Merchant Archive
Thread: help please. need suggestions on owning your own shop :)
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Aitass
Fri Mar 04, 2005 6:59 pm
#1
Are there any advantages to owning your own shop/mall? If so what are they? I have wanted to start my own shop/mall but I am worried I will not get business. I have gotten an offer to place a vendor in a very busy mall outside the Dantooine Mining Outpost but if I make my own shop it would be near there anyway. Any comments are appreciated. 
Message Edited by Aitass on 03-04-2005 09:17 PM
Aitass
Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:25 pm
#2
nobody wants to help me out? not even my fellow chefs in the chef board will reply
Kyorlana
Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:47 pm
#3
Advantages to having your own store:
- You can decorate to your own taste
- You make the rules as to how mcuh stock you carry, when you restock etc.
- You can't be banned from your own store
Advantages of being in someone else's mall:
- They are primarily responsible for driving traffic through
- There may be requirements you have to meet continually to remain a vendor in the mall (sounds like you mean Serendipity's, not sure if she runs hers that strictly)
- If it is Serendipity's then Talus Moon perform there some weekends so you get entertained whilst you work
I'm off to bed so that's all I can think of for now
- You can decorate to your own taste
- You make the rules as to how mcuh stock you carry, when you restock etc.
- You can't be banned from your own store
Advantages of being in someone else's mall:
- They are primarily responsible for driving traffic through
- There may be requirements you have to meet continually to remain a vendor in the mall (sounds like you mean Serendipity's, not sure if she runs hers that strictly)
- If it is Serendipity's then Talus Moon perform there some weekends so you get entertained whilst you work
I'm off to bed so that's all I can think of for now
Ani_cul
Fri Mar 04, 2005 7:50 pm
#4
ha* your post hasnt even been up very long.
on most boards for profession don't even flinch at no response until it's on the second page. 
Now for owning a shop.
I have ran a business of my own,
been partners shareing a storefront,
placed vendors to sell my wares in others structures,
placed vendors in other structures to sell their wares,
and have had folks place vendors in a shop I ran.
I will now always run my own business from my own structure with my own vendors.
BUT that is because I found it is what works best for me.
Folks saying "do what I do" and it being exactly what you need to do won't be the answer.
So my suggestion:
Tryout both.
Place a vendor in the mall, fully support it.
But also begin your own shop near there.
Which gives you the most sales?
Which do you find yourself stocking?
but above all
Which do you perfer to refer folks to to buy from?
Aitass
Fri Mar 04, 2005 8:06 pm
#5
thank you for the suggestions and yes K'vera I am talking about Serendipity's lol your so smart or a mind reader I dunno
I'm gonna try to place my shop right in that general area so I can still get business drawn from her mall, if that doesnt work for meI will just move to her place
RangerMoe
Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:03 pm
#6
If you do place a vendor in another structure or someone shop. Make sure you can trust them. I had 2 vendors in a guild hall about 10 months ago and he must not have paid his maint. or quit the game without telling anyone. Came back the next day to find--- Nothing. Two full vendors and all gone. Thats why I like having my own shop.
Corsican_Ogre
Sat Mar 05, 2005 12:11 pm
#7
I had my own series of shops for a long time (vendor tents) I moved into a mall about 2 months ago and I am very happy. I am also very lucky my partner who runs the mall is a very talented decorator AND a 12 weapons smith as well as mayor of the town I am in. The fact that she sells multimillion credit weapons means there is a constant flow of folks coming in just to look at her stuff and sel her tissues ect.
When I ran my own shop the only thing that mattered was the location of my own tents. If it was near Cnet/Bestine/Theed i did well if not it was a waste of time stocking them. Now the mall I am in is off the beaten path but since folks beeat a path to her door I am doing well.
refleks
Sat Mar 05, 2005 4:05 pm
#8
Well, I like having my own shop, being able to decorate it, and placing the vendors you want to. But im gonna try and get into a mall here on of these days, see if it gives anymore customers.
Zabava
Sun Mar 06, 2005 2:37 pm
#9
My shop is more than 12 months old, and I can tell you I have a great advantage. One thing I get about this: it takes time. It takes time for you customers to know you, to compare prices and quality, to see if you vendors well stocked every day. Keep it well stocked and advertised, and don't worry - you'll have your customers. And one more advice - be at you shop at busy hours and talk to the customers, sometimes they have questions about your goods, so help them .
BTW, all big malls around my shop are closed now ...
Puertoriqueno
Sun Mar 06, 2005 7:28 pm
#10
Just be careful...it sounds like you have a good trustworthy mall to put your vendor in, but this is not always the case. They can ban you from the building and cause you, therefore, to lose access to your stuff. Just keep that in mind, and make sure the owner is trustworthy.
bluejanus
Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:35 am
#11
Some malls give you the option of maintaining admin, obviously this situation can be abused by unscrupulous people. Other malls give you enough time to set the vendor and then remove you from admin.
Owning your own shop allows you to..
1. Decide who you allow in the shop
2. Decorate it as you see fit (this is important if you include your name in your products and have them on display, malls generally restrict you on how many items you can have on display)
3. Allow you to focus attention on your products to visiting customers (most people aren't avid shoppers, so having distracting vendors, especially with competing chefs will detract from your sales)
4. Makes it easier to establish a brand name if people remember the name of the shop rather than the name of the mall
5. Makes it easier to change locations if you have your own shop, if your name is connected with a mall, putting up an armor plate where you vendor was is not quite the same as changing the signpost on your shop's sign
6. If you don't have admin on the mall, you don't have control on the maintenance of the mall. At the moment, this problem is mitigated to some extent by the way structures decay now. If the player whose lots are used by the mall has quit or let his account lapse, you could be opening your vendor and future stock to disappearing in an inactive player clean-up.
Doc16743
Mon Mar 14, 2005 11:04 am
#12
I currently have 8 vendors - 3 are in malls and the rest are in my own tents. I have to say that it depends a great deal on which mall you're going into! I'm on Flurry, so no comparison to your server, but in general
* Are there currently a lot of vendors in the mall? If you're one of only 2 or 3, then traffic may not be there for you.
* Are there "quality" vendors in the mall? Recognize any names of players you know?
* Are there empty vendors in the mall? More than 2 or 3 might indicate a decline in business for that mall.
Placing a tent does have advantages, such as decorating yourself and being beholden to nobody. But, like real estate, it all depends on location, location, location!!! My tent outside Coronet does a fantastic business! I have 1 or 2 others that just about pay for themselves. In a tent, people don't just happen to be "passing by" like they do in the mall. Only folks that want what you're selling will generally visit your tent.
Lastly, it's much easier to try the tent first! Less of a gamble if it doesn't work out, and you won;t lose your inventory if the landlord forecloses lol!!
Good luck!
MilannaSati
Mon Mar 14, 2005 12:05 pm
#13
There are several posts here cautioning you about trusting the owner of the structure you place your vendors in. Here's another word of caution if you start your own mall and allow others to place vendors in it: Sometimes the other vendor owners will stop restocking or withdraw their stock altogether, leaving empty vendors taking up precious mall space. So also be aware of who you allow INTO your shop.
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