Bazaar prices

[Suva]

The other night I parked my trader in bazaar and as I always so, I searched for soem of the items I was selling that fluctuate in price to see the current ones already up for sale. I adjusted my prices (not by much) on a few items to be competative and went to bed. I woke up and did a search again quick when I noticed that items I usually sell a few of had not sold at all. On one of them, somne bottomed out the market on hobgoblin suprises by cutting the going rate on them by more than half. So I'll just wait til they sell out, no problem. oh wait, they have over 100 in stock. So I figure with their price so low, maybe they will sell out soon. Except now on that item many people have lowered thier prices to be competative with that persons price. So the item drops from 300-700pp each now down to 150 or less.

At least the market on a few other tradeskilled items seems to be holding up ok.

[Glatius2]

Yeah, pretty typical scenario. Some people just insist on selling their items at a rock bottom price in hopes that they'll move fast. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don't. Either way, it messes up the prices for everyone else. I don't begrugde them their desire to unload their inventory, but sometimes cutting the price to the very bottom of the scale still won't sell the stuff significantly faster, but it kicks the rest of us in the butt.

[Arghargh]

I've seen that alot: someone lowers a price by 30%-50% thinking it will move faster, but it doesn't. I see this with sickles, and expecially qeynos afternoon tea. I keep my trader on and check him from work to watch the market variations. The lowest price sells first with very few exceptions.

There do seem to be a few items where there is a silent agreement to match prices and not under cut eachother, only a few.

The funniest exchange was Trader X lowered a price by a few pp. I matched it. He lowered it again, and I matched it. No big deal. I send him a couple of /tells asking why he keeps on lowering the price? An hour later, he drops price again and /tells me "How long we gonna play this game?" I point out that I'm just matching, he's the one trying to hog the market. We quickly agree to share the market, and both raise our prices to what they were before our game.

Arghargh Grumble, Darkblood
57 Ogre Shaman of Rallos Zek
Alchemy – 165
Baking – 200
Brewing - 200
Fishing - 200
Fletching – 200
Jewelcraft –200
Potting - 200
Grandmaster Smith - 250
Tailoring – 159

[matkthemage]

And then you got to bed, and he lowers his prices 20pp.

I'm lucky I stay up late, usually get the last word in price reduction. Most of the time I just match prices, and I think a lot of people are starting to do that. Wish prices would plummet on the tradeskill components.

[Eleena Transient]

What annoys me the most are those that cut by 1pp. As if 39999pp is better then 40000pp.

I've made it a point to never buy something ending in 9, and I'm constantly harrassing them in /ooc. Seems most folks agree, and shortly after they bring back to 40K even,

[Arghargh]

It seams to me that the longer a trader is active (as in weeks) selling the same item, the more stable the price. It is when a new trader starts selling an item that the price drops. Some of it is impatience to sell stuff now. Some is an attempt to corner the market. I can afford to keep pp tied up in inventory. Some people can't.

One strategy I follow is match the lowest market price, but when I become the only one at that price, raise the price again. This way the price isn't continuously eroded.

I can almost accept the 39,999pp vs 40kpp price strategy because I still remember hoarding every single bat wing, and fire beetle eye I got so I could buy rations and water. Almost.

Arghargh Grumble, Darkblood
57 Ogre Shaman of Rallos Zek
Alchemy – 165
Baking – 200
Brewing - 200
Fishing - 200
Fletching – 200
Jewelcraft –200
Potting - 200
Grandmaster Smith - 250
Tailoring – 159

[xaanru]

Lowering price

What annoys me the most are those that cut by 1pp. As if 39999pp is better then 40000pp.

I've made it a point to never buy something ending in 9, and I'm constantly harrassing them in /ooc. Seems most folks agree, and shortly after they bring back to 40K even,

The problem is, on tradeskill items, Its usually one of us regular traders, who is trying to make a point with some undercutter, who came in with a price below the normal one. I still don't get that whole strategy. Do they REALLY think that we will not lower our price, and let them get ALL the sales. Usually though, I don't do the 999 thing. Whenever a lowballer comes in, with more than one or two pieces, I will in turn undercut them by 25pp. They usually get the point, especially after a few tells.

[Noni DeeCups]

I wont lower my prices as I feel they are more than fair. Eventually others run out too soon from selling too cheap and I am still there with inventory for the next shopper. I am not selling my stuff because I need money or to skill up. I make food for me and my friends and always have leftovers.

If some moron comes in and cuts the price in half and sell out every night ... ROFL I know they wont be able to keep it up for long. They will get Tendonitis from making all those Halas pies they are selling for 2 plat each or the picnics at 7p. Baking has hit an all time low on my server as moron after moron makes patty melts... it is depressing.

[Thicket Tundrabog]

Maneuvering in the Bazaar can be a lot of fun. My strategy varies depending on the situation.

A single seller lowballing an item usually doesn't get a response from me. I sometimes buy the item and mark it up, but not very often.

A newcomer trying to force their way into a market on a number of items is a lot more fun. I usually price match and most get the message.

Sometimes they are persistent and they get a tell something like "Cool beans. Competition at last!! We're going to have some fun. I hope you have deep pockets. Lol"

I also know what it costs me to make something. I know my margins on each of my tailored products. If I know that my markup on cobalt drake belts is 600% and someone is undercutting me, fair enough. Even at a lower skill, the other tailor can make a decent profit. I'll simply price match.

Bazaar trading is fun to me. There will always be profitable niches. There will occasionally be opportunities to profit from new products when they first come out... if you are nimble.

Thicket

[Suva]

The prices on halas pies and misty picnics stays stable for the most part. The only time i will usually lower my prices on food items not part of a quest is when I only have a few left and don't plan to make more for awhile and just want to clean out that inventory slot to make room for whatever i am making that day. Then I also only lower it by 1pp and I sell out fairly quickly without everyone else lowering prices to match me.

[Taku645]

A couple things I've noticed. Sometimes when I first start selling a new item and no one else is selling them at the time I honestly don't know what the going rate is so either I have to guess or hold off selling them for a while. Case in point, Lucky Cabbage. For the life of me I couldn't remember what the rate was on these things so I set mine at 80pp, sold 3 almost instantly and just had 2 left. Later I checked and 2 other people were selling them at 150pp each. They could have easily thought I was trying to corner the market, which was not the case. I generally just match whatever the lowest price is and go to bed. The other situation I've ran into a couple times has been people match someone's undercut price and eventually when they re-stock they don't bother to check the market for the current price and end up doing the undercutting of the current market. This happens a few times, market continues downward spiral.

IMO thanksgiving week just about killed the halas pie market on povar. So many people got the entire week off so they busied themselves by skilling up their baking and absolutely flooding the market. It is slowly starting to recover a little but some people aren't bothering to change the old prices back in their .ini file. With Christmas upcoming I expect the bottom of the market to just fall out.

Bleh.

[Yalum]

When I see someone undercutting me, especially in an established market, I'll drop my price to match their's once. If they undercut me again, I'll send a tell saying something like "Price wars take too long, let me show you how this will end" and cut my price to cost. Occasionally someone will sell at a loss just to get rid of either their inventory or me (or maybe they have cheaper supplies, I have to buy foraged goods for instance), but most of them get the point.

[Balkin]

I really try not to undercut on tradeskill made items.

Halas meat pies are 5PP on Xegony... Accept for one person selling for 4PP 9GP. *sigh*

[Abazagaroth]

My prices come from a standard % profit margin I want to make on my items. I never bother checking to see what others are selling at. Its none of my business. I'll keep doing that till my stuff no longer sells, then I will quit smithing completely. *shrug*

[wold2]

lower prices

I came into market with a pile of flawless hopper hides. I look up price I see 200 pp?? I felt bad for all my fellow tailoring tradesillers, so I couldn't feel right about 200 pp. I set price 125 pp, went away.
Guy selling at 200 came and bought em all
Oh well I tried to help the tailors lol