Merchant Archive
Thread: Let's start compiling a new Top Issues list
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Elyssa
Thu Apr 07, 2005 1:50 pm
#1
I have de-stickied the old "Top Issues" list so we can start putting together a new one.
The old thread can be found here.
Of the 18 issues on the old list, only two (possibly three) of themhave been dealt with.
Now that work onthe CU and RotW will be winding down soon, I'd like to have a new list of issues to be able to present to the Devs when they're ready to throw some love our way.
For the sake of convenience, I am pasting the original list that Doc compiled here.
Please post your unlisted ideas for inclusion as well as suggestions for changes to these items.
Please post your unlisted ideas for inclusion as well as suggestions for changes to these items.
As we work through the discussion, I will keep the list updated and then we'll get everything prioritized for the final draft.
Merchant Top Issues List
1 Exploit Merchant Skill Point Exploitation FIXED
2 Game Play Remove Empty Vendors from Global Map FIXED
3 New Feature Ability to Remove Abandoned Vendors
Cooperative Merchant shops suffer from the extremely limited control the owner of the structure has on the vendors inside. Short of removing all items and destroying the structure the owner of a “Mall” has no method for evicting a vendor. This is a problem on a number of fronts but the two most common are vendors that are abandoned by their Merchants and are taking up floor space that could be better used by another vendor or disputes between the Mall owner and the Merchant running the vendor (refusal to pay agreed rent for the space etc). The structure owner needs a method for evicting the vendor while mitigating against griefing. The suggestion is to allow structure owners to issue an eviction notice to a vendor which will be served in one week from the time it is served. This will give the Merchant owner of the vendor a week to clear his merchandise out and remove the vendor himself. Suggest a method for rescinding the eviction as well in case an amicable resolution is worked out between the two parties.
Cooperative Merchant shops suffer from the extremely limited control the owner of the structure has on the vendors inside. Short of removing all items and destroying the structure the owner of a “Mall” has no method for evicting a vendor. This is a problem on a number of fronts but the two most common are vendors that are abandoned by their Merchants and are taking up floor space that could be better used by another vendor or disputes between the Mall owner and the Merchant running the vendor (refusal to pay agreed rent for the space etc). The structure owner needs a method for evicting the vendor while mitigating against griefing. The suggestion is to allow structure owners to issue an eviction notice to a vendor which will be served in one week from the time it is served. This will give the Merchant owner of the vendor a week to clear his merchandise out and remove the vendor himself. Suggest a method for rescinding the eviction as well in case an amicable resolution is worked out between the two parties.
4 Game Play Vendor Interface Enhancements
The Vendor interface is clunky and inefficient. The search features need to be enhanced to allow more robust searching, the offers and stock room interfaces need fewer clicks and batch processing support to allow large scale sales and re-pricing efforts to be done with a minimum number of clicks. The offers system itself needs to be enhanced as well giving the supplier more slots to offer merchandise and more information to be captured (Suggested Retail Price etc)
The Vendor interface is clunky and inefficient. The search features need to be enhanced to allow more robust searching, the offers and stock room interfaces need fewer clicks and batch processing support to allow large scale sales and re-pricing efforts to be done with a minimum number of clicks. The offers system itself needs to be enhanced as well giving the supplier more slots to offer merchandise and more information to be captured (Suggested Retail Price etc)
5 New Feature Consignment Sales Support
Wholesale purchases for Retail sales is only one method of merchant-supplier collaboration. Another is consignment sales. Consignment sales is defined, for the purpose of this feature request, as items purchased by the merchant with little or no up front cost with the understanding that a split of the sales revenue will take place upon the sale of the merchandise. This relationship is desirable because it removes the financial burden
Wholesale purchases for Retail sales is only one method of merchant-supplier collaboration. Another is consignment sales. Consignment sales is defined, for the purpose of this feature request, as items purchased by the merchant with little or no up front cost with the understanding that a split of the sales revenue will take place upon the sale of the merchandise. This relationship is desirable because it removes the financial burden
6 New Feature Directed Sales
Both for customer orders, PA or Factional specials etc the vendors should be able to allow a merchant to place an item up for sale that can only be purchased by the indicated party or group. (e.g. guld:WAH, faction:Imperial, Chataka)
Both for customer orders, PA or Factional specials etc the vendors should be able to allow a merchant to place an item up for sale that can only be purchased by the indicated party or group. (e.g. guld:WAH, faction:Imperial, Chataka)
7 New Feature Image Design Support for NPC Vendors
The current method for creating a vendor is cumbersome when your goal is to create a vendor with a specific look. You essentially have to create vendors over and over until you randomly get one that you can live with. Merchants would like the ability to have their NPC vendors Imaged Designed to customize their appearance. We believe that Image Designers are ideal for this job and would support a /consent system that allowed a vendor to be altered by an Image Designer.
The current method for creating a vendor is cumbersome when your goal is to create a vendor with a specific look. You essentially have to create vendors over and over until you randomly get one that you can live with. Merchants would like the ability to have their NPC vendors Imaged Designed to customize their appearance. We believe that Image Designers are ideal for this job and would support a /consent system that allowed a vendor to be altered by an Image Designer.
8 New Feature Global Item Listing (Searching) CURRENT SYSTEM NEEDS WORK
The global map advertising is a great tool for getting people into your shop to browse your wares however many merchants would like a global item listing that could be searchable and would allow them to compete with the bazaar for sales. One method would have a “premium auction” feature in Merchant that would allow merchants to place items (for a fee) into the global listings that would be in a separate tab on the bazaar terminals. This would be searchable and show the item details and the price listed. Purchasing the item could still be handled at the local vendor, this method would be an advertising method and not a sales method.
The global map advertising is a great tool for getting people into your shop to browse your wares however many merchants would like a global item listing that could be searchable and would allow them to compete with the bazaar for sales. One method would have a “premium auction” feature in Merchant that would allow merchants to place items (for a fee) into the global listings that would be in a separate tab on the bazaar terminals. This would be searchable and show the item details and the price listed. Purchasing the item could still be handled at the local vendor, this method would be an advertising method and not a sales method.
9 New Feature New Structures (Malls and Shops)
The merchant tent is a wonderful structure that indicates the high likelihood that there is a merchant vendor inside. The tent however lends itself to smaller operations or specific types of markets. New structures like a small store front shop and a larger Mall like structure would enhance the merchant ability to have identifiable structures that indicate merchant vendors inside.
The merchant tent is a wonderful structure that indicates the high likelihood that there is a merchant vendor inside. The tent however lends itself to smaller operations or specific types of markets. New structures like a small store front shop and a larger Mall like structure would enhance the merchant ability to have identifiable structures that indicate merchant vendors inside.
10 New Feature Detailed Sales Reporting
The addition of the mailsave command has made creating offline sales data easier, however the game still needs in game support for basic sales reporting. This feature would enhance the ability of merchants to manage their vendors and maintain relationships with their suppliers.
The addition of the mailsave command has made creating offline sales data easier, however the game still needs in game support for basic sales reporting. This feature would enhance the ability of merchants to manage their vendors and maintain relationships with their suppliers.
Pappi
Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:14 pm
#4
eh, post count padder 
(I'm almost at 5k myself! 
)
big issues for me (as a tailor):
magic auto-restock button
no "sale unsuccessful" spam when I take something off my vendor
my vendor need to stop barking at me whenever I move half an inch
(I'm almost at 5k myself! )big issues for me (as a tailor):
magic auto-restock button
no "sale unsuccessful" spam when I take something off my vendor
my vendor need to stop barking at me whenever I move half an inch
Akaara
Thu Apr 07, 2005 2:53 pm
#5
I am against the 20,000 bazaar increase. Apparently it was put in without any discussion. Could we at least get an explanation? I know as a tailor, I very rarely sell items over 20,000 credits, my sales HAVE slowed down quite abit. I love my merchant shops but is it going to be cost effective for me to keep them when I could easily sell 25 items a night on the bazaar?
Crimsonsplat
Thu Apr 07, 2005 3:11 pm
#6
Expand #8:
8a. Fix the bug where one or more of the same items shows up on almost every page of the Vendor listings.
8a. Fix the bug where one or more of the same items shows up on almost every page of the Vendor listings.
8b. It has been discovered that, excepting the bug in 8a., the vendor listings is oldest vendor first. This gives an edge to established merchants that new players will have a difficult time overcoming. The listing needs to either i) randomize the order of vendors, ii) randomize items irrespective of vendors, iii) institute some other random or pseudo-random method of listing items in a given category.
8c. The categorization within the bazaar listing is terrible and illogical. The items need to be divided much more intuitively, and crates need to be listed with the correct item rather than as a seperate category. Last year we were told that the back end database was being re-written and it was pointless to look at the front end until that was done. After it was completed, we were told "After JTL." After JTL we were told "after the CU." It's high time to deal with this issue; it is a significant detriment to use of the Bazaar.
#(whatever): vendor categorization on the planetary map and in ad barking do not fit the usual modes of business, as they are too broad. For instance "Housing" is a single category, yet most architects put deeds to houses on one vendor, and furniture on another. Yet there is no subcategory for "furniture." The same problem occurs over and over. This makes it difficult to advertise to the desired customer.
#(whatever): the recent vendor & bazaar changes have left the Merchant skill gain to skill point cost relationship heavily unbalanced, espcially in the Advertising tree. While the same skills are gained as before, the reward from them is significantly diminished. Some adjustment of point costs or additional advantage accrual per box is needed badly. (my suggestion: Merge the four trees into two).
wyrwulf
Thu Apr 07, 2005 4:45 pm
#7
Can we please get a re-sale/re-list option, it is still a pain to have to re-list hundredes of items one at a time.
MrHawat
Thu Apr 07, 2005 6:13 pm
#8
My number one problem, right now, is the stockroom bug. I am out of business because of it. If you do not know it, items that go to the stockroom can not be retrieved. It shows a list of items and, at most, you can do somthing with one item. Then it shows the stockroom empty. I have tried restocking from other vendors, logging ad nauseum, reporting it and have had no luck. Please do not tell me do delete and redeed the vendor. It is not practical. I created a new vendor and have the same problems with that.
SystemJinx
Thu Apr 07, 2005 8:46 pm
#9
Wookiee vendors won't wear clothes.
Next Page button appears when a vendor has exactly 100 (or 200, or 300, etc.) items listed.If acustomer clicks the button they aretaken tothe nextpage with nothing listed and no back button.
WolfStrong-III
Thu Apr 07, 2005 9:23 pm
#10
SystemJinx wrote:
Wookiee vendors won't wear clothes.
Next Page button appears when a vendor has exactly 100 (or 200, or 300, etc.) items listed.If acustomer clicks the button they aretaken tothe nextpage with nothing listed and no back button.
My wookie vendors had wookie clothes on. One had a wookie robe, another Kashyyykian Hunting Armor and another had regular wookie clothes on them....
Crimsonsplat wrote:
8b. It has been discovered that, excepting the bug in 8a., the vendor listings is oldest vendor first. This gives an edge to established merchants that new players will have a difficult time overcoming. The listing needs to either i) randomize the order of vendors, ii) randomize items irrespective of vendors, iii) institute some other random or pseudo-random method of listing items in a given category.
Perhaps list the items by serial #? That would randomize things greatly or is this already in use? I haven't put in the time to research this option. I do know that it's rather frustrating looking for, say, a resource and seeing the SAME one listed every time in a list of over 7000 resources.
Message Edited by WolfStrong-III on 04-07-2005 09:26 PM
Tomatec
Fri Apr 08, 2005 4:54 am
#11
My top issues (in fact all of them really ).
1. renaming of vendors!
I want to rename a vendorfor example from"Tomatec Melee Weapons" to "Tomatec Melee Weapons and Power ups"
2. subcategorisation of the resources!
I use the globalsearch now and then, and wading thu all the inorganic minerals to just find steel is a reall hassel, let alone looking for a particular steel.
So please can the resource section of the vendors/bazaar ermainls have a deeper tree for resources. ir steel, iron, copper, alu, ore,gas,etc etc.
3. stricter retrival of 'search' results.
using the bazaar terminal to look plantarily or galaxy wide for some thing results in more than one hundred items per page, the extra ones are repeated ad naeusem till the bitter end of the pages.
4. option to ignore ad barking from vendors.
I would like to enable an option on my client to ignore vendor barking if I so desire. Perhaps just in the chat/spatial logs, not visually?
5. option to ignore advertising droid barking.
I would like to enable an option on my client to ignorethose bots at starportsbarking if I so desire. Perhaps just in the chat/spatial logs, not visually?
anyway many thanks if you read and consider these things, and wookiehugs and kudos if you implement them 
Tomatec.
PS 6. a relist of all currently selected items in the stockroom at one price would be an amazingimprovement.
PPS (edit addition) 7. allowing broken wook armor to be used as clothing for wook vendors would be neat.
PPS (edit addition) 8. higher merchant XP cap please.
Message Edited by Tomatec on 04-08-2005 12:55 PM
Message Edited by Tomatec on 04-08-2005 01:33 PM
kordeth4
Fri Apr 08, 2005 5:21 am
#12
My top most merchant issue is this:MERCHANT ADVERTISING 3 IS POINTLESS NOW
anyone with business 3 can put their vender on the global vender search thus circumventing the need for advert 3 this makes me very angry as i put time and skill points into making sure that my crafters have the ability to advertise their venders on the planet.I think that the global vender search should have levels of merchant required IE:Merchant Novice-localized to the zone your in
Merchant Advert 1-regionalized to the nearest Static City
Merchant Advert 2-no change
Merchant Advert 3-Planetwide Vender Search Enabled
Merchant Advert 4-Galaxy-wide Vender Search Enabled
its not like im asking for anything that a Master Merchant shouldnt ask for...A Merchant is just that and should have the abilities with the bazaar that exceed the pretensions of a mere Businessman.Granting Vender Search to everyone that owns a vender is like urinating in the face of every Merchant that has crimped skill points just to advert thier products
Kordeth
Being of Many Galaxies
Dimear
Fri Apr 08, 2005 6:28 am
#13
1. 4000 item limit is too low. 10000 would be ok.
2. Packs of resources or armor should count as 1 item
3. Vendor bazaar listings should be tied to merchant profession
4. Merchants should be able to list more than 25 items on the bazaar. Maybe 25 + (1/100 * the merchant's max vendor listings) (see #1)
5. More categories and subcategories in bazaar listings. Item search too.
6. Re-stock button.
7. Longer than 30 days for item listings
8. Droids stay put when we JTL
2. Packs of resources or armor should count as 1 item
3. Vendor bazaar listings should be tied to merchant profession
4. Merchants should be able to list more than 25 items on the bazaar. Maybe 25 + (1/100 * the merchant's max vendor listings) (see #1)
5. More categories and subcategories in bazaar listings. Item search too.
6. Re-stock button.
7. Longer than 30 days for item listings
8. Droids stay put when we JTL
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