Architect Archive

Does anybody have a WORKING business model as an Architect? I'm not asking about what you charge, but the general setup of your business. Information like, if you use a resource supplier, if you have an apprentice etc. I'm having trouble coming up with one that will actually generate some form of income based on the current market pricing for structures.

Ecirb

Master Architect

TheFirm Guild Jester.

MY business ( not a model, but what I do )

I have 2 partners that let me use half of their lot space for services I provide them ( they are happy with the arangment )

I never buy resources ( the prices are simply too high )

I extract directly and close to my house everything I need generally not re-deeding unless the rate of an extractor falls below 40% ( and I wait 2 days even then as more resources often show up over a day or two ) This keeps my overhead very low.

I craft everything by hand, I never use a factory, but that will probably change once I make master Archetect. Right now walls are too good experience not to make by hand.

The only resource I go off planet for is Power, I have a fusion ion generator that supplies all I need for now. I hope to return that machine to my planet with the next resource shift soon as that round trip ticket is adding to my overhead. I do have a couple of solar generators on planet that provide suplemental and emergency power. My extractors run 24\7, I dont let them stop.

I sell finished products at between 2.5 - 4 cr per resource used. Most of the really expensive stuff sells for closer to the 2.5 number, the cheap stuff sells for closer to 4. There are exceptions to that, for example Small houses are the smaller stuff but I sell them for closer to 2.5. It is items like personal extractors and wind generators that sell for closer to 4 and that is still below what most people charge for them.

Not a model but it will give you an idea of what it takes to annoy otherarchetect's while still running a very profitable and sucuessful and very competitive business.

I collect all my own resources and have been able to build my bank account up to just over 500k. I sell the majority of my structures to pa members for very cheap, around 2 credits per. The PA lets me use their lots.

At the moment I am running

4 solar, 4 heavy mining, 1 personal chem, 1 personal gas, 8 mining

I pay all the upkeep and power on these, but I do not pay a rental fee for the lots.

I think it is pretty easy to earn a living as an architect if you collect all of your own resources. If you have to buy any I think you are out of luck.

Obviously I am not maximizing my revenue potential. I could make more money being a resource collector. My long term goal is to be an urban planner and politician for my PA's player city. So I have been willing to sacrifice earning potential for gains in XP and the goodwill of my PA.

Mkappus,

That is a ncie setup! I would have a terrible time competing with you

Mkappus,

The setup you have is very similar to mine, but I'm getting tired of managing my extractors. I would like to be able to have a store that was fully stocked, with no waiting time for my clients. The only way I can see making it work, is if I buy my resources from a resource supplier. I'm not really in it for the money, so even if I was able to make 1 credit per resource after the cost of resources, I'd probably make enough for Shop maintenance. I was just wondering if anybody else has done it.

Ecirb

J4doo,

The problem there is that so many suppliers and archetects have the 3cr per resource set in thier minds they cant see around it. If I wasjust thesupplier end of a business as you sugguest, with garunteed sales of materals my prices would be much lower, say2per resrouce. Very litle planning would make that a a very sucuessfull business. I actually like taking care of the machines.

But people cant see it, they only see what they might get on this one sale, they dont see the future.

Dayln isnt even a master.. phear his enlightened trollish input

Iol. Dayln seems to be getting alot of flak. In this case, Iwouldhave to agree with Dayln for the simple fact that if you don't have a business model in mind as you journey to Master, you're probably not going to make it. I say all input is welcome. Just my 2 creds.

/me ducks for cover over possible flames.

Ecirb

Buying-in all resources - I work this way sometimes to meet demand but I prefer not to as the profit margin can be quite thin (ie not worth my time). Assuming you're adding a minimum of 1 c/u to the total resource count of the structure, and that the demand for goods is in place, then you'll easily cover vendor, store and factory maintenance, plus profit. It won't be stellar profit, but it's profit

Where it falls down is on critical failures, because when you burn that large house, instead of losing the relatively low credit value of self-mined resources, you've just trashed market-rate resources, which is liable to be substantially greater. Recovering this through overheads can be difficult if your server economy won't let you add the neccessary value to end products when selling.

The one exception to this method of working seems to be furniture. I run the entire furniture side of the business from bought-in resources and the profit (100%+) dwarfs the structures side of the business.

As for making the Architect profession work for me... I point blank refuse to sell structures below the market rate of the raw resource value. Even if i mined those resources myself at 0.5-1.5 c/u value, im still not going to sell thestructure below what i know i could move the raw resources for as a supplier (ie substantially more). Otherwise i'd go and be a miner. Duh. It can take a while to sell them at this value if they've not been built to order, but they always go eventually. Diversifying the business to encompass furniture provided a significant cushion that prevents having to make a quick low sale on structures.

Xek.

I am a master architect and have been for a long time now. I'd say I made 70% of my profits/money from furniture sales through both the main bazaar (as advertisements) and my personal vendor I keep fairly well stocked. I price these in the same way I describe below for large structures.

15% comes through sales on main bazaar of raw resources at 3-4c/, I starteddoingthose sales as a bell-weather for what the opportunity cost is for pricing purposes but was very succesfull and much faster turn around than even selling medium extracters for 2c/ not to mention more than twice as profitable when you figure in crit fails.

The last 15% comes through selling architectual structures. I have a fairly complex pricing structure that starts with the 'cost' per resourcethat takes into considerationsthe opportunity cost (which as we all know is the largest of the costs) then from that I get a material cost per item/component, and I factor in my crit fail rate to get actual cost. At the top I typically put 15-20% profit margin. This method over time has proven to break even on resource sales at 4c/.

I run 2 heavy mineral harvesters, between 8 and 10 medium mineral harvesters that I'm slowly upgrading to heavies. 1 heavy chem, 1 heavy gas, 1 heavy water (for guild members benefit), and2 fusion gens. I have access to, though don't use all of, 30 lots.

I maintain a pretty proscribed area in central Naboo that I'll place my harvesters in, that cuts down alot on time spent travelling between them. I will gas up harvesters for over a week usually and place them when a new resource first goes down and not go back until I see the resource shift also to cut down on time spent running around and also where I get maximum efficiency in making schematics or factory runs.

With this model of business I have made around 2-2.5 million credits, I am on more friends lists than I can easily count and I typically spend most of my online time chatting to both new and old customers as well as my guild.

I mined all my own resources (I borrow three lots from a friend).

Personally, I found 'the grind' to not exist. Simply by upgrading my own structures, and later making a few medium and large houses (one for my wife, a couple for friends who traded them for resources, and a couple I sold), I found I was almost a master without even thinking about it.

One day a week, I spent doing combat missions, for some cash and as a distraction.

For other income, ... I just make what sells. Haven't sold many houses at all, and not many harvesters. I do sell a couple factories a week, but furniture has more than paid the bills (even in the last few weeks, after the one-day housing fiasco). Sure, I'm not the richest guy around, but I'm not the poorest, either.

If you're looking for advice, here's what I'd suggest; it's the same as I'd suggestfor any other crafting profession in any online game, even though it may not be popular with some players:

Don't count on your crafting profession to make you rich, as you advance in that profession.

That is, find another source of income. I've done this with every crafter character I've played, and with almost all of them, I find that even though I don't expect (or count on) the income from crafting, it somehowends up coming anyway.

For another, more concrete idea, consider working for another architect. One of the first things I did after I reached Master status is started 'contracting out' wall modules to rising architects. Not a lot, but I bought maybe 5 wall modules a week from two or three architects. Helped both of us -- they had product to sell at a modest profit while they gained xp, and I had extra 'selling capacity'.

Wow, you are one of the first people to show me that I have made a terrible mistake.

I have totally ignored the furnature side of the business. That ends today. I thank you for your wisdom, I respect that.