Merchant Archive

I agree Darius, I play a merchant, and the one trick CRAFTER/merchant shops are killing those of us who have taken it as our job. Some will never see that, there is a group that wants to be a Medic/creature handler/pistol/smuggler/merchant that has dance skills, and wonders why they can't get ahead in any one class.

Oh well, I should get back to crafting, I want to be a Novice Tailor/Armorsmith/Droid Eng with Medic/dance/cooking skills, while I build PA Halls

the one trick CRAFTER/merchant shops are killing those of us who have taken it as our job

I've been waiting on customers for the last two hours cause it's a hobby?

Love, if you can't make any money at merchanting, don't blame those of us who do.

I don't see why vendors aren't plugged into the bazaar when you search "This Planet," at least at a merchant skill level. Even if they were squeamish about plugging ANY vendor in, I'd love to see Advertising IV make it so you can plug your vendor into the galactic bazaar.

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Salahsur wrote:

First, the database issue is irrelevant. <snip> This isNOT an issue.

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HA! Did you even play the game the first day?!? The whole debacle was a database issue. Vendors not working are database issues. Mail not working right is a database issue. Not being able to log in is a database issue. Practically every single problem we have had since launch has related to the database and you're trying to tell me it's not an issue! What are you mad?

The database did blow serious chunks during beta. That inspired a number of nerfs that (were suppose to) address their overloaded and poorly implimented database. Amoung these were the player inventory reduction, nesting bags andfactory input hoppers reduced to 100 slots.

I'm not sure if the bazaar was capped at 25 items at that time or not.

Anyway, the database is relivent. They've got it duct-tape and bailing wired together as it is.

Backto the topic at hand...

The main thrust of the Merchant issues isnot the Business line, it's the fact that Merchants are a weakprofession. Calling for a nerf of a clunky arse, expensive, eye-sore, soda machine vendor is not going to address the fact that Merchants will still kinda suck and not have a true nitch in the grand scheme of things.

Merchants need an ability that would be missed if they were to be removed from the game, right now they don't have even one. A soda machine sitting in a house isn't it. Even NPC vendors would not truly be missed. EQ existed for years prior to the "Trader Mode". People can and will hawk their wares in busy areas.

Again, concentrate on making Merchants better, not lowering the playing field to make Merchants seem better.

Marduke Akkad

Architect,aspiring Merchant

South Beach, Talus

Well, if that little of a change is a huge burden on the database, SOE needs to hire some new DB guys. I can understand how inefficient search codes would make a mess of things, but those would do just as badly on 5 items in a list as they would for 5000. It's STILL not an issue how many vendors there are - that's just a linear table. Things like nested bags add in lots of complications like infinite storage, and there are a lot more players potentially to do that. Say that each player on the server uses nesting to double their storage - that's millions of items to handle. All of the changes you listed, in fact, are changes to the number of items in the world - none of them have anything to do with the small list of distribution points...

Anyhow, I believe the bazaar is our enemy far more than I believe the soda machine vendors are a threat to us. Granted, it's nice to be able to purchase resources from anywhere in the galaxy, but that really goes a long way toward ruining the sense of towns and production areas. You don't take your minerals over to sell - you just throw them on the bazaar and exert no effort at all to make them vanish. We'd be much better off if the bazaar listed only 10 items per person than we would be if the Business 3 guys lost their vendors...

"The fact is a vendor is equal to a pet. You don't see a pet in the scout line. You can't play a creature handler without a pet. Same with merchant. You can't play a merchant without vendors. Why is there a vendor in the artisan line? A vendor makes the merchant class asa pet makes the creature handler class. What is unfair is now every tom, **edit**, and harry can get a vendor but not a pet. This *needs* to be address and fixed like pets. "

Interesting point - however

Eng IV gives access to architect structures, lots of the aritsan lines gives access to food and clothing (thus tailor and chef items) in fact the only elite artisan profession that isnt represented in the artisan tree is Droid Engineer - thus there is more of a compelling argument to keep the vendor in the top of the business line than to remove it

The problem is not artisans with a vendor (their items just dont have a good market), its the elite crafting professions with a vendor. So what your really looking for (and I'm not saying I agree with it) is the inability to use a vendor when you have elite crafting skills........

The bottom line is that no amount of changes to the merchant or other artisans skills is going to change the fact that the success of the merchant is down to the player. There is nothing stopping you approaching elite crafters running their own vendors and coming to an arrangement with them - I suspect however you wont because:

a. If they have an established customer base alot of noses will be put out of join

b. Its likely that the crafter will not offer a discount to you if the goods are already selling, thus you will have to charge the customer more than they are already paying

c. You will probably not be prepared to buy in bulk (due to cost or unknown market) thus you are 'just another customer' to the crafter

d. Current market price crashes (due to a number of reasons) has left little room for a 'middleman' markup

So you look to game mechanic change to force the crafter into having to use you, rather than creating your own marketplace where it is advantageous for the crafter to use you (at which point the crafter is free to not care about the customer because thats your job)

Well I have 2 trusted merchants that I always visit for items and they are always well stocked and when they are not I just send them a tell or a game mail and ask when an item will be available, the better merchants always respond and advertise thier wares. I almost never use the Bazzar now and I get a discount from them on my purchases now. Furthermore I find that they are more than willing to place order with me for hides, bones, metals, ores, chemicals etc... and when I have a surplus I sell to them. I would say that if you are having trouble with the class outside of technical or bug issues that the problem is in the way you develop your customer and brand name. I think merchants are great and there may be some valid problems but try being a Droid Engineer and then all of your problems will seem minor.

Yadar

Droid Engineer

Eclipse

I find it to be a hoot that the profanity filter on these forums prevent the use of expressions such as "Every Tom, D I C K, and Harry"