Tailor Archive
Thread: Any travelling tailors?
HybridII wrote:
So, I gather that these specific resources are used for backpacks. Are they used in anything else, are backpacks just that big of a profit item by themselves? Any other specific resources needed by anything?
BTW, thanks to all who replied, you guys have been EXTREMELY helpful.
Dex1138 wrote:
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Recently people have been telling me how they've been searching for tailors. Now, I see *lots* of clothing shops on the map so I guess they're just not stocked well or the person needs something very specific.
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I've had similar experiences. I'm still in the midst of getting my shop all set up (in the process of moving it from a small house to a large house so I can lay out more floor models) and I've had several customers comment either on stock (and I've only got about 250 items on my vendor) or my availability for custom orders. One customer even mentioned having searched 3 systems before finally wandering into my shop and having the revealing top she was looking for custom-made on the spot.
I'm not sure if they're just not looking in the right places, or if 250 items really does constitute well stocked, or what…but it seems people on Kettemoor are having difficulty finding tailors. Maybe people are just looking for specific items, like you said. Either way, I love working with everyone that comes into my shop, or happens to catch me in a cantina or starport—so it's working well for me. And the travelling bit is fun, too…as much as I like my shop, I also like being able to wander into some tavern or cantina on a remote planet and turn on my rotating tags (changes from Master Image Designer to Master Tailor and back, leaving each one up for 2 seconds) and see what new people I'll meet. 
Okay, maybe this is a bit off topic from travelling tailoring, but in a way, it's not.
Customers are saying, "Where are the Tailors?" Well, how many posts are in this forum about how much we hide, why we hide and how we hide? And the major point hidden in those threads is the fact the customers don't know what they are doing that is making us all hide so much and so well. We've created a Catch 22?
Many customers love to see a Tailor with their tag up in a public place, who appears to be willing to do on the spot orders, hence, those doing the Travelling Tailor game are going to do well, because at this time, too many tailors are in hiding or stick to strictly custom orders and/or vendor/bazaar sales. Personally, despite the reasons tailors are hard to find, I think there's plenty of room for all the "playstyles" of Tailoring, travelling tailor included.
Over the last few weeks, wondering why I'm snowed under all of a sudden with vendor sales and custom orders, I've had several customers telling me how delighted they were to even find a tailor, to find one with well stocked vendors, to find one who did a fast turn around on custom orders, to find one with the patience to spend a great deal of time doing a personal session, and most of all, to find a tailor that would actually reply to a tell. I'm staggered by this. Repeatedly, that is what I am hearing from customers on my server. That all the other tailors they used to know, or can still find, won't answer, or won't keep much stock in vendors, or are downright rude. Or the bane of the game, is just a holo tailor who doesn't know anything about tailoring other than to click the assemble button a few times before they drop it to chase the next holo.
I'm getting a lot of business simply because I am patient and actually in my shop, providing customer service, or roaming around being a tailor. Seems to me, we need to find ways to make interacting with the average customer, less of a pain on both sides of the relationship.
But then I decided to just keep restocking as normal until they kill off our profession. Mainly because I didn't want to give them the satisfaction of changing my play style before it even happens! I figure about 6 weeks from now, the devs will either have a system that gives me barely enough room to operate a semi-adequate vendor, or more likely, will have a system so draconian that it'll force me out of the Merchant profession altogether at the very least, so whatever's on my vendor on D-Day will be pretty much a lost cause anyhow.
Syzygy-Gorath wrote:
And the travelling bit is fun, too…as much as I like my shop, I also like being able to wander into some tavern or cantina on a remote planet and turn on my rotating tags (changes from Master Image Designer to Master Tailor and back, leaving each one up for 2 seconds) and see what new people I'll meet.
) is going to be an Image Designer/Tailor combo as well, and I would think this would be an invaluable trick. If I could convince you to give up your secret, I'd be much obliged. 
HybridII wrote:
Rotating tags? How do you do this? My new character (I'm getting my own copy of Galaxies soon, which is the reason I posted my original question - Genji actually doesnt really exist at the moment
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PS I think I've finally figured out what my new character is going to be like. He will be a zabrak Master Image Designer, Master Tailor, and as far up the Medic branch as possible (I think it will be all four boxes in three trees and three boxes in the other). Feel free to post any tips, comments, etc on this idea.
Rotating tags: I set up a repeating macro using the /setcurrentSkillTitle command. It looks something like this:
----- Begin Macro RotateTitles -----
/setcurrentSkillTitle crafting_tailor_master;
/pause 2;
/setcurrentSkillTitle social_imagedesigner_master;
/pause 2;
/macro RotateTitles;
----- End Macro RotateTitles -----
One word of warning: this macro will cancel secure trades, so remember to turn it off before you try to give your client their new threads. 
As for the template: sounds good, but I don't know that I'd bother with the medic crafting line—you're going to want to buy all of your meds from a Master Doctor anyway, so why invest the points if you don't have to? I'd suggest dropping Organic Chemistry from the template in favor of Surveying.
I ran a very high volume store for, what, 4 months or so, and eventually got burned out. Now I have a small store in the middle of nowhere where I have a very poorly stocked vendor. I decide when I want to craft now, turn on the MT title, and travel. Having a couple of droids with the most common materials lets me make most items on the spot. But having a vendor isstil very very handy when doing custom orders. I can drop those onto the vendor, have the customer pick them up at his/her leisure, and because there is almost no traffic I don't have the headaches of people buying other people's orders. It's a pretty nice arragement actually, but I personally wouldn't even consider dropping the vendor entirely.
That said, it does depend somewhat on what stage of your "tailor career" you are at. If you are a newer tailor, trying to make it and pay for your harvesters and other expenses, I think the travelling tailor gig is a tough road. If you're at the stage where that stuff is no longer a concern though, it's a great way to go I've found.
Actually, what I've started doing is carrying crates of these items (backpacks). It's just easier then carrying the materials themselves. Not like you are going to customize them right?
As far as the comment that someone made about empty vendors on the map, you know what, I think the map has become utterly useless. I'm serious, I don't bother with it anymore. When I need something and pull up the map, the entire planet is literally dotted with shops. It doesn't even really matter what it is. Weapons, clothing armor, whatever. At the times where I've actually made an effort to speeder around to different ones looking for something I've had very very poor luck and ended up just getting frustrated since half the shops are owned by holo grinder merchants with empty vendors and admission fees. Even the "legit" ones are generally so poorly stocked that you even wonder whether the owner of the vendor even plays the game anymore. If I want something now I do a search of the type of artisan I need, or I ask someone for a referral. And once I find a place that actually stocks things, I return again and again and again (and generally spend probably close to a million credits a week so they love me, lol).
Greatsails wrote:
HybridII wrote:
So, I gather that these specific resources are used for backpacks. Are they used in anything else, are backpacks just that big of a profit item by themselves? Any other specific resources needed by anything?
BTW, thanks to all who replied, you guys have been EXTREMELY helpful.
I'm at work so don't quote me on which is which, but the Bounty Hunter Backpack and the Spec-Ops Backpack require specific metals. If I recall correctly, the former requires Thoranium Steel, and the latter Titanium Aluminum. They are the most popular backpacks, and I usually get between 3-5k per each. These are one of my biggest moneymakers. It also helps, for the uneducated consumer, if you tell them that they are called Bounty Hunter packs and Spec-Ops packs. A lot of times I get requests for these from people who don't know which pack they've seen is which, but the fact that one is called a "Bounty Hunter Pack" is enough for them, and they want *that* one, whatever it looks like. Others, and this is the general consensus I think, just like the looks of these 2 packs better than the others ingame. I'm among them. Hope that's helpful.
Dex1138 wrote:
My point exactly. If i'm out cruising around and see a building sporting a shop sign, I'll pop in to see what's there. 95% of the time, it's empty.
ArthurDentOnBria wrote:
When I need something and pull up the map, the entire planet is literally dotted with shops. It doesn't even really matter what it is.
I learned awhile ago, if you're looking for something it's usually better to find someone through Search instead of relying on vendors.
The thing that REALLY kills me though is the starport spammers "Come to my shop at X Y! We have blah, blah, blah." And I drive the few minutes out there to find nothing or things I can find on the bazaar that no one's looking to buy, much less leave the city for.
Ugh…so true. I had a tissue emergency and I wasn't sure my BE would come through, so I snuck off to a starport shouter's shop. Guess what? Plenty of stuff I could have gotten on the bazaar, or made cheaper myself, but no medic tissues. Thankfully my BE showed up shortly thereafter and hand-crafted the 3 tissues I needed to complete my order…but boy did I learn my lesson there.
My point exactly. If i'm out cruising around and see a building sporting a shop sign, I'll pop in to see what's there. 95% of the time, it's empty.
ArthurDentOnBria wrote:When I need something and pull up the map, the entire planet is literally dotted with shops. It doesn't even really matter what it is.
I learned awhile ago, if you're looking for something it's usually better to find someone through Search instead of relying on vendors.
The thing that REALLY kills me though is the starport spammers "Come to my shop at X Y! We have blah, blah, blah." And I drive the few minutes out there to find nothing or things I can find on the bazaar that no one's looking to buy, much less leave the city for.
I don't know if this has ever happend to you, but to me the *absolute* worst, is the merchant holo-grinders. I'll get email spam, or /tell spam from people saying "plz come to my store and stare at my vendors for a whileso I get the xp, I even have some crappy survey tools and novice-box artisan food".
Ugh! That is just SOOooo lame. I even have one friend (well, more like ex-friend now) who emails me every week telling me to come to his place (which is a 3-planet jump from my place) just for the privaledge of staring at his empty vendors. ugh!
Dex1138 wrote:
The thing that REALLY kills me though is the starport spammers "Come to my shop at X Y! We have blah, blah, blah." And I drive the few minutes out there to find nothing or things I can find on the bazaar that no one's looking to buy, much less leave the city for.
Hmm, i seem to follow a little of all these tailoring styles
I have a small shop on dantooine, i keep 400-600 items stocked at all times.
I encourage custom / email orders from my customers, i like to know they are getting exactly what the want.
I also keep my MT tag on when traveling and when i'm quiet in the shop (about once every 2 weeks or so) i love to go and sit in a cantina somewhere and just offer instant local tailoring. Its a great way to pass the time as you are dancing/playing or while healing some BF. (and since i have no memory, it's easy to que up the requests by asking them to email you and you can contact them when you get to their position in line)
I always carry a full stock of supplies/resources on me (including BE cloths), but this mostly started wheni had more than 1 shop to stock.
Never think to use my droid helper for storage, but i usually have enough room to carry it all ...
That's about it. Its a nice full life that keeps food on the table for me and my family.
Aylara Ahagi
Master Tailor
Shadowbrak City, Dantooine