Artisan Archive

You know what would be really helpful is a place to simply toss the low level stuff we make where we don't get any payment but either newbs get free or for 10 credits. I know many who've found that offering items for a MUCH lower price is how to get sales.

Kartae

Bria

Aspiring Weaponcrafter

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DarkTieFighter wrote:
good idea.
we should have a Walmart Bizarre.. for the lowerst prices.

and bling-bling bizaares for the higher priced/better quality stuff.

heh.

-ADR

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They do. It's your local merchant. Give them a cut in price, and they'll sell for you. They can break the 3k price limit. They can also give your quality gear a home amongst other quality gear.

Everything I sell is experimented. If it isn't an experimented item, it gets destroyed. If it is a failed experimental item, it gets destroyed. I only sell quality stuff because I want to establish a brand name of sorts. I am a Master Artisan and am comfortable in this niche, so I don't create a corporation, I simply list everything as Fikem's Experimental before the type. This says I made it, it has Experimented attributes. That's all you need to know really to determine if it is standard crap or something with more time and quality invested in its manufacture.

I'm

Harbinger Arms

or

Harbinger Fireworks Co.

in Eclipse on Corellia

I just hit novice weaponsmith last night myself. I've personally only sold about 5 pistols. Most of them CDEF but with a different name. Only a handful though because I am certainly not going to sell something I wouldn't want to buy. I use the different name to catch ones attention. Then they view the details and see that the stats are nice and (hopefully) make the purchase.

I like the idea of putting the name of the weapon in though. I also like the idea of adding in the damage specs. Looks like a model number

So, be on the lookout for something like: EDP26-58 CDEF or EDP30-60 D18 (i just threw that number out).

Seems like you have several problems.

1. You don't like names of weapons that don't include the base weapon type.

I agree with this, it would be helpful if everyone would include it. I will start..today.

2. You don't like the additional branding/naming, although you understand the need for it.

Seems kinda of like whining, we addadditional namesbecause it helps set the good weapons apart from others.

3. You don't like having the damage listed, but you also don't like long lists of weapons that are garbage.

I don't understand this one, the names and stats of a weapon help set it apart from others and help tell one from the other quickly. I agree with others in that it would be nice if it was built in. It isn't the best place by far is putting it in the name.

4. I would also add. Puting a weapon with one name DL44 when it is in fact a different one CDEF

5. Bugged weapons

6. Faction use only

There is nothing more obnoxious than uninformative and overinformative names. I'm a big boy, I can look up specific stats on a weapon myself, you don't need to include them in the weapon name (so that it eternally clutters up my inventory with it's long and annoying name, in addition to the constant reminder of meta-game mechanics killing any kind of RP mood I may have been able to sustain -- despite just bumping into "Eboli Virus" on the way to the cantina). Dumping the stats in the title is also moderately insulting to my intelligence, but maybe that part's just me. Likewise, if it doesn't include the real model somewhere in the name (like DL 44, or -- this is the worst -- if it's a CDEF, say so, blast it, don't try to hide that you're trying to pawn off crappily low-level weapons in the bazaar, despite the fact that there are over a thousand in one city alone).

I don't care if you put Ubertech Incorporated in front of every weapon you make, I appreciate the branding, especially ones that sound vaguely corporate, in character,with the model number following. Han did carry a Blastech DL-44, after all. Mildly annoying, but understandable, is "DL-44 by Crafter'sName". If you want to brand it, slap tech or works after your name (provided your name isn't already stupidly reportable) and put it in front. The exception is clothing, which fits well enough with the "by Whoever" to indicate a line of clothing. I see Perfumes by Elizabeth or whatever when I go to the store, so it works for me on that level. But when buying weapons or armor or tools, I'd rather have the illusion of buying from a well established corporation than a guy who makes this stuff in his garage, hehe.

Now, why is this info useful to you? Because I think I represent a decent chunk of the population: that is, somebody who wants to skim the bazaar quickly when I know specifically the model that, a) I can use, and b) will suit my needs and price range. I literally skip over anything that doesn't have the model in it's name (as in, it doesn't even get a glance to see what type of item it is), and will give surprising preference to those that do not include stat's in the title (on the order of: it'll have to be almost 40% better than an inoffensively named item in order for me to bother), with minor preference against the very un-natural sounding product name of "blahblah by Whoever".

And since I'm taking the time to write this: Is it just me, or should the concept of "don't bother trying to sell stuff on the bazaar, even if you're undercutting and of decent quality, when there's over a thousand listings for that type of item? Not to mention, what's up with all the CDEFs -- and not even good/experimented ones at that? It's like every artisan is trying to hock all the practice material he's ever made -- haven't you guys heard of destroying stuff and saving the listing fee? Trust me, nobody's going to buy that CDEF 17-35 you just made when it's on the twelfth page of the ranged weapons listing. No matter how low you price it. Even at a loss (less than 20c). That goes for the other 50 you just made, too. Especially not now that there are real weapons starting to pop up.

Finally, shame on you people who rename junk as good models. It's a good thing I have a modicum of knowledge just from looking around, enough to know a relabeled CDEF isn't a DH17, and I truly feel sorry for the fresh off the shuttle newbie who doesn't. I hope you rot a week in hell for every newbie you decieve out of his starting cash this way.

All this is a great lesson in intellectual property and trademarks, as well as simple good business practice. Some of my observations:

1. While you may think renaming items can be an asvantage, don't forget the possible disadvantages. First of all, buyers may already know what they are looking for, and if so they are going to look for it by name. If I need a CDEF rifle for example (this really applies to higher end items, but I'm using CDEF for simplicity), I'm going to look at the ranged weapons listing under CDEF. I'm not going to check out the "DV-47 Superblaster Rifle" to see if it is what I'm looking for. I know generally what CDEF Rifles' stats can be, I'm looking there. So, whether you are annoyed or not by a total renaming of an item, remember if you are renaming that buyers may not want to take the time to find out what it really is.

2. Related to the first point is the trademarking (or "branding") of items, as Kaffis mentioned, by putting your "company name" in front or adding "by Name" after the ietm. This, I believe, is very important to an aspiring artisan/crafter for several reasons. First, anyone who puts there name on a product stakes their reputation on the product. Yes, you can see who you are buying it from anyway, but if an item has "Ubertech Unlimited" in the name, you should know what quality to expect, especially if you have purchased "ubertech" items in the past. If you put your name on it and it is crap, or you've changed the name to try and rip someone off, that item is going to pass around and you'll have a hard time selling anything soon enough. But as far as putting your trademark in front of or after an item's name, there are a few things to consider. One, mentioned above, is if I'm looking for a CDEF Rifle, I'm going to order the bazaar by item and scroll to "CDEF Rifle." I'm not going to go through 20 pages of listings to see how many "Whatever Incorporateds" are selling CDEF's. So, put your trademark after the item, at least at first, so buyers can still look for exactly what they want, yet still see who made it.

However, after your reputation grows throuhgout the galaxy, you may want to think about putting your name in front. This way buyers who are loyal to you can scroll straight to all your listings under Ranged Weapons, or whatever category they are looking for an item in. If you decide to do this, don't do it to soon, you can't underestimate whether buyers will actually look for your name or notice that you have changed your listings. And, when you do, keep making items with your trademark after the item name, since you'll still need new customers and even loyal buyers will still look for specific items under their "generic" name.

3. Why people sell stuff on the bazaar for 20c or less is beyond me. First, you lose credits even if it sells. Second, there is no better way to say "this item is garbage and not even worth looking at" than to charge 10 credits for it. If you really want the UXP, give it away, it is a better for you and the person you are giving it to. Why would you lose money selling it and why would someone pay credits for it when you could give it to them and you both break even?

In the end, if you don't want to worry about listing item stats in a name (which is annoying), build a reputation around a trademark. If I know you make high quality stuff, I don't need to sort through everyone else's items comparing stats and prices. I'm going right to you, make sure the item is what I need and is a good price, and spend more of my time earning credits than searching the bazaar for ways to spend them. Even if I lose 50 credits by not getting the best deal possible, I can spend the extra 10-15 minutes earning several hundred on a delivery mission.

Remember, no one earns money searching a bazaar terminal.

Personally, as someone who browses the bazaar to look at the going rates for weapons (so i know what to price mine), i hate it when i see 25 CDEF pistols in a row ranging from 50 creds -> 450 creds.

I tend to only look at the higher cost ones, and most of those are junk. 22-48, 21-35, 25-55. And price doesn't necessarily reflect quality. (sometimes the 25-55 is 100 and the 21-35 is 350).

As a result, I label all of my weapons with the dam and att spd using the least number of chars possible.

"CDEF Rifle 31-60 3.4s"

That also helps a ton when you have a couple cdef weapons in your inventory to be able to quickly determine which one has what damage.

I have no problem with people branding weapons at the end. But I personally loathe someone branding them at the beginning. Since in the icon view you only get a limited number of characters and to take up most of that with a brand seems like a waste.

My naming pattern is pretty simple. I put my brand name Wrath, the type of weapon CDEF rifle for example and then the min-max damage. It ends up looking like this.

Wrath CDEF Rifle 27-57

This has worked well for me. Nice short name that's not annoying to look at in your inventory. My brand name is becoming pretty popular on Tattooine. For a while I was the only one making decent weapons so people bought them. The grinders are now into Weaponsmith era weapons, but in general mine are still better and my reputation is starting to bring in repeart business.

Now if we could find a way to brand powerups. Most of my customers come back to me for powerups specifically. Would be nice to add my brand name to them so it would show up in the bazaar as a Hot-Wired Wrath Coupler of Searing or something like that. I can't keep em in stock as it is, but they'd sell even better if people could differentiate my powerups from others.

Anyway my naming advice. Keep it short and simple. Definitely brand your experimentations. Include the weapon type. As someone already said if you aren't including the weapon dmg in the name you're shooting yourself in the foot. At least initially.

That's just my 2 credits.

Wrath - Tattooine - Wanderhome

I think it is ironic that all people are talking about is naming weapons and powerups. The market needs to be much broader than that or we will all be at the mercy of shifting forces that most won't be able to keep up with. I have no intention of becoming a Master Armorsmith or Weaponsmith, more power to those that do, but the lower level goods and trades can't be ignored either or the economy will be extremely narrow and one dimensional.

I'm the one who really annoys you, (except I haven't sold any weapons on the Bazaar, come to think of it, I don't believe I've ever SOLD any weapons.)

When I label my experimented goodies for outside consumption, if I remember to note the percentages, they get labled as so, "CDEF Pistol, 64Dam/28Dur/56Eff/63Rng", or if I'm making it, literally, to order, It'd be "CDEF Pistol, Personalized"

There are a lot more of my items out there that are "personalized" than have the stats, or so I think.

Of course, if I'm just churning, everything gets radial menu 3 to free up space for the next 40-50 crafted items.

The main problem I envision is complete and total saturation. Servers are SCS, which I agree with the reasoning behind. However, this also means that once a character gets a real good DL44, he's not going to need another for a long while (unless Decay speeds way up, and in either case, it could keep getting repaired for a long time ostensibly). The advanced weapons and armorsmiths, and architects for that matter, are making a complete killing right now because the market is cornered and the demand is high. This beginning period is the boom period when people could actually use low level CDEFs. As the game goes on, novice artisans will be driven even further into the ground than they are now.

Almost everyone on their server will be supplied with whatever weapons and armor they need until one absolutely poofs, making the demand horribly low (only new, non-twinked players). From there, what's a Master elite artisan to do? If their products aren't in very much demand and they don't have a combat profession, there won't be that much to do. I think, ironically, Chef will be the craftingprofession that has the most action as the game wears on, and other professions remarkably little.

Furthermore, this cripples the lower levelled crafters. If you think getting to an elite profession is a grind now, imagine if absolutely no one wanted your bone armor, low level tailored items, or anything like that. It would be a 100% grind with zero income. The only way to counteract this situation, as the game wears on, would be to consistently increase the quality of metals in remote locations or to consistently add better schematics, but both would give master elite professions domination over the market. Other MMORPGs get around this limitation by constantly raising the ceiling and offering better loot (in EQ for example, any crafting profession is a straight grind with almost nobody buying your goods until the top levels, but the excuse is that there is no artisan class), but that's not as viable an option in SWG.