Doctor Archive

Thread: Price Fixing Standard service offerings

S0ldad0
Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:14 am
#1
All lets see if this takes off.

I suggest that as Doctors we increase and standardise buff rates/fees, for the following reasons:

1. Calculate your costs - You spend lots of money getting resources for Enhance Packs

2. Calculate your time 1 - You spend lots of time searching for resources for enhance packs

3. Calculate your time 2 - You waste a lot of your time sitting in the Med Centre or some outpost buffing people.

4. Calculate their time - You save other players hassles about HAM balancing and so on

5. Calculate responses - If I had a credit for every responseI had to give to 'Are you doing buffs?'


Based on this I suggest an overnight increase to 12k for Master Doc buffs and 6k for normal Doc buffs.
This also gives lower level Docs a chance to earn too (Profession balancing within a Profession).


I know, some people have mates, guild members that will do it cheaper etc, and that will never change, BUT think:
Player asks for Master Doc buff, you say 12k, he says Get Lost!. Player sends tell to next Master Doc, Doc Replies 12k and so on, every planet, every Doc.

It will make up for all the no-tippers, lost time, droids purchased, resources sought after, and we'd be happier Docs.


Soldado.



~Dark Jedi Elder Soldado~
The force is my strength so don't make me slap you upside yo head.
ZeligtheLiar
Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:30 am
#2

To save time:


"I'll never charge that much!"

"I already charge far more!"

"There's too much variation in buff pack strength to standardize pricing!"

"There's too much variation in individual doctors' buffs to standardize pricing!"

"I'll stand next to you and undercut you every day!"

"I'll stand next to him and overcharge and still sell out every day!"

etc.


Ruda Erev, Naritus

S0ldad0
Tue Mar 02, 2004 6:55 am
#3
um, fast response and probably true, but...


Not constructive.


If everyone bands togetherthere will be too much to do for the 'Lone Star' Docs and there will be overflow.
And it wont take long for these non-conforming undercutters to get an idea, hmm, I could do this for 6k all day long or 12k.

Car dealers do it, Banks do it, Insurance companies do it, Real Life Doctors do it...

WHY?


Because it works and people 'HAVE' to then pay it and wont waste their time looking for the cheapest Doc or another Doc.


**insert swear word here** People are prepared to fork out 800k for armour to keep thmselves alive and can make 13k in 1 mission, so whats 12 k for a buff?


Soldado



~Dark Jedi Elder Soldado~
The force is my strength so don't make me slap you upside yo head.
isycz1
Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:00 am
#4

You are beating a dead horse. The subject of price fixing has been exhausted in every profession, not only in SWG but other MMORPGs too. Its a dead-end. Save yourself the grief and forget it.





Isycz
Master Doctor/Master Chef
Buffs, Bivoli and Brandy. Talus -2972, 1800. 800m from Imperial Outpost.

ZeligtheLiar
Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:02 am
#5

My point was that this has been gone over countless times before. Check it out. Search for "price fixing", and those same things will be rehashed every single time, no matter the profession.


The real problem you're facing here, as with most MMORPGs, is that SWG has a truly free player economy. There can be no enforcement of any price fixing, so there won't ever be real price fixing. No matter how many players get together on the server and charge the same price, some bright guy is going to realize that if he charges just less than them he'll get far more customers and the price-fixers can't do anything about it!


This isbest summed upas "lower prices sell more units". I like to call it the Wal-mart creed.


Ruda Erev, Naritus

S0ldad0
Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:02 am
#6

So how do you settle at 6k then? I have done the math and it doent add up!


OK, what if some guild sends 3 Master Docs down to the Med Center during peak hour every night and does full buffs for everyone for 600cr each?


What do you do then?



~Dark Jedi Elder Soldado~
The force is my strength so don't make me slap you upside yo head.
ZeligtheLiar
Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:14 am
#7
I can only tell you what I have done when someone has set up shop near me.


I've sometimes ignored them. Many undercutters have short attention spans. If they're not making 100k within 5 minutes they're off to spam another city. I've sometimes continued to do just as much business as before despite someone spamming more than me for half the price, due to my regulars knowing what my buffs are and bringing friends. Many people rightly associate inexpensive price with cheap quality.


I've sometimes moved on, welcoming the break from buffing. After a few hours it can be taxing, attempting to keep everyone straight and making sure I'm paid.


I've sometimes worked with them, if I knew them and liked them, and I haven't disliked a single doctor on my server that I've met. I know one guy set up shop and was spamming lower prices for rebels only, and referred any of the imps or neuts that approached to me. I didn't mind losing some rebel customers because I was getting all the others. (btw, so-called "price wars" like that one are frequently set up artificially by RL businesses)


Ruda Erev, Naritus

S0ldad0
Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:16 am
#8

"Many people rightly associate inexpensive price with cheap quality."



So what does a 12k buff equate to then?




~Dark Jedi Elder Soldado~
The force is my strength so don't make me slap you upside yo head.
ZeligtheLiar
Tue Mar 02, 2004 7:29 am
#9

Guy, you're not getting the point. Individually, yes you can prolly charge more and still get customers. Yes, there's going to be those people that say "Oh, lookit him. He's gutsy enough to charge 12k for his buffs. They must be good!" and they'll buy them. Yes, you'll have regular customers that like your quality (which is what I was referring to in the line you quoted) More likely they'll say "Way too expensive," and move on to McBuffguy next to you for half the price.


What you started this thread with was a proposal forserver-scale price-fixing, which won't work for the reasons I've already stated. Then you asked what I'd do if someone set up shop to undercut me and I answered that in my last post.


But don't take my word for it, gogive your speechat the Theed, Bestine and Coronet starports! Appeal to the actual doctors on your own server! Maybe you can make the difference where so many thousands (well maybe not that many) have failed!


Good luck.

Moppith
Tue Mar 02, 2004 8:06 am
#10
it wont work for everyone but some people will agree to it.


something should be set up like a doctors union.

all doc's in the union charge the same for buffs. and in return share information on people selling cheap high quality resources. those outside the union. charge whatever they like, but dont get any information shared with them.!


and i know 12k isa respectable price but it COULD be cheaper. i amnt a master doc yet but i made a buff pack D the other day and i worked out that it cost me around 1.2k to make the pack (not including time to hunt my own meats and actually craft the buffs. the buff was a 30/780/? i think) maybe 11k or even 10k for a full buff set. 10k would be nice and even and i think would attract a lot more doc's to put a steady price off this up.



IGN - Tytsonyt
Master TKA/Master Doc

Former Member of The T'Doshok
Doctor for HaggisHunters

Doc Med Supplies Vendor coming soon.
S0ldad0
Tue Mar 02, 2004 8:17 am
#11
See, now someone is seeing my side of it.

Solidarity.


1 worker can't get a pay rise of $20 per month for himself - no matter how good he is, but a whole union of 1000 average workers can get a $10 rise per month.

Do you see the logic?


Solidarity.


If we all pull together we will get it. Anyone doesn'T fall in line doesnt get trained, resources, resource information, free stims enhance packs etc.


Solidarity.



~Dark Jedi Elder Soldado~
The force is my strength so don't make me slap you upside yo head.
JasonK
Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:26 am
#12




S0ldad0 wrote:

See, now someone is seeing my side of it.

Solidarity.


1 worker can't get a pay rise of $20 per month for himself - no matter how good he is, but a whole union of 1000 average workers can get a $10 rise per month.

Do you see the logic?


Solidarity.


If we all pull together we will get it. Anyone doesn'T fall in line doesnt get trained, resources, resource information, free stims enhance packs etc.


Solidarity.





LOL unions suck. Go ask the SoCal grocery workers if they're happy. Half of them are probably on welfare right now.



----
Blah, blah, blah.
Travin64068
Tue Mar 02, 2004 10:57 am
#13
I just recently increased my price for buffs to 10K for a full set (I only do full sets). I made my packs about 4 months ago (21/810/10K) and I'm on my last pack (I made crates of 20 of each). My new packs are stronger and longer lasting (22/832/11K), but Patch 7 is coming that will take away most of the randomness of the buffs. Then I think you will see a more logical pricing scale.


One problem is that before most people understood what buffs do Doctors had a hard time selling them for 6K (1K per stat seemed good). Now that everyone knows how much they help out,they complain about raising the price. Several people are use to getting buffs from guild docs or friends, and pay very little if anything. So people are conditioned to think buffs are cheap, and won't pay more for them. Plus, I didn't become a Doctor to spend 20 minutes trying to explain why I charge 10K and not 6K.


- Travin



Travin Greytin - Master Doctor - Master BE (12 point)
(Sunrunner) CTI Industries (5000, 6000) Kaadara Naboo
Support Medic Missions
Ivoe Greytin - Master Bounty Hunter - Master Creature Handler
(Sunrunner)
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