Lets Talk About UNDERCUTTERS!!!!

[Thandronen]

I put things on the marketboard for 1 gil on purpose because I feel like it would be worth more to someone else to use for crafting for basically free than for me to vendor it or throw it away. I so often have to clear out all my bags full of nonsense and instead of throwing it away I assumed I was being a good person by giving it away in a convenient manner.

Yet somehow I'm actually upsetting people? People don't want free crafting materials or whatever?

Shout in a populated zone like the Foundation or Idyllshire and give it away to anyone that wants it or vendor it, who knows... you might even make a new friend! There are always tons of 1 gil items up on the MB that never sell and it just sits there, wasting data space.

[Dante_V]

So the OP suggests colluding and price fixing as better for consumers then A free market of voluntary exchange and relative value. Ohh that's rights he doesn't care about consumers she just wants a profit. Seems legit.

[Kayote]

Im not big on playing the market so it doesnt really effect me, however I always though developers should implement a minimum sale price for all items based on value.

I know we have all been brainwashed taught that the unregulated free market is gods gift to prosperity, and I agree to some extent... but that only works in the real world. The real world being where every gatherer and/or manufacturer HAS to price their time at least high enough to where he makes enough to pay his bills and feed his family. Doesnt really work in a market where all your work is basically just time spent wasting time no matter what you do.

In other words... of course im going to undercut you how ever much I want, the hell do I care? Even if I lose gil, oh well, a lot of the time its worth it just to make sure I get rid of it.

[Mission]

I mean, come on, we all have done it once in a while, undercutting someone by a few gil, just to get the quicker sale.. i speak of the people who sit there and undercut by hundreds, or thousands of gil, forcing prices to where its not even worth selling an item anymore, and just better off vendoring it off. We ALL want to make money, can't we all work together and come to some agreement?? Lets work together, and find a fair medium to charge at base minimum so that everyone can have a fair share at making some money.

Well not sure how many are like me..I don't undercut to sell quicker..I undercut cause I think people overprice stuff too much so I sell for what I'm willing to buy something for. Maybe I'm cheap, but too much is too much to me.

[Yoohre_WildRiver]

hello mission.. i want to let you know you are not alone, i too sell my goods cheaper because i believe in a fair price while making a decent profit, but greed corrupts the weakest of minds, and they will call foul play when undercutting something that costs them 2k to make and the sell it for 50k.

i like to profit and i like to imagine the smile on the buyers face because they got a fair deal!

[Lexia]

Isn't that normal since they are forced to make things to level up their job? It's always going to be a net loss since they have to make things people likely won't want or cost more than is worth it for most levels.

Crafters are forced to make glamour items to level up? On balmung the Thavnairian Bustier has gone below 3 million gil while all the mats to make it cost more then 3 million.

[Yoohre_WildRiver]

Crafters are forced to make glamour items to level up? On balmung the Thavnairian Bustier has gone below 3 million gil while all the mats to make it cost more then 3 million.

thats because when you gather the mats yourself you can make 100% profit, and can set the price only based on time spent and not gil spent

[justinjarjar]

Snip

I've done multiple research and case studies on it :P, so in my own research I agree that free market is best market. However I agree that the minim price for most things does not exist since the grind to get is the only variable to price (which is relative). In that way prices have no baseline since the market value is only set on supply and demand which can flux fast and easily.

[LineageRazor]

Ahahaha. Ok. You do that. Unless you have infinite gil that is only a temporary change and if you drop all your own prices enough all you are doing is throwing away gil out of spite. Then the next day it will be back to normal.

Imagine this situation in real life and realize how absurd of a notion that is.

Nah, it's not absurd in real life - that's exactly how monopolies often get their start. A company with plenty of money sells at a loss until their poorer competetors go bankrupt. Then, when they are the only one left, they jack prices up as high as they want. This kind of practice is justifiably illegal, and regulated, in most countries.

It IS absurd in game, for exactly the reasons you state. No player can control a market in game for long, because there is no entry cost. If a player tries to tank a market until everyone else is gone, then lift it up again - everyone comes right back, with no delay. Because why not? What's stopping them? In real life, you're stopped because you have to hire employees, buy a building, etc. In game, you just start crafting the relevant product again. And if the player tries to tank it again, you just ride it out again until they give up their silly notion of being an all-powerful tycoon.

Sure, until you realize I have more gil than 95% of the server and can afford to keep prices low. Enjoy never selling anything.

Ooh, so scary! Yes, I'm sure you could make things very uncomfortable for people for a few weeks. Maybe even months if you really decided to get pissy, give up work or school or whatever, and just obsessively strangle every part of the market all day long for as long as you can! But eventually, Hurricane Kaori is gonna pass, and things'll be right back to normal. No matter how much money you have, you can only afford that kind of waste for a finite period of time.

You may have the gil, but you have no long term power. None.

[Lexia]

thats because when you gather the mats yourself you can make 100% profit, and can set the price only based on time spent and not gil spent

Well I guess if they ok with losing gil as if they gathering it they could make more money selling the mats then making the item cutting out a step while still making gil.