Merchant Archive
Thread: Undercutting Prices?
Sorry for the relative newbieness of this, but what's the general view on it?
I usually undercut competitiors a little (never yet made it to master, due to Games PC death) & want my stuff used, & credits in. Also, my stuff has been of relatively low qulaity.
However, I guess flooding the market with cheap items & denying others a sale would tick others off, or is this just considered part of the game?
On the same subject, if something is serioulsy underpriced (50c instead of 500c), is it acceptable to buy it, then put it back on the bazaar at a more appropriate price. Not that I'd ever stoop so low (ahem).
Do you come to agreements with competitors on prices of items? Or, do price differences become somewhat less of an issue when selling hi quality gear? I suspect CDEFs sell more on price than quality, & the reverse for advanced weapons.
Undercutting is fine as long as it doesn't cause the market for items to become so low that people are being ridiculous. Sell things for a reasonable price. Availability and your manner with most customers will be enough to make someone pay more to deal with you.
I sell some items cheap to bring the customers to me, and others at what I want to sell at to make my money. You need a draw, simply selling cheap will not work for you or for the customers. And buying someone else's product cheap on the bazaar and selling higher back on the bazaar is not against the rules, but I would consider it bad ethics.
I do not worry what others are selling for, only what I sell for. Sometimes selling less at higher prices is better than more at lower prices. Flooding the market with Mal-Mart discounted items will only make the entire economy worthless for all merchants.
I think undercutting a little when you're first starting out is alright. It's the only way to really establish yourself and get people interested in coming to your place to buy things in the beginning. Or, as an example for those without vendors yet, for people to notice your Personal Mineral Harvester in the list of 100s of them on the bazaar. But undercutting too much will only hurt you. If you establish yourself in the beginning as someone that sells really low, sure your reputation may spread fast in your area of the planet. But then you won't be able to keep up with the demand and you'll quickly gain a bad reputation as an unreliable seller if you keep it up. Just undercut by a few credits compared to the average for that item when you get started.
I think with the high quality items, it's best to see what others are selling their things for first. Bargaining with competitors on selling prices in an online game is a bit hard, so unless you live right near them and see them constantly, it's not worth it, IMO. Also, this isn't the beginning of the game anymore where average prices for average items haven't been established. Check the vendors on the world maps. Go to their stores and see what they're selling things for. If they're around, ask them how they decide upon their prices. Some people have systems they use for pricing their items (resource quality, item complexity, experimentation results). If you think a system sounds good and fair, give it a try.
In the end, I think being a successful merchantdepends on how much effort you put into establishing your reputation. Just treat your customers like you would want to be treated as one. Amazingly, that does work! 