Price for a combine..please read i have read the below posts

[Cerilin]

Ok all, first off I am new to the board but hope to be here more often. I am a lvl 61 mage on the bristlebane server who is working on smithing.

Ok Ok now for the reason of my post. I have gotten a little bored of my mage and have a dark elf warrior. (made before i started smithing or would of made wood elf so I can make him armor) and I want to get him some cultural armor. I am lookign for a decent price to offer the smith for doing the combien for me. Now before hand let me explain, I will do all the presmithing, I will have all the components brewed, enchanted etc. including the essence of sunlight etc.. ( I do my homework ) I do all the work with the components, i just need a human smith to combine the high quality rings and the final combine. Now I was speaking to the mule of a GM smith in the other day and my jaw hit the floor when i heard what he wanted to charge me. Wanted 5-7k for a succesful combine. This was flat out outrageous to me. I do not want a free combine by any means, but hell this was crazy. I have spent countless hrs farming and buying the materials in order to save my pp. Here is what I am able and willign to spend and I was wondering if anyone thought this was to bad. I want a BP, Legs, Bracers, and boots for my warrior (lvl 47 now) I was going to pay 600pp per succesful combine as long as i provided all the materials, did all the combines myself minus the final combine and the infused high quality. After all the pieces I wanted are made, the smith can have any left over materials. As a smith myself just not at GM lvl this seemed fair, but I got laughed at. Does this seem fair to you???

[Lothay]

Moving this to the correct server forum.

~ Lothay

[Cerilin]

Didn't mean for that to sound like an add but after reading it, it seems like one, i really just wanted to know from smiths what a "fair" price would be to offer smiths, and or what they would charge.

[Zacatac]

Everyone is different. Some people don't want to give up the income they could get by selling the items, so they charge 5k for a succesful BP combine for instance.

Others don't want people to turn around and sell the items. This has been an issue when somebody says "can you combine this for me?" and then 10 minutes later they are auctioning the item for sale. The person with the skill to make the item just allowed the person who gathered the supplies to make a huge profit off his skill.

I can tell you what I do, but like I said, everyone is different.

Gather EVERYTHING necessary to make 5 attempts at the item. Once the item is made, I will then use their supplies to make myself a bracer as my fee. After the bracer is made, we can attempt anything else they wish until supplies run out. So the more they bring, the better for them since they get more attempts.

They get at least 1 item, perhaps more. I get a bracer which I sell for 8k. So far it has been working, all my customers have left happy. And they learn just how hard it is to gather all of this stuff up

Unfortunately I'm high elf also, so can't help you much. I do know a DE smith (also magician) you can talk to, but no human GM's in my guild yet that can make BD cultural.

[eveel]

As Zac said, the person wanting the combine done can just turn around and sell the item, most likely undercutting the combiner in the process.

As to the 5k combine charge, you don't have to pay it. EQ is a market based economy, things tend to sell for what the market will bear, people aren't required to sell you the things you want at a set price. In the same spirit, you aren't required to pay a specific price for an item, if you wait around a bit and/or ask different people, you will more than likely find it cheaper.
In charging 5k, they are obviously guarding against you reselling and undercutting them *and* taking into account their own time and money invested in getting to high skill with smithing. Ask around as to the time and plat cost of getting 250 smithing, then you'll understand a bit better =).

[Gregular]

combine fees

I always determine my fees based on the amount of work completed by the customer, AND the current market value of the finished item. For instance, I have been making the Night Terror Chain Tunic, and selling quite nicely at 30k. There is no way I'll do a combine for someone out of the blue for a mere pittance. Last tunic I did this way I was paid a 10k fee.

Why? Like Eveel said, ask around about how much time and plat went into getting skills up. I personally spent more than 500k EACH getting smithing and tailoring to 250. Of course, that amount also includes making 5 attempts at each trophy before I was successful.

And not including you in this category, 'cause obviously you're searching for an answer, but there have been several of the 'd00d, I ain't gonna pay you more than 100pp just to click combine' people approach me. As far as I care, they are still looking for a combine.

Yes, I have made a large number of very inexpensive combines for people. And I have also been in the position of seeing MY hard work and plat go to enrich others, with some items making it up in the Bazaar within minutes of completion.

None of my fees are set in stone, and I am more than willing to work with people, especially if they come by referral from previous customers/friends that are trustworthy, and hopefully appreciative of the skills involved.

[Docc]

all the time

I find it SO funny that people expect discounts for supplies. Most supplies can be bought in the bazaar with little effort. What I find even FUNNIER is that most GM smiths will not even do free (or near free) combines for OTHER GMs (most good friends) yet people think we will do it for strangers.

You don't offer tubes of paint and a canvase to an artist for a free $10,000 painting, do you?

Reminds me of the guy this weekend that got MAD at me when I asked him to drag his body to the zone for a ress. He honestly thought I should search Paldrual Caverns to find him and ress for free.

Docc

[eveel]

I always find that working from the assumption that many people think they're playing a single player game seems to explain a lot of the actions of others.
They don't seem to realize that other people play this game and have more important things to do then run around after them =/.

[Lilosh]

Re: all the time

You don't offer tubes of paint and a canvase to an artist for a free $10,000 painting, do you?

Just the other day, I brought some raw beef, a bit of lettuce, and a loaf of bread to McDonalds.

THEY WOULDNT GIMME A FREE HAMBURGER!!! WTF.
They are so mean!

<grin>


I love that analogy.


-Lilosh

[Gregular]

Good one!

ROFL, thanks, Lilosh. I hadn't seen that before, but now I have the perfect answer for those that only want me to click the button. No more patiently explaining to an uncaring audience about the time and plat, etc. etc.

[Cerilin]

After reading some of the post I just wanted everyone to known that I was not expecting a free combine, or a hella cheap combine. I just thought that 5k PER combine was a bit high. That being said I found a very nice smith that was recommended to me from my guild leader to do the combines. Purehearted did it for me. I can only say that he gave me a VERY fair price, and I was sooooo happy with the succes rate of my combines. But just for your info we worked out a price that I was happy with and he was happy with. I didn't pay him any pp, but I did give him ruffly 5-6 blocks of enchanted ore, 10 blue diamonds, ruffly 7 of the blue diamond tempers (celestial temper?) 1 essence of sunlight, 35 griffene blood, ruffly 25 of the enchanted rings needed to make enchanted joints, some coldain velium temper. I believe that was all i gave him, but for the most part I just gave him all of my extra supplies I had rounded up. When he saw that I was a mage that didn't worship rallos zek he did ask a few questions, but i explained this was for my dark elf warrior (Vindal Blacknight) and even offered to log on my warrior for him to give the armor to. Just so he would no that I wasn't going to sell the armor for a profit. So my warrior is now wearign a new BP, 1 bracer, and some new boots, and purehearted has a decent amount of supplies to make some profit off of. I was happy and I believed he was happy.

[Lilosh]

Cerilin: I wasn't referring to you, I was working Docc's comment.


Lots of people expect us to combine for them "cuz ur just hitting combine omgwtf".

I like my analogy, and thought I would share it. From what I read, you are not one of the above.


Sorry if you misunderstood me.


-Lilosh

[twinbabas]

re: free combines

I find I get asked quite a bit for free combines. Now that I'm not really in need of cash, I do most for free if I'm not busy.

Part of the reason why I do this, is that I like to get free combines or very cheap combines myself.

I do these combines for free, for personal use.

Black Mortal and Pedestal
Artisan Seals
Blue Diamond Dust

[Docc]

I think i am up to 6-8 iron oxides for ya, 2Bs

[Drhobbes]

I love people hollering for a GM tailor, then having no clue what is needed for the item they want made. On the other hand, dealing with someone who understands what is entailed makes a bad day turn around.

Even friends have no clue, sometimes, though. Had a guildmate the other day ask me to make him a robe. He then handed me 2 worked chains, 2 patterns and 6 dusts of tunare. I tried not to laugh, really. He wasn't thrilled when he learned that he needed a ruby, sapphire and emerald for each chain and they weren't a given (luckily we have a GM jeweler with JCM 3, has only failed once in about 40 tries for me). Haven't seen him back yet, so guess they haven't linked up.

Truthfully, I hate doing combines for other people. I'd rather make stuff and then put it on my trader. I don't mind doing the work, it's having to explain to the "kewl doods" why I charge at all (doncha love these guys). I like your guys' method, so make look for the "bring me extra materials" to do the combines. I actually did this once for a guy I was doing pantherskin armor, getting a bunch of yew leaf tannin for my effort. Both of us were happy, which is what counts, imho.

Asterius LeFemme GM tailor w/GM needle