Droid Engineer Archive
Thread: R3's for 65k too cheap it seems
Well, an R3at 35K has a great profit margin as it is. I could never sell droids for that much on Kauri. They would just find someone else to do it for them. Droids don't move that fast as it is and having something sit on my vendor for weeks since I marked it too high would just get depressing.
I havea decent customer base and I would not piss them all off by starting to charge double what I have been only because I can cram multple craft stations in now.
What do you mean? R3's have always had 6 module slots Just because i can now put in 4 crafting stations along with Medical 6 and Item storage 6 doesn't mean it is costing anymore to make the thing. Data storage 6 is a much bigger pain to make and a heck of a lot more complicated than the craft stations (not to mention the ultra-rare dioxis gas), so since I leave that out now and put a craft in its place I should charge more? Where is the reasoning behind this?
Slythetove wrote:
So you can now put more functionality in the same droid, but don't think that's worth more money? I find that very strange logic indeed.
Gribnitz wrote:
What do you mean? R3's have always had 6 module slots Just because i can now put in 4 crafting stations along with Medical 6 and Item storage 6 doesn't mean it is costing anymore to make the thing. Data storage 6 is a much bigger pain to make and a heck of a lot more complicated than the craft stations (not to mention the ultra-rare dioxis gas), so since I leave that out now and put a craft in its place I should charge more? Where is the reasoning behind this?
Slythetove wrote:
So you can now put more functionality in the same droid, but don't think that's worth more money? I find that very strange logic indeed.
Hey, if you don't understand how 4 crafting stations that now workin a single droid is more valuable than 1 crafting station.... I don't think I can explain it. 
I suppose there is also a differentiation in the methods of selling as well. All my droids I sell in-person, and do no business off a vendor. I indeed imagine that it would be harder to sell off a vendor than it would be selecting the droid out of my brochure. With a vendor there is no way to compare one droid to another and as such the price must be swallowed whole, without any other recourse. Whereas by going over the brochure the customer is given the chance to see the different droid builds and the gradual progression in droid price as compared to functionality.
In the end I've found the more education a customer has, the more likely they are to see the value of a droid (and hense higher sales). As such, I've given a bit of thought on how to impliment some education towards those who enter your showroom floor. Here's what I've come up with:
-Have a half dozen to a dozen LE repair droids with helpful messages above their heads. Stuff like: "110 is the highest medical rating a droid can have" or "Store 10 items in your droid, protected from decay!" Or perhaps "Mobile Private Crafting Stations Let youexperiment/craft anything/anywhere!" LEs are cheap to make and are perfect 'assistant' droids. They really look professional when given a good gold or white paint job and given an informational saying above their heads.
-Remove some choice from the customer. I know this is an odd way of looking at it, but there is no reason the customer needs to know how L4 modules work compared to L6 modules, or that such and such droid needsL6 armour and that other droid needs 2 L4armour mods.Instead, ease the burden on the customer's mind by giving them clear choices on modules: Inventory, Medical, Crafting Stations, Repair module. That's it. Consider this the "Four Module Setup."Of course, this is assuming you can build L6 modules (which most masters who have time to set up such elaborate shops can do, I imagine).
Andassume that non-combat droids only need L3 armour, and combat droids need the full armour (2*L4 or an L6). I've yet to see any droid other than my probot get agroed by anything, and to be honest if my Surgical or R2 did get in a fight they would probably die anyway, but that doesn't particularly matter if they did because they don't need health anyway. Fit the armour to the needs of the droid, not to the customer's blind guess what the droid should have.
-Scatter various droid frames around with a title that says how many modules it can hold (using the "Four Modules" Setup, not the internalDE one we have). For instance, put an R2 down with the title "R2 Series:up to 3modules" Then maybe add a Food/Chem crafting station, Inventory Module, and Medical module surrounding it. Do the same with the R3 droid, but put all 6 modules (4 crafting stations, Inventory, Medical) at its feet instead. Also, put up various modules with further descriptions on what they can do I.E. "Repair module: Repairs BLACK WOUND dmg on OTHER droids"
But when stacking the droids up for display, make sure there is a flow from least to greatest. On the one end have the R4 droid with just a couple modules next to its feet then work up. If the players can see the progression then they will make the leap to buying the more expensive droid much easier than having to swallow the price straight up.
So, in conclusion, the more information you give yoru customers the more likely they are to buy from you. But as I've said, the only thing they need to know is what the droid can do for them.Keep the internal mechanics to yourselfbecause you're the expert, they're not. It's just like selling a car: most people don't need to know how the engine was constructed or every techinical detail about how the thing was wired. 90% of them are mainly concerned with what the car can do and where it can take them.
(Wow... I should do Focus Threads like the TKA-man does)
Slythetove wrote:
Hey, if you don't understand how 4 crafting stations that now workin a single droid is more valuable than 1 crafting station.... I don't think I can explain it.
I understand what you are trying to get too, but I think that kind of markup is rediculous. It boils down to the robber barons of old. "I got it, you don't so pay my goofy way over priced markups". The droids actually cost a whole lot less to make with the 4 craft modules than they do with the repair and data modules in the old configurations before you could put in all the craft stations. When the combat droids come out and the servers get flooded with Droid Engineers, you will have to make your prices more realistic. You may actually lose business because people will remember you gouging them in the past. What the heck kind of markup is 100K R3 anyway ???
I mean my goodness, I amat 5 million credits now with nothing to spend it on. I don't need money, so why in the heck do I make a bunch of people mad at rediculous prices by giving them the same amount of modules on a single droid? I got Master Entertainer as a Holo gift, so I am not going anywhere soon and I am not about to make a bunch of people angry at me by charging 2000% markups. I may try upping to 50K and see if they sell, but I will feel guilty doing it.
JontheBear wrote:
Did I understand that post right? The multiple crafters in droids canceling each other out has been fixed? If this is true, I can have some good sells. Anyone confirm this?
Yes, this is correct. You can put all the craft modules into one droid and it will work fine. It has worked since the last patch.
I basically do what Woody does... I don't follow spreadsheets or cost per unit or resource costs etc. I base the cost of my droids on what I believe they are worth and what the market can handle. Theres no point in charging 100k for a droid if nobody can afford to buy it, or if they think the price is insanely high. I don't make R3 droids because they take to much time. I never get asked for them. Instead, I make R2 droids which are the exact same thing except one less module slot (R2 still has two!) and fully transparent head. I made one and only one, and its my own personal mobile crafting station. If I were to make an R3 for sale with food+chem crafting with medical class 6 (110) and storage 4... that would be 35 - 40k tops.
I completely agree with Woody on his prices structure and why he sells that way.
Currently I have R2's on my vendors that have the works on them and I am selling them for 52k. They are flying off my vendors. I would start a run of R3's if I had the time and a couple more factorys. Right now I am in the process of restocking my probots with NO crafting stations or other goody's other that lvl6 armor. I sell those for 23k and they fly off the vendors as well. Of course if you would like a probot with modules I am happy to make them custom and will only sell them at a higher price than the probots I am currently selling.
Speaking for myself I have no intention of gouging my customers. My customers can go to any other DE on the server and buy the same thing IF they can find it. Chances are that they will not find droids like these already built and in such high quantity in one spot. I have seen master weaponsmiths and master armorsmiths selling thier products from the 100's of thousands into the millions. I have never seen the customers of these crafters scream gouging. I have only heard them sing the praises of the crafter for building such a great product. Why cant we as DE's also craft our products and sell them at what the market will support.