Scrap the marketplace system please

[Adler]

The solution is rather simple. Whenever you buy something off the market board yourself, skip the cheapest items. Buy from somewhere in the middle.

Sure, you can do that. I would buy the cheapest for crafting needs or just to resell. Then again I am always selling the cheapest to get rid of everything fast...

[Valkyrie_Faleva]

names should be blanked OR who ever places the item first with the same price should have the item on top.

You have 2 people selling an item for the same price, but the other person is near the begining of the alphabet, I don't know about you, but if it was me buying it, I would choose the first person on my list.

[Titillation]

Couldnt grab the full quote, sorry!

A free market is a free market, Urthdigger. No amount of convenience or inconvenience will change how people act in such an environment.

While addons might not prevent poor pricing, access to information will certainly allow the markets to correct themselves faster. In a world where all the market players can see which items are posted below material cost easily, that item will be purchased and reposted for a profit in a matter of minutes.

The cumbersome nature of the marketboard hinders all but the most dedicated from correcting the market.

[NoDRG]

I can't comprehend how people can defend the current system we have in place.
It may be fine the way it is, yes. But ultimately it really is terrible. The rampant undercutting is a serious problem.
Saying stop undercutting the undercutters really is not a great solution. I make gil ok the way it is, but I would prefer
a FFXI kind of AH system. Too much information is a bad thing and that is what we have now.

[Shai]

When prices hit a point where it's no longer worthwhile, do you really think those people would go "Hoo boy, this is getting a bit cheap for my blood, better hold on to this." No, they're either going to keep dropping the price to keep up, under the assumption that something is better than nothing, or straight up sell it to an NPC.

I actually agree with you, Urthdigger, but Rin is making a fair point.
I manipulate the glamour market fairly regularly, and yes you can drive the price down like a liquidation sale but (in the example of glamours) there is a point when the glamours are driven down to where they are worth less than the sum of their materials (which is hilariously stupid) and 1) at this point most of the competition will say "screw it, i'll craft something else" which means the supply will slowly go down (but the demand is stable) and prices normalize until a new war begins and 2) this is a great time to buy them! because you can stockpile them for less than it costs you to make them, and you can be relatively assured that they will go back up. It might take a new vanity item introduced (at which point they will skyrocket) but they always go back up.

It's the same with shards. There is always some demand - even if some crafters have flash sales where they drive things to the point of worthlessness - it isn't a sustainable situation because OTHER people understand the value of even virtual items (time/materials costs).

[Shai]

I can't comprehend how people can defend the current system we have in place.

But rampant undercutting isn't a serious problem.

If undercutting is happening at all, it's only because the supply and demand are uneven. This system is actually one that's fairly close to a free market. The only "regulations" in place are items with vendor values (buying or selling) and even then some people completely ignore those. Can't tell you how many fish I've bought for 15 gil just to sell for 500 gil on the marketplace - in bulk! That aside - undercutting is a problem of supply and demand (and sometimes impatience). On the other hand, undercutting is a buyer's delight.

One of the biggest problems in FFXI (including RMT) was how ridiculously out of proportion the economy got - how inflated it got. There was a point in the game where you couldn't even gear up your Lv30 character in respectable gear (that wouldn't get you kicked out of an XP party by the elitists which were also rampant in XI) without dropping thousands upon thousands of gil (which let me remind you, was difficult to make as a new player - unlike XIV which basically gives you a 500k buy in if you just complete the storyline).

Everyone here wants prices to be high all the time so they can make more money - but in the end, that's not the kind of stability this market needs. You'll just run out of buyers - the vast majority of players who simply make gil by running dungeons and can't afford 10k per food item every 30 minutes.

[tymora]

Don't succumb to peer pressure.

[MomomiMomi]

If undercutting is happening at all, it's only because the supply and demand are uneven.

No, undercutting is happening due to a desire to have your item listed at the top. I don't mind large undercuts to be competitive. But undercutting by 1 gil is a nuisance.

In a system such as FFXI's AH, large undercuts still happened. But small undercuts were not as big of a problem due to your price being somewhat hidden. Yes, people did it, but how much lower is your competition selling for? That's anyone's guess. Undercut by a lot and you're reaching the point of dropping the price, which is really no different to what happens in the current MB system we have on XIV.

On here, you can have a slow selling item, match the current top price, and within a few minutes of putting it up for sale, you have 5-10 of them above yours selling for 1-5 gil less. It's ridiculous.

Again, I have no problem with undercutting. I make tons of gil easily. But selling in our market system is a major annoyance.

One of the biggest problems in FFXI (including RMT) was how ridiculously out of proportion the economy got - how inflated it got.

This isn't an issue with FFXI's market. It's an issue with how much gil is in circulation.

[Squa11_Leonhart]

As i've said before (in this thread).

I use reduced prices when selling items in bulk, but increase the price for smaller amounts by looking at other sellers and their pricing.

I think for awhile i was selling vitriol (to those with no beast vendor access) at
10 for 800 each (8000)
20 for 650 each (13000)
30 for 500 each (15000)

...coz lets face it, people crafting using that material can afford the price hike >. . .

anyway. people caught on and tanked the prices of that to below vendor price =_=

[Kewitt]

I Like the current system as both a buyer and seller of items.

If I craft 40 items and put them all at ~100 gil below going rate 30 will sell before the end of the day. 2 will sell before I log in the next day. changing price on 8 items.

Also Learn howto put stuff on the AH.

Stacks of 99 will not sell as fast as stacks of 9 or 10 depending on how many are needed to craft. You can often put stuff on the AH for more and sell after in small stacks.
When I undercut I undercut enough that item + tax = 1-100 below the next in the list so my item is the best price regardless of which city you get it in. undercutting 1 gil doesn't make it the best price.