Doctor Archive
Thread: Buff prices and resources getting out of hand? Simple business observations that can help you.
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Vegitaa
Thu Aug 26, 2004 11:04 am
#1
Well, I see a lot of flailing going on here on the Doctor boards. I've been a Doc over 9 months now. Most Doctors (to my knowledge I could be wrong though) also have 1 elite combat skill. Some don't, but I believe the majority has a combat class in addition to our Master Doctor skills.
I was looking through these boards today seeing people upset because on some servers buffs are as high as 50k and meat costs are through the roof. Now, I'm not going to bash on the Ranger/Scout community for inflatting prices, nor am I going to attack fellow doctors for charging a lot. Thats their perogative I guess.
My opinion on this issue is pretty clear cut. First off. I am a TKM/Doc. Leaving me 18 skill points. Pretty much a no-brainer on what to spend those 18 points on. Scout Exploration 1. I originally took scout for the terrain bonus.
Here's our problem. Rangers/Scouts harvest the high oq meats and resources for us. Then they turn around and sell those resources at an inflated price (I'm seeing between 100-400 cpu). I don't see why we need the middle man. Go out, free up 18 skill points and get yourself some scout skills.
In one buff session I went to dantooine and harvested about 5k units of dantooine herbivore meat (back when it was at 990 oq). So lets say you run missions for one buff session every time you are online. You should be able to harvest enough resources to supply yourself. Now, I don't want to hurt the Ranger/Scout community but in order to keep buff prices down we may have to bite the bullet and go this route.
I don't buff the public. I've never sat in a starport buffing people for cash. It's just not how I play. I buff myself, guildies, and maybe group members when I go hunting. So I'm not being affected too badly by these insane prices. If Ranger/Scout prices are driving our prices too high then we need to reduce our overhead.
These are basic business practices all over the world. If the company that supplies you with raw materials (Ranger/Scouts) is costing your business too much then you have to raise your prices to continue to make a profit. That cost then gets handed on to your customers. I suggest that if your supplier costs you too much, fire them and go find someone who does it better and cheaper. If you can't find someone like that then it's ttime that you may have to do it yourself.
Doctors are getting called "greedy" and to that I say.. your customers opinion of you will affect your overall profits. Customers don't understand why prices go up, they just want a service and don't care about the inner workings of the business.
I know Doctors even attack each other over the pricing issues. Doctor X is charging 50k a buff and Doctor Y comes in, sits 10m away and starts charging 40k. That's capitalism right there.
I'm making the suggestion to the Doctor community that you can keep your profit margin high by cutting out the middle man and gathering your own resources. If you lower your operating costs you can increase your profits while lowering your prices. In reality, when a business wants to attract more customers and raise their profits they lower their prices. Which is why you see companies having sales all the time.
I'm not out to hurt the Ranger/Scout community but I bet, if more Doctors started doing this you would see their prices drop too. Something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay. If you are happy with the money you're making/spending on your server then I suggest you don't change a thing. But, if you want to increase your profits and attract more customers while lowering prices than this may be a good suggestion for you.
(You can always go to swgcraft.com to find out where the best oq's are on the resources you need. You may need to get a factory or 2 to start making your own buff packs. I hate crafting as much as the next guy but it may be a viable solution for some.)
(I realize this suggestion doesn't help those that are Doctor/Entertainers or Doctor/Crafters but for those of us that are Doctors/Elite Combat class this should be a viable option with a little time and effort.)
{EDIT: Editted the title so people don't think this is another complaining thread}
Message Edited by Vegitaa on 08-26-2004 12:16 PM
Marrow1
Thu Aug 26, 2004 11:45 am
#3
Becareful Trucho-G less your comment make you look likea fool.
I would wager that on any given server that the folks who have hunted the most avian/herb meat are docs. Not only will they have racked up the most volume but will also have done it with using only Hunt 1.
Catjusha
Thu Aug 26, 2004 11:46 am
#4
I had a MD / TKM too (cancelled for a bit now) and I was using pretty much the same strategy as you suggest. When some good spawn of resourcesappeared that I could get out with harvesters I would drop scout and get artisan / survey 1 then place the harvesters. And when some good herbivore / avian spawned I would drop artisan and get scout / hunting 1. With some Arisha the yields were even decent. In 3 days I was able to harvest 60k avian easily (although when I see Choku's now I get spasms).
Now, with a scout drone there should be even better results so yes, it's perfectly possible. On the other hand, tossing all the guilt of the inflated prices to the rangers is faulty too. Doctor has become a FOTM class, which means there are way more Docs than Rangers. And logically, when there is more demand than supply, the prices rise.
Maybe docs should start doingcontracts with new players too, in the form of "I give you free buffs, pay the fare to planet x and keep you buffed while you hunt plus you get 50 cpu per avian and for that you deliver yunits of said meat". I'm pretty sure a lot of the not so established players would love that solution to get their skills up and earn a bit of cash.
Just rambling
Cat
Mmaxx
Thu Aug 26, 2004 11:51 am
#5
That is an excellant idea. Go harvest the meat yourself. Wait until the uber meat is Talusian Avian and try that out.... You'll soon see why Rangers are charging so much. Dant herb is the bonus meat. Nothing easier to get in huge quantities and get paid to do it. One buff session can net you 5k-10k no problem and you get about 250k for doing it. To rangers and scouts that is a break from the grind going for Dant Herb. Just like Dath leathery. Whenever that gets good, rangers are stockpilling.
Now try Tat avian or Rori herb..... you can only kill so many bunnies and song birds before you have to stop. It takes all day for a Ranger to get 5k of talusian avian (and that's with them knowing wherer they are all the time) whereas a novice scout can get that quantity of dant herbin a couple hours.
Ezane
Fri Aug 27, 2004 12:00 am
#6
I collect everthing that I need my self. From the reactive gas to the avian and herb meat. I have a nice little stock pile to last me for a bit. But thats not public buffing,myself and few freinds is all. So it can be done. Lots of work but doable.
Something that I would like to address is if you dont like thier price dont buy it. They will either go sell it somewhere else or lower thier price. If we can unite doctors not to buy outragesouly inflated prices, i think prices will come down. The rangers and scouts get their buffs from doctors too. They have to understand that they have a hand at controlling some of the prices.
Something that I would like to address is if you dont like thier price dont buy it. They will either go sell it somewhere else or lower thier price. If we can unite doctors not to buy outragesouly inflated prices, i think prices will come down. The rangers and scouts get their buffs from doctors too. They have to understand that they have a hand at controlling some of the prices.
Vegitaa
Fri Aug 27, 2004 12:31 am
#7
I just wanted to reinterate a couple of things with my post. In no way do I feel that Rangers/Scouts are responsible for inflatting the prices of resources alone. The whole supply and demand issue comes into play there. Yes, I know Talusian Avian isn't that easy to gather but if you don't like to pay high prices you're going to have to work to get it yourself.
I fully support Rangers/Scouts I think they deserve to be compensated for their efforts. The issue is not with them. The issue is Doctors will pay the high prices for resources, then they expect to keep their profits high. To do so hands the cost down to the consumers who then turn around and complain that buffs are too expensive.
There's some basic issues there that cause people to come to the doctor boards and call us "greedy". Wether thats true or not I don't know because I am not a starport buffer and I make my money off of missions. I also buy my buff packs and med's from a pharmacist on Ahazi whom I have dealt with for ages now.
As an individual Doctor you can make a difference relatively easily. Yeah, it would be great to "organize the doctor community" and try to fix prices. In reality this won't work. It's hard enough keeping a 20 person group organized, try it with hundreds of doctors with their own opinions on how it should be done. As an individual you need to decide how much profit you want to make on each buff, how much are you willing to spend on resources, whats the current market rate for a full set of buff packs?
Adjust your business accordingly. If you are willing to pick up artisan/scout so you can survey and harvest then you are in a pretty good condition. You can make more profit per buff by cutting out the middleman. Yes, it can take a whole day to get yourself setup and probably longer to actually harvest and perfect your manufacturing process. In the end though it should save you time and money.
You could concievablly spend a few days a month running your operation and get yourself to a place of self-reliance. I don't want to cut the Rangers/Scouts out of the business, but if you are not satisfied with how it works now you're best option is to change how you run your business.
If 20% of Doctors on any given server became self-reliant thus allowing them to reduce prices while still making a profit you would see the industry change for that entire server. Business is business. None of this should be seen as a personal rebuke on any given person or profession. But, if I can make something cheaper and better I will see increased profits and more satisfied customers. That is capitalism and that is what the SWG economy is based on.
I do not contend that anyone else's opinion is wrong or right. This is just another option if you are unsatisfied with the Buffing Industry at this time.
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