Merchant Archive
Thread: can this be addressed w/o being flamed
Elioi wrote:
Seriously this is going to force people to either quit, make a second account, or take skills they have shown that they do not find fun nor desire (accelerating boredom and frustration with the game leading to an exit) so don't be so naive to think that this will solve any sale problems for you or other merchants. It will just cut down on the customer base for your operations. Don't you think you should be looking for ways to fix the issue without antagonizing a large group of your customers, or are you really willing to cut off your nose to spite your face?
Seriously it won't have as big an effect as you seem to think, all other arguments about crafters selling through merchants and interacting (rahter than insisting on doing everything solo) aside.
I have been playing multi-player games of one sort or another for over 10 years, most games of this sort change over time, rules are reviewed, upgraded, fixed and things move on. Whenever a big change happens there is usually a loud outcry from those who percieve it as hurting them, but once the changes have happened people have forgottent he arguments within a few months and adapt to the new system.
Sure a few people may quit (their loss, not ours, if they are afraid to rely on/ interact withothers they shouldn't be playing an mmorpg). A few may get alts to be merchants and many more (lots of whom never come near these boards) will simply adapt and start selling their goods in a different way.
To put it simply - we don't care. You should never have done a single sale in the first place. Use the skill points then you will be entitled to your sales.
Elioi wrote:
I will lose buisness due to the vendor fix being pushed through. Many players who are orcould be my customers will quit. If the vendor fix were not pushed through those customers would buy products from me or other merchants.
Is that simple enough for you?
In conclusion,
/throws eggs
Maybe there are other reasons why you are losing sales. You can not prove without a doubt that poached vendors are killing your business. Maybe your prices suck. There is another thread around here somewhere where someone states that all legitimate vendors are always stocked or why else would they have spent those points on merchant if they were just going to leave their vendor empty. Then they go on to state that most "warrior" classed players who poach are lame and leave their vendors empty. This person was arguing against poached vendors no less. With that train of thought then you are losing to stocked vendors that must be ran by merchants.
DingoBoi wrote:
Sargus, if you can't understand how poached vendors hurt real merchant, I can break it down easily into terms you will understand.
I am losing business to poached vendors. If poached vendors were not there, I, or other real merchants, would be making those sales.
Is that simple enough for you?
So in conclusion,
**edit**.
/throws eggs.
Elioi wrote:
Interesting simple point DingoBoi - here's one in the same vein, with the same supporting evidence.
I will lose buisness due to the vendor fix being pushed through. Sales you should never have had after dropping your skills. Move along.
Many players who are orcould be my customers will quit. Followed by ---->. If the vendor fix were not pushed through those customers would buy products from me or other merchants. They will stay and they will buy from other merchants... just not you any longer.
Is that simple enough for you? Yup, it is
In conclusion,
/throws eggs eggs, like vendors, are a privelage and not a right. Your privelage is about to be revoked
Seriously this is going to force people to either quit, make a second account, or take skills they have shown that they do not find fun nor desire no desire or fun in merchant for them hmmm....? Then why do so many want to steal our skills? (accelerating boredom and frustration with the game leading to an exit) so don't be so naive to think that this will solve any sale problems for you or other merchants. don't be so naive to think it won't because it will force those people to stop using 24-7 vendors to sell in direct competition to me and force them back to the bazaar and shoutswhere they belong. When people want bulk they will go to a real merchant. It will just cut down on the customer base for your operations. Don't you think you should be looking for ways to fix the issue without antagonizing a large group of your customers, I'm not antagonizing a large group, just youor are you really willing to cut off your nose to spite your face?
SargusQuintek wrote:
Maybe there are other reasons why you are losing sales. You can not prove without a doubt that poached vendors are killing your business. I can and have in several posts here. It's a fact. But even a small mind
Also, it is my opinion that if this goes through all the major vendor operators that are serious about selling their crafts will pick up the few skills needed to place their vendors. hmmm. funny, because I though they are implement vendor caps.. kinda hard to be that major with only a tiny investment in skills... business 3 won't cut it. With that in mind you are still going to lose your sales to them. First off, I don't have major competition, I have a lot of little competitors, about half I know would drop the business if it required the skill points they have invested in combat. This is a just a side moneymaker for them and they aren't that interested. I know, i've talked with them. On our server I would give a good guess at least 70% of the vendorsare completely empty. I'm guessing very few poached vendors pose any competition at all. That is another reason why poached vendors are not a problem for me. I have no trouble running successful vendors on my server and filling my bank account. With your reasoning I should be feeling the pain of poached vendors as well. Different products are in different demands and there is a flux in demand with power due to recently hologrind changes. Which makes those poached vendors all the more noticeable.
I think you just need to rethink your business strategy if you are not making money.
I think you need to rethink your assumptions about my business strategy. Eclipse Power is the oldest and largest on our galaxy and I'd even venture out on a limb to say we are the largest in all the galaxies.
We are the best at what we do which is harvesting power. EPC employs up to 26 people running 180 harvesters and can pull up to 18 million resource units a cycle.. worth up to 54 million credits on our galaxy. So I think I know the power business
Quit blaming other players for your poor sales. My sales would be higher were it not for poached vendors. I know this is fact. Who else should I blame besides the poachers? But, thanks for playing!
proves to me you are an idiot.
SargusQuintek wrote:
My God, how high do your sales need to be before you are satisfied? Maybe I'm a little confused here... isn't the point of merchant to make as much money as you can? To be the best seller you can? Can we say greedy.Can you say you spent 18 million credits in salaries to employees thatcycle, anther 2-3 million in maint and redeed.. lost 1.5 million in harvesters due to employee negligenece along with 3million credits worth of harvested power? Can you say I have to keep reinvesting huge sums to keep this empire running/? Can you say I spend most of my considerable gametime tending the business? Can you say that i've given away millions and millions of credits and help support a city so the burden doesn't lie on the citizens. Can you say I help alot of newbie players make their first million to get them started on the path they choose?Greed indeed! /scoff You can't prove how many poached vendors are out there. I don't see your name in red here in the forums so you don't have access to any server data that is not presented by the DEVs. Point me to your source of information where you can prove how many poached vendors exist as opposed to how many are legit. I won't take your word that you proved it in many posts. Claiming and proving are two different things. I can come in here and say I have polled every single vendor operator and post some facts but how many do you think would believe them? I didn't say I polled every vendor in the galaxy , but I have spoken with the vast majority of power brokers. About half don't have the skills. Sure they could sell on forums or bazaar, but if it's so easy to do so, why is everybody complaining about losing their poached vendors? If you think I run a business like this and don't know my competition, you are mistaken.
The minimum skill I refer to is novice merchant. I would expect the majority of the vendor operators are crafters. If vendors are taken away from the combat oriented players they can always turn to the trade forums. If all they are selling is power it is not that hard to list a single item in stacks to sell to the masses. If these people depend on this source of income they will find a way to unload it. Again, they could.. but if it is so easy to unload it via other means, why are poacher clammoring to keep their exploited vendors? Maybe because it's the preferred way to sell. And they can fully keep them, with skill point investment.
Just the fact you make this comment to me...
Just pointing out another maybe. Actually thought it one of my better lines.. but /tsk.. i see you were not amused. But you set that one up to easily.
Message Edited by DingoBoi on 06-12-2004 02:51 AM
SargusQuintek wrote:
No I'm not amused when you use deflamatory language with no regard to posting rules all the while our forum moderator here not dealing with it. You are mad because I do not agree with you.You are free to not agree with me.. you'd be wrong.. but you are free to do so
Yes, i did feel a bit insulted with 'maybe your prices suck'... worded a different way, i likely would have not responded as I did.
I'd like to see those stats as well, but anyone who thinks poached vendors don't hurt real merchants is a fool.
I don't think you are a fool... don't prove me wrong.
SargusQuintek wrote:
. With that in mind I would like to see more imaginative ideas for our profession rather than concentrating on this issue of poached vendors. Give people a reason to take the skill.
SargusQuintek wrote:
My priority remains the same. I want to see a fix to the relist problem. That will change my whole outlook on crafting and stocking my vendor.