Merchant Archive
Thread: Selling Resources Profitable?
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SidNitz
Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:00 pm
#1
Very much so IMHO.
Ireally only sell surplus resources that I've harvested for my own use to supplement my meager droid profits, but I may drop 10k maintenance in a couple of Fusion Generators and get 120k units of Radioactive in a few days. I can sell60k of it in 10k chunks on the bazaar at 2 CPU usually with 24 hours. think that winds up at like 1000% profit + the 60k of Radioactive to put in my other harvesters.
Haven't tried setting up a resource vendor yet, my operation is pretty small scale, and markets seem to vary widely from server to server(and week to week on the same server for that matter), so your results might vary....
Dimear
Wed Jul 27, 2005 2:14 pm
#2
I used to have 60 static harvesters. I sold grind quality resources at 2 cpu, and sold higher quality resources for higher prices. After about a year, I think I'd made about 100 mil off that business. I made another 800 mil off another resource business, but those weren't static harvesters.
In my opinion, static harvesters are a pretty good business. It doesn't take much effort to empty the resources and put them on a vendor, and many of the resources will sell pretty quickly, independent of quality. You can really only rely on getting grind resources from static harvesters though, with the occasional spawn of something decent. So plan on selling pretty much everything at 2 cpu or less, with the occasional resource tha makes a little more.
Gas is a bad idea though. Nobody buys gas. Flora is no good too. Only chefs buy flora, and usually only high quality flora. Unless you know exactly what to look for (you might as you were once a chef), then you're going to end up with tons of worthless grind flora, which nobody will buy. I still have tons of gas and flora on my vendor at 1.5 cpu, and it won't sell, even though it's been on the vendor for 6-8 months.
Metals usually sells well at 2 cpu (at least on my server). Some of them can even sell at more than 2 cpu. Grind quality Steel can go for 3 cpu on my server, and grind ore goes for 3-4. But almost anything you harvest with a mineral or fusion harvester will go for at least 2 cpu.
Static harvs are nice, but even better money is in surveying and mining specific very high quality resources. I have resources on my vendor that regularly sell for 30-50 cpu. And I have a lightsaber resource vendor where everything goes for 200+ cpu. These weren't accidental harvests from static harvesters though...
In my opinion, static harvesters are a pretty good business. It doesn't take much effort to empty the resources and put them on a vendor, and many of the resources will sell pretty quickly, independent of quality. You can really only rely on getting grind resources from static harvesters though, with the occasional spawn of something decent. So plan on selling pretty much everything at 2 cpu or less, with the occasional resource tha makes a little more.
Gas is a bad idea though. Nobody buys gas. Flora is no good too. Only chefs buy flora, and usually only high quality flora. Unless you know exactly what to look for (you might as you were once a chef), then you're going to end up with tons of worthless grind flora, which nobody will buy. I still have tons of gas and flora on my vendor at 1.5 cpu, and it won't sell, even though it's been on the vendor for 6-8 months.
Metals usually sells well at 2 cpu (at least on my server). Some of them can even sell at more than 2 cpu. Grind quality Steel can go for 3 cpu on my server, and grind ore goes for 3-4. But almost anything you harvest with a mineral or fusion harvester will go for at least 2 cpu.
Static harvs are nice, but even better money is in surveying and mining specific very high quality resources. I have resources on my vendor that regularly sell for 30-50 cpu. And I have a lightsaber resource vendor where everything goes for 200+ cpu. These weren't accidental harvests from static harvesters though...
Moebius01
Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:52 am
#3
Hi folks!!
Sorry if this isn't the perfect place to post this, but seeing how there is no "Resource Seller" profession or forum, I figured this'd be the closest bet. 
I am considering starting up a resource vendor... the reason being because as I was collecting resources for my aspiring Weaponsmith, I was remarking at the prices!! I thought "Wow... is this what people are paying for minerals now??" I'm a long-time Chef... and with the crazy nerf to the viability of the profession with the CU, I was looking for something new. So I figured while I'm builidng up and waiting for those important weaponsmithspawns... why not collect and sell whatever other resources are spawning? So I now have (to start with at least - figured start small before diving in) a static field of 18 heavy minerals, 6 fusions, 4 flora, and 2 gas harvesters... just harvesting whatever decent stuff pops under them.
So here's my question... is resource selling profitable? Is it hard to keep up with demand? Or is it hard to STOCK what's in demand? What IS in demand for the most part? Are the numbers of harvs I have adequate? Basically is it worth it? Figured some of you fellow merchants might have some good stories, tips, or advice.
Whaddaya think??
bluejanus
Thu Jul 28, 2005 2:41 am
#4
I sell the higher quality resources usually and some extra grind resources. I typically wait at least a month before putting any high quality resources up for sale. Not much point in offering something for sale when there's loads of it still available.
Lepilu
Thu Jul 28, 2005 5:46 am
#5
I think selling resources is extremely profitable.
My usual routine is to set up harvesters on high concentrations of high-end resources. Then stockpile them until the source dries up. Wait about 4 weeks, then set the resources on my vendors.
I'll price them maybe 10-15% higher than the market average.. Wait a week or so, and repeat.
Never put your entire stock of an outdated resource on your vendors. Always hold surplus. You need to learn supply and demand. It also helps to hang around highly populated areas. Listen to other players, and learn what the popular weapons, armor, and foods are. Then hunt down resources that are used in those items.
For example, I'm currently harvesting Kammris Iron with a 992 Shock Resistance. The reason, is because Kammris Iron is used in Power Hammers (the master swordsman weapon) and SR is the 100% stat to determine damage. I probably won't place any of this Iron for sale for at least 6-8 weeks. That way, I know that a lot of the current load of the resource on the server has been used up a bit.
Once a high-end resource becomes rare, you can push 15-20 cpu, and people will pay it out of desperation. But this only works on extremely high-end resources. It also takes a lot of work, learning which weapons/armors/items use which resources, with which stats. It requires patience and knowledge.
It's kinda like an adventure in itself. I strictly sell resources, except the occasional loot item.
If you're planning on selling resources only until you gather what you need for your own crafting profession, I would suggest just selling radioactive power @ 2cpu, like someone said earlier. It'll cover the costs of your fusion generators, and it will also leave you enough power to run your own harvesters, so you can stockpile the high-end crafting resources that you'll need later.
Moebius01
Thu Jul 28, 2005 4:22 pm
#6
Thanks for the replies!
Although I can absolutely see the selling logic behind waiting a few months and THEN putting the resource up for sale... I admit I am much too impatient in that regard. When I wanna do or sell something.. i wannado it NOW. Hehehe... I've been getting all jazzed about running a resource biz and getting ridiculous amounts of stock built up with my static lot and my 30 mobile harvs. I'm patient enough to build up some various resources before opening up so I at least have a decent variety built up when I first open... but the anticipation is getting feverish.
When I wanna do or sell something.. i wannado it NOW. Hehehe... I've been getting all jazzed about running a resource biz and getting ridiculous amounts of stock built up with my static lot and my 30 mobile harvs. I'm patient enough to build up some various resources before opening up so I at least have a decent variety built up when I first open... but the anticipation is getting feverish. Question for you veteran resource sellers out there... is it better to sell in smaller stacks or 100k stacks. As a BUYER I know I have always preferred 100k stacks unless I only needed small amounts here and there... but if I sell in mostly 100k stacks I'd run out pretty quickly. What kind of system youguys use to determine what stack size you will be selling in?
Dimear
Thu Jul 28, 2005 4:28 pm
#7
I sell in stack sizes that make my life simple and convenient. I don't want to spend much time thinking about how much a stack costs.
So I sell as many 100k stacks as I have, since that's fastest (requires no splitting on my part, and is preferred by many customers). With the remaining smaller stacks, I split off as many 50k quantities as I can, then 25k, then 10k quantities. The remaining scraps I either destroy or sell on the bazaar.
This saves me time. Just by glancing at the stack, I know the price (without any complex mathematics like 24k x 2). My customers are also happy, since they can find lots 100k stacks of a particular resource, and can find smaller stacks if they need it (down to 10k). If they need less than 10k of something, they're not going to be looking at vendors anyway - they'll just buy it off the bazaar.
So I sell as many 100k stacks as I have, since that's fastest (requires no splitting on my part, and is preferred by many customers). With the remaining smaller stacks, I split off as many 50k quantities as I can, then 25k, then 10k quantities. The remaining scraps I either destroy or sell on the bazaar.
This saves me time. Just by glancing at the stack, I know the price (without any complex mathematics like 24k x 2). My customers are also happy, since they can find lots 100k stacks of a particular resource, and can find smaller stacks if they need it (down to 10k). If they need less than 10k of something, they're not going to be looking at vendors anyway - they'll just buy it off the bazaar.
Lepilu
Sat Jul 30, 2005 3:46 am
#8
Moebius01 wrote:
.............When I wanna do or sell something.. i wannado it NOW...........
LOL, people like that are the reason I'm rich 
As for the stacks, I do the same as Dimear. Although I'll only sell a single 100k stack at a time. The rest is 10k stacks. I try not to overstock my vendors, so I can monitor any price changes that I can get away with.
This technique is a lot easier for me than a lot of other players, since Merchant is my primary profession. I only have Master Artisan and Master Architect so I can build my own harvesters, and my own electronics. Since I'm a Merchant first and foremost, all of my time is spent monitoring my vendors (and spoiling the two entertainers I've recently met ).
).
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