.

well this is a really touchy subject on our server now.. it is insane.. my pricecs are fair..they aren't the highest they arent the lowest.. but one thing that all of my customers know is .. that they will get great quality.. and as far as i read that is going to be more and more important with strucutres.. also they know they can get any order within a few hours.. even if it is for 30 heavies... but i too choose and architect profession.. for the roleplay.. and as part of that i choose to support the economy buy contracting resources from suppliers.. i dont have the spare 100 dollars a month for a game so i can place 100 harvesters.. (too) but what is happening on my servers are alot of Tools that do have 5 or 6 accounts.. and harvests all their resources and put out prices as low as 1.8 cpu and there is even one that posted his price list for the new city structures. (something that i was looking forward to being able to make a decent profit finally) and his prices were as low as 2.2 cpu for these NEW items.. to me that is a slap in the face to all of us.. luckily i have a large customer base that have already begun to tell me not to worry about it.. which i am not.. but sometimes i look at my supply of resources... nothing i use is less that 900 in structure attributes .. and think hmm 2.4 cpu for structures.. ore 4-5 cpu selling the resources..

but it isnt just the arcs undercutting that will be a problem it will also be the people that support them and buy from them... If all you do is look at where can i get things dirt cheap.. then alot of us arcitects that try to do this as roleplay and bring something more than just a deed vendor will begin to move on to something else.. like zypen said I too do things like travel to peoples city survey the area meet with city councils and draw up proposals.. its fun .. and would hope be worth paying at least fair market value for....

.. any way my two cents worth

I have no problem with people selling extremely low. The person above with 70 harvs probably spends a decent amount of time placing them or has others do it for him. Thats they way he chooses to spend his time, and absolutely nothing wrong with that.

The problem I have is when someone comes up to me asking to buy a small house and they tell me I'm ripping them off when I'm charging about 5cpu. They then proceed next door to pick up a krayt gun for 20 times the price.

undercutting is always going to happen. Some people will always value their time a lot lower than others. If I spend 2 hours crafting I expect to at least make enough credits to go buy a few things that I can enjoy for a few hours. I've never had a problem with credits. Mainly because resources sell a lot better than any arch deeds. So I never have a problem with telling someone to find another arch to build it. I try to do this is polite as I possible can, I just would like the same respect back. Crafting is not for everyone, and those people have to realize that crafters are not here to bend over backwards to help the non crafters out.

To my way of thinking, selling extreemly low is a mistake. Although I do defend the right of anyone to sell at the price they want too. I jsut make sure I am enough lower than the avarage price that my customers notice.

Also, I think I could get into roleplaying a bit more with arch if it actually mattered if a person was a good arch or not. A weaponsmith that puts a lot of time and effort into his char gets rewarded, one that does a half ass job doesn't. Arch is basically make it the cheapest and you have won.

I can't strike to be the best architect. I don't need to be the best, but I would like that to be at least a possible goal.

I am not convinced that is totally true. ButI cant prove otherwise ( it is not in me to give bad service ).

I work hard for my customers, I give housewarming gifts, I visit customers of Med and Large houses in thier new homes. I give them e-mail updates on large orders. I deliver, I never make them come to me.

I honestly believe that this is a part of the reasonthey com back to me as my low prices.