Chef Archive
Thread: Desperation is not the same as fixing the economy ...
Don_T_Shoot wrote:
I'm all for it.
Speaking as a Chef or a customer?
Sorry, I've not seen either thing happen. But Chef's are cool, more the merrier. Price is the price people pay. I'm not really sure what gouging would be. So I don't see how either would be a problem.
I was at the high end of the market, and even though my brandy is of the highest stats for our server, i've never changed my prices.
Even though there has been a influx of chefs, having BE lets me keep my prices at a steady level.
If people see you as a place they can always go to, to get what they need, and cheaply at that, you've got the best type of repeat custom you could wish for.
And try and get yourself when known in the PvP fratenity, done wonders for me.
Higginsis wrote:
Well here's the thing on my server. I've been charging 175k per crate of brandy for nearly 9 months now. The average price is 200k now.
I was at the high end of the market, and even though my brandy is of the highest stats for our server, i've never changed my prices.
Even though there has been a influx of chefs, having BE lets me keep my prices at a steady level.
If people see you as a place they can always go to, to get what they need, and cheaply at that, you've got the best type of repeat custom you could wish for.
And try and get yourself when known in the PvP fratenity, done wonders for me.
OK, I feel stupid. I am talking about price undercutting, not price gouging. Sorry.
But, Oh, I agree 100% with you here. I've been on Naritus for over a year now and could possibly claim to be in the top two positions as Master Chef with Metoo being the King of the Hill currently, but given the current influx of Chefs with just as good items who knows.
I have a customer base over 1,000 strong and have no real complaints there. My slight concern is suddenly seeingthe newChefs appear and selling what I havebeen selling for 100k for over a year now and with the best stats on the server, being sold for 60k by someone else with a negligible stats difference (10-15 points lower than mine). Now THAT's price-undercutting.
I manage to keep my customers happy and even have a monthly newsletter with pricing (yeah, spam to those of you who don't like it) going out to all of them in game (my friend list is huge!). I know my loyal customers will always return and that list isn't big because I don't honor the requests to be removed from it. I get replies thanking me for keeping them informed of where and how much they will be paying for the items they constantly use and they know they can depend on me.
I'll never be filthy rich being Chef . . . at least not so far, but I do well. I'm a Chef/BE combo so I am self sufficient and part of a guild that helps in all of my resource needs. But I don't like that game of price-undercutting. Even when I started out, what I did was find the King of the Hill, which was SWIJR at the time and matched his pricing and food quality par for par. And in so far any time he lowered his prices, I matched his. Unfortunately, he is now gone and it has been left to me really to decide if I should change my pricing, which I have not. I still charge 100k for a crate of 25 Brandy with +437, 44m duration, 50 fill - regardless of how much Metoo or anyone else has charged more for. All of my Essential Foods (Brandy, Arhisa, Canapes, Bivoli, Havla, Vercupti) are top stats and 100k or less a crate so no one has ever had reason to complain about my prices. It's been the other way around.
Anyway, I guess you can say I am perturbed . . . irritated . . . venting . .. lol. I don't like the thought of someone throwing off the market because price-undercutting really hurts everyone in the end, since people who know no better will over buy and not come back for as long as the stock they bought lasts them, which could be months.
I can understand if the tactic being employed is to try to milk as much money as possible before CURB, but even then, it's a low blow. I wouldn't lower my prices just to sell it all off knowing that it CAN hurt the economy in the long run. Return customers is the key to my business and I believe my prices are fair enough to spend on and keep coming back to.
Message Edited by Norimusa on 04-07-2005 02:53 PM
- I want to provide as many people as possible with my foods and am not particularly interested in making game credits as my Chef is a Jedi alt and my main provides everything else I need. This is a legitimate 'free market' tactic and if other Chefs are upset by it, all the better, as they will either have to:- lower their prices (good for customers),or improve quality beyond mine at a fair price (good for customers). The new vendor search capabilities should help me with this tactic and once the CU is in and settled its crafting time!
If the other chefs on your server had any sense, they'd buy out all your stock and resell it.
FlereImsaho wrote:
Undercutting is my main tactic for generating a customer base (new-ish Chef). I will undercut everyone til they cry.... and feel no shame
Have a great weekend, all!!!
Scoser wrote:
I know I undercut the Chilly Chef economy a bunch, but since my shop is mainly for guildies and people stumbling across my shop on Talus since I don't advertise, I don't think I'm causing too much of a problem.
Having your shop waypoint in your sig is advertising
Okay I'm probably one of the top chefs on Wanderhome. At one time Siymon and me pretty much controlled it after Annah left the first time. I was thankful to see some other chefs come on the scene as neither Siymon nor me were keeping up ( for example Cooolmom and Nos'chez), still hard too really. Annah came back and I was overjoyed. I like crafting but when I make a run and it sells out in a day that's not too good.
I actually lowered my prices 10% a month ago. I had found some new BEs that weren't charging as much. Sadly one of these has stopped BEing 
. I may have to go back up .....I hope not .
I have warned some of the newer chefs to be careful until we know more about the CU, not to spend millions on resources and product that might not sell after the CU....once we have more info it will be safer, but until then it makes good business sense to be cautious.
Also if someone bought all my product and I went to their shop and found it on their vendor for way marked up prices...I'd ban them from the mall I'm in, I'd also likely ban them from Storm Haven should I find them in it....I don't like price gouging. Oh and if someone does buy a lot from me I have been known to go to their guild city and check......Now this doesn't mean I don't allow other merchants to sell my stuff, I do but they don't buy it off my vendor they order it from me and I charge them the vendor price....and they can mark it up as they want ( Nos'chez started out that way but has graduated to making her own stuff , and I have one now that does buy and resale for me ).....but by ordering if from me it doesn't disrupt my normal customers supply .