Buying, Selling, Vendors, Players Mentality and stuff

[Brak]

First off I should say this ain't meant to sound like a flame fest, I ain't knocking anyones playstyle or their mentality...more like a clueless guy who has an insane amount of curiosity

Right then with that said.... Discussion time (for those that like to discuss stuff)!! I find the amount of vendors that close to each other in a guard zone interesting...

Been back in UO for about...3 months..ish? after approximately a 3 year gap and I'm still getting back into things. There's something I've failed to grasp resulting in feeding my curiosity.

Whats with the mentality of people who sell things at the luna vendor shops and those who buy those items?

A fair few people I've spoken to have said that the prices in Luna are waaaaaay overpriced and if you shop around a bit you can normally get the item you want for a lot cheeper. In the majority of cases I've found this to be true so it's got me thinking.

The people with vendors at luna who sell items for (imho) insane prices must be selling the stuff otherwise they'd have gone out of business ages ago.

Likewise in order for then to stay in business they've got to sell items which means people must be paying those high prices.

Bearing in mind even in luna some items vary a lot in price. For example one item can be found between 495K - 750K..sometimes at the same shop. And just tonight I've seen one item selling for 15million whilst in another shop for 7.5 million (both luna shops).

So why is it Luna has a reputation for having over inflated prices when people must be paying the high prices to keep the shops in business? Is it a case of people being insanely lazy to shop around to get the item they want for a decent price or the sellers being greedy?

The other side of it is I suppose the sellers themselves. Why is it some vendors are selling items for a 1/3 or sometimes double of the price a vendor in the shop next to you or even another one in the same shop?

 

[Slayvite]

Yup, you got the answer. People are lazy and those who shop around Luna normally have a few hundred million in the bank anyway, so its just easier to buy it and not have to go searching around.

Alot of the Luna vendor owners are also x-shard traders, alot of gold can be made doing this after the initial set-up costs.

Sad to say but Luna killed off the general vender shop in the middle of nowhere, and if their still standing its probably only due to RP reasons.

 

[LSRemy]

Good post...i too have often wondered the same thing. Take for example midnight bracers...i have seen some go for as high 3.5million and then a few vendors later, i see them for 300k...a huuuggggeeee disperity in price range. what's the deal? i think it is very odd, i just chuckle at it and move on. But someone is probably going to buy them right? ....anywho i went outside of the Luna and found them for 100K. Bought 2 of them.

 

[Kiminality]

With things like Doom artifacts, the cheaper ones will quite likely have the "cursed" property.
That makes them much cheaper than the full versions. Although that's not to say there's not usually a HUGE price range for the same item, because there really is.

 

[Serafi]

So why is it Luna has a reputation for having over inflated prices when people must be paying the high prices to keep the shops in business? Is it a case of people being insanely lazy to shop around to get the item they want for a decent price or the sellers being greedy?

Why do go to malls in RL instead of scouring the little shops sometimes? Time. You go to a place that has most of what you are after and can continue with what you are doing after. If you don`t really like the shopping experience, and many do not, it`s far more effective time wise to shop in Luna. Then the small shops are legt for those of use who like to hunt for good deals and just love the experience as well

The other side of it is I suppose the sellers themselves. Why is it some vendors are selling items for a 1/3 or sometimes double of the price a vendor in the shop next to you or even another one in the same shop?

Maybe they don`t have a stock of the same item and do not mind it sitting on the vendor for a longer time, thus meaning they have a larger timeframe to restock. Maybe they haven`t paid attention to the going price of the item. Maybe cause they know that it will sell eventually and do not mind the extra vendor fees.

Slayvite wrote:

Sad to say but Luna killed off the general vender shop in the middle of nowhere, and if their still standing its probably only due to RP reasons.

That is not my impression at all. Europa has another problem - there are too few shops in the boonies, cause players do not really know what they do when they open one and get tired of it quickly. We have too few dedicated shop keepers on our shard - dedicated to keep a shop open for a longer time and restock when the vendors go empty. And I highly doubt the problem is no customers or no visitors. If you do it right you should be able to get as many customers as you have time to serve, no matter where the shop is located.

When I closed mine in June I placed a runebook on the stairs of my shop to other places where visitors could buy much of the same items I was selling. Of the runes in that runebook only a few are still restocking, RAA being europas backbone in that department.

Where did Miss Polly go btw?

 

[Joshua Ravenloft]

Sad to say but Luna killed off the general vender shop in the middle of nowhere, and if their still standing its probably only due to RP reasons.

I am planning to try and change that by offering free vendor spots selling good honest day to day stuff at reasonable prices, right smack in the middle of billionaires row!

So if any of you reading this forum, have a crafter and would like to have one of these spots, then send me a PM or ICQ [44578940] stating what you would like to sell.

There are only FOUR rules to bear in mind please;

No unattended gating at Luna bank
[Rune dropping is more than sufficent]

No dupes

No Excessive prices

Keep your vendor stocked regularly

My shop is called 'Black Tower Supplies' and is located in the NE corner within the walls of Luna.

I would especially like to hear from newer players looking to get a foot on the financial ladder, whilst building up their crafter skills etc.

I can also offer any new players workshop facilities and storage in my Castle if they have limited space, or are currently without a house.

 

[Arradin]

I am planning to try and change that by offering free vendor spots selling good honest day to day stuff at reasonable prices, right smack in the middle of billionaires row!

So if any of you reading this forum, have a crafter and would like to have one of these spots, then send me a PM or ICQ [44578940] stating what you would like to sell.

There are only FOUR rules to bear in mind please;

No unattended gating at Luna bank
[Rune dropping is more than sufficent]

No dupes

No Excessive prices

Keep your vendor stocked regularly

My shop is called 'Black Tower Supplies' and is located in the NE corner within the walls of Luna.

I would especially like to hear from newer players looking to get a foot on the financial ladder, whilst building up their crafter skills etc.

I can also offer any new players workshop facilities and storage in my Castle if they have limited space, or are currently without a house.

¨

You got PM.

 

[Calis M^N]

First off I should say this ain't meant to sound like a flame fest, I ain't knocking anyones playstyle or their mentality...more like a clueless guy who has an insane amount of curiosity

Right then with that said.... Discussion time (for those that like to discuss stuff)!! I find the amount of vendors that close to each other in a guard zone interesting...

Been back in UO for about...3 months..ish? after approximately a 3 year gap and I'm still getting back into things. There's something I've failed to grasp resulting in feeding my curiosity.

Whats with the mentality of people who sell things at the luna vendor shops and those who buy those items?

A fair few people I've spoken to have said that the prices in Luna are waaaaaay overpriced and if you shop around a bit you can normally get the item you want for a lot cheeper. In the majority of cases I've found this to be true so it's got me thinking.

The people with vendors at luna who sell items for (imho) insane prices must be selling the stuff otherwise they'd have gone out of business ages ago.

Likewise in order for then to stay in business they've got to sell items which means people must be paying those high prices.

Bearing in mind even in luna some items vary a lot in price. For example one item can be found between 495K - 750K..sometimes at the same shop. And just tonight I've seen one item selling for 15million whilst in another shop for 7.5 million (both luna shops).

So why is it Luna has a reputation for having over inflated prices when people must be paying the high prices to keep the shops in business? Is it a case of people being insanely lazy to shop around to get the item they want for a decent price or the sellers being greedy?

The other side of it is I suppose the sellers themselves. Why is it some vendors are selling items for a 1/3 or sometimes double of the price a vendor in the shop next to you or even another one in the same shop?

Being a vendor runner in luna... and openly admit to having high prices... i must say you could say my customers are "lazy" to some degree maybe some are i wouldnt know... the ones i do talk to come to my shop for 2 reasons.... the first reason being some of them (from what they have said) they like to shop at my vendors because i can give good service.... and the second reason being... they know i have it instock... there are plenty of people that don't have much time on their pc... due to work restraints etc, so when they do get on they dont wanna be hunting for the few hours they can be on to get for example and aof, or stand around in luna spamming all day.. they would rather buy what they need when they need and get to hunting or pvping....
there are reasons why i charge your so called "insane" prices.... i won't go into details, but because i charge more i pay more... it helps me keep my shop as well stocked as it is..... a lot of these cheaper shops are more (not all) opertunist shops getting rid of items they don't need... but the majority of them arent stocked nearly as well as mine... i invest a lot of time and gold to give the best shop i can.. when you compare it to some who just throws items on and leave their vendors empty for days... weeks... months, and pay low end prices for stock... to me who pays moderately high prices for stock and keep my vendors presentable 24/7 then you see why some people agree that they would rather pay a bitty more for something to know its comes from someone who can stock it again and runs vendor to a high standard.....

i am in no way undermining vendors that sell things cheap... there are plenty of non luna shops that i frequent and enjoy shopping at! not because they are cheap but because it is a nice shop to visit.....

lately iv been trying to help people create shops that are going to last...
and in the very near future i am going to set up some sort of rune book at my shop for good shops on europa as well as put a list of them on my website which iv set up for europa......

wow.. iv rambled! just thought id voice my opinoin

thanks for reading
Kingsley

 

[Jonathen]

The Umbra road still has a good selection of shops, with more now appearing behind the 'front row' a short way north of the road. Not all of these are cheaper than Luna, but if you have the time to check them out you'll often find what you want at a better price. Some of the shops just outside Luna are considerably cheaper than those inside the walls, and there are even a few within which are tending toward much lower prices than the high Luna 'norm'.

Ultimately, as others have already said, if people are happy to buy an item as soon as they see it regardless of price, fair enough - likewise if sellers are prepared to risk an item sitting indefinitely, that's up to them

 

[Barian]

Sad to say but Luna killed off the general vender shop in the middle of nowhere, and if their still standing its probably only due to RP reasons.

I beg to differ.........

 

[Calis M^N]

I beg to differ.........

i agree.. i know of plenty of little shops i like to go to! and all it takes is a bit of advertising, before i was in luna i was on moonglow island... beside the south west wheat farm... i had 12500 visits in about 4-6 months, from gating and dropping runes... the reasons these "middle of no where shops" don't do well is because most of the owners are only trying to get rid of excess items.. and not running a shop... but the ones that do want to run a shop gate and drop runes and do well by my guess.

 

[PJay]

I believe another larger reason maybe the search website which have appeared recently which enables you too search for the items u require. Your even able to search for the perfect piece of armour!!

Unfortunatly these sites Only cover tokuno and luna i believe.

I run a Shop which isnt within these areas and its hard work but its also pretty fun! I used to drop Many runes every day but i dont seem to have to do so much anymore as loyal customers have kept their run and revist most days.

For those who know my shops called Mountain Hollow and id like to say thankyou to all the people who have shopped there over the years. Its a pleasure to serve you all

 

[Mil]

Well... I returned to UO about four weeks ago and recieved a very nice house spot just south of Moonglow gate in Trammel. (Thanks Myphsar!)

I set up a potion vendor. First I had about half the price of the Luna/Umbra vendors. Then I tried about 1/3 of the price. My potions had a price just barely over crafting costs. I shoved out advertising runes allover the world several times.

Today I gave up. It's just not possible to sell potions outside of Malas it seems. Not even at ridiciously cheap prices and lots of advertising.

I take it this is due to one or both of the following:
- Too few ppl playing UO these days
- Luna shops owns the market (Whatever did the devs think when incorporating this idea?)

Not to put Luna Vendors down. I am glad if it works well for ye. I just find it sad that it seems impossible to run vendors elsewhere in the world.

Nevertheless... I will I enjoy my house in the very nice spot. Nostalgic reasons
I have always been a Moonglow girl.

Too bad really. I myself like to ride around in the land and find the odd vendor in the old world. Don't really fance the super malls.

 

[Calis M^N]

Well... I returned to UO about four weeks ago and recieved a very nice house spot just south of Moonglow gate in Trammel. (Thanks Myphsar!)

I set up a potion vendor. First I had about half the price of the Luna/Umbra vendors. Then I tried about 1/3 of the price. My potions had a price just barely over crafting costs. I shoved out advertising runes allover the world several times.

Today I gave up. It's just not possible to sell potions outside of Malas it seems. Not even at ridiciously cheap prices and lots of advertising.

I take it this is due to one or both of the following:
- Too few ppl playing UO these days
- Luna shops owns the market (Whatever did the devs think when incorporating this idea?)

Not to put Luna Vendors down. I am glad if it works well for ye. I just find it sad that it seems impossible to run vendors elsewhere in the world.

Nevertheless... I will I enjoy my house in the very nice spot. Nostalgic reasons
I have always been a Moonglow girl.

Too bad really. I myself like to ride around in the land and find the odd vendor in the old world. Don't really fance the super malls.

i would guess the reason this didnt work is for a few reasons...
First of all was it only potions you sold? try adding arrows bolts and maybe some other stuff...
second of all.. most of the people who use pots a lot have their supplyers... and/or dont go to tram... i my self didnt see any runes to your shop or i would of checked it out... so where were you advertising?and belive me when i say i look for runes to new shops... if you can supply a vendor with potions in bottles and get the right people to notice you can sell them for 85gp a pot!... im sorry you feel that it wasnt worth it... if you need any thing let me know maybe i can help

 

[Law of Hell]

i too have a vendor in luna with "over priced" items and i can tell you it doesnt stay a week, i sell for 200-500mils a week for the simple reason that i know xsharders that look at my vendor every week and buy in mass, bearing in mnid that in some shards the prices are way higher.

so yes maybe there are some lazy shoppers, but i also know that every week an xsharder buys all my stock.

my personal opinion

 

[Mil]

i would guess the reason this didnt work is for a few reasons...
First of all was it only potions you sold? try adding arrows bolts and maybe some other stuff...
second of all.. most of the people who use pots a lot have their supplyers... and/or dont go to tram... i my self didnt see any runes to your shop or i would of checked it out... so where were you advertising?and belive me when i say i look for runes to new shops... if you can supply a vendor with potions in bottles and get the right people to notice you can sell them for 85gp a pot!... im sorry you feel that it wasnt worth it... if you need any thing let me know maybe i can help

Yes, I sold only potions. I'm an alchemist by heart.
First I sold kegs + 100 potions in bottles + 10 potions in bottles and some bags with mixed potions. At the end I only tried the 100 potions in bottles thingie.

I put out runes mostly in Trammel at different city banks and at moongates. I also dropped a few at some moongates and banks in Felucca and a bunch near Luna gate.

We shall see... I still have a bunch of already mixed up potions. I might try again...

 

[Calis M^N]

Yes, I sold only potions. I'm an alchemist by heart.
First I sold kegs + 100 potions in bottles + 10 potions in bottles and some bags with mixed potions. At the end I only tried the 100 potions in bottles thingie.

I put out runes mostly in Trammel at different city banks and at moongates. I also dropped a few at some moongates and banks in Felucca and a bunch near Luna gate.

We shall see... I still have a bunch of already mixed up potions. I might try again...

cool please do.. i started my trading business on moonglow! it worked very well! built my self up to a luna house!
but il always remeber where i started

 

[Serafi]

Yes, I sold only potions. I'm an alchemist by heart.
First I sold kegs + 100 potions in bottles + 10 potions in bottles and some bags with mixed potions. At the end I only tried the 100 potions in bottles thingie.

I put out runes mostly in Trammel at different city banks and at moongates. I also dropped a few at some moongates and banks in Felucca and a bunch near Luna gate.

We shall see... I still have a bunch of already mixed up potions. I might try again...

I don`t agree with your assessment that one can only run vendors in Luna. There are many that proves that daily, far out in the wilderness

So, ask yourself what you did and how you might do it differently if you do decide to try again. For example, how many runes did you drop. Where did you drop them. At what times, and how often. Starting up a shop and getting your name out there as the one who runs a potion vendor and does it well, do take time. And in the beginning you need to really market yourself well. Later when you have build up a base you can ease up on the runedropping a little.

Even though there are many that do run potion vendors on Europa, theres still room for more. Because as anyone who has ever run one knows, they tend to get empty now and then. It`s quite the workload in a busy shop. Sneak yourself in as the one who is always stocked, and you will get returning customers if you work at it.

 

[Jonathen]

I don't play enough to keep vendors stocked on a permanent basis, but I did put up vendors for a few days one weekend to shift accumulated junk and unwanted arties. Dropped runes 3 or 4 times a day at Brit & Luna gates & banks, New Haven square, and a few Ilsh gates, making sure I left plenty as some do get picked up. I must have made 50-60mil in 3 days, more than I've seen in my whole time in UO, and saw a lot of people come back both during and after the sale.

So yes, it's certainly possible to succeed as a small independeant trader, it might just require persistence and/or heavily slashed prices to get yourself noticed. I always try runes left at moongates and if I like a shop I'll go back

 

[Mil]

Sneak yourself in as the one who is always stocked, and you will get returning customers if you work at it.

Thanks for all the tips Serafi

I mighty put up a potion vendor again, alongside a food vendor. Just for roleplaying fun. I am well aware of that the food vendor will probably not sell much at all.

 

[AyaraBlue]

ML enchanted food can actually sell rather well, e.g apples and fruit bowls. And add some parrot wafers to the stock. The keep-your-bird-talking crackers were the things that sold best for me when I had a food vendor in my old house in the middle of nowhere in Malas. (Of course that might be cause I had a very parrot rich house in the neighbourhood... )

 

[Mil]

Oh, thats good news AyaraBlue! Feels even better to cook now...

 

[Heimi]

With alchemy you'll also be able to make the new staining dyes in SA, which are going to be really popular Alchemists and scribes (for scroll binders) are going to get pretty busy soon..

 

[Mil]

With alchemy you'll also be able to make the new staining dyes in SA, which are going to be really popular Alchemists and scribes (for scroll binders) are going to get pretty busy soon..

Good news indeed!

 

[Rimeny]

I run a newish shop on Umbra road (Floral 'n' Hardy) with the help of my fellow guildies. Ive have had a lot of help getting the model right from other shop keepers (thanks Kingsley and my fellow Umbra road community) we aim to have well stocked vendors and are always very happy to help if the item you need is not on sale. Being a shop keeper belive me, you search all of trammel/malas/fel looking for stock so if we dont have it in stock, might know a shop that does!

Some of our prices are lunaish(artifacts etc) but can be lower on others...it all depends on the cost of the stock.

Well run shops also help the community too, buying leather from fighters etc so they can collect that last arti for their suit, rune books from the training scribes...the list can go on.

We run guild events to collect stock too so its all fun fun fun!

well thats my two cents anyway, happy shopping all