Undercutters

[Ageofwar]

It's good to know your market! Dragonskin maps are tedious to store due to their nature, so players don't stockpile them. As a result, the market's maps will be bought up in big streaks when groups get together to run maps. I'm on the buying end of this, as I fairly often run maps with friends. I usually keep 1 opened (bought at a cheap price), but when the group is going, I'm buying maps for practically anything in the 20-60k range for as long as we keep going, and so is the rest of the group! We go through a lot of maps at once. Even if maps were 60k all the time, I'd still turn a good profit running them in groups where everyone is bringing maps.

i've found no issues with stockpiling them still unopened

I currently have 9 dragonskin maps with 3 retainers

[aesteval]

Okay, that's kind of...well, not to be rude, but dumb. People want or even have to be top because people are just going to buy whatever is listed first (cheapest). Not so much the case in bulk items like crafting materials, but for gear or glamour items or orchestrion rolls and such, yes. Especially if it's something that doesn't move super fast, you want to be top or else your item is going to take even longer to sell. There's no reason for you to destroy the market because you feel like being petty.

How exactly is it dumb? Blindly vindicative? Maybe. But I'm still making a profit, have little patience for undercut wars, have sales slots available, and no qualms making the same profit target across 10 sales as I would make on a single sale. And when I put something up matching the current price and someone undercuts me - I'm not the one who started the price war to destroy the market, I'm the one who escalated it. I only do this to people who undercut in this way in an obnoxiously persistent manner.

Another thing worth mentioning is that lowering prices can also bring more life to a market. Some of them are slow because the prices are too high and not enough players are willing to take the market to a more active price range. I've seen some ridiculously high prices for the Sky Rat gear on Ultros. Sure, sometimes it sells for that price, but none of the mats that go into them justify that price point (most obnoxious is aethersand.) And there are players who are waiting for a discount to pop up. I should probably also mention that what I've been tinkering with this weekend has been with going out of my way to put NQ gear up for sale at discount so I'm leaving the HQ market alone while also showing that things can sell faster. Anyway, in all cases everyone is still making a profit.

And to clarify: I am talking about two different scenarios here. Lowering market value due to undercut war with obnoxious players and tossing the random lower priced piece of gear on the market because I suspect there'll be more demand at a lower price are two entirely separate scenarios. Maybe merging them into one post wasn't the best idea.

[Knahli]

*shrugs*

I've been taking a bit of a rest from FF lately so when I do log on I don't really bother with marketing, but when I did, I've always aimed for miniscule price drops of 2-10 gil unless an item was at least a few hundred-thousand in price, in which case I'd undercut by a thousand or so gil, depending - and I appreciated anyone who undercut me by similar amounts. They are simply competing for the top position on the market without mindlessly dropping an item's value needlessly. I don't understand why people get worked up over that as though it were a personal insult. Would you rather an item drop by 10k as a result of two, competing 5k undercuts when each person realises they were moved further down the listing or simply by 10 gil when the end result is still the same; to be at the top and present yourself as the most favourable purchase, tax aside? Ulterior motives such as deliberately seeking to reduce the price for faster sales, of course, are not counted.

[Neophyte]

It is rather funny to read, though, how people view the game's market from a company point of view and end up supporting the same practices that they would likely curse and condemn IRL. Just imagine internet providers and gas stations (i.e. luxury goods not necessary to live) would make pricing collaborations as many advocate here *shudders*.

"Dear Shell,

please don't undercut our gas prices by more than 1 cent. That's totally unfair and destroys the market."

Why do people think supermarkets and every other store offers usually 30% or 50% discounts instead of "Hey, buy that apple here instead at our competitors shops, we give you a 0,01$ discount!"?

"Big christmas Discounts. Buy a Playstation 4 + 3 Games and safe 4 times 0,01$". Awesome.

I don't get the 1 gil undercuts. If I undercut it's because I value the product less or just want to get it sold within the same day and therefore want to create a "steal" feeling.

Also it's pretty simple: If you just let your prices be you will sell eventually, if the supply it lower than the demand. E.g. on a patch day things will start out on several millions but will drop severly if people figure out that the supply/droprate/whatever isn't that bad. Or crafted gear gets less useful and restrictions get lifted or mats get cheaper... Then it's not undercutting, it's revaluation.

What do you expect? 250 listings from 5 Mio. to 4,999750 Mio. gil? Nonsense.

[Nicodemus_Mercy]

...snip... I undercut by 1 gil.... snip...

This is why.

I do it out of spite when someone undercuts me by 1 gil because I find that incredibly obnoxious. I know that's a failing on my part but I just can't help it. When I see someone undercut me by a single gil it incites incredible animosity within me and the only way to defuse it is to undercut in big chunks. When it gets too low (and if it hasn't sold yet), I yank it and let the 1gil undercutter have the sale at a much lower than expected price point then.

I know its incredibly silly on my part. I just find the whole undercut by 1 gil so frustratingly obnoxious I just can't help but retaliate in the only way I can. I also avoid buying things that have been undercut by 1gil and go to the next higher priced one. Paying that one gil more gives me such a sense of satisfaction that its well worth it.

[SeriousxSarcasm]

snip

I know its incredibly silly on my part. I just find the whole undercut by 1 gil so frustratingly obnoxious I just can't help but retaliate in the only way I can. I also avoid buying things that have been undercut by 1gil and go to the next higher priced one. snip.

LOL I do this too. XD Refuse to buy something that's only been lowered by 1 or 5 gil. XD It doesn't make any difference in price lol.

[Knahli]

This is why.

I do it out of spite when someone undercuts me by 1 gil because I find that incredibly obnoxious. I know that's a failing on my part but I just can't help it. When I see someone undercut me by a single gil it incites incredible animosity within me and the only way to defuse it is to undercut in big chunks. When it gets too low (and if it hasn't sold yet), I yank it and let the 1gil undercutter have the sale at a much lower than expected price point then.

I know its incredibly silly on my part. I just find the whole undercut by 1 gil so frustratingly obnoxious I just can't help but retaliate in the only way I can. I also avoid buying things that have been undercut by 1gil and go to the next higher priced one. Paying that one gil more gives me such a sense of satisfaction that its well worth it.

*laughs*

Well, while I don't share the sentiment and would much rather encourage against killing an item's value faster than necessary and to keep other sellers' interests in mind, on some level I feel like I can kind of understand how it may be perceived as a slight or tasteless thing to do.

Still, I apologise for being a part of the low-value undercut community. I honestly mean no harm by it and don't like to imagine people see it as annoying, but an item's value dropping faster than it needs to is what I see as bothersome, so it's what I can relate to and unfortunately I see no real compromise in between ;

[Crim2989]

Would be interesting to have someone make a website that can auto update for example
http://services.runescape.com/m=itemdb_rs/

which would help more people get into crafting, able to track daily demand and so on and so forth.

[MiniOmegaDragon]

for me ok under cutting is fine Under cutting me by 1gp is Dumb if i see someone do this when i am buying i all ways pay the 1-2 gp more

[Masekase_Hurricane]

If people start undercutting me I will gladly follow suit and take it down to the cost price over time. To me profit is profit so I don't care if I make 1 gil profit or 1 mill.