Bio Engineer Archive
Thread: prices?
Snowleeper,
Thank god ur not on my server. Your prices are way to low and it damages the value people put on clothing. I don't know about you but harvesters cost money to run, factories cost money to run and selling stuff for as low as your are i'd be broke every day. My prices are basically the same as what Kamikazi_Pilot posted earlier and I have no problem selling. I sell about 8-10 travel packs for 1k each every day. And I think 1k is cheap for something that gives you 50 more inventory space.
That means that it I sell an item with 10 componets for 10 credits, I make a profit. My lowest price, currently, is 100 credits. So, no. If you charged what I did, you'd not be broke.
I suppliment that with hand sampled materials while I craft, so my actual unit cost is probably half that.
just what type of profit are u trying to make? are you never planning to leave the planet ur on because just travel to endor is 2k each way. Yavkin is more expensive. Quality of resources vary per planet so u will incur travel costs. It costs me around 800c per day per harvester and wind harvesters are even more. do you plan to buy a factory or a house or are you in a PA and getting stuff for free? The price on Lowca atm for a factory is 60k credits so were I to charge ur prices I doubt I'd be getting one anytime soon. How do you plan to afford a house to store samples and resources, add 15-20k for a small Naboo house.
Its totally up to you what you charge but I think you're doing a disservice to tailors because why should clothing be dirt cheap when armor is not, weapons are not, droids will not be, and neither will houses. Frankly I work as hard as other crafters and my products are in demand so I certainly don't see why I should sell them dirt cheap.
FYI, master artisan clothing was easily selling for 7.5k in beta!
SnowLeeper wrote:
Qualities do vary for resources, but unless you are making armor components they are meaningless. The only stat clothing currently has is durability and clothing never seems to decay. Ever. Unless they fix this, travelling for rare componets is the only reason to travel. That trip to endor is is easily affordable by either saving or running 2 delivery roundtrip missions if you have an unexpected expense.
Snowleeper wrote:
I have the same harvester costs you do. I've put them into excel and come out with the 0.63-0.89 credit per unit costs I quoted. I'm not guilded, so I will have to purchase any extras I want. I have already negotited with a few architects for reduced cost small houses and factories in exchange for the 200% UXP they will receive. If they fall through, I'll save my cash until I can afford them. Or run missions to afford them.
Snowleeper -
From what I can see you've based your calculations only on the cost of running your harvesters and not on the market value of materials (currently 3-5c/unit for minerals/chem. etc, and up to 10c/unit for hide and bone.) Tailor uses a lot of hide so you've left out any consideration for purchase of resources, etc. Travel is important. btw. Some items require specific materials and if I can't find crystalline gemstone for jewelry in the town I happen to be in, I have to travel to some place that does.
I'm also confused about why a novice tailor would ever needed to run missions for money.By the time you reach that level you should have a decent cash flow, if youare not drasticallyundercharging. It doesn't make sense to me to run missions when I can support myself easily with my products. That's just me however. As I said before you're totally free to charge as little as you want in the same way that I'm free to charge the prices I think are fair.
Best of luck to you tho =)
the easy solution to WalMart Leper is to just charge the correct prices and forget him. We may not sell at the rate he does, but it will deliver that message that these items have worth as more than just XP. sorry to burst your bubble Snow Leper, but I disagree both with you and your business mentality. The entire mindset of supporting yourself as a non combatant is to actually make a living at what you do.
I sell wookie clothing at 800 creds, I charge extra for sockets. I DO sell these items without bottoming out the market. I make more credits then you do having to push 8x more product then me, leaving me more time to play, and less time to burnout.
But to each their own...
I don't buy hides. I harvest my own. no cost there.
As for Gemstones, if you need them you can travel for them. But you don't have to travel. Depends onif you choose specialize or not. That makes travel a personal choice, not a manditory option.
I don't have to run missions, I listed them as an option if you "have" to travel to endor and are short on cash. When I do chose to run them, I can make 12K an hour if I have the worst luck with the shuttles.
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We may not sell at the rate he does, but it will deliver that message that these items have worth as more than just XP.
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There are ghost towns in city centers where people with this stance were forced to close their doors when Walmart came along. As for UXP, I could careless.
Good Luck!
donnah42 wrote:
I know once I reach Tailor, I'll be more than willing to train the folks that come behind me. But before I do, I want to get to know them a little (kind of like a real apprentice relationship).
Ooh, I love that idea. In fact, when (if) Ireach a high level in tailor I might want to try and take up a more permanent apprentice. Someone you help out with resources and customers, train them (for free) when they're at that level and just basically hang out with them a long time. I just love that idea. 
As for prices... during beta I always let the customer decide what they were willing/able to pay. And since my primary customer base was entertainers that generally wasn't a lot of money. 
I paid for my harvesters by selling excess resources at about 3 credits per unit on te bazaar and thus saw my income slowly rise.
Well, untill Mavery started giving away master tailor items that is (due to end of beta).
I plan to do the same in release for as long as it's profitable. But right now I'm more concerned with actually getting to novice tailor.
If you need clothes look me (Ayane) up in Coronet/Corellia/Chilastra (CCC) and I'll see what I can do for you. 
- A. Kimusume
AyaneKimusume wrote:
As for prices... during beta I always let the customer decide what they were willing/able to pay. And since my primary customer base was entertainers that generally wasn't a lot of money.
I always offer an entertainer discount (since they're some of the best frequent customers), and mentionthat when I'm talking with one of them about clothing in the cantinas. So I sometimes get sales from other nearby entertainers, or sometimes they refer me to their friends. Even if it doesn't get me an extra sale just then, I'll often be approached by someone later saying "I heard you have an entertainer discount."
AyaneKimusume wrote:
donnah42 wrote:I paid for my harvesters by selling excess resources at about 3 credits per unit on te bazaar and thus saw my income slowly rise.
Still a good niche for you now. I'm considering the same thing as all I see on the bazaar is 10 credit per unit prices. I'm thinking of dabbling in the market with some 972 quality polymer I found.
Seriously, you may see resources listed on the bazaar for 10 credits a piece, but it doesn't necessarily mean anybody's buying them....
I'm just tired of the entire debate. You undersell yourself, I'll weed you out later. With the prices you're charging I will easilly corner the expertise markets, establish the prices there, and lock you out because you won't have the credits to aquire the resources required. It's not like I'm hurting for credits, XP, or associations at this point. In fact, I can outgrind and manage resources while I maintain a higher cashflow by selling higher than you can with your "tidy profit".
You may come ahead on the credits, bareley, but it doesnt cover the lost time and ground in everything else.
The error which snowleeper is making above is a common one. He has sold himself literally into slavery for his craft.
Poring over his numbers above, I saw nothing about a value he has placed on his time. He values his resources, his maintenance costs, but not his very soul.
Your time is the most valued resource. My prices are what they are because I factor in the amount of expertise you are "renting" when you sit down with me and discuss a look. My prices are what they are because I have branded myself as having a certain quality and catering to a certain look.
My prices are what they are, because at the end of the day, I wish to socialize, hunt, and enjoy the galaxy.
Folks who own small businesses frequently put all of their time into their work, wasting away life's precious moments to make a little money. I am seeing that mentality here.
I wish to have fun. If so, I need credits.
I am an "in-demand" tailor. You pay for the name, as well as the quality, as well as the expertise.
And no one complains. And no one complains.
R