Architect Archive

A Lesson in Economics

I've hesitated to post this type of thread but I feel that the time is right for it to be said. I've listened to the complaints from other Architects and listened to the arguments that were valid concerning the market perspective with Architects. Let me start by stating that I've been an architect since Beta 1. I don't know many Beta 1 players that are still architects today. The ranks have dwindled because few have had a sound vision in a largely unmarketed profession.

I'm going to argue reasonably and fairly on some key issues and show a few architects how to truly make a living as one without feeling like you are in the middle of a depression.

Resources

If you are buying large quantities or even small quantities of resources as an architect, you are gutting yourself with a dull butterknife. Our profession is unlike any other. We need so many different resources but there is never one key ingredient that is needed by a specific name (other than furniture items). You can use any type of low-grade ore, any type of steel, any type of metal, any type of reactive gas, any type of polymer or fiberplast, and any type of copper and aluminum. This essentially means that you can mine your own resources and not do so in a rush. If you are impatient and want mass quantities of resources to become a rich architect, you aren't going about it the right way and you are probably saturating the market involuntarily. This is more or less due because of lack of experience and a little naivety. Some architects are truly young and don't understand the following mentionables.

Gather your resources yourself through whatever means you can and do so, and do this at a level pace. Gather the correct quantities and concentrate on percentages of types needed rather than an over abundance of one resource. Save these resources for jobs at a future date and when you need them most.

Explanation: If you hurry up and buy mass amounts of resources (even at let's say a low cost of 1.5 CR per resource) your final item would need to tally at 4.5 to 5 cr per resource in order to make up the swing of the "cost and use" pendulum you swung against yourself. By not buying resources, your costs will never fluctuate. You can conceivably charge 3.5 to 4 CR per resource and allocate a small 0.5 CR per resource failure into your selling plan. In addition, by not buying the bulk resources that everyone is selling to architects (yes we are the biggest buyers of resources in the game to date), competition becomes fierce between resource resellers causing the market price of resources to lower by a large amount. You do not need to limit your sales of harvesters to accomplish a market swing for resources. You simply need to cut back on your own buying philosophy and use your money a bit more wisely.

If at some point you aren't having sales, you can easily try to sell your items on the bazaar at a fair market price. Anything over 2 CR per resource will net you a fair amount in tough times. This is why saving resources for a rainy day will either net you a big commission on a building project, or allow you to safely sell small amounts of resources to keep your financial endeavors up rather than down.

Houses and Furniture

The largest amount of money any architect can make at one time is right here folks. I've heard people say that houses won't make money and I've heard people say that furniture won't make money. Together folks, they make large amounts of money and allow you to make others happy. Here is a scenario that I'm currently in with a very nice customer whom I won't name at the moment. Let's say that he is polite and respectable, and knows what he wants. Part of what he wants is good service. He recently asked me to commission a job to make a Large Generic House, fully furnish it, and place a fish aquarium in it. This job will gain me a complete fee of 575,000 credits which is equal to almost 4.5 large harvesters. In addition to this, I will be having fun making his house a wonderful place to live. Part of my services include a wide variety of unique furniture effects, a very complete naming convention on furniture sets, and working on his house so that it becomes a place of envy to all his friends.

One of the newest items I make now is an "Polished Black Marble Fireplace". I'm going to post screenshots soon and instructions on how to make this item for other architects. Let's just say that this selling piece is a wonderful invention and I don't mind sharing my ideas. After all, I hadn't thought of the fish aquarium idea and I've since been able to lower the amount of items it takes to make it and make more compact and beautiful aquariums for my customers.

Explanation: Many customers want a house but what will they put in it? If you sell a house to one of your customers and don't offer to furnish it or don't include furniture in an overall package price, you've not only done them a disservice, you've just gutted yourself again with that dull butterknife. People want a comfy place they can call home. The few people that want a house for storage only are usually the same people that come back for the furnished house as well. They can have more lots so why not use more lots for a true home. The more beautiful a person's home, the more customers come out of the wood work to have their own home worked on. People want something special and if you can create something special for them, then you've just made a customer for life.

Tips and Tricks: The first tip I can offer you is to come up with a large naming convention guide. I was lucky in that my soulmate happens to be an interior decorator in real life, so she created a custom 600 word descriptor guide for me. This guide includes period modifiers, finishes and effects, wood types, adjectives, and naming conventions. When I put a complete piece together I will get something like the following: Antique (Period Modifier) Burnished (Finishes and Effects) Cherry Wood (Wood type) Bed (item name). This nets an "Antique Burnished Cherry Wood Bed". You can create nice custom sets that have similar names and when you find out what type of style a person is into you can decide from other period modifiers like Contemporary, Modern, etc.

Most of the tricks come about using stairs so that you can get many different level effects with different items. So, if your customer wants special effects, upgrade them to a house style and floor plan that suits your effect best. Help them to understand that. Good service nets you a happy customer.

What should you sell your items at?

This has been the age-old argument on these forums for so long now. The easiest answer would be (what you are happy and comfortable to sell them at) but it isn't an economical one. Each price should be dependant on a few things.

1. What is the current resource selling price on your server for the types needed?


2. What difficulty level is the item(s) you are making?


3. How much time does it take to assemble the item and are there common failures on many components within the item?


4. How many different resources do you need to make the item?

The base price of the item should always be the minimum selling price of any resource period. Account into your price the amount of time and effort it takes to gather your resources, assemble the item, a base failure charge of 0.5 CR per resource and you will never fail (even if you fail) to make a profit on your item. If there aren't many buyers around, save resources and construct ALL components in a factory. You should have the following items made in your factory and stock pile these always.

• Factory-made Power Cores


• Factory-made Generator Turbines


• Factory-made Wall Modules


• Factory-made Structure Storage Modules

I would keep these on hand at all times and sort the large factory runs the best way you can. Never assemble a final product until you have a buyer for that product. Then it's as simple as constructing the end item. By using factory-made components you never will have a problem with schematics that require them. If you are the rare architect that buys wall modules from other architects, be sure that they are factory-made and in sets of 6 minimum per factory schematic. This way you don't lose out on harvesters when they are being sold.

Ending this lesson

In the end, you have to be happy in what you do. If after reading this, you find you can make it work for you and you see some things you didn't see before, that is great for you and for the community. If you still feel that you are unhappy as an architect, feel tired and bored of the profession, then by all means choose another profession. Why do something that makes you unhappy?

Last but not least, "THINK" about what you are doing in a business sense. If you choose the wrong path and business model for yourself, you not only hurt yourself in the short and long run, you hurt the architectural community as well.

Take care.