How do you deal with constant undercutting?

[Kabooa]

I gather it all myself.

If someone wants to undercut me by 1 gil I'll undercut them by 10k. They're either gonna buy and relist (My gil's made) or stop their !@#% real quick.

[KageTokage]

I'm not sure the "just wait" approach is going to work in this situation when the player in question almost immediately relists a new item the moment one sells.

I know some people are dedicated to the market, but this person seemingly spends the entirety of their time online sitting in their house undercutting people. There's a very brief period of maybe three to four hours a day where they aren't online, and that's pretty much the only time anyone can catch a break.

[Caimie_Tsukino]

I'm not sure the "just wait" approach is going to work in this situation when the player in question almost immediately relists a new item the moment one sells.

I know some people are dedicated to the market, but this person seemingly spends the entirety of their time online sitting in their house undercutting people. There's a very brief period of maybe three to four hours a day where they aren't online, and that's pretty much the only time anyone can catch a break.

He/she can't sell "everything". Just give up on the i350, and sell other things. For example, mog weapons, hive weapons. And for example, sell the really hot stuff per week needed for Fashion Report Check-In. I have been making millions every week just selling those items, as well as dye... A lot of dyes are bought from Beast Tribes, which ppl may not have access to, or simply too lazy to go there to buy. So dyes that are worth 400 a piece are selling 20K a piece on the MB... there are so many money opportunities on the MB if you can SEE them!

Last week, I made about 4 million gil selling Replica Allagan Daggers... their prices increased from 30K to 375K a piece due to high demand for Fashion Report. Metallic red dye prices increased from 30K to 190K a piece. I had them stocked up last week, which made me another few hundred K.

This week, I'm betting that the Company Hat will make a lot of money due to Fashion Report:
https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/lodes...em/3bb38c200a4

I'm the only person on my server selling one, and I'm selling it for 975K at the moment.

[Katlyna]

Market strategy is highly dependent on the work of making/acquiring the item and the type of person undercutting you. How you react to undercutting is also dependent on how long you plan to stay in the market. If you will be selling in that market once, vs a week, vs a month you'll likely want to react differently.

My Guidance for how I manage market prices is as follows:
1) If you are trying to get a one time sale on a large profit item you have two options, undercut everyone constantly by a small amount or periodically drop your items price by a large amount. Personally I prefer large drops and have found this the best way to get rid of large profit items without wasting too much time pricing.

2) If you are selling a set of items for a week or two or for a patch I generally recommend simply competing with the price undercutting. Its a bear but usually you'll only be undercutting for a short time period and so long as you get some of the sales its worth the extra work.

3) If you are planning on being in a market for a month or more then strategies change. You'll best off undercutting the market till sales stay healthy, and then simply price matching people in the market. For everyone in the market you're better of price matched rather than playing an undercutting game. So if the history says items are selling too slow and there are more listings than what sells in a day or two, cut the price of the market by 10% each day until sales pick up. After match pricing with the bottom and hope everyone catches on.

4) If you have that one guy... who undercuts every 10 minutes. You have three options. a) Crash the market near the at cost price and simply drive the idiot out of the market. b) Undercut them faster, this is BRUTALLY annoying but if you show them you can undercut faster and hedge their sales some and then back off they will sometimes catch on that they are messing with the wrong crafter. c) Leave the market. Some people just aren't worth selling against, they have more time than you, are compulsive, or really aggressive in the market. If you get the feeling you aren't winning you probably won't and will find your time better spent in a different market.

Anyway I wish you all good fortunes in your market sales. Hopefully some other folks have good tips!

[Katlyna]

I know some people are dedicated to the market, but this person seemingly spends the entirety of their time online sitting in their house undercutting people. There's a very brief period of maybe three to four hours a day where they aren't online, and that's pretty much the only time anyone can catch a break.

Two other things you can do are name your retainers professionally. Make them sound recognizable and like a shop Caimies_Freshfoods will intrinsically sell food better than Sunshinebear. Likewise you would likely find good luck naming an armor/weapon retainer Caimies_Metalshop or some other blacksmith/weaponsmith etc creative but recognizable name. My sales doubled when I managed my retainer names like this making my name recognizable at a glance.

Also choose your retainers sales location to be in contrast of competitors. If your primary undercutting competitor sells their items in Kugane, put your retainers in Limsa. If they split between Limsa and Kugane then split yours between Gridania and Udal. This makes it so a 1gil undercut doesn't matter if the buyers location matches yours at the time. This strategy has also helped me win extra sales.

[KageTokage]

I think I'm just going to stick to selling Fashion Report stuff and materia like I have in the past.

I have a ton of creation mats collecting dust on my retainers, but it feels like too much of a hassle to have to constantly adjust because of this individual.

[Shadygrove]

I have three characters each with three retainers all selling assorted stuff. I price check every day or three.

I don't worry about the 1 gil undercuts a bit, not only do many think about the taxes, many also buy the 1 gil more one due to disliking the 1 gil undercuters.

The ones that bug me are those who seem determined to crash the price. Like undercutting by 20 - 30%. I remember one item that went from 150ish gil to 30something gil in less than a week. It wasn't a high turnover item, a hammer of some type, and none sold in that period of time. I did manage to sell mine though so all's well that ends.

On the gathering sales side, if people put HQ endgame gathering stuff up cheap I will buy it and resell at a higher price. Hand me free gill and I will take it.

Its a game, don't worry.

[DarkDedede]

Look to see what it is they are buying, and see if there is profit to be had there. Your competition could be a potential source of income.

[Frizze]

I think I'm just going to stick to selling Fashion Report stuff and materia like I have in the past.

I have a ton of creation mats collecting dust on my retainers, but it feels like too much of a hassle to have to constantly adjust because of this individual.

There are plenty of people who make their money just selling the creation mats themselves without turning them into anything. If you dont want to hold a stash for later, cashing them out could be a good move too.

[Caimie_Tsukino]

Two other things you can do are name your retainers professionally. Make them sound recognizable and like a shop Caimies_Freshfoods will intrinsically sell food better than Sunshinebear. Likewise you would likely find good luck naming an armor/weapon retainer Caimies_Metalshop or some other blacksmith/weaponsmith etc creative but recognizable name. My sales doubled when I managed my retainer names like this making my name recognizable at a glance.

Oh this is actually a pretty good suggestion... I've had my retainers named chocomeow and chocomeowmeow since ARR... Perhaps I really should rename my retainers as Caimies_Catnipshop and Caimies_Patisserie!
Time to use those Retainer Fantasia that are covered in dust! We need to use those Retainer Fantasia to change names, right?