Merchant Archive

Thread: Annoying Customers you want to throw in the Sarlacc Pit

JTGAlpha
Tue Feb 03, 2004 4:12 pm
#170

My shop is listed under medicines. The vendor's name is "Illegals." The other Vendor is "Glu's Deeds and Furniture." Guy last night was looking for resources on it. Guess what I don't sell?



Dayasi Vo'Boda CEO of SCUM PA.
Founders of Agrilatia in the Agrilat Swamps Of Corellia (Intrepid).
Taking Scum and Villainy to a new Level to Serve YOU.
Remember: SCUM does it dirty
Another Horseman of the Smuggling Apocolypse

Protonpete
Tue Feb 03, 2004 6:00 pm
#171

I gots one: Whenever I make things, I name them a certain way,.with a name I came up with and a stat, toss'em on the bazaar,.make money.
Can you believe some creep made the same item and copied my same exact naming format and personalized name? That's just lame. Trying to cut into my business by naming it the same thing. Not even alittle different, like McDonald's/ McDowells,for expample...little punk..
BioPrototypeFXVI
Wed Feb 04, 2004 1:09 pm
#172

I've been lucky so far and have not run into a lot of idiots. As a reseller merchant, I don't make my own stuff. I pride myself on being able to find good deals for people on fairly short notice. I've got a lot of shops in my datapad and will always send someone if they're looking for something I don't have. I've even run a sort of concierge service and made pickup/deliveroes for people on occasion, charging a good premium for my travel time and expenses. Only once has it backfired on me.



I had a request come in for a full suit of composite. Of course the guy wanted killer stats for next to nothing. I sent him a wp to an AS who does a range of composite from basic to very high quality. He said he didn't want to go and would I pick it up for him? Not having anything else to do at the time I decided what the hell.... sure. I explained that I would charge travel time and expense plus 20% of the cost of the armor as my fee for getting the stuff. He said ok, and I was off to go shopping! When I got to the store, I found a set of good composite for 185k. I sent a /t to my client explaining the cost of the armor and my fee. I think it all came to 230k. I told him this and he said no problem. I met him back at my shop (a mere 500m from where I bought the armor), expecting to make tthe transaction seeing as I'd explained the cost and gotten a positive response. When we met I reiterated the cost to him. His response was that he'd give me a medium house and two swoops which I could sell in order to get the money he owed me. Needless to say, I was less than impressed. Blame my own naivetee, I suppose. I told him that I deal in cash, not trades. He said fine and that he was going to town to sell the stuff and get my money. I never heard from him again. I ended up putting the armor on my vendor for a total of 10k more than I'd paid for it just so I could unload it.



On the other side of the fence, as a merchant I'm always on the lookout for a good deal and I LOVE to haggle on prices. That's not to say I'm cheap. I don't mind paying someone's original asking price for their merchandise. But I feel that I'd be missing out on the game experience if I didn't at least enter into the challenge of a good bargaining session. Hell, if I enjoy myself enough I might even finally pay more than the final number we settle on. Same when I'm on the other side of the bargaining table.

Skyfish
Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:42 pm
#173
















About four- or six boxes before I reached master weaponsmith...

Thankfully, this was a series of emails.

If this had been in spatial, I likely would have uttered a few words I'd rather the kids didn't hear me utter.

Email gives me time to sit back, take a breath, and figure out the nicest possible way to tell someone something they don't want to hear.


I will begin by giving him points: He used basic English, and really didn't butcher it, with one exception you may notice...


@@@ = My present comments

@@@ = Troll's emails to me

@@@ = The thoughts I had upon reading Troll's emails

@@@ = My emails back to Troll



.... Out of the blue, never met or even heard of this guy before ....

Troll:

Just saw your vendor LOL. Are people actually stupid enough to pay that much for [item]? LOL you're totally ripping them off! I have a friend I buy fromwho makes them for [1/5th of price]. You can't possibly competelike that LOL!


Me:

(Thinking: 1. And you're bothering me because...? 2. Okay, obviously you want a better price, but... Are you stupid enough that you don't realizeopening a discussion by insulting a person is an excellent way to guarantee they will yield on *nothing*? Hm, while we're at it, showme whether you actually havethat friend or not?)

Well, people seem pretty happy to pay that much for them. In six months, I've never had a single complaint, and I only keep getting requests for more. How about you tell me who your friend is, and I'll let him know what repeat customers arehappy to pay for [item]?


Troll:

LOL! I'm a masterWS/AS on Valcyn and decided to come help out some folks on Sunrunner LOL! I'm well knownacross all of Valcynfor having great quality at affordable prices. LOL! No way [item] is worth more than [a shoelace].


Me:

(1. Oh, switched from the my-friend-is-an-authority scheme to the I-am-an-authority scheme... /shrug Whatever. 2. Yeah, andall of us on Sunrunner are just beside ourselves with ecstacy that you have selected *us* to grace with your charm and your input. 3. Generously assuming you're even telling the truth about yourself, you might be right, if we were dealing with the customers and pseudo-economy you were used to. But Sunrunner is separate from Valcyn, and different conditions apply, brainiac. 4. If you had such smashing success on Valcyn, what the devil are you doing here? 5. Did you try pulling this crap on Valcyn, and too many people told you exactly where you could put your pricing suggestions? 6. Couldn't hack it on one server, and thought maybe you could impress folkson a different one, eh? 7. I *would* guess that they forcibly kicked you out, but I don't think the game has a mechanism for that. 8. Crawl back under your rock, loser.)

Well, again, people seem pretty happy with my product at my price. The only thing I "compete" against is time, really. I can barely keep up with demand right now. If my price were lower, I wouldn't be able to keep my vendors stocked. *Then* I would have unhappy customers. As it is, I have days where I consider bumping it up a bit to slow things down slightly.


Troll:

LOL! You obviously don't know anything LOL! First rule of business increase production not slow down demand LOL! It's called a factory LOL, that's what they're for. No way [item] is worth more than [1/5 of price] LOL!


Me:

(Yeah, you're an economic genius, all right - only there's this little problem with lots being limited regardless of money, and thus having to rely upon people who might or might not be playing the game next week.Not to mention the fact that there's no good way for me to hire or oversee anight-shift manager or any of a zillion other things Iwould do in real life if I wanted to increase production. Then, there's the fact that I don't want to be married to my factories, my crafting stations, or my computer screen. I don't want to be either Bill Gates or Henry Ford. I like my production level where it is, because I make enough money, have happy customers, and still have time to both improve my craft and also goof off and go sightseeing with friends in the game. That's all I want: to perfect my *craft*, and have fun. None of that includes anything that you're going on about.)

Well, I run multiple hundreds of units through my factories every few days, and I have a sales flow I'm perfectly happy with, so I don't feel any need to sell *more* of anything. Plus, as I said, my business is largely happy repeat customers. The pricing debate is a dead horse people have been flogging in the forums since June that I know of, and I'm told it was going on in Beta before that. If you want to find someone interested in arguing pricing with you, you can run a search on the forums.


Troll:

LOL I'm a master ws/as on Valcyn, I know this business LOL! No way [Item] is worth more than [shoelace] LOL! You have no idea what you're doing LOL! You can't sell that high LOL!


Me:

(1.Okay, really - Is LOL your version of the Jedi mind trick? 2. How many times will you not hear that I *am* selling it at that price?3. Even if I generously allow that you *might* know this business, you sure don't know when someone is being polite about telling you to flog off, do you? 4. Okay, that's enough unprovoked insults - I'm tired of being nice.)

Well, While you're telling me I don't know anything, I should let you know that I've noticed a funny thing about masters in the WS field. So many of them got there by grinding instead of learning, that it's just silly, the percentage of masters who don't know anything. I myself have had 4 master weaponsmiths ask me how to make a good scout blaster, because they couldn't figure out why their damage was so pathetic, and that was when I had *only just gotten* the schematic for SB's. The title has become pretty meaningless, thanks to holo-grinding. If you had taken only a moment to talk to me before insulting me, you might have found out that I listen to and respect people who sound like they know their stuff, regardless of title. People who wave titles at me actually give me the impression that they're hoping I won't notice that they don't know anything at all. I hope you'll forgive me if I don't genuflect.


Troll:

LOL! No need to genuflect. LOL! I only told you I'm a master so you'd know I know what I'm talking about. LOL! I was talking from heart and trying to help you LOL, but you only want to insinuate insults LOL instead of listening to someone who can help you LOL! Whatever LOL, you will fail LOL! You obviously have no real business experience LOL, and no interest in listening LOL to someone who knows LOL! My friends list is huge LOL, I will tell them all to never shop from you LOL because you'll only give them attitude and try to rip them off. LOL! You will fail. You'll be out of business soon LOL!


Me:

(There's that Jedi mind trick, again... /raiseeyebrow, *I* only want to insinuate insults? Remind me, exactly *how* did you open this entire discussion? Mm, If there really are people whose judgement and personalities are such that they genuinely are friends with you, then *please do* keep them away from me. And yeah, I'll be sure to let you know when my goldfish stops laughing at yoursweeping, massive ignorance.)

Look, I've been pretty patient with you. In the end, the fact is I can't charge what people aren't willing to pay. If my prices are ever too high, the market will tell me, and make me change. As far as you buying [item], I recommend you buy from your friend who is selling for [shoelace].


Troll sent me one more email (as I was replenishing my vendors and banning him from my structures), but Ideleted it without reading. It may have taken me a few raps on the bean with a hammer, but I'd finally gotten it, that all this guy was really after was the chance to make a crafter/merchant feel bad. What a sad life...


My favorite part is the epilogue: In the month-or-two since his passing through my life, my business has gotten only better and smoother, my bank account has over ten times what it had then, and best of all,he remains the only complaint I've ever had.

Message Edited by Skyfish on 02-04-2004 07:52 PM

Message Edited by Skyfish on 02-05-2004 01:17 AM



__________
Anonymity: A mystical shield that makes it safe for subhuman bastages to be themselves without fear of any real consequence.
Lobotomy: A surgical procedure that convinces them it is acceptable and even clever for them to do so.
__________
Andymantium
Wed Feb 04, 2004 10:23 pm
#174

Skyfish, great story


That guy sure does like to laugh hehe..



K

BioPrototypeFXVI
Thu Feb 05, 2004 12:05 am
#175

direct quote:


can u me a LLC and sliced?


Echo1234
Thu Feb 05, 2004 5:31 pm
#176

I've had similar situations to this about 4 times:



RandomGuy: Hey, can you program my droid? Im WILLING to pay you a lot of money.


Me: Well actually you can program them yourself...


RandomGuy: No, I can't...


Me: Yes you can, click on it and use the program menu.


RandomGuy: LOL, dude that just makes him say ?,OBVIOUSLYit's bugged (duh). Come here, program it and I'll give ya 500 credits.


This is where I can frustrated and try not to respond

SueDenim
Thu Feb 05, 2004 7:46 pm
#177

That's actually a perfect example of a RTFM moment, too. The manual that comes with SWG isn't all that helpful for a lot of stuff, but one of its virtues is a very well-written guide to programming pets and droids....



Bindi Kicklighter
Kicky Fashions of Kor Vella (-3403, 1395)
Visit our "Hall of Justice" display!
Kor Vella, Corellia, Lowca
BioPrototypeFXVI
Thu Feb 05, 2004 8:31 pm
#178

Beggars! I'm sooo sick of the beggars! Someone came up to me today to try and beg 1000cr. Even if you're a noob, it should only take two or three missions to get that much. Someone else wanted me to give him a deal on a rifle because he didn't have enough money (yeah, right). What he was offering was less than what I pay for the things on wholesale! Then he wanted to trade me a couple used rifles and some components for it. Combined, they weren't worth half of my wholesale. All because he wanted a good rifle to grind rifleman with. At that level, he could have made the credits to buy the thing at full price in about 10 minutes! Oi.... these people give me headaches.
tacwraith
Fri Feb 06, 2004 2:34 pm
#179

i sell powerups and loot drops from rancors (teeth, hides) at times.



cust (/tell): hey you sell powerups?


me: (activates AFK message that includes the powerups i have stocked, vendor location and message that i dont reply to any tells asking stupid questions).


cust (20 minutes after): your powerups suck! they dont work! I want my money back


(ok at this pointthat catches my attention)


me:what's wrong with them?


cust: Ibought10rancor powerups andcouldntuse them.


me: rancor powerups?


cust:dont act dumb, the ones you use against rancors!


me: uh..whotold you that?


cust: dont you know anything?sheessh no wonder your $#@ powerups suck!!! everyone in my group was using theirs and I couldnt use mine! I want my money back.


me: explain this, ive never heard of this.


cust:the teeth powerups,the ones you use unarmed againt rancors! my group leader was using one and he kicked ass! I tried to use mine but got killed dozens of times


me:are you a teras kasi?


cust: no


me: was your leader a teras kasi?


cust: yes


me: that was aVK not a rancor tooth. rancor tooths are used as sword component enchancements not as weapons.



never heard from him again.






'Foolish boy. Don't you know anything about Fantasia? It's the world of human fantasy. Every part, every creature of it, is a piece of the dreams and hopes of mankind. Therefor, it has no boundaries.'
'But why is Fantasia dying then?'
'Because people have begun to loose their hopes and forget their dreams. So the nothing grows stronger. It's the emptiness that's left. It's like a despair, destroying this world. And I have been trying to help it.'
'But why?'
'Because people who have no hopes are easy to control. And whoever has control has the power'
RNA - Master Bio Engineer pet-maker of Flurry (email your order!)

Pawlin
Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:00 pm
#180

Twilek Dancer: Pawlin can you be a hon and make me a large house?

Pawlin: Sure, no problem. I charge 120k for them. [I think I'm cheap]


Twilek Dancer: Oh thats a lot, well I'll have to save up my money, thanks.


Pawlin: No problem just let me know.


Bystander: 120K? Geez, Architect2 sells them for 60k.


Pawlin: Are you sure thats a large and not a medium?


Bystander: Yes I'm sure. He sells them to everyone in our town for that much but I could get her one for that price cause Architect2 is my buddy.


Pawlin: Well thats pretty cheap, I can't compete with that.


Bystander: Well why don't you just be nice and cut her a deal?


Pawlin: 60k is less than my cost of materials. I can't sell for that low.


Bystander: OK then I guess if you just want to rake in the money you can do the greed thing but I'll just have to buy a bunch from Architect2 and sell them to people to keep you from gouging everyone like that.


etc. etc.


So I send a mail to Architect2 "Hey someone said you sell larges for 60k, is that true? ... Architect2 : "No, I charge 5 cpu ... who told you that?" I tell him who it was and he says "Ya they've been doing that kind of stuff to people. I'll have a talk with him".


Turns out that Twilek Dancer and Bystander apparently work a con together. She sets someone up with the how much do you charge question and then he steps in with the claim that you're way over price and that he can get it cheaper elsewhere. Guess if they succeed they get you to sell really low then resell for market value and split the profits.




Pawlin Construction of Kettemoor.
Harvesters and Crafting stations - Triad Coronet Mall just outside Coronet (-177 -5490)
Architect, House, Furniture, Harvester FAQ

Oprolan the Wookiee of Sunrunner. Cheap resources W. Daeric Talus (-639 -3058)
"Worst FF ever *thumbsdown*" -- Pawlin fan club
"I am not going to win Miss Congeniality again this year in the Senate." -- John McCain


** Please refer to Elyssa's answer
JTGAlpha
Fri Feb 06, 2004 4:04 pm
#181

ROFLMAO! What a lame con! Jeez! If you're gonna con people come up with something better than that! "Oh so and so sells it cheaper!" Yeah, like we don't hear that crap daily.



Dayasi Vo'Boda CEO of SCUM PA.
Founders of Agrilatia in the Agrilat Swamps Of Corellia (Intrepid).
Taking Scum and Villainy to a new Level to Serve YOU.
Remember: SCUM does it dirty
Another Horseman of the Smuggling Apocolypse

Tavtrin
Fri Feb 06, 2004 6:11 pm
#182

It would be really funny if someone that this thread is making fun of actually came here and noticed themself in a story.



Trin Tavtrin
Proud Member Of RGU
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