Merchant Archive
Thread: how to make money as a merchant?
Well, there are several different ways, but I can tell you what works for me:
1. BUSINESS CONTACTS:
I currently have 5 vendors operating, each selling different things, and I basically work on consignment. For example, I have a weapons vendor, but I dont craft weapons, so I have one weapon supplier (Smithy). I put his stuff up for sale at a mutually agreed on price, then when it sells I take a percentage of the profit, and give him the rest. For example, if I sell an FWG5 for 9K, I might take 30% (hypothetical percentage) ... I get 2700c and give him the rest. In order for this to work, you have to make sure of a couple of things
a. You have to trust each other ... luckily all my suppliers are guild mates, so I dont have a problem with that. At one point I did sell some stuff for someone not in my guild, but I had to take some time off from the game, which caused us to lose some inventory, and I destroyed the relationship (my own fault). Just make sure its someone you trust, and someone who trusts you.
b. You have to come up with a percentage you both feel comfortable with. Remember, he does all the headache work of gathering resources, crafting and experimenting, maintaining factories, etc., so he should get a fair share. But ALSO REMEMBER you have the headache of restocking (which sometimes literally takes me HOURS), maintaing the shop and the vendors, dealing with customers (I get lots of love from my suppliers when i shield them from difficult customers :smileyhappy
and keeping track of what is selling and what is not.
c. Be meticuluous about restocking items ... and noticing what is selling well and what isnt at what price. To some extent your supplier depends on you to keep him up to date about current market trends. Often the prices that my suppliers initially agree upon are too high or too low, and I need to stay on the ball to make pricing change suggestions.
2. RESTOCKING
I cant stress this enough. Nothing frustrates people more than making the trip to your shop, only to find that the item you are looking for is out of stock. Stocking is an enormous pain in the ass, and if you end up having to take some time off from the game (which i recently did) you are totally screwed. But if you are consistent, people will waypoint you, and make it a point to buy from you as their first choice.
3. MARKETING
Well, as I'm sure you know, you can advertise on the global map, but that will only get you so far. Here are some other ways to attack this problem.
a. Spam Shop Location and Merchandise
I'm of 2 minds about this. It's extremely annoying, so I generally dont do it (though i used to) and it does create a certain amount of 'air' pollution. However, t here have been times when I've been searching for an item in vain, and just when i was gonna give up, I read a spam about a shop that seems like the perfect place to find said item. You have to figure out which side of this fence you are on
b. Bazaar Dummies
Basically you put your item up for sale on the bazaar, but put it at a ridiculous price, or for auction. Then in the description of the iitem that you can give, you can give info about your shop. It's a cheesy way to do it, and I'm always concerned i'm adding to the database problems, but I'll stop when the devs give me some real marketing tools to work with. Now, i'm not sure if you can give a description of you didnt craft the item (I generally only use this tactic for spice, which I make myself) but its easy enough to get a supplier to custom make you one.
c. Answer Spams for Merchandise
When I hear someone spamming about needing a particular item that I sell, I should take a moment and type an email to them, sending them the waypoint to my shop. If I have time i will send a /tell, but I often hear these as I'm running to catch a shuttle ... and I hate missing the shuttle 
d. Spam email to customers who have bought from you in the past
I dont do this. It's junk mail. I dont like it in real life, and I dont like it in the game, so i'm not going to inflict it on anyone else. Now If I'm in the shop when people are buying, (which happens often ... see *2 RESTOCKING :smileytongue I will often start to chat with customer, find out what kinds of stuff they buy, what prices they generally pay, and I'll tell them that If i can offer them a better deal, I will email them.
e. Word of mouth
For this you rely on your customer base ... which takes me to my next point
4. CUSTOMER RELATIONS
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sorry, submitted post before it was done
4. CUSTOMER RELATIONS
You rely on your customer base more than your suppliers do (they often have their own customer base) so here is a chance to REALLY be a merchant, and not an artisan. Be friendly, curteous, and helpful. Also, KNOW THE GAME!!! I sell lots of stuff which I dont craft, but people often ask me questions about my merchandise as it pertains to their gameplay. For example, I had a customer who was holo grinding rifleman, but he was new to it, so wanted some recommendations about what to use. Now I dont make weapons, so the conversation required some quick communication with my guildies (luckily, we speak on Ventrilo, so it was easy) but I was able to figure out the most appropriate weapon for him based on his skill level, the types of mobs he hunted and the damage they were most vulnerable to, and the current state of availability and nerfdom for various rifles. In the end he bought several rifles, and a couple crates of powerups, and he keeps coming back for more
5. YOUR SHOP
This is your most important tool, so a few suggestions
a. LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION ... enough said
b. Decor
Now, I dont think people purposely go back to a shop because they think it is pretty. However, if someone has been running around the galaxy looking for something important, and has waypointed 10 places, yours among them, you can do something to help him remember that he finally bought his stuff from you. If you make your place look cool, he is more likely to remember it as a good place, and remember the experience as a good one. (I learned this from being a customer when I was running around looking for furniture. Make it look interesting, but dont clutter it. Make it easy for your vendors to be seen, and name the vendors with catchy names according to what they sell (this helps also to make them stand out of the crowd on the global map). If I can be of any assistance with this in game, let me know, as I run a little decorating business on the side .
5. ACCOUNTING
Keep strict accounts, so you know what supplier you owe money to, and what is selling and what isnt. There are many ways to do it ... I use pen and paper, but there are much more sophisticated ways to do it. In fact about to put all my accounts on my laptop, so i can keep that open all the time, without contributing to my pc's lag
Well, that's all I can come up with, but I'm sure every merchant has a different strategy, so ask around!
Good Luck, and Happy Selling