FFXIV ECONOMICS 101

[joshsecret]

actual economics 101

i think i love you.
and i also think we took the same class last fall.

[Ryans]

I don't think you've done enough studies on the human psyche to know what is more appealing to the masses in terms of quantity vs. price. I've had stacks of 10 and 20 of the same item on the market board at the same price and had all the stacks of 20 sell and none of the stacks of 10. Using your logic, the stacks of 10 should have sold first. Not everyone is as poor as you might think and they are willing to buy larger stacks for a little less gil per unit because they know they'll use them all eventually or can resell them for equal value.

You also don't seem to understand that time spent isn't always the same value for each individual. I can craft 30 HQ items in 30 minutes, on average. That does not mean I am not doing something else that I consider being of equal or greater value while I am crafting. I'll use your same numbers of 900 gil profit per HQ. If I was going to read a book, watch a tv show, or eat a meal in that 30 minutes regardless of whether or not I am crafting, I have effectively gained 27,000 gil with no real time investment.

[Sonofbaldo]

I'm sorry but thats how a free economy works. You can sell your wares at whatever price you want. I'm sure when supply doesnt meet demands you happily jack your prices up. Perhaps he feels the time and effort it took to acquire those items did not warrant what you think the item is personally worth.

Any player with tons of money could easily dictate the economy in this game buy buying up all of the product and then putting them back up for higher prices. I guarantee you, it happens...ALOT. As it always has in games with a free economy.

To hear someone whine about people undercutting when prices can and are so easily controlled by the in-game rich...You'll get no sympathy here. These games need more Robin Hood types who try to knock prices down.

[ClaireAbigail]

My item. I'll sell it whatever price I want. If I want to undercut I will under cut if I want to overprice I will overprice. Some people want a quick buck to make so they will undercut just so people will buy them and sell them at a higher price. I know that will happen and frankly I don't care. I only do this when it comes to crafting materials because of this one glorious thing se implemented: ventures. Send them out for a hunting venture, get them to hunt the stuff people need like allapaku(misspelled) eggs. Wait for an hour or 4. Get 20-100 (depending on how many ventures you made) of them mixed of high and normal quality. Sell them dirty cheap. Watch the market suddenly collapse because of it. Buy them all at the collapsed price. ?????. Profit. There's more to it but that's the gist of it.

Honestly it gives me sadistic pleasure watching the market collapse especially if the thing I'm gonna collapse is something overpriced in the market board.

[ApolloGenX]

I like how the OP complains about prices dropping, but talks about running macros... when it's clear they are botting.

In fact, I assume most "crafters" in this game bot. It's not a judgement... it's a pretty un-engaging system for lackluster rewards, imo. It's to be expected.

So far EQ and WoW are the only games I haven't really seen crafting bots.... because you can craft multiples easily in either. In EQ you used to have to do individual combines,, but materials were kind of rare, and you had to get them out of inventory, so it wasn't an easily botted process.

[NyneAlexander]

I like how the OP complains about prices dropping, but talks about running macros... when it's clear they are botting.

In fact, I assume most "crafters" in this game bot. It's not a judgement... it's a pretty un-engaging system for lackluster rewards, imo. It's to be expected.

So far EQ and WoW are the only games I haven't really seen crafting bots.... because you can craft multiples easily in either. In EQ you used to have to do individual combines,, but materials were kind of rare, and you had to get them out of inventory, so it wasn't an easily botted process.

You can make a 100% guaranteed HQ rotation span 3 in game macros. This is not at all botting, and if you are going to craft large amounts of HQ food. I highly recommend it. Sorry if you consider this botting... but not sorry.. cause its not.

[Anapingofness]

I, for one, enjoyed reading the OP's post.

I think she made some very valid points.
Often times I see items on the MB worth for less than what NPCs offer for them. Personally, I don't think one should be able to sell for that low... but I digress.

One thing I would like to point out about the OP's post is the bit about the Understacking.
I think most people don't see the value in it because they don't see a big number.

I sell individuals and small "stacks" of 2-10 of an item. I will make the items a bit more expensive but I know they will sell fast.
Why?
People don't want to buy a stack of 90 when all they need is a stack of 10.
People will pay for convenience.

Another thing I don't do is the undercutting game.
I have a minimum price of what I think an item is worth and I won't go below that price, even if the AH/MB price tanks, I will keep it at my 'fixed' price.
It means my stuff won't sell for a while but I know that I will get it when the price goes back up again.

[kidvideo]

The First Core Rule: -Everything- has a value in gil.[/B]

You lost it there, right at the start. Rule one: Everything is subjective.

You're basing your material costs on market board purchases, without taking in to account potential taxes. You haven't factored in labor & repair costs for gathering, let alone the repair costs for the crafting itself.

I will sell my HQ buttons for 100 gil each, just to clear the inventory space.

[Ryuukishi]

"I am entitled to sell my goods at price X because reasons"

"I am the boss of what price other people are allowed to offer their goods for"

[Ehayte]

Value of a good or service (in a free market) is determined by something called supply and demand. Perhaps you have heard.

When the barriers to entry are extremely low, it creates a large amount of competition which in turn shifts the supply curve outward, decreasing price.

The price of a good or service is also determined by the demand of the consumer, and your stacking argument is a derivative of two things called price sensitivity and bundling. When demand is low it would shift the demand curve in, which will also decrease the price.

When people say "it's only worth what people are willing to pay!" that's true, but its also true that, "it's only available if the cost of production is lower than the price people are willing to pay to such a degree that it's producers are willing to spend their time producing it!"

You also have to factor in how much people value their time IN GAME relative to how useful they find gil. I may value each one of my inventory spaces at 400 gil a piece, meaning me taking a 300 gil loss for selling 3 NQ Buttons might be a net gain for my utility.

OP has a basic understanding of a fiat economy that excludes externalizes and utility of its participants, thus overall logic is flawed in a practical sense.

Also, OP, you are assuming people are rational in practical application. That is a gigantic mistake when applying economics to real situations, virtual or not.