Smuggler Archive
Thread: pricing for slices
troettger
Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:17 am
#40
Well put scornnok. My guild does the same for our docs and those who need resources. Most of the time its not a big stretch as we make money while we gather the resources. A good one is spoted and we have harvesters down, or people doing missions for harvesting meat/hide. Not a big deal. But if doctors have the ability to charge 15k or more (which is going on right now on my server) then I can charge 10k for a slice for both my time to make my tools, the loss of time, and the perminant enhancement to your weapon or armor.
His point is that you are paying for a service. Period. You want a Smuggler to stop what he is doing to enhance your equipment. This is what cost you the money. Now it's up to you to say yes or no to the service. That's it no more no less. You choose not to pay for the service great. We can continue to make our 40 - 60k on missions. Instead of wasting our time listening to someone say that we are charging too much.
No slice ever ruins weapons they always inhance them. May not be the enhancement that you want. That is the risk that you take when you ask for it to sliced. Simple.
Bunkermaster
Tue Jun 22, 2004 4:44 am
#41
if they're not happy they can go buy a 150 uses powerup for 10k which will not be as good as any slice...
Kebron
Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:44 am
#42
Smuggler is what I wanted to be before I got the game and Smuggler is what I'll always be.
I've been a smuggler since the first month of release and I never once mastered any professions for holo grinding.
That said 100 credits per % is what I've always charged and it's what I will always charge. You guys want to go and charge 10k for a slice go ahead it's your choice. I will never tell anyone how to charge for their services and I will never let anyone tell me how to charge for my services. If I want to charge 25 credits per % then it's MY choice.
Also no mater what the % of my slices are I will still charge. Why should I give a free slice for a bad slice when I have no control over how it will turn out? Why should I be the one punished? You want a slice then you pay the consequences if it's a bad slice.
Intelerebel
Tue Jun 22, 2004 7:15 am
#43
Once again we've proved that noone can agree on a smuggler-wide pricing cartel.
Although I personally prefer to charge as much as I can for slices, I've virtually given up on trying to convince people to charge more.
I feel that the Doctor argument regarding buffs is one of the most ineffective arguments we can make for trying to convince people to charge more. Here's why.
As smugglers we all know how difficult it can be to grind all of our unarmed and pistol XP. When we spend 10K-15K on doctors buffs, we see an immediate, high-impact modicifaction that translates DIRECTLY into XP gain. We can all argue how modifying a weapon can translate into more XP (especially when hunting in groups). But when it comes to soloing or solo-groups (such as is commonplace today), having a gun that does 25% more damage isn't usually the difference between being able to kill bocatts or Savage Quenkers. Ultimately, it's the Doctor's buffs that allow us to go get bigger, more interesting MOBS, that award more XP. Simply put, in a world of XP-grinding, be it for holos or simple profession acheivement, Doctor's Buffs have a far greater and visible impact on your character than a slice does. Therefore, I don't think that trying to compare our services presents a valid argument.
But, we DO provide a unique service which everyone demands. For THAT reason, I charge as much as I can. Especially when Im the only smuggler in the starport.
Ackis
Tue Jun 22, 2004 8:28 am
#44
scornnok wrote:
His point is that you are paying for a service. Period. You want a Smuggler to stop what he is doing to enhance your equipment. This is what cost you the money. Now it's up to you to say yes or no to the service. That's it no more no less. You choose not to pay for the service great. We can continue to make our 40 - 60k on missions. Instead of wasting our time listening to someone say that we are charging too much.
No slice ever ruins weapons they always inhance them. May not be the enhancement that you want. That is the risk that you take when you ask for it to sliced. Simple.
If you raise prices too much, you will lose all business because it will be guild/alt people who are smuggler/doctors or something along those lines.
And slices do ruin weapons. A master getting a speed slice on something means that the weapon now decays faster for no benefit. It's not an enhancement to get a speed slice.
Obeewana_Doobie
Tue Jun 22, 2004 10:12 am
#45
apples and oranges here...and a dead horse...MMMMMMM
Despite their many differences, the one thing Docs and Smugglers have in common is that they are both elite professions that provide services that everyone wants. So what if you don't have to harvest 50 million different resources for smuggler? Just like a mechanic, they don't do anything but work on yourweapon/armor (car)and are highly specialized. And just just like working on a car, if you can do it, then you don't need a mechanic. If you can't , well, your car is not getting that supercharger put in untill you shell out some dough.And you are going to have to pay what the shop wants.
P__Day
Tue Jun 22, 2004 5:34 pm
#46
Not all masters are speed capped with all weapons, i rifleman needs tapes, a swordsman, pikeman, carabineer, pistoleer(very depending on the gun) there are only 2 profs that are infact speed capped at master Tka and fencer. IM a master swordsman and my speed sliced scythe 181 - 320 @ 1.7 W/O power up will murder your mind pool asi speed cap 2HhH3. A swordsman with +16 in speed with master brawler or +21 in tapes w\o master brawler can have pretty good use fo a speed sliced weapon, it depends on what your fighting, if i fight something i can kill in 2 hits i use a speed sliced one, if its something thats gonna take a while i use a dam sliced one. I for one prefer to hit every 3.3 seconds for 500 damage than every 5.4 for 600.
As to decay, my Fwg5's burn out just as fast sliced as unsliced, the slice doesnt make for much difference, spamming specials and using Power ups cause alot more decay. I did an experiment using 2 identical FWG5's sliced one kept it one auto attack and used a few specials and put a power up on the other and spammed specials the second burned out alot faster. Get a speed slice you cant use it, but a novice might be able to and will love the weapon. Just keep a few things in mind.
1. Using powerups at the speed cap it will cost you 10k in power-up's for 1000 seconds of combat. With a slice its permanent it lasts untill the weapon is 1/1 condition
2. You dont have to get you stuff sliced, its not like someone is gonna kill you if you dont
3. MOst smuggler can make enough money without slicing just by running missions or selling faction
hobieone
Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:08 pm
#47
Rivern wrote:
If people spend 10k on *temporary* doc buffs, I feel they can spend at least that much on a permanent enhancement to their weapon.
i tottaly agree with you on that but i have yet seen anyone on tarq server charge that must or anyone willing to pay that much unless you can garauntee a certian slice above a certian % yes holo grinders and those wishing to undercut prices probably started the 100cr per %. but unfortunatly it seems like everyone one on my server is some how tuned to paying that price now :/. and other master smugglers like my self who have been smuggler since they started playing the game even charge that. only way to raise the slicing prices i guess would be for all smugglers to ban together and chrage higher rates so people that want sliced items will have to pay and as for the holo grinders well after the jedi revamp probably we wont have to worry about them. also if they work in all slicing into the smuggler visabilty as part of the revamp we would have an excuse to charge higher rates due to the proposed risks involved with smuggling activities.
Hatovich
Tue Jun 22, 2004 6:55 pm
#48
P__Day wrote:Slices havent gotten any better but here is a little thing you might wanna think about :I go to the same improved job market slice the terminal and get 40k or more mission which i can complete in about 5 minutes including travel time making lets see about 7k or more pr slice, WHY should i waste my slicing gear improving you stuff when i can get alot more for my gear using it to slice a terminal? no wuk or auk needed i made about 600k pr hour doing this, no annoying "customers" no 1337 d00dz and no juvinile S.O.B's to deal with. By slicing you stuff for 3k i loose 4k would you buff me if you lost 4k pr buff pack? at the moment im pretty happy with slicing my own and my guilds stuff and i do that for free, i get armor for free or at low cost from a guild AS and weapons from another WS whom i slice cheap for gotten an Acklay hammer out of that deal among other things.My guilds time is not free, we run missions for the meat where the guild docs buff for free since we are hunting for them. the guild docs supply the rest of us with HQ stims, and are willing to go from tat to dant to buff us if we need it. We are a guild that helps eachother. Last night we where told there was some pretty good leathery hide on dant, 20 or more of us where running missions killing grauls and bols. There is a spawn of good minerals we have all our lots on it, there is a good spawn of flora that a guild BE or chef can use we have a ton of harvs on that. someone wants to master entertainer and need healing xp we are in the cantina getting mind desease. This game isnt just about credits you can trade a service for a service, i have a suit of krayt composite getting made by a guild AS cheap since i paid for the town cloner. Some people pay for slices with buffs. food, or otehr services, but for people i dont know they pay 5k or more pr slice simply because i dont need to slice, but they need theyre stuff sliced.
Look I never said that a smuggler shouldn't charge 10k for a slice, if that's what you want to charge and people pay it good for you. That just means you have more money when you come to me for your buffs. The only thing I have a problem with is when you popped off and said that Doc's can make a 6 charge buff pack for 6k and have a 200% mark up or whatever you said. You don't really know what a pain in the butt it is to make buff packs or exactly what costs go into it, so you shouldn't go on about things you don't know about first hand. I didn't, and I wouldn't compare my services to yours as someone said they are apples and oranges.
Now to throw my opinion out there: To me slicing isn't a "have to have" thing. The only time I really do it is if I'm standing next to a master smuggler in the starport waiting for the shuttle. If they were to charge 10k I would't bother, it's just not that important to me.
Obeewana_Doobie
Wed Jun 23, 2004 10:31 am
#49
I just started slicing for funds (no shouting in starports though), and my first 2 weapons slices, from 2 different customers, I just told them to pay what they thought was fair. After 2 average damage slices (22 & 23%), one guy tipped me 7k and the other tipped me 40k. A hell of a lot better than the 5k I was going to charge. Plus I was corgial, asked for a drumroll (suspense), and traveled from my city to take care of them. I'm just going to stick with that for now, seem to work pretty good. Of course I'll run into the occasional a-hole,but I'll put 'em on my black list.
thekismet
Wed Jun 23, 2004 3:58 pm
#50
i charge 1k for people in my guild but other people i charge 5k
Verhalnez
Thu Jun 24, 2004 7:17 am
#51
For guild memebers I ask them to pay what they think is fair. For all other customers I charge a flat rate of 10k a slice.
JediArashi
Thu Jun 24, 2004 1:15 pm
#52
grimbreath: It all depends on your server. I think last time I checked the weekly slicing prices threads on here *most* charge around 5-10k per slice. If that seems high, adjust how you see fit. You also need to take into consideration that most people who want slices are going to be on decent weaponry. If someone comes to you with a D18 pistol, most likely a small fee would be needed since it's not a high end gun and probably didn't cost them more then 10k.
However when you slice more common guns used by masters they most likely paid upwards of 100k on avg. and possibly much much more for the really nice stuff and 10k isn't a bad deal at all.
I know that on my server I haven't seen weapons with more then 150 max dmg go for less then 50k since around September - October. Most WS out there now have a solid high end inventory, and customer base and they don't even make or sell those low end weapons. Those people generally have decent money, and paying 10k for a permanent improvement to a 250k gun is a good deal no matter what the slice outcome.
I can't remember who originally gave the analogy, but look at it htis way. If you go into a Weaponshop and see on a vendor 2 guns, one is 100-250 dmg 2.0 spd for 250k and the other is 125-300 dmg 2.0 spd for 300k which would you buy if you had the money? Most likely you would buy the 300k one. Now if you sliced the 250k gun up to the same stats as the 300k one and paid a total of 260k (250k + 10k for the slice) which is the better bargain? Everyday people pay large increments of more credits for infintesmal increases to stats. I can't count the number of times I've seen weapons have a difference of 50, 60, even 100,000 credits in cost and only a 5-10 point difference in stats....and people buy them all the time. In this point of view, 10k for a slice isn't expensive at all.
Keep in mind, this is on my server,I cannot speak for other servers.
-Arashi
Bloodfin