Merchant Archive
Thread: Merchant Item Limits Focus Thread: Please try to be constructive and rational (Pt 2)
Droci
Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:32 am
#183
well i think a max of 500-1000 items per vendor would be reasonable, and instead of removing the ability for non merchants to run vendors, just give those people a greatly reduced item limit on their vendors, so this way merchants have the edge and theres more incentive to investing in it, but also this would allow people tight on skill points to run a modest business and not have to sacrifice some skills or buy another account
Message Edited by Droci on 08-12-2004 02:41 AM
Message Edited by Droci on 08-12-2004 02:42 AM
Zenmetsu
Thu Aug 12, 2004 2:58 am
#184
I agree with the restriction limit being higher. 500 or something, and I think that everyone should be allowed 1 vendor even if they dont have merchant or artisan skills anymore.
krzlfrx
Thu Aug 12, 2004 3:23 am
#185
DocSavag wrote:
I am researching what happened to the other thread. Please post your suggestions and counter proposals to the item limits here.
Maybe the other thread was too large (over 60 pages with opinions against this limits) 
About the topic I think the following: If the databases are too full and the item cap must be done, it is no question that it will be implemented. The only thing that is disturbing for me, is, that this person has caps, who should know how to sell items: The Master Merchent. I leveled on nearly all servers I play on my Master Merchant with at least one account (I have 4) for being sure that I can always sell my stuff even there if a correction (nerf) on the profession.
600 items are a joke for several professions (Tailor, Architect with furniture, WS, AS, Doctor, ...), so I would suggest the following changes, in addition that they were asked several times before from other players, now included an item cap:
Artisan - Business I: Access Fees
Artisan – Business II: Premium Auctions
Artisan – Business III: Vendors +1, Hiring +10, Item Cap +50
Artisan – Business IV: Hiring +10, Reduced Premium Auctions, Item Cap +10
Artisan – Business II: Premium Auctions
Artisan – Business III: Vendors +1, Hiring +10, Item Cap +50
Artisan – Business IV: Hiring +10, Reduced Premium Auctions, Item Cap +10
Novice: Vendors +1,Item cap+30
Advertising I : Vendors learn to speak
Advertising II: Vendors learn to speak with space for the customer (%TT or something), Item Cap +10
Advertising III: Planetary Ad Campaign
Advertising IV: Reduced fee for Planetary Ad Campaing, Item Cap +10
Efficiency I: Reduced Bazaar Fees
Efficiency II: Reduced Vendor Fees, Item Cap +10
Efficiency III: Reduced Bazaar Fees
Efficiency IV: Bazaar Items +15, Reduced Maintenance fees, Item Cap +10
Hiring I: Hiring +20
Hiring II: Hiring +10, Item Cap +10
Hiring III: Hiring +15
Hiring IV: Hiring +15, Vendor faction discount (reduced price in percent if a faction buys at this vendor), Item Cap +10
Management I: Vendors +1
Management II: Vendors +1, Item Cap +10
Management III: Vendors +1
Management IV: Vendors +1, Item Cap +10, Vendor player discount (reduced price in percent if a list of specific players buy at this vendor)
Master Merchant:
- Vendors +3
- Bazaar items +15
- no item limits/cap on vendor
- Colorize Schematics (\#ff0000\ for example work on factory made goods)
- Custom Vendor (one other player may use the vendor as his own. The vendor charges a fee between 0-40% for the merchant and pays the rest to the other player)
- Vendor discount management (price changes between –80% and +80% depending on persons, PAs, factions if they buy from this vendor)
- Vendor design (able to allow an Image Designer to do changes to the NPC vendors)
- Vendor Customisation (able to rename a vendor after the initialisation)
- Vendors +3
- Bazaar items +15
- no item limits/cap on vendor
- Colorize Schematics (\#ff0000\ for example work on factory made goods)
- Custom Vendor (one other player may use the vendor as his own. The vendor charges a fee between 0-40% for the merchant and pays the rest to the other player)
- Vendor discount management (price changes between –80% and +80% depending on persons, PAs, factions if they buy from this vendor)
- Vendor design (able to allow an Image Designer to do changes to the NPC vendors)
- Vendor Customisation (able to rename a vendor after the initialisation)
eelepage
Thu Aug 12, 2004 4:49 am
#186
Please Devs, don't place a low limit on vendors. All master crafting professions will be devastated by this limit. Most high end master crafters with merchants skills survive in this game only by SELLING their crafted items. If a crafting merchant has to restock their vendors everyday to everyother day, we will have no time to craft.
Here is my compromise: Instead of imposing a limit on vendor items, impose a "sales tax" of 5-10% of the item price/per item or increase the ratio of maintanence vs. items. The more items on vendor = the more the maintanence costs are. For those merchant/crafters that depend on a higher vendor item capacity, a item vs. maintanence formula would not hurt business. Place a "standard" of how many items can be placed on the vendor without incurring extra maintanence, then for every 100 items over that "standard" place a 5% maintanence increase on the vendor. (5% is only an example).
If Server Database capacity is the reasons for the Vendor Limit, I agree with deleting vendors from players that no longer have any Business or Merchant skills. But, please, do not punish the true crafter-merchants who gaming experience depends on a living derived from selling items on their vendors, crafting items, and still have time to actually do quests, or hunt, or whatever else they enjoy in the game.
Devs - I believe that imposing a vendor item limit will severly HINDER the gaming experience that crafting merchants have come to enjoy.
I have always enjoyed this game, please don't change the vendor limits
Palad'n 
Eclipse Server
Fata-Morgana
Thu Aug 12, 2004 4:55 am
#187
Hiya,
ukies I'll try to be constructive and rational...As Master tailor and Master Bio Engineer its impossible for me to get Master Merchant as well, theres simply not enough skill points for it - unless you have a secret plan of implementing more skill points in game...Anyway atm I have 3/0/01 in merchant, simply to be able to advertise for my goods and to have enough vendors, so it wont get confusing for customers. This means I only have 3 vendors. One vendor selling BioWear and WookieWear and another vendor selling regular clothing and jewelry. The final vendor is used for storage for all mystuff needed for my professions likefactory crates oftrim, jewelry settings, synth cloth, leather, bone etc....
As all tailors know, the selection in clothes is very big and has to be like that, since not everybody fancy to wear all black. As master tailor you have at least 243 items you can make - anything from bangles to wookie wear, backpacks etc. And most common is that you would like to make most items in 4 color combinations or perhaps more, this mean already now that you've capped the vendor limit even before you started thinking of selling your stuff. And what is the point in that?
Since there apparently must be a vendor limit, my suggestion then is..that as artisan you can only hold the famous 110 items mentioned. But as soon you climb up the tree as novice merchant then you hold a max of 2000 items no matter what on each vendor, it would for instance in my case mean that I could have 3 vendors selling 2000 items each. By this I can still keep up with the wide selection of colors and combinations I have and my customers will be happy.
The rest of the merchant changes I welcome, as removing empty vendors from the world as well as the fact that you have to have business skill to keep your merchant, and no longer wont be able just to ditch the skill and still keep your vendors - that is truly a positive and good change.
But vendor limit..no less than 2000 items pr. vendor.
Another suggestion is that if you wont go away from the idea of 110 items max on a vendor is then to have a serious look into item storage, like increase stacking size for resources as well as crates and also look into the amount houses can hold - its simply not enough atm and would make a lot of people happy if this issue was fixed.
Siroco 
Master Tailor
Master BE
Itsy bitsy merchant
Chilastra, Naboo
JunoXanadu
Thu Aug 12, 2004 5:53 am
#188
Please Devs, U can't do this to us traders.
I am a master tailor / master armoursmith.. and i am also mayor of a city on Starsider. I dropped all but theadvertising tree in merchant so i could use a barker droid for my business and city reasons. I have all my stock on 2 venders (one clothing & one armour, makes sence) as i felt 6 when i was master merchant was a waste of money and time for me as i only really needed 2 coz i have a small shop. i didnt want to be too cluttered and i wanted ppl to b able to buy everything from either vender that they required. I am not a BIG business,I serve my city of 58 people and any customers that may pass through. I pride myself on keeping a good stock of clothing
(which there are over 100 items, each with a minimum of 15 colors, most with 50 colors up)
andWAS currently working on armour, until i read this thread...
I currently have about 1000 items on my venders, thats with out the armour... i have been a master tailor since december / January (actually got master on new years day) and i have worked damn hard to keep a business going, i didnt want to monoplise, i could have quite easily placed venders in Coronet, Theed etc.. but i didnt. I wanted to stay a player city tailor and stuck to my guns. I have never been guiltiy of storing my none sales on my venders, i currently have 5 houses where i store various items and to be honest i think it works better as i find everything i need straight away without having to make inventory space. one house for metals, one house for hides etc etc.
The planned proposal to cap venders will cripple me. simple as that. I will either have to give up AS or tailor in order to master merchant AGAIN, just so i can have asemi decent stock on my MANY venders in my oh so little cramped shop. I have to keep politician of course as the city needs a mayor. But whats the use in doing Tailor / Armoursmith or even any crafting profession if u cant even stock venders?? I do not want to drop any of the skills i have, I worked hard to get them (no macro grinding, all by hand) but all i can see is iminent doom for the crafting profession if this plan for the capping goes ahead. I will probably quit. Yes I do run 2 accounts so i have a crafter and a fighter, but i really dont want surrender myself up as a crafter after all the hard work and TIME i put into getting those professions and building a business etc etc...
Now i cant see why the crafting profession has to suffer and be victimised because of the DEVs putting in SO manyresources and loots (most of which are rubbish) and where as most crafted items, especially from masters and even people who have ben in their trade since game release are far superior to anything the devs could drop in. The Devs created this world.. they should have seen what was gonna happen..
I know i have probably repeated alot of what others have already said.. this was just my 2 cents.. I dont want to go out of business.. This will surrly affect the small business rather than the larger NPC city based buinesses.. Please DEVS!! DONT DO THIS.. IT WILL RUIN THE PLAYER ECONOMY AND PROBABLY YOUR SALES IRL TOO! THINK ABOUT IT..
I think 500 to each vender would be a good plan.. also put a cap on how much u can put a thing for sale at, hence storing stuff rather than selling. make back packs viewable so u can see whats inside.. then if someone does use for storage, still gives the person viewing the option to buy, the sellers tough cookies for storing and not using the vender for what its meant for. a cap at 500k would be good then ppl like me can still sell armour..
I think i have ranted enough.. and u will have heard it all before, but i am one more voice who is against this proposal... it will be the END of SWG if u take awy the whole driving force of the economy.
JunoXanadu
Thu Aug 12, 2004 6:10 am
#189
Forgot to add to previous post..
capping the vender limit the way it is proposed now.. surely that would render merchant tents usless? 6 venders in a tent now is a mess unless used right, and would also abolish people actually running a business together..
just another thought as i was thinking/planning on setting up an ArmourSmith business with another player
Darkmeer
Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:26 am
#190
ok here's my 2 cents
As a master armorsmith I currently can make71 different pieces of armor (that's just armor not AUK's or PSG's)
the break down:
Bone: 8 pieces
Armorweave: 6 pieces
Chiton: 8 pieces
Ubase: 7 pieces
Paded: 10 pieces
Composite: 9 pieces
RIS: 9 pieces
Wookie Armor: 12 pieces
so with a 110 limit I could only have 1 complete set of each per vendor (almost 2 but not quite) That also dosen't take into concideration that I do alot of colorful Padded. so unless I stand by my vendor and restock after each sale I won't sell much armor.
As a Master Weaponsmith who can also make Hacks, Scryths,Dx-6b Ect.... (I didn't count) but I think there's pretty close to 100 different weapons so same problem as above.
Now to be sucessful you need to be running a minimum of 3 factories constantly. (3 lots)
you need a shop (normaly 2 lots)
and have 5 extractors running (useing your last 5 lots)
Now the Shop and factories will hold around 450 items. Not counting vendors and desplays that plus room for 100 items in the bank gives me 550 storage space for resources and components. counting loot components also I have alot more than 550 different resources,components and loot stuff.
So I also am against this limit.
cinnamon_tsunami
Thu Aug 12, 2004 7:31 am
#191
hi.
i am a master artisan/master merchant. i also just mastered architect, but i am not really up to speed with items for that yet.
so here is the deal:
i sell lots of items that are not really expensive. powerups, vehicle paint kits, back packs, small lots of resources. i sell several each day, so i have a reasonable, although very small compared ot some crafters, stream of revenue. but in order to sell those several small items each day, i must have a large selection. one day i may sell five crates of droid batteries and four crates of power ups, among other things, and on another day none of those items. but if they are not on my vendor when someone comes by looking for them, i miss the sale.
i want to continue to play, but i do not want another level of hassels. putting limits at all levels of merchant will make life more difficult for me, and i assume from the intensity of the response here, it will be worse for most of you, too. i have never been any other profession. i like merchant, and plan to keep it and artisan, and probably architect (unless i have to drop some architect to do shipwright...)
so here is what should be done, if sony/lucas arts wants me to stay long-term:
if you must have limits, apply those to non-merchants and to lesser degrees to "dabbler" merchants, scaling up the per vendor items with increased merchant level. but give master merchants a real merchandising advantage: unlimited vendor stock. that makes it worthwhile to be master, and will provide limits for those who only dabble.
please take this advice. i like the game, but with my limited play time, losing game features may be the end of me.
cinnamon
Aphra
Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:02 am
#192
This is the very first time I have posted in a forum. Ever. I think you will find there are a lot of lurkers that read these boards every day or at least once a week, but don't feel like they have anything to say.
I am a master artisan, novice tailor on Radiant. I do not have any merchant skills so I can't completely knowledgably talk to that point.
However...
I don't think that master merchant should be for nothing. The item limit that is proposed is ridiculous with the amount of different resources, loots and things that artisans and other crafters can make.
Also, I don't think master artisan should get shafted. The artisan is a dabbler in the different professions. If they can't even dabble (with a 50 item limit its a joke) what is the point of tying up all your points in that line?
Miel Rummer
Radiant
Master Artisan/Novice Tailor/Novice Fencer
Kilarny
Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:24 am
#193
I just wanted to thank SOE for all the wonderful feedback we're getting here. Thanks, guys!
*listens to crickets chirping*
P.S. Way to delete the 65-page thread again! Nice to see that you care....[expletives deleted]
Sevardos
Thu Aug 12, 2004 8:38 am
#194
Virrago wrote:
Original Thread Here
Ok, what happened to the original thread now. Has it been deleted? It's already been brought back from the dead once before.
Bring it back. It's a source of information, reference and record of protest.
Kyrien
Thu Aug 12, 2004 9:15 am
#195
Mr. Gordon Walton,
It was with great interest that I read your letter to the community. I enjoyes reading you letter as you seem to have a depth of knowledge regarding on line gamming. However I would like to quote the last paragraph of your letter.
"Ican guarantee you that I take my role as a steward of your play experience seriously, and I and the entire team will continue to work hard to improve your experience.
Thanks for playing!
Gordon Walton
Sony Online Entertainment "
You have stated that you are the steward of my (our) playing experience,I would very much like for you to review and if possible comment on the issuebeing discussed here, namely the impossing of, what appears to many in this community as, draconian item limitsupon unsuspecting merchants. Most uof us have no issue with the remainder of the changes as they arecurrently running or proposedon TC.
Further I would likeyou to review the previous thread discussing this matter, I would link to it, however it appears that it has been deleted again. Please note that this previous thread was deleted and then when it was reinstated it was locked. this thread containd it's share of hostilit(yes, some of it was mine) however there were also a great number of good suggestions as well.
In future, If it is within your power I would suggest giving the community a little credit and explaining the reason behind what appear to be drastic changes to this game. I'm my experience SOE has a horrible track record with responding to player feed back as well as customer service. If this is also within you area of reponsibilty your attention to this issue would also be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Kai Mackey
aka Kyrien
Please note: I will be posting this open leter inits own thread entitled "An OpenLeter to Mr. gordon Walton..." in the merchant forum.....