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Thread: Pricing
). I knew my stuff was too cheap, but I'm trying to get my name out and to educate people about what we do. I plan on raising my prices and establishing some kind of pricing system soon. So my question is: how do you all price items? I know it will depend some on your market, but just wondered if some of you had developed formulas for pricing.
Ok, after reading the "Who has 4,000,000 credits" line, I had to make this post, because it sounds worse out there then I thought.
Feel free to flame me for this, because I imagine a couple Architects on Naritus hate my guts: I sell small houses for 8,000 credits a pop.
/cringe
Ok, flaming's over, moving on. Why do I sell it so low? Because that's the only way to compete with the power-levelers and other goobers with the power of a PA behind them. (Anyone reading the Naritus boards knows what I'm talking about I think). I buy my resources at a 2/1 3/1 credit/unit ratio depending on the supplying, and have no lessthen 4 small and 2 med harvs going on a low-grade.. the devil take me the day that deposit moves.
Anyway, I actually work the math out on something at a 3/1 credit/unit ratio before I sell it, and I realized that on that ratio, a small house sells for about 9,600.. oops. Ok, so I lose 1,600.. I'll live.
The mistake was corrected when I made my first factory. Ok, do the math, work it out.. ok, 26K. Sounds good after selling 8k houses, right? Wrong! After crunching that SOB for a day, the next time someone asked about a factory, I shot back "35k". He goes, ok! /rubhands.. /cackle.. eheheheh..
In all seriousness, there's a line between too much and too little. I saw a girl the other day, tells me she's buying a small house, and I asked how much. "20k" she replies. I stole her business so fast it made the other guy's head spin. Despite that, and having level 1 installations AND homes, and almost to a level 2, I have a grand total of 30k cash.. 'course, that's after powering 10 harvs for a three day vacation, but whatever. I don't like not making money, but it's the only wayI sell these **edit** things to keep afloat and support MY harvies.
Now, some people on Naritus claim that because missions are so easy we can charge whatever we want.. nope. I don't know about ya'll, but I won't pay over 10k fora weapon, simply because of principles. That's way to **edit** expensive.. I'm still shooting with my 49-109 3.1 speed carbine I bought for 2.5k.. yup, 2,500 credits. Cheap and nice, makes me happy.
Now, does my selling for 8k mean I don't care about Architect? Absolutely not! I love it! In fact, I'm waiting for everyone else to crash and burn so I'm the only one left /evilgrin. Now, if there was some sort of standard, yeah that'd be cool, but I refuse to lose business to the guy next to me screaming "15k for houses". I gotta compete, and the only way to do that is slash prices.
3k for a house? Who the f*** is this guy?
If you sell at a loss to maximize XP, you are powerleveling and you certainly aren't doing anything to add to the immersive nature of the game.
In addition, competition isn't actually what's making it hard to sell. When I was a lowly engineer, I would have loved to buy a factory for 40k. Why didn't I? Because no one was selling them where I was, and you certainly don't see things like that on the bazaar because of the price cap. I could have bought several houses very cheaply, but again, I didn't - not because of the price, but because the upkeep is too much for me until I get my business skills up.
Anyone who sells stuff on SWG at a bargain price doesn't really understand price elasticity. As an experiment, pick out an inexpensive item that people buy regularly on the bazaar (my favorite is hot-wired couplers, because they are more desirable than other powerups). Buy up every one selling below 500 and post four or five of them at 500. If people are fighting nearby, you will sell all of them in a day or two, despite the fact that they were being offered at 30-50cr each before. Why? Because the demand is there, regardless of the price. Cutting the price won't cause more to be sold, it just causes customers to pick you because you are cheap. Maintenance costs and the bazaar restrictions do more to keep our market small than anything else - including the paltry prices some of us are charging.
If you are losing money on these sales, you are powerleveling inefficiently, because you have to spend an extra hour or two a day running Fedex missions to pay for your harvesters and purchased resources. You will get ahead MUCH faster if you sell structural or wall modules AT A PROFIT to the poor suckers who think this way, because they think they don't care if they turn a profit. You will get plenty of XP that way, and spend little or no time running missions to pay for your harvesters.
IMO delivery missions should probably be seriously nerfed for elite professions. We're big boys now, and we should be able to turn a profit without constantly sucking cash into the economy via the mission terminals. Without the infusion of cash from missions, all elite crafters would be forced to turn a profit on their sales just to pay for their harvesters and factories. This would be far better than the current situation.
Eh, I have to disagree with several comments that you made there.
> So, if you are selling houses at a loss like that, how much would you sell a wall module for? How about the > resources? Would you sell those?
The pricing on the houses, i.e. the 1.6k loss, was calculated after I had sold several houses, and I didn't feel like changing the price on people. As for resources,I sell them on the market at a 4/1 credit/unit ratio.
> If you sell at a loss to maximize XP, you are powerleveling and you certainly aren't doing anything to add to > the immersive nature of the game.
Again, I have to disagree. I don't sell them to maximize XP; in fact, I currently have nine houses on backorder that I will discharge, and have another eight or nine waiting on me. I strip every low-grade unit I can get my hands on, make my houses, and look for people to sell them to. I'm not here to power-level, if I was doing that I would be getting more friends to give me resources. No, I make and sell them to make other people happy.
> If you are losing money on these sales, you are powerleveling inefficiently, because you have to spend an > extra hour or two a day running Fedex missions to pay for your harvesters and purchased resources. You > will get ahead MUCH faster if you sell structural or wall modules AT A PROFIT to the poor suckers who >think this way, because they think they don't care if they turn a profit. You will get plenty of XP that way, and > spend little or no time running missions to pay for your harvesters.
Umm.. when did I say I ran missions to pay for this stuff? I currently have a 30k surplus.. I haven't run a mission in days. Also, I will not, do not, CANNOT sell structural or wall modules. I'm just too busy making them for myself, much less someone else.
Dunno what I said to give you these ideas, but sorry. I don't sell my houses cheap to make people buy them so I can power-level them. I sell them cheap because I believe that people will be happier being able to buy a house without having to waste their precious time running s****y missions (sorry devs, but they're boring as hell). And believe me, I still get people at 8k saying they have to run missions to get it. Ok, that's fine.
Sedryn you just nailed the problem on the head, most fighters can make 100k in a couple of days. Fighters don't need and often don't want houses. Fighters like to travel the galaxy and not be tied down to one place.
The people that need things architects can make are other lowly artisans trying to scrape by too. They want to open up their first shop, they want the first factory. They have to scrimp and save to get there. Maybe when all the artisans start making some money we can start getting realistic prices on medium and large homes and factories.
But for now the people with the most money don't need our items. If I was a fighter no way would I be buying a house, I would be saving every cent for a creature mount or vehicle. Now those things will sell because they have a practical purpose.
So whats all this about people selling stuff at a loss?
Who does that ? - not for long I bet - u gotta make money to keep going.
Some people are just plain greedy.
I sell all resources at 2/1 - personal harvesters 500 each - medium harvesters 3000.
I make lots of money thank you.
And get tonns of uxp too 
Dont like it ? hard cheese.
I like it and so do my customers.
Get real.
Again, I beg to differ.. and what was so **edit** funny about "will not, CANNOT" Chelis? I mean, I like to make people laugh and all, but tell me why so I can do it again.
> So whats about when you get to Master? Are you going to be the peoples worker? Taking a loss to supply > the people with homes? No?? Hmm if not then you just blew your "Not powerleveling" theory all to > kingdom come.
With all due respect, don't determine what I'll do for me. I do intend to remain a "people's worker", although that makes me sound like a Communist I will sell houses at lower (key word, not low, but lower) prices then other Architects, simply because I don't sweat it. I tell people, you buy from me be prepared to wait. I make them as the resources become available, and not before. Which does not blow my "not powerleveling" statement to kingdom come.
> It's people like youlessen the game for everyone else and eventually yourself. I had no problem sellings at > "normal" prices from birth to master. and I never had to grind (nice thing about architect).
It is nice, and I appreciate the fact that you didn't have a problem with that. However, who's to say what a "normal" price is, and what an "overcharged" price is? And, again, not to be unpleasant, but my game experience hasn't been decreased in the slightest aside from a slight twinge in my stomache whenever I hit "craft" on a small house.. that **edit** critical failure's a gut-wrencher.
> I lost 1 sale of a factory to someone like you. <Text Edited> Yes he had a TON of orders but no resources > or money tomeet demand so the impatient consumers paid normal prices elsewhere because they could > have theitem now.
Now, I do resent the statement about "someone like you". Perhaps you lost the sale because you were too expensive, or took longer then you promised.. I just don't know. I sold it for what it was worth, and if you look at my original post, I stated that I later increased the price because of the time and trouble. My original price of 25k proved itself not to be enough, and I adjusted appropriately. And yes, people pay "normal" prices (again, who decides the normality?) when they want something. We live in a demanding society that wants quick, easy results, and most of the time quality suppliers suffer because they can't keep up with the demand.
> I know you will just flame back at this, saying you are just trying to compete and that you have no problems > keeping harvs going etc.. Just mark my words.. you wont last.. Ive seen itat least a dozen times.
Well.. no, I'm not going to flame.. if I can't reply to criticism maturely, I have no business being on these forums. I am trying to compete, and no I don't have a problem keeping harvestors going, but I don't have to be mean like some n00b.. (**edit** it i keeP my harvs going jest fine).. nope, definately not me If I don't last, I adjust and move on.
Consider this however; I do not buy resources off the bazaar. I buy it direct from suppliers, friends that I have made within the game, who are willing to sell a wholesale, constant stream of resources to one source in exchange for a slightly worse rate then they would get sporadically selling it on the market. Anyone can do this, and indeed, I've even posted on my galaxy's forum board looking for people willing to work with me, as well as suppliers. Not to flame your friend (the Weaponsmith), but if he couldn't keep his factories going or supplies coming in, maybe he needed to lower his prices or get friends to help (Note: I am speaking from a complete lack of knowledge as to his and your situation, so please.. don't hold it against me). I honestly think this game is designed so that one person will find it difficult to survive.
> Good luck
> Zen Starstrider
Thank you Guys, I may sound a little stuck-up, but I just don't see the reason in starting flame wars. I'm a human being, but if I'm going to blow up at a faceless person on a bloody forum, I have no business here or on the Internet in general. I'll readily admit I'm wrong if proven so, and right now I haven't been. Nine people are waiting on me for houses, and none of them have threatened to leave if I don't give them to them. Nine people are willing to pay me 8k credits for a house. Nine people will smile when they see a little man with shaggy blond hair, an E11 Carbine, and a gunman's duster saying, "Enjoy " after completing the trade for their new house. Now, if I go under because of lack of money/supplies/whatever, I will come back here and publicly admit I was wrong. I will, I swear!
BedroxX.. are you on Naritus because I just paid 17k for a med harvestor. Good luck to you also in your business dealings.
Vanyel Ashkevron
President, Ashkevron Industries
Ancorhead, Tatooine
Vanyel - if you are interested in making money I suggest you drop your prices.
You will find that everything will be snapped up as fast as you can make it.
Yes - I for one will be a 'peoples crafter '
A supermarket
Wanna compete with me ?
We are talking Crafting pvp here
I figured you'd be able to see what was so humorous without me having to point it out to you....so I'm not gonna. Though I will point out the next one just to be nice......
'I may sound a little stuck-up, but I just don't see the reason in starting flame wars.'
stuck up, ok I'll go with that. No reason in starting flame wars? HAHAHA.....is there another reason in pointing out that you sell for 8k here on the boards. No, though I'd love to hear your "reason" for it. To state that you sell for a loss, you'd have to be a little ignorant to think people who don't like you selling for that cheap would really care 'why' you sell it for that. Not like the "I'm only doing it to bring a smile to there face" hasnt been said a hundred times before. Is that explantion enough? I hope so.
'3k for a house? Who the f*** is this guy?'
That could be you, you know if you didn't buy your resources and were truly what you say, in it to make the people happy. A small house takes somewhat over 3k resources if I remember correctly. Stop buying resources and only use your own, less than 1cr/resource....thus you could afford it at less loss than your selling for now and show everyone here that your one of your word and doing it only to make others happy.
I myself sell for 5cr/resource and am thinking of selling everything for 7cr/resource soon so that I'm not always behind on orders. I'm out to make my customers happy and make a profit, thus I tell all my customers I sell above average.
BedroxX wrote:
So whats all this about people selling stuff at a loss?
Who does that ? - not for long I bet - u gotta make money to keep going.
Some people are just plain greedy.
I sell all resources at 2/1 - personal harvesters 500 each - medium harvesters 3000.
I make lots of money thank you.
And get tonns of uxp too
Dont like it ? hard cheese.
I like it and so do my customers.
Get real.
Actually kinda feel sorry for people like you, you rip yourself off, you *DO* hurt the economy in general because people running missions are making alot of money and your not helping spread it around. You make yourself look like a cheap powerleveler and you probably are. This is not an insult its just how I see your attitude. Take a look at weapons prices and you will see how badly you are screwing yourself, not really anyone else.
You can sell small harvesters all day long for 1k and have happy customers that love you, you are only hurting yourself by selling for 500. Its not a matter of greed its just common sense and economics.
You can sell mediums for 15k and rarely will anyone complain I have lost a total of 1 sale to someone and I havelots of workbuilding them for the requests, well now that im building larges im starting to aquire more minerals etc. But again you are only cutting *yourself* short and working harder than you need to. If I sold for your price I would be working constantly for pretty much no profit. Yes I am in this for profit I expect vehicles and ships when they come to be VERY expenisve (more than large houses and maybe PA halls) and I plan to be ready to buy.
I seriously doubt you make lots of money, I have currently 150k to my name, a fraction of what a weaponsmith does and I don't care. I sell for a reasonable price and my customers think so too. I don't go out and hawk my wares harvester, house or furnature and I don't sell ANYTHING on the bazaar and I have a steady supply of customers by word of mouth.
You should look at your tactics and really think hard about how you are operating because frankly your just screwing yourself over in the long run.
So whats about when you get to Master? Are you going to be the peoples worker? Taking a loss to supply the people with homes? No?? Hmm if not then you just blew your "Not powerleveling" theory all to kingdom come.
It's people like youlessen the game for everyone else and eventually yourself. I had no problem sellings at "normal" prices from birth to master. and I never had to grind (nice thing about architect).
Also, im sorry, but this battle station is quite opperational. I wont be going under.. People respect me and my prices.. I dont gouge them and I dont look like a fool for selling under cost. I lost 1 sale of a factory to someone like you. Unfortunatly he has switched to a gunfighter because he couldnt keep hisHarvs going. Yes he had a TON of orders but no resources or money to meet demand so the impatient consumers paid normal prices elsewhere because they could have the item now. People have more money than you think. Most fighters can make 100k in a couple days without breaking a sweat.
I know you will just flame back at this, saying you are just trying to compete and that you have no problems keeping harvs going etc.. Just mark my words.. you wont last.. Ive seen itat least a dozen times.
Good luck
Zen Starstrider