Smuggler Archive
Thread: Spice Price Undercutting WHY?
Well, I am on one of the lesser populated European servers. I'm sure on Eclipse or Bria, 10k would be a bargin.
GeoTA wrote:
I never said extort. You said your not in debt and your charging 10k. Each server has a different economy but 10-15k is what I would consider a fair price.
BTW - I wish a BH could hunt smugglers..I would welcome the fun
Rakka
ApollyonTB wrote:
Why do they undercut? Cause they are 100% losers. Ive hit the 3.5 million mark on spices this week since the CU went live. Ive been selling the stuff for 25K per crate or 25. I know other people are undercutting me...I do not care...Ive made more on spices this past 3 weeks, than I have in the past year. These guys that are undercutting me? they sell thier stuff for 5k per crate of 25....I wonder how long it will take for them to hit the 3.5 milliom mark on spice sales. Ill tell you how long....5 TIMES as long. And these guys are BANNING anyone who buys out thier spice to sell it at a higher rate....what complete and utter idiots.You set the price, then ban someone for buying it at your set price....HELLO this is the server where assault armor goes for 500K per set!!!!some people are stupid....
Not only that, but it's irresponsible to sell spice for 5K a crate when we KNOW that in the not-too-distant future the prices are going to skyrocket. "Price-gouging", as people accuse it of being, is fiscally responsible. It moves the playerbase's expectations for spice prices in the direction that it's going to be going in before too long. In specific:
Let's say spices are 5K a crate pre-CU. Now, in CU, they're very useful as buffs so people buy them a lot more and depend on them, and they still get them for 5K a crate just like they're used to. Then the Smuggler revamp, which we know kind of know is coming, hits and spices become difficult for us to produce. The price suddenly rockets to 50, 100, 200K a crate. From 5K. What's the playerbase going to do? Probably go into shock. The market's in chaos for a while, and we hurt as much as anyone for it.
Then again, lets say in the post-CU/Pre-Revamp era, people get used to 25K or 50K a crate, and the price after revamp is 50K-100K per crate. the price doubling isn't so bad-- but the price jumping by a factor of magnitude is a lot harder for the public to deal with.
So call it gouging if you want. I call it forward thinking, a mind for the future, and responsible customer education towards that. I certainly don't depend on spices for money any more than I depend on slicing or FP(which is not at all-- people buying those services from me need the services more than I need the money).
Message Edited by CapnKate on 05-22-2005 08:17 AM
Cauil wrote:
First thing is we can't compare spice to foods since a food item has multiple uses and higher requirements, not only for resource quality but crafting times. So spices should be well below foods in price.
Second thing is we are interested in profit, so volume of sales is just as important as mark up. In fact, realistically you find an idealprice by doing a suppy and demand curve and setting the price where they meet.
Third, low prices attract users outside of your high end PvE and PvP crowd.
Fourth, low prices enable more customers to consider stacking more spices. At 25k a crate not many people will buy one of every type for normal use and stack them all, especially the five minute spices.
Finally, our costs are pretty low, so even at low prices we are making good money.
So, in conclusion I support what most wouldconsider low prices. I don't want spices out of reach for your new players or your occasional players. I think that since they are stackable lets not ignore that advantage and make it reasonable that a player would regularly use 10-15 types of spice.
Higher prices does not automatically mean higher profit. Spice is cheap and easy to make, so lets crank it out and seeeveryone using it.
I sell mine at 6k-7.5k per crate and am notthe cheapest, although I am pretty cheap. I even sell the full array of spices, every single type, some nobody else stocks, but I still think prices should stay in this range.
Anyway, not trying to pick a fight, just saying it how I see it.
Traie wrote:
Well, I am on one of the lesser populated European servers. I'm sure on Eclipse or Bria, 10k would be a bargin.
GeoTA wrote:
I never said extort. You said your not in debt and your charging 10k. Each server has a different economy but 10-15k is what I would consider a fair price.
BTW - I wish a BH could hunt smugglers..I would welcome the fun
Rakka
I am thinking of the smuggler profession in general on this issue.
That's why everybody should come to Starsider, We've got more inflation than a balloon shop.
Traie wrote:
Well, I am on one of the lesser populated European servers. I'm sure on Eclipse or Bria, 10k would be a bargin.
GeoTA wrote:
I never said extort. You said your not in debt and your charging 10k. Each server has a different economy but 10-15k is what I would consider a fair price.
BTW - I wish a BH could hunt smugglers..I would welcome the fun
Rakka
im selling all my spice for 7k a crate
reasons why
no exp on the spices
stats on the resources dont matter
people such as my self when pvping can use a crate in a day
GeoTA wrote:
Hey Traie,
TROKK is one of the better guilds I've come across. I should know, I am or was a member for a short period of time under a nom de plum
BTW , if I ever log back onto to Infinity I'll tip you back the 100k you fronted me
Figure it out yet?
Rakka
Um.... sorry, I've tipped a few "noobs" 100k when coming over to join our merry band o minstrels, commandos, and bounty hunters. Could ya be a bit more specific? 
And as for this arguement, Pre-CURB, everyone and their mothers were getting buffs to do everything - even hang out at the bazaar. But did doctors raise buff prices? Didn't seem like it to me. They were about 8-10k when I got into SWG in June and they were in the 8-10k range before the CURB hit.
If you want to and can get away with it, go ahead and raise your prices. Mine will stay where they are. Of course, my vendor is in the middle of BFR. So it's a cheaper price, but takes a bit longer to get.
Traie wrote:
GeoTA wrote:
Hey Traie,
TROKK is one of the better guilds I've come across. I should know, I am or was a member for a short period of time under a nom de plum
BTW , if I ever log back onto to Infinity I'll tip you back the 100k you fronted me
Figure it out yet?
Rakka
Um.... sorry, I've tipped a few "noobs" 100k when coming over to join our merry band o minstrels, commandos, and bounty hunters. Could ya be a bit more specific?
And as for this arguement, Pre-CURB, everyone and their mothers were getting buffs to do everything - even hang out at the bazaar. But did doctors raise buff prices? Didn't seem like it to me. They were about 8-10k when I got into SWG in June and they were in the 8-10k range before the CURB hit.
If you want to and can get away with it, go ahead and raise your prices. Mine will stay where they are. Of course, my vendor is in the middle of BFR. So it's a cheaper price, but takes a bit longer to get.
Actually, I didn't know we were having an arguement. The point of this post was to try and find an agreeable price for the current spice trade. You I believe said your selling at 10k. I am selling at 15k. My post is directed more at the people selling at 5k. As for the pre curb Doc statement. In 2003, when I started, prior to Doc Buffs spice went anywhere from 15-25k on my server; then the market fell out with the Doc Buffs. As to theDocs keeping the prices set allI gotta say is I saw prices range from 8k to 15k then 20 k depending on the quality and duration of the buff or the location the Doc set up in; so I would have to say that some price gouged the market.
In reading the postit seemstheaverage price across the servers right now is 7.5k to 10k. As I already stated previousI think that Smugglers should get a fair price for their crafted goods and thats what my point is.
Jett' was my Infinity toon and I dont think 100k tips and Ammon were built on 5k spice crates
Good Luck
Rakka
Message Edited by GeoTA on 05-23-2005 01:03 AM