My Interesting Road to becoming a Grandmaster

[TheGiantOne]

Heyas all

Okay my experiences with Tailoring.

LOL...I thought smithing was bad to get to be a Grandmaster. That is until I met its friend...TAILORING.

Yes..cringe if you have to my fellow tradeskillers. I streamlined up to 195 then I got several visits from HELL LEVELS hehe to teach me piety which brought me down a few notches.

After around 1800 combines I am now a Grandmaster in Tailoring.

At 195 I said the heck with it and did the following:

Between 195 all the way up I alternated between Acrylia Reinforced Armors, Arctic Wyvern Hide Armors.

The other tip I can give you is don't use a sewing geerlok while trying reps doing robes or anything unless you actually want to sell the items you could possibly make. FAILURE OR SUCCESS rates on making an actual item have no affect on how many SKILLUPS you do.

DO get ya wisdom up as high as you can as that DOES affect your chances of getting a SKILLUP point.

Between 195 to 212 are your very worst HELL levels. Ratio 1:40

Then 212 to 220 are your next SET of HELL levels but not as bad. Ratio 1:35

Then from 220 to 230 1:30

Then from 227 onward 1 :25

Oh yeaa, if you do the robes make sure you have a resale buyer ahead of time for them. They don't stack.

Okay now costs for masks on both the armors:

Arctic Wyvern Hide - 100pp each
Cod Oil - 70pp each
Velium Studs - 90pp each
Misc Cost - 40pp
Total for Wyvern Arctic Armor - 300pp

Flawless Rockhopper Hide - 300pp
Acrylia Boning - 80pp
Paelea Bark Tanin - 10pp
Misc Cost - 40pp
Acrylia Reinforced Armor - 430pp

Gem-Studded Chain - 300pp (had a enchanter who was a friend do them for cost of materials (if ya buy them 800pp)
Sacred Tunare Silk x 3 - 150pp
Misc Cost (includes embroidery needle - 30pp
Ceremonial Solstice Robe - 480pp

If you could outright buy the materials like I did (from plat I earned from my other 4 GM tradeskills) Tailoring would cost you anywhere from 480k to 768k.

Me I did robes all the way to 234 so I did it for around 300k.

Woot now its easy street! Only Jewelcraft and Baking Left.

Hope this helps.

[Nimphe Wildwood]

Congrats and welcome to the Sewing Circle.

[Chenier]

Nimphe, you made me think of my mom's RL sewing group...they call themselves "Stitch and B*tch" =)

[Lixivia]

Total for Wyvern Arctic Armor - 300pp

haha i wish, it probably costs more around 600pp on my server.

grats on GMing though =)

[Malodium]

(from plat I earned from my other 4 GM tradeskills)

Im at 250 in every tradeskill except tailoring (226) and have made maybe 10k max from it. Most of that was cash I got from selling skillup items like solstice robes and MTPs.
Everytime im in PoK I do an OCC advertising my skills and that I can do combines for money.
Maybe you could give me some advice on how to make 300k from tradeskills.....

[Moraganth]

I've pulled in over 260 k just off tailoring, the majority of it in the past 3 months (only counting bazaar sells).

It's actually real simply... watch what sells, make those items.. and keep them stocked. I had the epiphany (a very loose use of the word) back then.. i realized that a) i had the skills; and b) i wasn't doing anything with them.

Now, i spend a night a week making stuff for my vendor mule. He's down to 2 items that are not tradeskill made, or components (as if black acrylia will EVER sell).

Skilling up (mind you, that's post 200 skilling), i'll be vendorign anythign i use that is sellable. Atm, mtp's are providing a nice income.

Another key to making money doing tradeskills is; don't be afraid to buy components in the bazaar (if the items actually sell), but don't waste plat. People selling a word of aborgation for 1k can keep it.. people selling for 500 will get my plat. The old saying was "to make money, you have to spend money".. but remeber "to have money, you can't waste money"

I farm a LOT of the stuff i use, but i realize that some of it is simply easier (and cheaper in the long run) to buy. I will not reward those that gouge however, even if i'm desperate for a skillup.

[Malodium]

i realized that a) i had the skills; and b) i wasn't doing anything with them.

Thats the situation im in now. Only, im trying to use them, I just dont know what sells.
I mean, there are craploads of recipies available to you when you are GM at everything. I dont really know where to start.

I know PoP stuff sells, but getting your hands on the items needed (like ele bows, and armor) is almost impossible. I never see it in the bazaar.

[shadyn]

I found that food usually sells. Make: MTP's. Halas Meat Pies (groan), Liq Grobb, or Qeyons Afternoon Tea.

Real good sellers are Hero Sandwiches and Tormentor Stir Fry; its just the componets are hard to get.

[Moraganth]

I don't really do any pop items.. like you said, components are just to hard to get , and usually exhorbinantly expensive to buy.... making any fail too costly.

Food sells well. People need to eat, and they're are enough peopel who don't power eat to make a decent living.

On older items, you have to look at the ones that are actually still usable. Black panther boots are good... black panther sleeves aren't. PoP pretty much screwed the economy on everythign that came before. Now you have to cater to mid level people who aren't powerleveling to join an elemental guild.

Another target audience are those Elemental guild people. If you make some of the sub-combines for them to raise their skill for aid gimmel, you can make good plat off fairly trivial items. I had to come to grips with the idea i wasn't selling some things for people in general, but for people who had more money than "time to farm" (you can be creative with that part of the phrase)... but they are a good target group, as they tend to violate the "thou shalt not waste money" principle a lot.

[Malodium]

Yeah ive actually made much more money selling swirling shadows than anything I made with my skills.

I can sell them for 60-70pp each which is over 1k per stack.

probably the best money making item I have come across.

Its a shame

[YurienStonebow]

i've made about 30k going from 150 to 225 in baking and brewing. started making hmp then patty melts and hmp again. qat/glm/mhb are good money makers too

[TheGiantOne]

Hmm....

Okay giving away some advice so listen carefully.

1. Never screw anyone over on any deals you make selling items ie. no price gouging just because you are only person in bazaar selling a certain item at that time. (Since I don't let my prices change that much I have same people and their friends who would rather buy from me selling something at 250pp than a person trying to undercut me by selling at 240pp)

2. You earned the title Grandmaster in whatever skill. Don't cheapen it by doing combines for ie. Stonewood Compound Bow for 1k for someone who is selling that bow for 100k. ( I charge only on successes and then is 1k minimum or 10% of whatever ending average value of item is selling for in bazaar). Stick to that.

3. Be honest with folks ahead of time ie. if you say you are going to charge them 40k for a set of diety armor then I don't care what it cost you thats what you charge them. (Figure in your cost with % of success built in ahead of time).

4. Make sure you have learned your skill and not just streamlioned ya way to becoming a GM. This will save you time and give you the respect you want as a GM in any tradeskill.

5. Make yourself known in bazaar by using the /auction game channel, the private /auction channel and OOC by advertising who you are and what you sell. Advertise while you are sitting in /trader mode or while you are passing through PoK.

6. Formula for Charging for making an Item.
Costs = 1750pp for one attempt on armor (example bp)
Charge = 4 x each cost = 7k
Profit based on 50% success = 3500pp
Profit based on 100% success = 5250pp

With this formula you will never lose platinum and you can vary that selling price a great deal if you wish if you had a good success ratio on the combines.

7. Always offer nice discounts for multiple combines.

Okay now onto the good stuff..the items that will make you the platinum you sooooo desire.

Fletching - Any elemental bow like Featherwood, Stonewood, I do about 4 successful combines for others each week making around 30k a week.

Smithing - Ethereal Metal Sheets (sell around 70 a week for 12k a week profit).

Tae ew Chain Armors - 10k a week

Diety Armor - Sell about 20 pieces a week for a profit of 50k.

Other armors - Make 10k a week.

Acrylia or Velium Boning or Studs - 8k a week making these for others.

Tailoring - 35k a week (mostly elemental planes armor combines like stonehide)

Pottery - Make around 20k a week combining stuff like Ceramic Stuff like totems etc.

Brewing - 5k a week making various elemental tempers.

So around 180k a week is possible.

That of course does not include buying materials and/or items for 50% less than what they are selling for and turning them into a quick profit.

Example someone has quit going up the ladder in skillups in tailoring. but has 100 arctic wyvern hides, 100 cod oil, and 100 velium studs to sell quick. He only wants 15k for all of that. You buy all of the above items. The same day you sell the 100 hides for 100pp each, the 100 cod oil for 60pp each, and the 100 velium studs for 100pp each for a total of 26k for a nice profit of 11k.

The key here is to spend some time in the bazaar and auction and ooc channels and see what is selling and how is looking for what. Someone could have 200 blue diamonds for sale at 300pp each for 60k cost. You turn around and sell them at bazaar low price of 450pp each for 90k for a profit of 30k.

The key I found was to not kill yourself getting the materials to make the items so you could sell for a hopeful huge profit if successful but doing combines for others will make you more plat and more contacts for word of mouth than anything else.

IF YOU MAKE 5 of YOUR OWN ITEMS IN 1 WEEK 5 people know of you but if you do 40 combines for 40 people in same week then 40 people know of you and tell 2 friends and so on and so on.....
IE. 5 x 2 = 10 people, 40 x 2 = 80 people Big Difference.

Use your profits as a GM in one tradeskill to pay for next tradeskill.

One last piece of advice and some of you will disagree with me but it's true.

If you are seriously going to become a GM in ANY tradeskill do it to 250 and then get a trophy. People the very first ? out of a new customers mouth is are you 250 and a trophy. You will feel better as they will even if you fail on their combines now and then.

PS..I AM NOT ELEMENTAL PLANES FLAGGED OR IN ANY GUILD

Hope all of this helped,

[drtyaty]

Moraganth

Moraganth, what are mtp's?

Thanks,

[Galain]

I can make about 50-100k per week making 2 items per week. I exp in Fire by the magma guys with a group of us working on our 2nd Aid Grimel ear. We usually get a solidified magma each day which works out to 1 Incense Burner of Ro for each of us a week to sell at 55k+ a pop. I also will buy a stonewood bow staff a week at 20k to make a bow that I turn around and sell at 80k+.

[Malodium]

A few of you have mentioned elemental combines.
I have yet to figure out how to get stuff for those.
In each and every elemental combine there is at least one very tough to get item, which I NEVER ever see for sale. I check daily for elemental bow items and thats the situation on those especially.

The armor is particulaily tough because it generally requires so many items.

I advertise all the time as im running through PoK that im 250 in all tradeskills except tailoring which is currently sitting at 226.
After about a month straight of doing that I have gotten a total of about 3 tells asking me to make stuff. Every one was asking to make a few tailored backpacks.


For some reason, even though my guild is elemental flagged, it is seriously almost impossible to get a group in any of the planes.
When we raid there, ALL tradeskill items go to equipping the guild. I enjoy making stuff for the guild, but get 0 plat from it.

I probably could make some money on some dark elf culteral (im an inkie wizard), unfortuantly, there is another inkie on the server who got to 250 like over a year ago and got that market quite locked up.

Anyway, I hope im not coming off as too much of a whiner. If I had 10 hours a day to spend sitting in the bazaar grabbing deals and reselling, advertising and all that, I could probably make money, but I only have 2-3 hours a day, so makes it kinda tough
Thanks for all the suggestions though.