Shipwright Archive

I disembowel a hog, spread the entrails on a mirror, then stir them this way and that, occasionally closing my eyes to aid my second sight.

Then I go see what the big vendors are selling for and make better products for less.

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Direpath wrote:

On Sunrunner, I sell chassis for 5 cpu. I have seen some selling for less, but I stay put. I have no need to sell mine the fastest. My stuff is good quality. People will come for it because I have a fully stocked shop. Some yahoo even started selling ALL chassis for 5k each...so I bought him out, and stocked my vendor.

For components I charge 15cpu on everything. I have heard little criticism on this pricing. It gets pricy for high-end enhanced components, but I tailor it to the buyers needs as much as possible, so again very few complaints.

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I don't believe that is is ever a single price that something should sell for. Instead, a business in the game must simply be "sustainable". That ultimately means there is a range of prices subject to 3 constraints:

1. You can't price things below what they cost to make. Losing money is not particularly sustainable unless you are subsidizing the business with a second job (i.e. running missions). If you are doing that, why bother with the business?


2. You can't price things so high that they don't sell at all.


3. You must price items such that you don't feel like a slave to the business. It shouldn't feel like work inside the game (after all, this is a game). Violate this rule and you may still make money, but you will burn out and leave the profession. Essentially, price your product so it sells at a pace you are comfortable with. At some point, selling things too fast becomes work.

#2 sets a maximum and #1 and #3 set a minimum. But the minimum set by #3 varies from crafter to crafter. Different people have different tolerances for things like harvesting resources or loading factories or stocking vendors. So a 5 cpu price may work for 1 person, while a 15 cpu price may be the minimum price for another.

Both are valid prices, even if they are in shops right next to each other. As a consumer, you obviously want the 5 cpu price, but you also have to balance several factors such as previous business relationships, loyalty to a guild or local city crafter, and vendor stock levels, among others.

I got my X-wing for 120k, my A-Wing for 240k, and the stats are just as good as those ones priced 500k and up. Right of a vendor, in my servers biggest commercial city. This guy is in a tent, and within 100m from him is about 5 other SW vendors with the same exact ships for 4 and 5 times the ammount. Now is this just my server, or do they all have 1 good SW, i damn nice guy/girl, people-person type and about 10 other SW that are just jackasses and want a profit.

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spathotan wrote:
Now is this just my server, or do they all have 1 good SW, i damn nice guy/girl, people-person type and about 10 other SW that are just jackasses and want a profit.

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Why do you assume that the higher priced merchants are simply jackasses who want a profit? They might be just that, but they also may be people who don't want to spend multiple hours a day keeping a stocked vendor.

Fundamentally, you made a good decision buying the cheaper product. Other factors being equal, I would buy the cheaper product as well. But that's no reason to run-down a higher priced merchant. If they are truly charging too much, market forces will cause them to go out of business.

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GoodOldLarry wrote:

On Scylla, the prices on ship designs and components are all over the place. I just saved??? 400k on a Rihkxyrk, style 1.

Obviously you guys are gouging the heck out us pilots. Have you played as a pilot? The moneys not there for your profiteering.

How much does it actually take to make one of these ships? I respect a mans effort and a fair profit for his wares but wow.

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Yeah you are complaining about that, but its a pretty damn good deal. I would sell that ship for a lot more. Do you realize that it takes 80,000 units of resources to make that chassis? I swear, people wouldn't think twice about paying 400-500K for an 80k stack of steel, but the second that 80k stack is turned into a ship chassis they expect it to cost 50% less. Like a lot of people, I am still playing around with my prices. But they are currently at 8cpu for chassis, 12cpu for tools, 20cpu for components. So, if you bought that same ship from my shop you would be paying 640k. And since a lot of people are charging 10 cpu for their chassis (which would have cost you 800k I might add) I'd say you got a good deal. When will people realize, you are buying a spaceship, that flies in space and requires tens of thousands of resurces to build, of course its going to be expensive.

As a budding (4-3-3-4) Shipwright, I'd like to say that buying resources DOES suck. Luckily, I bought my starter stuff at 1-2cpu before JTL came out (I ground out Mokk missions like a madman for DAYS on end) and now am able to harvest a good amount to keep up with my skills. It's not MSW in a night, but it's fun doing this. I personally sell ships at 2-2.5 cpu just because it cost me very little to make it. I'm making a small profit, and that's all I want. I'd rather see Tier 4 pilots in 200k A-Wings and Advanced's to help everyone out with their master missions than a bunch of broke ass pilots , I understand and sympathize with those that spent a hell of a lot on crap resources only to gain a bit of XP...trust me, I've gone through millions upon millions and hours upon hours of time grinding money just to get where I am now.

But hey, it's keeping me busy, and when some new player can afford that 80k TIE/Ln and he and his buddies can start working on tier 3, it brings a warmth to my stone cold, caveman camp killing heart. Remember, for a lot of us, shipmaking isn't just for the money, it's for the experience to get better at it - if players buy the stuff you HAVE to make, you're making out better than you think.

I suppose I could charge 500k for a 67k mass TIE/Advanced, but it only really cost me about 30k to even make it (I harvest my own materials with harvesters placed between me and my bro's account, our own power, etc...it's slower than buying, but WAY cheaper) so hence a 200k price (200k / 80k resources = 2.5cpu) so I keep my prices fair...because as a 4-4-3-3 pilot myself, I know that profession doesn't pay very well at all.

Anyway, that's just two irrelevant cents from a long term SWG player. If you can get 10cpu per ship chassis, more power to you, and if you can get 7cpu for 10 OQ / 100 CD steel? Then I hate you.

Message Edited by FLFReno on 11-09-2004 02:06 PM