Chef Archive
Thread: Chef- Hard to break into?
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waffle2626
Wed Jan 05, 2005 9:26 am
#1
I've gotten so much help on this forum before...I have to say its one of the best profession forums!
I've been thinking of getting into chef for a long time, and i was wonderingif theresany money to be made when your not a 12 point Chef? There just seems to be a lot of 12 pointers on Bria (where I play) and I'm not sure if I'd be able to compete... Any tips or suggestions?
I've been thinking of getting into chef for a long time, and i was wonderingif theresany money to be made when your not a 12 point Chef? There just seems to be a lot of 12 pointers on Bria (where I play) and I'm not sure if I'd be able to compete... Any tips or suggestions?
sciguyCO
Wed Jan 05, 2005 10:02 am
#2
Well, I'm still a 10 point chef, and I do fairly well.
Some tips to help you along:
1) Good resources are definitely key in narrowing the gap between a 10 and 12 point chef. Swgcraft.com is a fabulous tool for finding quality stuff. Although since flora is one of those categories that players generally don't watch as closely, consider checking resources yourself (this is much easier if you've got JTL, since you don't have to spend the 8k round trip to some of the higher-level planets). Flora resources have a fairly long cycle, they can stick around for 15-20 days sometimes, so even if something spawned last week, you should still have time to get a good-sized harvest.
2) Careful experimentation to maximize the points you do have. An amazing experiment success when spending 7 points is equal to 8 points and a great success. This post by HIgginsis lays out some tips that can help. Also, if spending another point into a category maxes it out, you may not be getting the full benefit. If Nutrition is at 85% at caps at 88%, spending a point in Flavor or Filling might be more beneficial.
3) Advertise. This can be as low-key as a waypoint in your forum sig, or as blatant as shouting at a starport. Just getting Advertising 3 and putting your vendor on the planetary map isn't going to automatically bring in customers (although it is a good idea). Another thing to do is to put up single stacks of food on the bazaar, with a waypoint to your shop in the description. I find this a good use forthose last crates out of a factory run with 23 or 24 items. Split off an even 20 for your vendor, the rest go onto the bazaar.
Just getting Advertising 3 and putting your vendor on the planetary map isn't going to automatically bring in customers (although it is a good idea). Another thing to do is to put up single stacks of food on the bazaar, with a waypoint to your shop in the description. I find this a good use forthose last crates out of a factory run with 23 or 24 items. Split off an even 20 for your vendor, the rest go onto the bazaar.4) Shop location. At this point in the game, it's probably tough to find a good location you can drop a shop. But look into sharing a "mall" with some other merchants. If there's a local guild witha mall thatlacks food, drop them a line and see if they're interested in hosting yours. Depending on the particular people, they may want you to join (which has costs and benefits of its own), or they may take you up on it with no strings, just for the convenience of a nearby food source. I'm partnered up with a guild on my server, and we recently moved shop to a more active player city, and my sales have definitely seen an improvement.
5) Stocking your shop. To really break into the chef market, a key feature is to keep your vendor stocked as much as possible. If someone comes by for Brandy and you don't have it, they're less likely to check your vendor the next time they need something. If you do have Brandy, and also have a variety of other stuff, you could get some impulse buys, or those "oh yeah, I need some Ahrisa, too" sales. Having popular foods is important, but whenever you have some free factory cycles, do a run of something, even if it's just a 5-10 crate run of, say, Scrimpi. You never know when that might be the perfect thing a customer is looking for.
6) Keep your expectations reasonable. Even with all of the above, at the end of the day, the big-name 12 point chefs do tend to make the big bucks. On a good day (weekends, usually)I usually get just 5-7sales. During the week, maybe 1 or 2 a day. Watch your money, don't spend too freely to buy up resources or tissues, you might find yourself in a dry spell unable to pay maintenance on harvesters (or worse: factories). This may not be as big a concern if you have income sources other than chef. I knowfarming JTL loot to sell to the chassis dealer has gotten me through a few low-sale periods.
Message Edited by sciguyCO on 01-05-2005 10:02 AM
AdosOba
Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:22 am
#3
I would say Chef is VERY hard to break into. After the initial grind if took me about a month to get usable resources for just the most used foods. I had a shop in a high traffic area but made 0 sales outside of my PA until I started to advertise. I spent about another two months spamming here and there, and since then I have been able to move my shop without notice, and still kept a loyal customer base. I have very slow periods (like two weeks) where I sell very little, but it always picks back up. Resources, adverts, a good stock, and location are key when you are new I tend to think
waffle2626
Wed Jan 05, 2005 12:10 pm
#4
Thanks for the tips! I'm starting to collect resources a few weeks ahead of actually starting to grind chef, so I'm hoping that helps. Is it really possible to get all amazing successes when experimenting?
Ankor
Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:17 pm
#5
Chef is easier to break into than WS, AS, or Doc, that's for sure. We don't need any of the specific, rare resources like Alantium Ore or Beyrillius Copper that can go months between spawns and completely gate you from making WS/AS staples like T21s and composite armor. Sure, it'll take you time to build up a stockpile of resources, but it's a lot easier to find a good Berry Fruit when there are 9 Berries spawning at any time rather than one spawning every two months. The reliance on uber out-of-spawn resources is 1% of what impacts other professions.
Also, a 10 pt. Chef can make decent (sellable) product, and an 11 pt. one can do even better. Food Exp. tapes on Bria are going for dirt cheap, you should be able to get an apron and +5 in 1s and 2s for about a million credits total. That's hardly the barrier to entry other professions face.
Now, for the bad news: You're on Bria. We've basically had multiple 12 pt. super-resource Chefs dumping product in our market at below the value of the component reources for at least 6 months. The names have cycled, but the situation remains, and that is going to be the hardest part of getting started. Typically a 10 pointer with mediocre resources would have to slash prices close to his cost to see sales. On Bria, that's less likely to get you very far. This situation will improve as you slowly improve on your resources and gain that 11th point.
Also, a 10 pt. Chef can make decent (sellable) product, and an 11 pt. one can do even better. Food Exp. tapes on Bria are going for dirt cheap, you should be able to get an apron and +5 in 1s and 2s for about a million credits total. That's hardly the barrier to entry other professions face.
Now, for the bad news: You're on Bria. We've basically had multiple 12 pt. super-resource Chefs dumping product in our market at below the value of the component reources for at least 6 months. The names have cycled, but the situation remains, and that is going to be the hardest part of getting started. Typically a 10 pointer with mediocre resources would have to slash prices close to his cost to see sales. On Bria, that's less likely to get you very far. This situation will improve as you slowly improve on your resources and gain that 11th point.
Numen
Wed Jan 05, 2005 8:23 pm
#6
All amazings can happen, it just may take some time. I go for 1 amazing and 1 great and on average this usually takes me 10-15 tries I would guess.
As sciguy mentioned, you need to set your expectations accordingly. Don't expect to be making millions a day right off the bat. Just like any crafting profession, people usually have their usual crafters they go to. You have to get them on a good day that they go out and search for new vendors.
Once you have some customers though, you need to keep them. The one thing that will turn me away from a vendor the fastest is not having what I want when I want to buy it. This isn't an absolute as noone is ever perfect but if I go to a vendor time after time and not having what I currently want, I will probably be going elsewhere.
It will take a while though, just because of all the resources you need for the different foods. If something good does come along I would harvest as much as possible, you can never harvest too much of something that has great stats.
MumboJumno
Wed Jan 05, 2005 10:18 pm
#7
I am a lowly 10 point chef with no assembly attachments and I do outstanding. Ingredients is key, a cake and port when crafting ( I dont know if it helps but i seem to get amazing ). have lots of ingredients and patience. I tend to use all points in one go when experimenting and keep trying to get at least great or even amazing success. Maybe the other chefs on my server are on holiday but I cant make stuff quick enough to satisfy demand and I dont advertise.
Obmum DFG
Naritus
ChefVomit
Wed Jan 05, 2005 11:57 pm
#8
I am still a 12pt Master Chef, but I have actually retired from retail food sales. Still, I was exactly where you were. I posted this a while back when another new chef asked a similar question. I figured I would just repost it here. Hope this helps! This is how I made being a 10pt chef extremely lucrative very quickly. And it was a LOT of fun too.
ChefVomit wrote:
Listen, I acquired a fairly huge fortune as a 10pt Chef. I cant say the same will work for you, but here is how I approached it:
- Visit other Chef vendors, especially the popular and established ones. See what they carry, what the stats are, and how much they charge.
-Find a popular vendor mall near high traffic areas. Approach the owner about setting up a vendor inside.
-If you are in a guild, enlist those suckers to go get meat for you and lend you lot spots for factories and such. If you DON'T have a guild, keep your eyes out for any Master Rangers and Master BE's on your server. Find a few, strike up a conversation and be polite and respectful. If you can find a Ranger and BE friend, you are 2 steps ahead of every other new Chef.
-GET SOME GOOD FLORA HARVESTERS. BER 10 or Higher. Start with Mediums (Automated), as they can harvest almost as fast as Heavies but cost a LOT less to operate. Step up to heavies once you have a good steady income from your vendor. Harvest almost everything with a PE and OQ over 750. Know your schematics and what resources you need and keep an eye out for them to come in shift.
Once you have done all of these, you will be ready to get out there. Plop a vendor down and fill it up. 70% of your wares should be big sellers, Brandy, canape, bivoli, ahrisa, synthsteak, etc. Sell those by the crate and partial crate. Then put up a couple of several other "fringe foods". You need to set yourself apart by offering something they dont see on every other Chef vendor. Put up Thaktillo, Blue Milk, Spiced Tea, Exo Protein Wafers, Burnout, Vercupti, and others. Since you have visited other Chefs, you know what is out there and how much it costs. Get your prices to at least 20% LESS than everyone else. Trust me, you can do this and still make a ton of cash.
-Wear your Master Chef tag everywhere, and take two crates of Brandy and Canape EVERYWHERE you go. You will get tells asking if you have "x", where x is some food. Tell them that you should be able to make it within a day or so, and to send you a holomail with an order. Just tell them that you will get back to them with pricing later that day.
-Give samples of your brandy out to people in a buff line. You want those people....they have enough cash to pay 10-15k for buffs. Make sure your name, and if possible the waypoint to your vendor, is in the food name somewhere.
-Contact local guilds with guildhalls nearby. Offer them a volume discount. I had two guild purchase more than 25 million credits worth of food off me in a two week period thanks to that tactic.
-Get in touch with RP cities and offer to cater their next event for almost nothing. Simply charge what you need to to come out even. The publicity will be amazing.
-Hang out at the most popular Dant and Dath cities or starports (varies by server). These are two of the biggest grinding grounds. Bring TONS of brandy and canape with you, and start shouting out that you have it for a discount price. Offer it for more than your vendor, but still less than the average Chef price. And always throw in a glass of Blue Milk or some other different and inexpensive food for FREE. Tell them to try it out, and email them a waypoint to your shop.
You wont have the best food.....but you can have the best food FOR THE MONEY on the server. Sure, the hardcore PvPers and elites will only want the best, as they should. They know every point counts on certain buffing foods. Dont worry about courting the elite market yet....wait for that. The 12pt Chefs on your server are usually VERY good at what they do, and if you want to court the elite food buyers, you will need the best resources and the skill tapes to match. Since you dont have that yet, dont worry about it. The best thing you can do is KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS. 99% of all Brandy buyers just want +400 or better, 50 or less fill, and 42 minutes or better duration. With good resources you should be able to hit this mark EASILY with 10pts. If you sell it for less than every other Chef, the customers will come running.
I started with some Cash from my alt, and no SEAs. I opened a vendor 1 week after making Master. I followed the steps detailed here, and by the 5th week I had enough to buy the SEAs I needed to get to 12pts. By the 8th week I was doing at least 2mil a day in revenue off a single stupid vendor. At that point I didnt even need to advertise anymore. People talk if you run a good business.
I have since retired (at least for the moment) from the retail food industry. I needed a break from crafting 4 hours a day. But I still take special orders from a few devoted clients, and I still have plenty of money. I love being a chef. I am not saying that you will have the same experience, but I hope that you walk away from this post with some ideas how to help grow your business. Having 12pts allows me to really take my food a step higher, but it isnt necessary at all to become an incredibly profitable Chef.
Hope this helps. Sorry for the long post.
Regards,
Vomit
waffle2626
Thu Jan 06, 2005 5:57 am
#9
Thanks vomit...lots of great tips! When you guys are talking about experimenting "with 3 or 4 points at a time" or "spending all of them at once" what actually do you mean? Wouldnt I want to distribute points throughout the different catagories?
When you guys are talking about experimenting "with 3 or 4 points at a time" or "spending all of them at once" what actually do you mean? Wouldnt I want to distribute points throughout the different catagories?
ChefVomit
Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:53 am
#10
Well, on any experimentation attempt you can add points towards duration, power, charges, or filling. We all have our own techniques on the best way to do this. You can experiment each point individually, or you can add several points and experiment all at once. For instance, many people do one point at a time. They will add one point to say, power. Then they will hit the experiment button. If thongs go well, they might take a sip of Bespin port and add another point until all their points are used up. Another tactic is to add multiple points at once, either to one modifier or several modifiers. Adding points to multiple attributes can increase your chance of failure however, and I find it is best to concentrate on one attribute at a time.
In the end, experimentation is a crap shoot, meaning it will always be based on chance to a certain degree. You can influence this chance with foods like Bespin Port or Pyrollian Cake, but there is still a chance of less than great results. My advice would be to start playing around with it yourself. You will get a feel for how it works, and then you can start working on your own method.
As for how the experimentation works, SCIguy knows it better than I do. I THINK this is how it works: You get a 7% increase for every great experimentation attempt, and 8% for any amazing success.
Hope this helps.
In the end, experimentation is a crap shoot, meaning it will always be based on chance to a certain degree. You can influence this chance with foods like Bespin Port or Pyrollian Cake, but there is still a chance of less than great results. My advice would be to start playing around with it yourself. You will get a feel for how it works, and then you can start working on your own method.
As for how the experimentation works, SCIguy knows it better than I do. I THINK this is how it works: You get a 7% increase for every great experimentation attempt, and 8% for any amazing success.
Hope this helps.
Higginsis
Thu Jan 06, 2005 7:55 am
#11
waffle2626 wrote:Thanks vomit...lots of great tips!
It normally best to do one line at a time, if you do more than one the risk of a failure increases.
So when people say put all they can into it they normally all they can fit into that line.
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