Armorsmith Archive
Thread: HELP: Is There Any Demand For Low Level Armour Anymore?
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Viper_UK
Thu Feb 26, 2004 7:45 am
#1
Hey all
I have recently taken on the challenge of my first crafting profession and finding it extremely hard to get some custom these days as my product is not of master quality. I am currently making good sets of Ubese armour with 42% Kinetic resists and the rest around 16%, is there a market for this sort of armour? I have made the prices fairly cheap at a maximum of 50k for a whole suit, and I would have thought that this would appeal to those novice players, is this the case and I haven't got the advertising right or is it due to the novices being able to get cash easily and saving up for a 300k composite suit?
Please help me by pointing me in the right directionas grinding to master is costing alot of resources and I would like to get some income coming in to pay for it.
Thanks
Viper
Viper Armour
SALE on Bio Clothing, Doctor Supplies and Armour Upgrade Kits
Expert Armoursmith Near Bestine -1875 -4086 (Chimaera)
DirthNader
Thu Feb 26, 2004 7:52 am
#2
I think I moved a good bit of non-layered Ubese (52%) at around 50K when I was 3/0/0/4 (bought the segs from a retiring master armorsmith). I sell 67%-70% kinetic layered at 68K a set, and it moves well with no advertising other than registering the vendor. I dunno, things are hard for us non-masters since everyone wants composite or +70% Ubese.
I just do it for fun and don't worry too much about making money. If I keep the "Expert Armorsmith" tag up I get a good amount of /tells asking for custom orders, and try to keep enough materials around to crank out very good padded and chitin when requested. I have a feeling I'll do that even after I master, since cranking out one type of armor (80% kinetic comp like everyone else) would be quite the snooze.
That's just me though. I do armorsmith to take a break from killing things as a bounty hunter.
Viper_UK
Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:06 am
#3
Crafting is suprisingly fun but alot more hard work than I expected, when I master (or if at this rate of production) I would make a variety and probably specialise in padded.
I'm at 4/1/1/4 at the moment using a +42.67 crafting station, using resources with as much OQ/SR as I can afford but still finding it really difficult to make good Ubese, and it really doesn't help when on my server masters are just pumping out these 70-80% suits which makes less and less demand for my poor armour 
Does anyone know a good way of getting customers into the stores? Or a side line that I can implement like AUk's or deflectors that I can sell to get some sort of income because I'm relying on the cash I got from selling the odd holocron. Also is there a good place or way to get quality resources at lower prices? Like the wooly hide and axidite iron?
Thanks
Viper
Viper Armour
SALE on Bio Clothing, Doctor Supplies and Armour Upgrade Kits
Expert Armoursmith Near Bestine -1875 -4086 (Chimaera)
Vrond
Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:24 am
#4
What I found during my smithing days was that lower end armor will not sell but decent armor stuff with mid 50% kinetic will move if priced right. You have to sell what folks need to level up and what most folks need is armor that protects them from low to mid level mobs to gain exp with.
The bane of a crafter is the n00b who reads the best of the best on the forums and wants to be able to buy it for the price of one day of running missions from Theed not understaning that even in that armor he cant expect to go to dathomir and solo hunt becasue he "don't like grouping"
The other thing I found useful to do with lower end armor wastrade it for local hide and bone when the local stuff was good. In fact when I went Ranger anArmorsmith was kept in constant supply of allthe best hides I could get by providing my armor for me. Now keep in mind she was getting100k of good hide by doing this so the deal really worked out well for both of us. And when ever someone would ask where I got my armor I would refer her another good customer.
Viper_UK
Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:33 am
#5
Hey thats not a bad idea but like you say, there is a huge amount of these people that want a full set of legendary composite for doing a few sharnaff runs. They end up not going through each armour upgrade that most of us did at the early stages of our galaxy careers.
Whats a fair price for a set of Ubese, 42% kinetic and 16% rest with a 16k HAM? Is there any tricks of the trade to getting better reults without spending stupid money on the resources?
Viper
Viper Armour
SALE on Bio Clothing, Doctor Supplies and Armour Upgrade Kits
Expert Armoursmith Near Bestine -1875 -4086 (Chimaera)
Andymantium
Thu Feb 26, 2004 8:38 am
#6
I got offered 50k for an 80% composite suit once. That was kinda funny 
Ok seriously...the lower-end armors are a niche market. Though, if you can find a small group of regular customers, you can get by and make a decent amount of cash. As you progress and eventually hit master, not only will you be able to make higher-end armors, but you'll likely retain the customers you helped along the way.
Avengre
Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:14 am
#7
Yes, a young armrosmith can still make money despite what people think. First off, mabari sells easily off the bazaar. Even at its crappiest level w/o any experimentation, some armor is better than none. Period.
I currently sell out my stocks of ubese, tantel, padded, mabari and even bone before i got master (which was last night btw *sigh of relief* 
) I never grinded up to master, and i made about 2 million dollars off armorsales while i was working my way up the tree. I was selling 52% ubese for about 55k a set, and 59-60% ubese for 65k a set. So i know you can make money without being master. Albeit, all these were layerd to get that level.
) I never grinded up to master, and i made about 2 million dollars off armorsales while i was working my way up the tree. I was selling 52% ubese for about 55k a set, and 59-60% ubese for 65k a set. So i know you can make money without being master. Albeit, all these were layerd to get that level.But yes, unlike other professions (re: weaponsmith) there is hope for the novice armorsmith.
Also remember, the lower armors (chitin, tantel, bone) aren't usually made by Master Armorsmiths, so you pretty much have a monopoly on the market of lower (And consiquentially cheaper to make) armors which appeals to players who can't dump down the 70k or so for the cheapest of the master armors. Just be reasonable with your price and figure that the average noobie is gonna be willing to spend no more than 10k on his first set of armor, and even then 10k is gonna seem like alot to him. But you can get good buyer loyalty this way, as we know armorsmiths are always in demand, so having good connections with an armorsmith can get you bumped up in line for new armor, down the line when the armorsmith is swamped. So sell your lowlevel armor to the market of low level players
Drewpey
Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:18 am
#8
the only problem with lower level armor is that it seems there are a lot of newbies out there with tons of credits. I seem to be getting more and more customers who don't know what they are looking for, they just want "the best" or "something really good". I always thought it would be a good idea to make cheaper lower level armor for people, but there are a few problems.
1. Probably the only people who would buy your armor would be newbies
2. Newbies are hard to get the word out to, mainly because they don't stay newbies forever...
3. Many of the hologrinders just stuff their junk on the bazaar, and that is where most newbies first look (i know i did)
4. If you are a hunter, odds are you are going to be able to afford decent armor within a week or two if you group even an hour a night.
On the up side, those who you sold to when they were low, you would probably gain their loyalty and would be lifelong customers, assuming they don't get fed up with SOE enough to quit...
You could try to get Advertising III in merchant and advertise your store as a place for lower level armor...also you can do the old "mabari glove on the vendor" trick and name it the same as your store with the waypoint.
Lots of potential, but it would take some effort that many of us armorsmiths can't put forth due to other restrictions...
Viper_UK
Thu Feb 26, 2004 9:32 am
#9
Thanks for the help guys, you've given me a couple of ideas... its finding that nieche market and finding the right price really. The difficult part is getting the newbies to me
If any other your verteran armoursmiths have any good ways or tricks of the trade then please post it here, I really need as much help as I can get.
Thanks again
Viper
Viper Armour
SALE on Bio Clothing, Doctor Supplies and Armour Upgrade Kits
Expert Armoursmith Near Bestine -1875 -4086
Drewpey
Thu Feb 26, 2004 10:40 am
#10
I would post on the boards and talk to all the master armorsmiths on your server.
I get quite a few /tells asking for armor, and then they ask if I can make junk armor so they can afford it.
I am sure most armorsmiths get these tells, and if you made it known that you would do this, theywould probablyrefer them to you.
none
Thu Feb 26, 2004 2:04 pm
#11
I sold cheap Mabari while grinding up the tree - andsold it on the Bazaar for very little money. Plus, I was tyring to build up my future big spenders by offering to make free mabari sets for the newbies (easy to spot them) - I was grinding Mabari chest plates anyway so might as well give some away. Now that I am Master they keep coming back to me for the expensive stuff.
I currently make Ubese armor sets with minimum 64%-65% kinetic with 24% base (on my server axidite iron and Neutronium is very bad soI can not make any better) and still sell a few sets a day for 90-100k per set. Mostly to the experienced players with a lot of money who sometimes buy a few sets at once.
But I also give a lot away - especially the Ubese that has not Very good experimentation - or sell it on Bazaar for 6k a piece. To build a name and future clients.
Good luck.
omakr3w
Thu Feb 26, 2004 2:11 pm
#12
there is a big demand for padded armor. at least there is on corbantis. most masters won't make padded armor since its so hide intensive and the encumberances are so high. plus the vulnerabilities suck too. if you're not a master yet try selling custom orders of padded
meschuster
Thu Feb 26, 2004 4:02 pm
#13
When I made a few sets of chitin early on in my AS career they sold on the bazaar in less than 24 hours usually. They were in the 20-25% resist range. I sold the chest and legs at 3K or so. I could probably sell them for a bit more, maybe. But of course, one of the lowest level armors available to AS (besides mabari) is also the hardest armor to make. I think your Ubese should sell well, though I never really tried it. I've had crappy resources and I am still just grinding out AS until I get to master. I have no interest in making Comp armor since there are many better AS on my server than I could ever be so I hope that with the right materials and 10 exp. points I can make the lower level armors and sell them.
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