Tailor Archive

This change doesn't help the merchant class at all. Even as a master tailor and nearly master merchant (and I planned to be one), I would be forced to shut down all my store operations.

Consider the following: I put up 10 different master tailor items, of 10 different colors each, at 10k each (using round numbers to make it easier). That's 1 million total value on my vendor of just these items, and assume as one sells, I replace it quickly with a replacement for sale. That's 32,000 credits per day to run this vendor. If I sell less than 4 of these master items a day, I lose money. Today I'm lucky if I sell 4-5 a day, and that's not always the case. Selling 5 would give me a 18k profit, or basically 3600 per master tailor item (which is absurdly low). I may as well sell for 3k on the bazaar and drop all the overhead of running a shop. Anyone who still uses a merchant will find that the variety of clothing has dropped drastically, and you'll most likely see only 1 of any type for sale..probably black in color.

Add in the fact that clothing does not decay currently, and that sales over time for all tailors will go slightly downhill, I can expect to sell less in the future. Eventually the 4-5 per day will be nearly impossible to meet, and it will always be a loss.

No, what this change does is shuts down the merchant class and stores completely. I'll sit in the cantina or starport, shouting to make clothing, and selling a 10k item at 10k, making 10k on the deal and losing nothing to fees. Except that doesn't fit my playstyle, so I'd finally give up altogether and click cancel. I'd rather not see that pass.

The only thing that makes sense for vendors is a flat rate fee. Even sales tax on vendors (the popular solution right now) will mean that players will make deals to circumvent purchasing items from vendors, and getting them directly from a player. The only way to truely stop that is to tax all cash transfers of any type, which is silly.

Make sure to post your thoughts on the vendor thread over in the merchant forum, for I think it hurts tailors as much or more than any other class. While architects are compaining about their fees on a 150k large house, we have the same issue with our 10-15k items in 8-10 colors.

And then we have the winners like this post:

http://forums.station.sony.com/swg/board/message?board.id=merchant&message.id=6051

Apparently there are merchants that think that since some of us aren't selling as much as them, we deserve to be forced out of our shops.

Here's the part that ticked me off:
"I am a semi-casual player (play 7-10pm a few nights a week) and I easily sell 30+ items a day. So my thinking is if a tailor can't drum up more business than that, they should just go back to pushing Dusters on the bazaar."

Real nice.

I thought I should add that I am a tailor / merchant so I am VERY familiar with the dynamics of tailoring. So I am not just some merchant trashing what it takes to tailor.

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Ghartan wrote:

Sorry ... but in my book ... you are a dabbler in a trade if that is your volume and as such are not really needing a vendor.

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I think he just forgot he was a beginner tailor at some point

14,400 credits a day for me to maintain my current vendors and inventory that means. That will ruin the game for me. And I had such an impressive showroom and did such nice buisness cos I always made sure I was well stocked.

I'm a pretty patient and mellow person, but I really have to ask DO YOU GUYS PLAY YOUR OWN FREAKING GAME??????

lol. sorry....had to say it I'm ready for my nap now!

*boggle*

What am I going to do???

I'm told I have the best stocked vendor in the galaxy.. and it's probably true. I have HUNDREDS of items on my vendor. All the master items, all the gowns and dress, at least one of (almost) everything. I'd pay 200k a day in maintance if they did this! maybe more

I live in the UK, which means I don't play "prime time" hours. So a lot of my business is done on my vendors. I have three vendors... one for my husband's pets and supplies, my main vendor and a "bargain basement" vendor for things that don't sell after a good chance on the main vendor or things ppl order in strange colours then decide they don't like.. or my "experiments".

I average between 30 and 80k a night on my main vendor and another 10k on my others. And I sell just as many low level items as master items. I guess this means I have to either give up tailoring, or go master merchant (and lose all my medic, scout and image design skills). I will become a slave to the tailoring profession. I'm not amused.

/quit

Nalinya Dreamstar

Master Tailor of Valcyn

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Ghartan wrote:

Sorry ... but in my book ... you are a dabbler in a trade if that is your volume and as such are not really needing a vendor.

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So someone's a dabbler if they're just setting up shop? I figure it'll take at least 2-3 weeks to get a steady traffic through my shop, and it's been in it's current location for a little less than 1.There's no way I could afford 2-3 weeks of maintainance on the high amount of items I stock until my customer traffic gets up to speed. You didn't have your high volume of sales overnight did you?

And I still say calling people with a different playstyle from you a "dabbler" is condescending. Some of us are choosing to go after a smaller percent of the market. I'd rather have a small group of loyal customerscome shop my vendor instead of trying to go high volume. And I do need a vendor, so those customers can get some clothes when I'm not there. See, I love tailoring. But I also like going out hunting with my friends and travelling. Keeping a well-stocked vendor keeps my regulars happy when I just run off for a couple of days to Yavin IV or Endor.

But apparently that makes me not a serious tailor and undeserving of having a shop.

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Songe wrote:

I think he just forgot he was a beginner tailor at some point

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Actually ... I remember fully what those days were like. But the difference is I am not part of the instant gratificatiion crowd. I didn't put up a vendor till I had a installed based of customers via the bazaar. It was only AFTER I was selling 30-50,000 a day that I made the jump to a vendor.

Now we have folks that are selling 10-15000 a day on a couple of items and thinking they need a vendor to do that ... errm ... for that just use the bazaar.

PLease add me to the list of people who are really upset by this!

I am only a medium-level tailor. My store does not get that much traffic other than the people in my town and a few random passers-by. I can't afford to advertise because I am not a master Tailor who can sell all the "great stuff", and I dont want to dissapoint people when they truck all the way out to my shop.

I was scraping by wiht a few bazaar sales, sales from my shop, bulk orders to merchants, and just able to pay for my house, vendors, factory, and 2 small harvesters. But, even then, the time-based maintance was driving me nuts because if I can't play for a day or two, I log back in to see everything decaying and it costs me even MORE money.

But THIS... this means that I cant even put stuff on my own vendor. Instead of the lady's clothes that I like to make (yet sell infrequently), I will have to put just a few pieces of men's clothing, all in black and stand around PRAYING that they sell!! Geez.. I'm sorry but that is just Not FUN anymore!

And already the two friends I have that run "general stores" have told me that they can no longer buy bulk orders from me. That was really my only guaranteed source of income. I would sell them say 20 items at once, all at less than 50% price, and that was guaranteed money that I needed... Now it will be gone..

I think this database issue has finally really come to the surface and started impacting all of us in a very noticeable and negative way.. and it needs to be looked at before they do anymore to try to stop the proliferation of items.

I have been following this game for geeez like 3 years now... I was one of the first 100 people in Beta 1. And only today have I really REALLY felt the first pangs of true dissapointment. Many of my friends have quit, or are quitting... my merchant friends took one look at this and threw up their hands.. Correspondents are resigning all over the place...

They really need to get their act together.. and quickly.

__Alichai__

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donnah42 wrote:

The bazaar has a 3k credit limit, which is meant to encourage us to use vendors. Also that 25 item limit on the bazaar is a deal breaker.

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It's a pity. I would gladly use the bazaar only, but Iwill notsell anything above Tier II at that price. That would be a disservice not only to myself, but to my fellow tailors as well.

The player economy is in a formative state. This is absolutely the worst possible time to betightening the vise on fledgling (and experienced but low-volume) crafters.

What ... other than Master Tailor items ... are sold for more than 3000 these days?

On Starsider ... nothing gets that price and we even now are seeing Master Tailor items drop below that mark (points the thread on this very topic in this forum). Oh I remember the day when I could get a pretty penny for level III or IV items but that day is LONG GONE.

I'm not saying folks can't dabble ... that's how I got sucked into it to. But at the time I knew I was dabbling and played accrodingly. I sold everything through the bazaar and direct when I felt like mingling. The limit of 25 items was an issue but I knew that was the penalty for "free" sales. I'd plop 25 popular items that were best bang-for-the-buck and developed a nice revenue stream.

I had my relationship with my friends that I would do custom stuff for them and put it on the bazaar .. they loved the convinience of being able to get their item in town ... and I would always add a couple extra copies in case someone else was interested. As long as I didn't price the items below market value, it worked great.

So I do not agree with the concept that you cannot be a dabbler in Tailoring and be successful without a vendor ... been there ... done that .. got the T-Shirt.

And I like the guy(s) calling me a troll ... that is usually something my teenage kids would say when someone says something they don't agree with yet can't refute

There is no refuting your ghartan, you just have a different Vision of what type of commitment should be required tobe a tailor in this game.

I live in a player town. I spend most of my time there...If I had to make all my money from the bazaar in town, I would not get to haveas much fun with my friends.

Also, I very much enjoy running a shop, even though I'm not a high-end tailor. I can set up displays and sell all kinds of things on my vendor, not to mention people can sell ME things, or drop things off for me when I'm not online and that helps me immensly.

I am not super-efficient, and I would rather not play a game that forces me to be, because I dont consider that fun!