Smuggler Archive
Thread: pricing for slices
Ratphink
Thu Jun 24, 2004 2:51 pm
#53
I was one of those who used to go by the 100c per %. After reading over what others were charging plus the fact that smugglers do provide an important and commonly asked for service, I upped my charge to 7k per or 35k for a set of armor. Obiviously, I give em a break for noob weapons or quanity.
I can understand the % charge when your working your way up the tree, but once you hit master, it just isn't fair to the smuggler to charge that rate anymore. I think this ability has long been undercharged. So far most people haven't had a problem with the 7k. If they do I usually tell them that their upgraded weapon/armoris worth morethen 7k is in this game. Not from a monetary standpoint but usage, skill and mission cash. That seems to make sense to most, they then ask for the slice.
Your always gonna have those that try to undercut the next guy. They can waste there time on 2k or % slicing. But I really think masters should respect each other and charge no less than 5k so people
Message Edited by Ratphink on 06-30-2004 06:03 PM
iver2435
Fri Jun 25, 2004 12:06 am
#54
I charge 10k and explain to them that slicing is totally random, they could get a 13% speed slice on a T21, or they could get a 35% damage slice, it's TOTALLY random.
With that being said, 10k for apermanent upgrade to your weapon or armor is not unreasonable because people will pay docs 10k for a temporary upgrade to their stats.
Sometimes you just have to face your clients with the old "take it or leave it" routine to get paid for what your services are really worth.
I'm about a week old master smuggler and I get tells all the time asking for slices and I tell people 10k up front, only a handful have said no
troettger
Fri Jun 25, 2004 4:28 am
#55
I am going to stop slicing for people outside my guild. The huge number of different prices out there for slicing has made payment too chaotic. Last few days if I even charged 100 per %, which I Highly disagree with, I still got a lecture about how that is too much and someones got to complain till /addignore comes into play. Its just not worth my time. why? Because I have to meet them some where, take time from doing something I am currently doing and drop everything for them only to stand around in an outpost for 20 mins waiting for some guy who says he'll be right there, and for my time I get a grand total of 3k to 4k on a good slice if I'm lucky. not worth my time.
Zendeil
Fri Jun 25, 2004 5:04 am
#56
As a Master Smuggler I charge a flat rate of 7k per slice on Bria. I've tried several other pricing factors and this is an easy one for people to understand. I've never had any complaints about the price and most people usually tip me a little extra.
Look around and see what other smugglers on your server are charging and set your price accordingly.
Ewoktoaster
Fri Jun 25, 2004 7:58 am
#57
Aight guys im on ahazi heres my price guide...
20% and under free
21% - 29% 10k
30%- 34% 20k
35+ 30k
people pay for me cause they can, guildies pay what they like and i may do a good deed for the occasional noob asking for slices
As for docs they false advertise too
I paid 12k for buffs yesterday advertised 2300-2500 3hours+
What i got was 2200-2300 jsut under 3 hours.
i know smugglers cant choose slices but if people moan about slices being random then docs should take heat for selling buffs that they do not advertise. just my opinion on the doc situation
Hatovich
Sat Jun 26, 2004 6:49 am
#58
I agree, but not just docs, anyone should take heat for false advertising. What happens, with me anyway, is sometimes my chef food runs out and I don't notice so my buffs come out lower. When I notice I eat and reapply, but sometimes I go through a few people before I notice. So it may not be intentional and a simple /tell and I'll fix it to what was advertised.
Izhozz
Sat Jun 26, 2004 9:07 am
#59
If you charge 10k for a slice youll dont get those customers that we joke with on the Chuckle For The Smuggler thread...Docs are raising their prices,time for us to do it!
Hatovich
Sat Jun 26, 2004 7:37 pm
#60
Izhozz wrote:If you charge 10k for a slice youll dont get those customers that we joke with on the Chuckle For The Smuggler thread...Docs are raising their prices,time for us to do it!
*sigh* I really wish smugglers would stop comparing themselves to Docs. It really is two totally different things. How much time do smugglers spend finding high quality organics to make their tools? How much time do they spend finding high quality inorganics for them? If they spend any they are wasting it since the Smuggler Dev has already stated that tool quality doesn't matter. The same CANNOT be said about buffs. I was trying the political angle and being polite, but let me break it down for you: Slices are NO WHERE near as importat to people as buffs not even close. Ask yourself this: If you only had 10k in your pocket an were going out on a big hunt, what would you spend it on a slice that MAY increase your speed or MAY increase you damage, or would you get buffed and even if you got Max damage (35% right?) do you truely believe that that increase would yeild the same benefit that a buff would?
You know why doc's are able to increase their prices? People NEED buffs slices just don't have enough gain to make them worth while.
When someone is grinding a new combat profession, they don't even bother to slice their intermediate weapons, but they ALWAYS get thier buffs.
I don't mean to be a jerk about this, but PLEASE stop comparing yourselves to Doc's, you'll lose that argument everytime
P__Day
Sat Jun 26, 2004 9:40 pm
#61
Hato let me break this down for you.
1. 80% of docs dont make theyre own packs but buy them, thats enter house click vendor buff.
2. Doc is without a doubt the easiest way to make alot of money in this game. Buy some buffs about a million credits resell them and you have 15 millions(actually know a guy who did this)
3. Just the fact that docs are willing to pay over 100 cpu for avian meat not hunt for it, will buy HQ lokian wild wheat for 20+ cpu when they can harvest it that to me says : Not alot of work. Basically all the work you guys do is : Buy resources, make buffs, sit in coronet make insane amounts in one day.
4. I have no problem paying a doc for his time, but saying that being a doc is alot of work is a load of Bull. A guildie of mine made 6 packs one for each stat 3.15 duration 2200 to all stats atleast they were when he buffed me in a total of 15 minutes. So i ask were the resources hard to get? no we had all of them in the resource house.
5. Ive been grinding BE on an Alt and looking for resources i saw tons of "cheap" doc resources lokian wild wheat in the 800 - 900 going for 10 cpu, avian with great stats going at 20 cpu. What are docs charging for?
Actually i have a suggestion for you. We both get an alt, you grind smuggler to master, i grind doc to master, then we see who can make 15 million profitthe fastest with the least work, OK? Il bet you those 15 million that me as a doc will make 15 mill in one day, without spending more than 30 minutes looking for resources. The thing is if i knew the doc i got buffs from had spent days hunting for meat, weeks harvesting i wouldnt mind paying him 10 or 15 as they are moving for. but when i see the same docs logging in in coronet buffing for 4 hours then logging back out, i dont consider that hardwork looking for resources. And also how many docs have traveled out to meet they're "customers", how many have been asked for free schematics, how many have been lyingwhen advertising?
We shouldnt compare ourselves to docs, docs have italot easier than us. The thing is : I slice because i can, and you cant. I can slice a missions terminal for a 7- 13k increase in the payment, i can sellfaction at 140 pr point, i can find HQresources i can sell at 5 cpu +, ican hunt and harvest that avian or herb meat youneed and sell it to you so you dont have to go away from coronets bufflines to actually do some work. I can make alot more money doing alot more fun things than slicing. And whensomeone asks me to they have to pay for me to even bother to break out my tools, its a2 - 7k loss for me every time i slice something at 5k, why bother? IM sure you wouldnt even think of buffing if everytime you buffed you lost 2k. If i agree to slice a single item for you, you should feel lucky that i even botheredto take out my tools. Getting a doc alt suppliing him with packs and set up my own buff bot its no problem.
Hatovich
Sun Jun 27, 2004 6:00 am
#62
Wow you are missing a lot:
So how do I get your magic resource rooms that has great resoures magically spawn in it? Please tell me because I'm sure the rest of the community would like to know as well, and you know docs that have magic vendors that just happen to spawn buff packs? Man I'm on the wrong server. What? What's that you say? OHHHH someone had to go out and collect those resources, and someone had to make the buff packs, but since the doctor didn't do it, he shouldn't get paid for it because I'm sure the person who did collect them didn't charge for them, and neither did the person making them. People alawys just give away great doctor resources I mean happens all the time right? Even if you are in a guild their time is still worth something and needs to be reflected in the cost.
You want to talk about how hard or how easy something is? Lets talk about slicing: What a knife is like 20 metal or something like that. How flippin hard is it to collect 20 metal ESPECIALLY when resource quality doesn't matter. Not only that but you want to charge the same as me for 1 slice where I give 6 buffs for that. So actually I charge 1.667k per buff. You want to charge about 6 times that for one slice.
You miss the whole point that everything has a cost. Someone had to pay it, even if he's in a guild with a magic resource room (which in case you didn't know, isn't really magic, people have to actually put resources in there...btw there's no Santa Clause either, it was just your parents putting presents under the tree), the guild still put in their time which has to be paid for.
You know why smuggler won't make as much as a Doc, brace yourself this is gonna shock you, the Doctor provides a service that people HAVE to have. I have lines 20 people long all the time, have you? Have you ever had a line of 20 people waiting to have stuff sliced?
As far as slices lasting forever, sure the slice does but the gun doesn't. Don't believe me? Then explain why Weaponsmiths are some of the richest people in the game.
Bottom line: You can't compare the two, they just don't stack up.
Buffs: No one hunts or PvP's without them
Slices: People frequently forgot to have their weapons sliced before going out on hunts
Buffs: Take a lot of high quality resources, most of which are organic and take a long time to collect and FACTORY TIME to make.
Slices: Take a few inorganic resources that I can plant a harvester on and forget about.
Buffs: People CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THEM
Slices: Nice to have, but not a big deal if you don't
P.S. I have an alt who is grinding smuggler, and I'm having a blast with it.
So how do I get your magic resource rooms that has great resoures magically spawn in it? Please tell me because I'm sure the rest of the community would like to know as well, and you know docs that have magic vendors that just happen to spawn buff packs? Man I'm on the wrong server. What? What's that you say? OHHHH someone had to go out and collect those resources, and someone had to make the buff packs, but since the doctor didn't do it, he shouldn't get paid for it because I'm sure the person who did collect them didn't charge for them, and neither did the person making them. People alawys just give away great doctor resources I mean happens all the time right? Even if you are in a guild their time is still worth something and needs to be reflected in the cost.
You want to talk about how hard or how easy something is? Lets talk about slicing: What a knife is like 20 metal or something like that. How flippin hard is it to collect 20 metal ESPECIALLY when resource quality doesn't matter. Not only that but you want to charge the same as me for 1 slice where I give 6 buffs for that. So actually I charge 1.667k per buff. You want to charge about 6 times that for one slice.
You miss the whole point that everything has a cost. Someone had to pay it, even if he's in a guild with a magic resource room (which in case you didn't know, isn't really magic, people have to actually put resources in there...btw there's no Santa Clause either, it was just your parents putting presents under the tree), the guild still put in their time which has to be paid for.
You know why smuggler won't make as much as a Doc, brace yourself this is gonna shock you, the Doctor provides a service that people HAVE to have. I have lines 20 people long all the time, have you? Have you ever had a line of 20 people waiting to have stuff sliced?
As far as slices lasting forever, sure the slice does but the gun doesn't. Don't believe me? Then explain why Weaponsmiths are some of the richest people in the game.
Bottom line: You can't compare the two, they just don't stack up.
Buffs: No one hunts or PvP's without them
Slices: People frequently forgot to have their weapons sliced before going out on hunts
Buffs: Take a lot of high quality resources, most of which are organic and take a long time to collect and FACTORY TIME to make.
Slices: Take a few inorganic resources that I can plant a harvester on and forget about.
Buffs: People CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT THEM
Slices: Nice to have, but not a big deal if you don't
P.S. I have an alt who is grinding smuggler, and I'm having a blast with it.
P__Day
Sun Jun 27, 2004 7:10 am
#63
Slices in PvP is a must, ask any PvP'er on your server.
Im sure ive had longer slice lines than you ever had bufflines ive had 30+ people in slice lines
If slices are nto a must how come 90% of the gear in this game is slice
My clamps and knives take the same factory time as yours
One of your packs takes less resources than one of my clamps, sure my resources arnt as rare as the ones you need but still
An non n00b doc would have the sense to place 10+ heavies on a good spawn of resources
CTRLV pulls up your planetary map, check under MEDICAL SUPPLIES or RESOURCES on tat alone on my server there are 10+ shops labeledeither high quality resources or Doc meds
Sliced gear is an extremly valuble comodity do you have any Idea how much a 30+ dam sliced scytheblade sells for 700k +
I have in my resource house, 220k of HQ dolovite iron, 170k of HQ lokian wheat, the dolovite spawned 2 months ago the wheat 4 months ago, its called stockpiling. get as much as you can while its there. IF there is a spawn of HQ resources you need to put all your harvs on them while they are there. IF you didnt that jsut means you are stupid.
Secondly a suit of composite slice to 95% base worn by every hardcore PvP'er on every server sells at 900k about 500k over the unsliced price, hm slices arnt valuble are they
AS for the combat balance and the smuggler revamp, if we get a spice that gives 1.5k buffs for 30 mins im not buying another doc buff ever,cause if buffs arecut severly they wont be worth as much, if armor is made to have a % encumb buffs wont be worth as much but our encumb slices will, if ham costs are adjusted so you cant spam specials as much as you want why get buffs you willnot gain large advantadges with them anymore.
To end this :a wise man once said dont argue with fools cause people from a distance can tell who is who. and for that reason i will not bother to argue with you anymore, as it is apperant that you will never understand that nomatter what you say slices are just as saught after as buffs even more
Hatovich
Sun Jun 27, 2004 8:37 am
#64
Okay I tried to be nice now I don't know if you're just not smart enough to understand economics are if you're just rying to get under my skin:
I can make kinives ALL DAY without EVER even owning a factory. Does that make sense to you? Can you comprehend that or am I using words that are too big? You CANNOT make buff packs without a factory I HAVE to use one, HAVE to, get that? Do you understand that part of it? Again if I'm going to fast let me know I'll try to simplify it more.
If slices are so valuable they why do I make so much more valuable why do I get 10k for my buffs and smugglers get 3k-5k? Hmm kinda make you wonder huh.
Now comes the part you really don't seem to get, so I'll try to use little words: Rare good quality resources are worth a lot of money. Does that make sense to you do I need to go into a longer explination of this? It's really not that tough of a concept. It even works in the real world. If I have something that is rare and very good quality, people will pay a lot of money for it. Make sense to you? Again stop me if I go too fast. It doesn't make a rats @$$ bit of difference if I stockpile it or not. It's rare high quality, it's valuable, end of story
I need to use high quality rare resources in buff packs that makes them valuable. You make parts that are not rare and can be crappy, that makes them NOT valuable.
I make something that people CANNOT live without. This means that what I do is in high demand. I realize this is an economic theory that may be above you, but if you take it slow it might get it.
You're calling me a fool? You're the idiot that can't figure out supply and demand
I can make kinives ALL DAY without EVER even owning a factory. Does that make sense to you? Can you comprehend that or am I using words that are too big? You CANNOT make buff packs without a factory I HAVE to use one, HAVE to, get that? Do you understand that part of it? Again if I'm going to fast let me know I'll try to simplify it more.
If slices are so valuable they why do I make so much more valuable why do I get 10k for my buffs and smugglers get 3k-5k? Hmm kinda make you wonder huh.
Now comes the part you really don't seem to get, so I'll try to use little words: Rare good quality resources are worth a lot of money. Does that make sense to you do I need to go into a longer explination of this? It's really not that tough of a concept. It even works in the real world. If I have something that is rare and very good quality, people will pay a lot of money for it. Make sense to you? Again stop me if I go too fast. It doesn't make a rats @$$ bit of difference if I stockpile it or not. It's rare high quality, it's valuable, end of story
I need to use high quality rare resources in buff packs that makes them valuable. You make parts that are not rare and can be crappy, that makes them NOT valuable.
I make something that people CANNOT live without. This means that what I do is in high demand. I realize this is an economic theory that may be above you, but if you take it slow it might get it.
You're calling me a fool? You're the idiot that can't figure out supply and demand
Bronski113
Sun Jun 27, 2004 8:48 am
#65
Here is my 2 cents on this whole thing: Get the masses to pay you as much for your services as possible. Costs for resources and everything be damned. None of that means anything unless the customer will pay you. It all depends on what your customer is willing to pay. I charged 3k per slice for my first day. Now I'm charging 5k per slice. Haven't had anyone say that was too high.
We are criminals for the love of God, extort them hell out of them.