I need advice

[Sarsmi]

I am sick of my plant vendor house! I have only gotten so far as to decorate the vendor tables and put out a few runebooks, deco wise.

Part of the problem is that it has 47 vendors, and I don't like their setup.

In detail: I have 17 "light" plant vendors, 17 "dark" plant vendors, a resource/vines/xmas plants vendor, 6 vendors for white/black/aqua/etc, 3 vendors for plain plants, 2 for new plain plants, and one for bonsai.

Initially I thought it would be a great way to put bulk colored plants out there in case someone needed a dozen red snake plants for whatever reason, but now I'm starting to feel like those occasions are so far and few between it's really not worth it to have quite so many vendors for colored plants.

It's also awkward for display. My old setup for colored plants was "red plants light, red plants dark" type vendors, which ended up being 12 vendors in two rows of six, each of them having a colored elephant ear in front of them to show what color plants they sold. Doing this I could get 6 of each type of plant for that color on the vendor (instead of the current 18).

So I decided to trade low maintenance (well comparitively) for bulk storage/sales. However to display what type of plants they sell I have to use white and black plants in front of the vendor now; so on my dark colored tribarrel cactus vendor I have a black tribarrel cactus in front of them. I find this a bit jarring, having half my shop with light plants and half with dark on display. I stuck my resource vendor in the middle for balance, but now people can hardly find them.

ARGH! I know that's a lot of typing...and I'm not done yet! Part of the problem with having so many vendors is coming up with a good looking vendor house instead of a big ol area with a bunch of NPCs standing around on it. I don't think I really suceeded in my goals here and want to just tear down and start over.

SO I need ideas for either 47 vendors, or some kind of happy medium between that and the 17 I used to have (12 light and dark, 1 plain, 1 white, 1 black 1 solen 1 resource).

...

Any thoughts?

 

[Petra Fyde]

I'm having trouble visualizing the set up lack of imagination I guess.

Are your vendors in rows one behind the other? or in circles? How about in squares facing each other with the plants forming a garden in the middle of each group?

 

[Faerunner]

I like Petra's squares idea for display It'd be cute to have vendors sitting around mini gardens which show off the plants they're selling.

As far as numbers... My initial idea was to cut back to the original 17, and redesign the way you stock a bit... but let's see. Assuming you want to stock more than a few plants of each kind, and stock by color and not by type, you could stock all flowering plants of one color in two vendors, and have sister vendors with all non-flowering of that color. That gives you 4 vendors per color (2 dark, 2 light), 24 total. Keep the 11 vendors for resources, plain plants, B/W/naturalist plants and bonsai. That's 35 vendors total; 34 if you split your plain plants into flowering/non-flowering as well. You can choose to incorporate the new plants in with the old ones, or keep your New Plant vendors separate for 36/37 vendors. Since you do want to provide bulk orders, I'd leave a bulletin board right in the middle/front of your vendors with a quick note about how to order in bulk. You can always stock the plants in chests, and provide them to the buyer when they leave the order, or make a few vendors solely for bulk buys of the plants you think sell the best, and stock groups of 10-20 plants in a priced bag and see how they go. Total: about 40 vendors, give or take depending on how you want to split things. If you want fewer, I'd combine the black/white onto one, and the naturalist seeds onto one or two.

I'd leave a plant-filled chest or cabinet behind/in front of/below each vendor (Hey - will vendors stand on raised gozas? ) for quick restocking and inventory... you could use containers that look good as planters, like baskets, or just stand the vendors on top of the containers and decorate them as vine-covered pedestals.

...any help at all, or am I just confusing? I could always run by your house and give my "expert" opinion in person, too.

 

[Ankanna]

I agree with Faerunner. It would be easier to keep bulk colored plants that don't sell as often in storage and keep a bulletin board on hand to take special orders. I would try to keep the number of vendors down to a minimum so people only have to click on a few vendors to find what they want. Use color coded bags to make browsing easier. I would use a couple for the older type plants, one for new plants, one for special color plants and one for resources and solen.

 

[Lady_Rachel]

I know you like visiting other places Sarsmi.

Well Sinful Candie on the Atlantic Shard in Malas has a beautiful gardeners shop. She has them set up in groups, I think there are 36 vendors if I counted right. She has some around a horse and cart, and some along the edges of the home with the plants that are on the vendors in front of them. She has a bulletin board for big orders too.

The coordinates are 34o 44'N, 26o 13' E. Or you can find a rune to her shop at Goodman's Rune Library, 2nd house west of the Makoto Gate. Vendors books are at the top of the steps of the 2nd floor.

It's worth the visit just to see the deco!

 

[Zabrina]

I had to go check it out myself, its well worth the trip! A really pretty decorated house and the vendors blend in very nicely, I bet it looks even better at night with all their lanterns Certainly a nice way to implement that many vendors into an awesome deco. Best of luck on your shop Sarsmi

 

[Sarsmi]

Some great ideas! I'd really like less vendors, but the idea behind the plant shop was really to kind of use the vendors as *my* plant storage, while providing plants for other people *laughs*.

This is an old pic of the shop, I've since changed the walls to brown stone and floors to a dark color (and added the plant displays I was missing), but the setup is the same:

I really liked it at the time, but I guess feelings change! Gonna go visit that shop now, ty Lady Rachel.

 

[Sarsmi]

Ok that shop is just totally cute! They did a fab job blending all three shops together. I really love the cozy feeling you get in the plant shop, theres tons of vendors but you don't feel crowded. It's casual but organized. There's three ascending L shape stairs that are really cool, too. Each tier is in a little nook, and makes for a great area to put benches, plants, other deco. Even the vendor owner's statue is done in jade green! It's very well thought out. Most of the vendors are on grass and surrounded by plants, instead of tables the plants are growing out of the ground...the storage shack is a cute little building with vines growing up, it's just darling.

Ok I'm totally scrapping my place and starting over.

 

[Ankanna]

Now I'm gonna have to go see the shop, lol. You'll figure out something, Sarsmi. You have very good taste in deco.

 

[Lord Drakelord]

Now I'm gonna have to go see the shop, lol. You'll figure out something, Sarsmi. You have very good taste in deco.

That is very nice shop. Best way to get there folks is from Umbra.

 

[Devilicious]

Ello. I am Sinful Candie, Thank you all for coming by. I don't do much hunting in game so most of my time is in my 3 shops there. So yes I do put many to much thought into doing them up.

Again Thank you all. *smiles*

 

[Skylark SP]

Devilicious, can you please post some screenies of your shop?

-Skylark

 

[Lady_Rachel]

I hope we didn't track the place up!

Screenies would be nice for all of those who can't visit your shop.
It is a lovely place.

 

[Flora Green]

The first floor of my shop has vendors for shop runes, resources and deco. Six vendors I think. The rest is decorative including a little bar area I was going to use for selling sweets and green tea.

The second floor has a vendor for each plant, grouped in order (example, all the cacti together, water plants, shade plants, etc.) and with a plant in front (or the case of trees behind) the vendors. Each vendor contails both colored and plain plants. Floor three is the nursery/storage area. I'd post pics, don't have them transferred yet off of my old computer.

I wanted the shop to be orderly, but open and airy and have the feel of a garden shop. There are areas for sitting, shopping, chatting and so on.

 

[Tiny Dancer]

Sinful's shops are gorgeous, well thought out and totally practical. The Atlantic shard would be lost without her vendors!

 

[Devilicious]

Wow I am gone a week and My houses are the talk of this board. I will get some pictures posted. Thank you all