Why undercut by a 1,000+??

[BowlOfNoodles]

Took me about 2 months on and off to cap all my crafts. Every time someones under cuts me by 1 gil, I go down 250 gil to 1000 gil depending on the item. If my item didn't sell, then it probably won't sell at 1 gil lower. Also it saves up space on your retainers. The faster you get rid of things, the more you can sell. Currently you can only sell up to 40 items, 20 on each retainer, not good when you item doesn't sell for days just because you are greedy and won't lower your selling price.

[HoroBoro]

I'm no great crafter. I do have a surplus of goods sometimes and just need to see it move. I won't undercut 1k but I'll always go in increments of 500 every 2-3 days just so I can put more stuff on the market.

It's never a "loss" for me because I always gather my own materials. I'm not making gil hording tons of items in my bank.

I don't have the patience to analyze an inherently irrational system. It's why I didn't go into economics.

[NPenfold]

I always look at past history for how much the item has been selling for. If it has been selling for 2k all the time and there is someone selling the cheapest at 5k I am still going to put it up at 2k since if I do it just below 5k the item is much less likely to shift. Also I am likely to make more money since the likelihood is I will be able to sell 3-4 at 2k in the same time as I would have been able to sell one at 5k. This example was more in respect of the lower end goods but it applies across the board.

The other point is by putting items up at 2k I am more likely to discourage crafters in crafting the item since they can get a better profit elsewhere hence cutting down the number of undercutting I have to deal with.

[Shirai]

As I gather nearly all materials myself most of it is pure profit for me anyway. But if it comes down too low for my tastes I'll just hold on to the items until the market recovers a bit.

As for the opportunity market, sure you can make a quick buck if you gamble and get lucky.
But you need to be prepared that people will undercut you to even less than half your price quick and there is nothing you can do.

Me, I am not a gambler.

[Asteldian]

Because if I sell my item for 1 less gil and my retainer is in ul'dah but yours is in limsa, then the potential buyer if in limsa will buy your item rather than spend 100+ gil travelling to ul'day and avoid the tax just to save 1 gil as overall it men's he lost.
If I am undercutting, I want to be the cheapest option no matter where the player is buying from.
If I am making 30k+ profit on an item, reducing that by 1k to ensure I am cheapest is no big issue to me.

[HEC]

Because if I sell my item for 1 less gil and my retainer is in ul'dah but yours is in limsa, then the potential buyer if in limsa will buy your item rather than spend 100+ gil travelling to ul'day and avoid the tax just to save 1 gil as overall it men's he lost.

For that I have alts "parked" in each city by the Market boards / FC chest and if there anything I want / need quickly and it's worth purchasing it "localy" I'll quickly login to the respective alt to purchase it and then transfer it to my main character via FC chest ... saves money on travelling as well as paying taxes for cross state purchases plus it's almost as fast as travelling there with the main character.

[FritoBandito]

Perhaps the vendor had a sale that day?

[Techro]

it seem like everyone automatically thinks that the OP is over pricing by thousands. I also share the same hate you have OP. Example: If i have an accy up with a history for 3k and person B comes and undercuts to 2k. All it does is you make less money and create downward trend..its dumb. sell it for what it sells for, you will sell your piece I will sell my piece and everyone is happy. When you create a downward trend people think that the original price is too expensive..on the other hand you have the guy that puts up things in the market place for cheaper or same price you can vendor it for...why? does it really take that much effort to just click on history and press a few buttons..its really sad overall.

[Asteldian]

Market history is key to whether or not you worry about an undercutter. If you are selling an ite. At 10k and are cheapest, but player b sees that in the recent history it has sold for 6-8k consistently, he will undercut you by a lot knowing that buyers also review the history and unless desperate will not buy your item at 10k nor player b item at 9.9k.

On the other hand, if you are selling that item at 6k and player b sells at 4 or 5k, then don't compete, let him get the quick sale because one cheap sell does not make a trend and buyers will see its a lucky one off and happily buy yours when it is the cheapest again coz player b has already sold his.

Undercutters are only a problem if you try fighting them in the wrong situations - in scenario 1 a fight is wise because you overcharged anyway, in scenario 2 it just means now 2 items will sell undervalued and there is risk of setting a trend

[Mihael_Longclaw]

Doing what's best for the consumer!