Doctor Archive
Thread: docs need a union to avoid cutting each others throughts!!!
Unstable1 wrote:dude, those are NET MARGINS, not GROSS MARGINS.... they take into account ALL costs including SG+A, payroll, taxes, blah blah blah.
if you were to calculate net margins on buff sales you would need to account for things like: the time value in credits you spend on your bike traveling to buy resources, the cost to repair the bike traveling to get resources, the depreciated value of the clothing you are wearing, the depreciated value of your droid, the normalized cost of your droid batteries, the maintenance costs on the house where you store doctor stuff, the cost of power for your factories, the maintenace costs for your factories, the time value in credits you spend NOT buffing while advertising buffs, the charge-off value of buffs you give away, buff yourself with, or accdientally mis-target. you would need to include a gigantic range of costs and factors which are the reason why accountants have jobs.
Net margins are NOT gross margins. If you think net margins have ANYTHING to do with the markup of a retail item you clearly have no understanding of business. Further in business, you have to include the substantial costs of paying rent, maintaining a facility, etc. This would be akin to translating the $15/mo you spend on this game, dividing that by the number of hours you play doctor, and then translating that into credits (I think $15 will buy you like 1mil credits these days).
I promise you I can put numbers together which will show you that with all costs realized in a fashion similar to actual accounting, you are not making ANY net profit at 10k per buff. You are losing money, if you apply the same accounting methodology.
Please go read a basic business book and try again.
-Unstable
tkm/doc
Gee, no kidding? Why, it sounds to me like you are describing a...wait for it...here it comes... a balance sheet! Why yes, yes you are describing a balance sheet!
Thanks for trying to clue me in, but I've been there and done that. Now let me clue you in - gross margins don't mean jack. See how simple that is? Net margins are all that matter, which is why you don't see gross margins used in the valuation of companies. There isn't any -point- in discussing gross margins, which is why I don't. Surprise! There's a clue in every box.
Okay, here's my balance sheet in-game as regards selling buffs.
Assets:
Crates of buffs.
Liabilities:
NONE!
See how simple that was? I don't travel to buy resources. I don't travel to buy buffs. I do travel to buy buffs, but I just stop by the vendor when I'm on my way somewhere else (since I'm the vicinity of the vendor several times a week during the normal couse of playing the game), so I can't really say I made a special trip just to buy buffs. I don't pay rent for the square meter of imaginary concrete/dirt/grass where I plant my butt while I'm buffing. Houses don't count since I don't use them for business, and since I don't make buffs myself, there is nothing buff related stored in my houses. The "warehouse" where my "inventory" of buffs is stored, costs me nothing.
There is no deprected value for my droid, since my droid wasn't purchased for the business of buffing - the droid was purchased for personal use, and just happens to come in handy if I choose to sit and buff. But the droid is not a requirement to sell buffs, I can buff without it, I just have to sit somewhere else. Batteries don't count, since the last time I ran out and asked if anyone had any, someone gave me a whole crate free. There is no maintenance cost on my factory, since I don't use my factory to make buffs - I use my factory to make products which I use while just wandering around being a doctor - i.e., stims, disease packs, state packs, wound packs, etc - these are things I use every day, but they are not products which I am in the business of selling to others - my factory would be considered a hobby in the real world.
Advertising is free - not even time is a factor since I don't just sit around spamming and waiting for someone to need a buff. If I'm going to be sitting there anyway, I usually craft up some more stims or organize my inventory or whatnot. I'm never just sitting there doing nothing -but- advertising. And all I have to do is sit down with my droid out and my title on and I get all the free advertising I could possibly want. The spam isn't really for advertising, the spam is to tell everyone the -terms-...i.e., "I offer to apply Xpower/Xduration enhancement in exchange for payment of X credits, payment to be negotiated in X fashion". IF the spam had any cost, it would go on the books as a legal expense (contract negotiation), not advertising...but it doesn't have any cost so it doesn't matter anyway.
The actual real world $15/month I pay for the game is completely irrelevant. Real world money is an entertainment or hobby expense in the real world, not a cost of sales in the imaginary world.
Ergo: As I stated, I make a 60% profit (net, not gross - for those who need to be told which I'm referring to) in-game on buffs, while selling buffs at 6k per.
Which is plenty as far as I'm concerned, and which is why I'm not going to raise my prices - NO MATTER what anyone else does or says - unless my costs go up.
Message Edited by Etowiosee on 04-30-2004 01:25 PM
Etowiosee wrote:Bio,You used the words "I" and "My" alot in that post. I take it then that your way of buying all your buffs and meds and not using a house for storage of a big chunk of your meds, not using power in harvesters and credits to pay for them is the way everyone does it?I'm in shock! And all this time I was wondering why those big harvesters had my name on them.Some people here are real dedicated doctors where they will go through a session of buffing people for 5 hours or more straight through. This means you must have LOTS of product to sell. I can't carry 50 crates of Adv. BECs on me at all times along with 50 crates of Adv. CRDM's and another 50 crates of ALS's. Need somewhere to store them.Doctors who are dedicated to buffing the general public and in general being a Doctor have more supplies always available. (alot of times in the millions and millions of units worth). Buffing in a Med Ctr is less effective due to the 110 Med Use Droids and does not yield as high quality buffs.There is alot more as well but I'll leave off there.Oh one last thing.... IRL Something that is demanded by people the price is usually higher than that which is not demanded. I believe it's called Supply and Demand.In the end it comes down to the fact that. You have your price on what you think is fair for you, I have my price which I think is fair to me and same with everyone else. Don't tell everyone what they should sell their wares at or tell them what their profit margin is w/o taking into account all their buff related expenses.Message Edited by Etowiosee on 04-30-2004 01:25 PM
I like the way you slide that half-assed "you're not a REAL doctor" crap in there. Nice try.
You haven't actually read my posts have you? The only thing I buy is buffs. I have a factory and make all my other meds myself. And at all times I carry a bag with 6 different types of woundpacks, disease, poison, dizzy, fire, and stims. All of which I make myself. If I happen to run out while I'm in the field, I'll whip out the crafting station and make some more. But I definately spend a lot more time USING the meds I craft than crafting them. If you think doing things other than crafting and buffing - like actually healing people - make me not a "real" doctor then you are wrong.
And if you think being a "real" doctor means sitting and buffing for 5 hours straight then I got that beat anyway, when I do it I rarely get away after only 5 hours. And it doesn't take millions upon millions of buffpacks either. I buy crates of 5 packs, 29 buffs to a pack. 2 or 3 sets of 6 crates (10 or 15 packs @ 29/pack = 290-435 buffs) lasts a long time even when dealing with a buff line for hours.
So gee let me see...
I craft all my own meds except buffs.
I actually use those meds to heal people.
I spend hours doing the buff line (when I do the buff line, which is only once or twice a week).
I wear my title, and when someone sends me a tell out in the middle of nowhere on Dathomir or Lok or wherever and asks for a buff I tell them they have to come to me - but I charge them the same price I charge everyone else for buffs (I don't rip them off just because we're on an advanced planet).
Yup, guess I'm just not a REAL doctor after all...
What a load of crap. Get real.
As for taking into account all the buff related expenses:
If I can BUY buffs and turn a healthy profit at 6k/buff, but you MAKE buffs and can't turn a healthy profit at 6k/buff, then you should be buying buffs and not making buffs - because you are definately doing something wrong. I mean seriously, the crafter who I buy buffs from buys meat and other resources, and still manages to turn a profit selling buffs...and the price he charges allows me to still turn a profit selling those same buffs yet again...so if there are two steps in the process where profit is generated, and you are doing both steps and still not turning as much profit as me...then you goofed somewhere. Badly.
Well either that or you are turning even more profit, in which case I say you are greedy.
But don't worry, you'll get over it.
Bio 2 questions.
#1 What server are you on and what's your name so I can put in a /addignore
#2 Are you this much of a Jerk in real life?
I didn't say you weren't a real doctor did I?
And btw what happened to your commenting on my comment of supply and demand? oops, looks like you had nothing to say about that.
btw I'm assuming Doctor is your only money making profession and you have no other way of spending money and ever only spend any money on doctor supplies.
Message Edited by Etowiosee on 04-30-2004 07:04 PM
Etowiosee wrote:Bio 2 questions.
#1 What server are you on and what's your name so I can put in a /addignore
#2 Are you this much of a Jerk in real life?
I didn't say you weren't a real doctor did I?
And btw what happened to your commenting on my comment of supply and demand? oops, looks like you had nothing to say about that.
btw I'm assuming Doctor is your only money making profession and you have no other way of spending money and ever only spend any money on doctor supplies.
Message Edited by Etowiosee on 04-30-2004 07:04 PM
#1 - None of your danmed business.
#2 - This IS real life. This is not an in-game forum.
"Some people here are real dedicated doctors" - you -implied- that I wasn't, which is an obvious enough ploy that it certainly gives me the opportunity to reply to it.
You're comment on supply and demand? I don't recall, but I probably decided it wasn't worth commenting on, or maybe I had already addressed it in another post and didn't feel like repeating myself. I can certainly take another look and see if you really want me to.
You can assume anything you like - that doesn't make it true. I make money in quite a few ways. I sell buffs, I hunt and sell the harvests, I run missions, I sell loot. Pretty much the same situation as anyone else.
WHY would you assume that I had only one way to spend money? Or does this comment of yours imply some deeper and mystical meaning that I just don't get?
Message Edited by bioshock on 05-01-2004 06:52 AM
Message Edited by bioshock on 05-01-2004 06:57 AM
Etowiosee wrote:
Oh one last thing.... IRL Something that is demanded by people the price is usually higher than that which is not demanded. I believe it's called Supply and Demand.
Ooo kay. So you want me to comment on this...and you want to know why I didn't comment on it earlier.
Right...well here goes (and remember, YOU asked for it):
Yes it's called supply and demand.
(I didn't comment on it earlier because...there wasn't any point in commenting on it. You didn't make any point other than to state the definition of "supply and demand". Did you hope that I would dispute the definition of "supply and demand"? Did you think that perhaps I didn't know the definition of "supply and demand" and you were somehow revealing some earth-shaking new insight?
I mean, okay so you stated the definition of "supply and demand"... now what?)
Message Edited by bioshock on 05-01-2004 07:04 AM
Razzamalyyk wrote:
There is a word for this in real life.
It's called racketeering and it is illegal.
Razz what is your point?
intr.v. rack·et·eered, rack·et·eer·ing, rack·et·eers
To carry on illegal business activities that involve crimes. - Dictionary.comSo what?
bioshock wrote:
Etowiosee wrote:
Bio 2 questions.
#2 Are you this much of a Jerk in real life?
#2 - This IS real life. This is not an in-game forum.
BioShockwrote:
You can assume anything you like - that doesn't make it true. I make money in quite a few ways. I sell buffs, I hunt and sell the harvests, I run missions, I sell loot. Pretty much the same situation as anyone else.
WHY would you assume that I had only one way to spend money? Or does this comment of yours imply some deeper and mystical meaning that I just don't get?
ok last post on this topic before it gets shut down.
#1 (Based on above quote) thank You for proving a point I wanted to make. YOU do other things. Don't assume everyone else is you. You are now saying that everyother Doctor does the same thing. How about someone who is a Master Doc/Musician? Hard to run missions, sell loot when you have a hard time killing a kreetle. 30% profit may do well and fine if you have a backup profession. Not everyone does.
For those people selling buffs may be their only supply of income in this game. Spending 1 million credits to come up with a cash profit of 300K over a course of many days (not a whole lot of peopleare going to do 1.3 million worth of buffs in one sitting (the 1 million they shelled out in the beginning for their supplies such as the resources for them, bivoli, brandy (some people don't have high high mind stats)plus their 30% profit)).
#2This is not real life. This forum is the extension of the game which is in no way based upon anybody's real life. I do not know what your real name is. I do not know your age (however some people may hazard a guess), I do not know where you live, nor do I really care about any of that. If this was real life then I'm assuming your name in real life is BioShock? Man I feel sorry for you going for interviews and having to introduce yourself as "Mr. BioShock"
This is a game and by participating on these boards you are participating in a game. This game is NOT in any way shape or form your real life.
Oh and my comment on Dedicated doctors. I did not Imply. You assumed. (Something about the word "assume" comes to mind ...)