Please Undercut Wisely

[Mitski]

*SNIP*

I'm still waiting for the part about the investors, the fraud, and the illegitimate profits. Please continue...

[Tiraelina]

...

It couldn't possibly be a leatherworker that doesn't have weaver buying the twinthread.

Not even remotely possible.

[Lyrinn]

It couldn't possibly be a leatherworker that doesn't have weaver buying the twinthread.

Not even remotely possible.

Shh, let him live under his rock in peace. There is no interaction between DoH classes.

[Jynx]

Why would prices on any item remain high when there is a massive overabudance of all materials?

If your higher prices were fair then you would still sell them even if people decided to undercut you, the problem is that people are able to generate more supply and sell at a lower price threshold than you are willing to drop to. It's not their problem that you refuse to lower your prices to compete with market demand of a slow selling or (Fast selling but quickly supplied) item.

If the cost of goods is outweighing the cost of aquisition you need to switch to another market there are still a good deal of sustainable items but like I said if the game continues to de-emphasize crafting and make the generation and aquisition of materials childs play there will never be a real market in the game. Just front loaded gold rushes when new items appear.

[zdub303]

At this point, we're at the inevitable conclusion to the market.

What people are charging for finished goods is raw material price + perceived value. Perceived value mostly being the time input that goes into making that item (being the time it took to level and gear the class as well as the 45-60s you spent going through your macro rotation to make it HQ.

Considering raw materials are worth almost nothing due to an overwhelming supply that could never keep up with demand... most items are pretty much selling for their perceived value. Well... everyone has a different perception of value.

It takes me about a minute to turn 3 gold ore into an Aetheryte ring... I see a lot of people selling these rings for 10k+ while I will happily sell them all day for 7k.

Am I being a low-life undercutter or just selling for what is the value I place on the 60ish seconds it took to make that ring?

[MomoOG]

At this point, we're at the inevitable conclusion to the market.

What people are charging for finished goods is raw material price + perceived value. Perceived value mostly being the time input that goes into making that item (being the time it took to level and gear the class as well as the 45-60s you spent going through your macro rotation to make it HQ.

Considering raw materials are worth almost nothing due to an overwhelming supply that could never keep up with demand... most items are pretty much selling for their perceived value. Well... everyone has a different perception of value.

It takes me about a minute to turn 3 gold ore into an Aetheryte ring... I see a lot of people selling these rings for 10k+ while I will happily sell them all day for 7k.

Am I being a low-life undercutter or just selling for what is the value I place on the 60ish seconds it took to make that ring?

If the perceived value of the BUYER is 10k (meaning people are buying the item at a reasonable rate at 10K) then it is bad business on your end to drop it down to YOUR perceived value of 7k. Undercutting by a tiny amount to get to the top of the list make sense but to drop it by 3k even though the buyers are still willing to buy at 10k is just silly unless you are Robin Hood and are trying to give money away for altruistic reasons. However, if the item is not selling at a reasonable rate at 10k then it makes sense to try and bring it down to a price where it will sell at a reasonable rate.

[Lstkaws]

If the perceived value of the BUYER is 10k (meaning people are buying the item at a reasonable rate at 10K) then it is bad business on your end to drop it down to YOUR perceived value of 7k. Undercutting by a tiny amount to get to the top of the list make sense but to drop it by 3k even though the buyers are still willing to buy at 10k is just silly unless you are Robin Hood and are trying to give money away for altruistic reasons. However, if the item is not selling at a reasonable rate at 10k then it makes sense to try and bring it down to a price where it will sell at a reasonable rate.

Actually that is exactly what steel mogul Andrew Carnegie did. He dropped steel prices and massively undercut his competition (or threatened to). Granted he was vertically integrated, but the principles the same. Moving inventory fast has a lot to be said for it; if you can keep it cycling. Works especially well with high volume items (consumables and the like).

[Inquisitor]

It takes me about a minute to turn 3 gold ore into an Aetheryte ring... I see a lot of people selling these rings for 10k+ while I will happily sell them all day for 7k.

Am I being a low-life undercutter or just selling for what is the value I place on the 60ish seconds it took to make that ring?

As long as that 7k is enough more than market price of the materials to net what you consider a reasonable profit, then no, you aren't a low-life even though you are undercutting. But if you sell it for less than the market value of the materials then you are NOT making a profit, even if you farm all the materials yourself. That last part is important and something a lot of people just can't see, to understand. If the market cost of the items you've gathered is greater than the price at which you sell the finished product then you would have been better off just selling the materials and not bothering with the crafting.

Edit: I know the poster I'm replying to did not mention materials being 'free' as some others have said. I'm just clarifying the difference between sensible undercutting and, well, stupid undercutting.

[OldGeezer]

As long as that 7k is enough more than market price of the materials to net what you consider a reasonable profit, then no, you aren't a low-life even though you are undercutting. But if you sell it for less than the market value of the materials then you are NOT making a profit, even if you farm all the materials yourself. That last part is important and something a lot of people just can't see, to understand. If the market cost of the items you've gathered is greater than the price at which you sell the finished product then you would have been better off just selling the materials and not bothering with the crafting...

Who made material suppliers the authority figure on the setting of prices? Maybe the material crafters are gouging the other crafters, who then in turn gouge the final customer. Two wrongs don't make a right. If I don't follow this plan I'm a low-life? Pardon me for not being a lazy-ass and making the materials myself. If someone wants to spend 7k on mats and sell a finished item for 8k that is their choice, However, if I go out and get the mats myself, I don't have to sell the same item for 7k. I can sell it for 5k and I make more money instead of buying mats. I don't need big piles of money to fil the coffers of the material suppliers because I don't buy things from them anyway. I should not be penalized or ostracized due to other people's laziness.

[Inquisitor]

Who made material suppliers the authority figure on the setting of prices? Maybe the material crafters are gouging the other crafters, who then in turn gouge the final customer. Two wrongs don't make a right. If I don't follow this plan I'm a low-life? Pardon me for not being a lazy-ass and making the materials myself. <snip>

That doesn't make you a low-life. But if you are selling the finished product for less than what you could get by selling the materials then you are being rather dim-witted. Not evil, but very ignorant.

Edit: I don't consider undercutting to be immoral except in cases where some jerk says, "Ha, I've got so much gil that I can cause the market for fleece to collapse just for the fun of it!" Taking the opportunity cost of gathering your own materials into account is in your own self interest.

Edit 2: Your idea that people who don't gather their own materials are lazy is ignorant and insulting. If you work in a steel mill, are you considered lazy because you didn't go out and mine the iron ore (and coal and misc other minerals used in a particular alloy) yourself? If you work in a car assembling plant are you being lazy because you didn't mine the ore and smelt it yourself? Not to mention the glass, plastics, circuit boards, and everything else that goes into a car. If you run a retail outlet chances are you didn't do anything with the merchandise except buy in bulk to resell in smaller amounts at an increased price. You must think retailers are REALLY lazy.