Doctor Archive
Thread: Issue #11 Money
I am just going to repost a response to a thread regarding Stims/pricing and such. It gives a little insight as to how I personally made money off just selling Meds. Face it, tips will never get you enough. Until you are a Master Doc or close, you will not make a lot of money off meds alone. Here are some suggestions on how to make money and eleviate the #11 problem Docs have making money. Please add your comments and own experiences. In fact, I welcome it as I am sure there are plenty of ways to make money...this is just my way. And all you up and coming medics, please add how you make your money at lower skill levels..because I never had more than 100k to my name before I hit Master. Thanks if you can bare to read a long post....more power to ya.
Salmon_Ella wrote:
I found this a while ago and it seems to be a good formula:
#PerCrate * ( ( heal * charges ) / ( 12.771 + ( .0858 * MedUseRequired ) ) )
Now I'm on Scylla and I get either praised for my pricing scheme or bashed because of it. I was selling crates of c's that were 40 charge 477 heal for 62k according to this formula and sold a few crates.
I think that the formula is fair but some people get sticker shock when you sell in crates of 50.
I have not found a happy medium. If anyone else has let me know.
Ikak
Scylla
I use same formula. It was provided by Luvhandles.
I adjusted that formula to suit what my stims sold for individually at the time. Basically, I replaced the 12.771 with 9.12. This makes my stims a bit higher. For instance
38/370 Stim B = 1,537 per stim = 76,890 per crate
37/375 Stim B = 1,517 per stim = 75,878 per crate
48/674 Stim D = 2,552 per stim = 127,609 per crate
42/515 Stim C = 1,945 per stim = 97,273 per crate
Now let me tell you WHY I sell them so high.
First, I no longer need the money as bad and can wait as they sell slowly. Yes, they do not fly off the shelves because of the sticker shock of a crate. I can afford the waiting game and buys me time to play the game rather than be married to my factory.
Secondly, and mainly, Vendors/Merchants/Competitors. Believe it or not, at least on my server, if you sell a crate like mine for anything less, you will be bought out of your stock and your stuff resold for what I am asking myself now. That is no effort on the Merchant/Vendors who took your stuff and resold it while making a HUGE profit off you. That money should be yours and do not give me that crap about how you should be there for the customer. If you sell it on a vendor, there is a good chance someone will come along and take your stuff just to resell. If you sell direct and know the other person will not do that, then sure, you can sell for less. I personally stock my stuff on Vendors but carry a few crates aroundfor those who ask on the fly.
Thirdly, the Bazaar. This is interesting. I can take that same crate of 38/370 Stim B's and drop them in the Bazaar in Anchorhead for the max of 3k each. I sell out of 25 in about 2 days period just from AH alone. At 3k each, I am essentially selling a crate ofthem for 150k. That is right...150k !!! This goes hand in hand with me not having to worry about me selling them quickly. I crank out 20 crates in 2 days. I can slowly add them to the bazaar and keep a steady income. It is all about location. Location, location, location!!! Go spend the little extra travel moeny and go to Dothomir, Lok, Endor and Yavin4...even Rori. Put them on the Bazaar there for 3k. They go faster there because people do not want to travel back to main planets just to retrieve the goods. Keep a few crates on you and drop them in the bazaar whenever your on that planet doing something else like hunting. Very easy to do.
Lastly, I am a Master Doc. I can make the best Stims because of experimentation points thus outdo anybody who makes a less powerful stim. I use the best resources I can and I only charge for what anyone who takes my goods and resells them. I adjusted the formula above to reflect that. It is simply supply and demand.
As you can see, money can be had selling meds. The only problem I see is you have to be a Master Doc to do so simply from an experimentation point of view and putting out the best products. I made ALL my money healing and selling Stims/Meds. After selling the last of my batches, I will have about 5 mil credits in the bank. So do not underestimate yourselves and what you charge. Do not shortchange yourselves and look at what the market will bare on your server. Give the 3k on bazaar a try. You will see it dissappear if it is good enough. This works for me, why can't it you if money is what your after?
I am going to make another thread on this response I gave as I think it has good merit on some of the idea's why Medics think they can't make money. So you will see this reposted for responses or additions on how to make money.
ZandraWolfgramm wrote:
As you can see, money can be had selling meds. The only problem I see is you have to be a Master Doc to do so simply from an experimentation point of view and putting out the best products...
I agree with a lot of what you said, but I think you're flat wrong on this point. When I started playing SWG, I knew I wanted to be a businessman, but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, probably weaponsmith, armorsmith, or architect. I started working on the artisan trees (especially engineering) and picked up medic skills on the side because, at the time, there weren't any medics in the med centers yet and I needed to heal myself.
It didn't take me very long to realize that a medic/doctor is as much a crafter as any artisan. I decided very early on that I was going to start selling medicines to form my business.
You may have been able to outdo me as a medic, but, once you reach Organic Chemistry 4, you're well on your way. At that point, the advanced subcomponents open up to you and you can really let loose. You've already gotten stim B's which are the best sellers by far. Once you've reached that level, you've got yourself an unlimited supply of income. Of course, if you can find someone selling advanced components, you could be rolling before you even reach organic chem 4.
Sure, a master's stims may bea little better, but I remember the first batch I rolled out of a factory - 31/325. That was with Organic Chem 4. I walked into the cantina and starting chatting it up (rather loudly) about the stims I had for sale and I've been working to fulfill orders non-stop ever since. They've just gotten better as I've progressed.
A couple other points about being a medic crafter. You really don't have to grind. This is a wonderful thing. Think about the weaponsmiths out there - how many items do you think they made and destroyed or practiced on before they got to where they are now? It's just so tedious. However, as a medic, everything you make is useful - either to you or someone else. When it came to "grinding," I'd just crank out a bunch of stim B's and throw them on the bazaar. Actaully, although they never netted a ton of cash, I could sell Stim A's for 100 credits a piece - not bad for 16 units of resources.
Also, you absolutely DO NOT have to me a master doctor to make the best meds. There's no experimentation bonus for reaching master doctor (although I think there should be). Therefore, ever since I was a 1,1,1,4 doctor, I've been able to craft just as well as you or any other master doc.
So, the point of this longwinded reply is that you don't have to be a master doctor to make money. I've been making money for a long time now (I've got a ton and am running out of things to spend it on now) and I STILL haven't reached master doctor. In that time, I've picked up a dozen medium and heavy harvesters, 3 factories, and I have about a million credits on me. I'm not trying to toot my own horn - you're right - there's definitely money to be made in the med business. But you don't have to be a master to cash in.
Start small medics - you can make a buck!
Put stimpack chemist over your head (comes with Organic Chem 4). People see the work stimpack and come running as fast as if it said Master Doc.
It's funny- I think I could run around without any tag on now and people would still ask to buy stimpacks.
I ran through town and clicked on the chap in front of me and saw that he had some nasty wounds. I sent him a tell and asked if he wanted me to clean those up for him - I had no idea who the guy was, I was just being a helpful doc at the time. He sent back a reply, "Hey, you're the guy that makes the monster stims!" I couldn't help but laugh, but it happens to me more and more regularly now.
Make a quality product and word gets around. I've been building a reputation for quite a while now and it has paid dividends.
I think folks should also realize that most markets have levels to them. In the Stim market, for example, you might be able to make a lot more money per stim by trying to make the best of the best in high power and/or high charge stim Bs, but there is still a low and mid-level market for these meds that would love to get their hands on a mid-level/power Stim B at a better price, or even basic Stim Bs at a fiarly inexpensive price. Since there are not a ton of Docs around is still possible in most galaxies, i woudl think, to get into a market and ave little to no competition, especially fi you find your niche market.
Other possibilities include getting select clientelle to sell Pharm 3 Stim Cs or Pharm 4 Stim Ds to. All niche markets where a Doc can make a bit of extra cash, as long as they don't mind the crafting.
Absolutely, Zarlor. I really got my start even before I made it to Organic Chemistry 4. I made Stim A's and B's with all standard subcomponents and sold them on the bazaar for 100 and 300 credits, respectively. They weren't very high powered, but not everyone in the game can afford 1k credits for a stack of stim B's. These low powered stims still sell very well.
Like Zarlor said, find your niche - this game is full of niche markets and most haven't been filled yet.
Just so folks are aware not every server offers prices like those for stims. On Scylla some vendors sell 40/420 powered stim Bs for 1k with a slight discount for bulk. On the bazaar you can sell a lesser stim (maybe 35/360) for about 1k... perhaps 2k on the advanced planets. Anyways just a word of warning, those prices that other docs are getting for their meds may not apply on your server. My only thought is either people are generally alot richer on some servers... or that those servers do not yet have a large scale supplier that has started undercutting others.
Anyways best of luck with your med sales, even at 1/2 to 1/3 those prices there is considerable profit to be made, you just have to sell many more crates : )
-Karo MD, Scylla
PS. Another way to make money is to buff people (as an MD). Yesterday I made 18k in under 10 minutes by buffing 3 people. It was absolutely amazing and the largest "tips" I have ever been given. I am sure that is completely atypical, but nonetheless money is there.
XXX: Can I have a buff?
Karo: sure just a sec
buffing ensues...
XXXtips you 10000
Karo drops jaw!
....
-Karo MD, Scylla
I sell mid level stim b's mainly because im just too lazy to go to other planets to get resources...
My b's are only a mere 26/236 and i sell them on the bazzar for 500 each.. someone buys in bulk, ill not sell them any less.. why let them pay less for having the conveinience of a crate? but i do sell to guildmates for 400 each, and to a supplier for some of my resources based on what resources he has to offer me.. my stims sell fast.. 25 every few hours.. i cant even keep them stocked unless i make 4-500 at a time.. blah. Oh, and mine are priced according to what the level and price are of the other b's on that perticular bazzar.. and those that other people put up there stay there for days.. *shrug*
Slightly different tactic, and remember that my angle is im not in it for the money but need the money to run the harvesters.
On Shadowifre, on Dearic (not a run away place for selling stims, but again remember my angle) I sell A's for 100, B's for 250-350 depending on level, Cs for 500, and advanced Cs for 1000 (all Cs have med skill use of 30 or less so Pharm 3 guys can use em). Bs obviously the best seller till - and I can't keep enough in stock. I know I'm on the low end of the spectrum on price, but I think I make a lot on volume compared t osome hwo's stims stay on vendor or bazaar for a few days. Ever day I'm out of stims when i log on. Then again, many dont need the cash, so can wait for the days for higher prices to sell.
Plus I'm well known and popular, getting good tips in the med center even on small heals. Anyway, a thought
Doc Holliday
Once a week I make 10 crates of Stim b's and put them on my 2nd characters vendor for 50k a crate. Since our house is a 20 minute run south of the lake retreat the selling is slow but I normally sell all 10 crates by the following weekend and I do it all over again.
This gives me plenty of money to pay for my large house (i need the storage space), PA dues, and resources. Like someone else suggested, sell fewer stims for higher prices and enjoy the profits.