Running out of space - need buy/sell advice!

[Zourin]

Rules of Thumb

1: If it can be bought off a vendor, don't keep a stock unless you use it for almost -everything. This puts nearly all materials for items level 15 and below on 'no need to keep' status. Vendors are typically cheaper than players. If a vendor is NOT cheaper than players, there is usually ample supply.

2: 1-stage process raw goods into compressed forms, such as ores, logs, and fibers into ingots, lumber, and cloth. Sell off excess material or buy the 1-2 peices to round things off.

3: Don't pack-rat goods you can't use and are common to obtain. Mail it to someone who can use it, auction it, vendor it, or just trash it.

4: If you can HQ the finished goods in your sleep, you don't need to keep HQ ingredients. Auction them off in whatever form you please, but don't stuff your retainer.

5: Get rid of old consumables. Once you start getting your hands on ample supplies of hi-potions, you're never going to bother using regular potions again, ever.

[Niwashi]

2: 1-stage process raw goods into compressed forms, such as ores, logs, and fibers into ingots, lumber, and cloth. Sell off excess material or buy the 1-2 peices to round things off.

Just keep in mind that this part only saves space if you have several full stacks of the same raw item. You will always be adding at least two additional stacks (a NQ and a HQ stack of the intermediate item you're making) any time you process raw mats into intermediate ones, so the only way it helps you on storage space is if you're gaining more slots than that from the condensing effect. If it's an item where 3 of the raw mats make 1 intermediate mat, then when you have 4 stacks of the raw item, you may be able to condense that. If it's an item where it only takes 2 of the raw item to make 1 intermediate item, then you wouldn't gain space by processing it unless you have at least 5 stacks of the raw item.

(Personally, I prefer simply not to gather that far in advance of what I need, but some people who prefer to focus solely on gathering for long stretches of time may wind up in that situation where processing mats is actually helpful for storage.)

[Zourin]

Just keep in mind that this part only saves space if you have several full stacks of the same raw item. You will always be adding at least two additional stacks (a NQ and a HQ stack of the intermediate item you're making) any time you process raw mats into intermediate ones....

If you keep more than 1 stack of NQ/HQ of any item as a 'reserve for storage', you're simply hoarding, and should probably stop. Having it 'in the back' waiting for a spot on a retainer for sale is different, depending on the volume of sales you can expect.

I fully consume the raw material and discard excess when compressing into intermediaries. In the case of ores, I never 'store' ore other than iron (since it's used for three ingots). Therefore, those stacks of NQ/HQ ore simply do not exist on my retainer or inventory. Only working goods. I am not going to cry over throwing out a few scraps of material if it's uselessly consuming space.

This is even relieved further by removing HQ stacks of intermediates/ingredients that are 10 levels or more below mine. Those items have a minimal impact in quality during crafting and, if an HQ intermediary is advantageous, can be HQ'ed in my sleep with NQ ingredients.

You're saying I have 4 stacks of iron (NQ/HQ ore, NQ/HQ ingots) when in reality I have 1 stack of NQ iron ore. I don't have 4 stacks of Mythril. I discard excess ore, keep the HQ ingots I make for myself. I immediately process hides for LTW, immediately process lumber for CRP, etc.

Things DO get wierd for CUL's and ALC's, but that's a matter of controlling the impulse to casually buy too much of any one thing when you don't need it.

In regards to 'bulk' anything, there simply isn't the economy for people to think they can go around playing walmart and trying to be clever thinking there's any advantage to having a bottomless bag of everything laying around. It's just pack-ratting, plain and simple. If you're running around with 10 stacks of NQ and HQ moko grass "just in case", then you may need to re-evaluate what you're doing.

Glues, oils, and things, since I'm not an alchemist or weaver, I may have 2 stacks (Nq+HQ) since I'll take those ingredients however I can so I don't have to harass and chase people to have them made. If I have to buy something from the AH, it's usually in small quantities in a single stack.