Reasonable Prices Kupo?

[Transient_Shadow]

I've always tried to sell my wares for logical sums on the market. However there seems to be a growing trend of people underselling one another to the extreme. Or at least to me it feels that way. I don't exactly want to sell my Rainbow Cotton at 500 gill considering all the hard work I put in to leveling my botany.

But maybe I'm wrong. Does anyone have any particular method to gauge how low is appropriate for various items of different levels.

Secondly whats a good technique to maintain gill flow when one's niche of the market is being flooded with unreasonably low prices. Like wallmart coming in to steel your gill kind of low.

[Zojha]

Does anyone have any particular method to gauge how low is appropriate for various items of different levels.

That one is simple: How much you value the work you put into it. The worth (or appropriate price) of an item is entirely subjective, so if someone else values his/her time/work lower, that's just how it is, the only thing you can do is to buy it all up to re-sell and/or change the market. Most people will consider the vendor price a minimum however.

Same goes for the second question, really. Either buying up and selling higher, accepting the prices or changing the niché. You can also temporarily withhold wares in the hopes that the disturbance is only temporary.

[DJMau]

Believe me that is not a current trend. Instead of being smart about it people are more into the "F you got mine" mentality and will do whatever it takes to sell their own product anyone else be damned.

A good thing to try is to not sell your stuff in stacks of 99. Quite often people only need like 10 or 20 of something instead of a whole stack.

[Faeon]

Depends what you are selling to, i find the market can be flooded now since it so late in the game and everyone is well doing nothing. We are undercutting by like 10gil, seriously sell a product for 1000, next person sells it for 995. Its becoming a common trend.

I found selling materials better, like ingots HQ in batches of 3 or one. look at what the top recipe requires does it require 3 to make or one, and take it from there, in the end its business and do whatever it takes to sell the product as-long as you are not doing your self in.

[Savanni]

A good thing to try is to not sell your stuff in stacks of 99. Quite often people only need like 10 or 20 of something instead of a whole stack.

This, so much this. I can't stress enough how I'd rather buy small stacks of stuff. If it's crystals, I'll buy them no matter what the quantity is. However, if it's rainbow cotton that I need to make a couple of "xyz" widgets. then I'm much more apt to purchase as few as I need; hence the smaller stack versus the stack of 99.

[Niwashi]

whats a good technique to maintain gill flow when one's niche of the market is being flooded with unreasonably low prices.

The best solution to that is usually to just switch niches for a while. If what had previously been making you money is now undercut too far, find something else you can make that doesn't have many sellers and is still at a decent price. Make that for a while instead.

Maybe leave one or two listings of your previous favorite money-maker there at the price that would make it worth coming back. It won't sell for a while as the price gougers drive the market down, but eventually they'll move elsewhere and prices will recover. By leaving one item there, you'll know when the prices are back up by the fact that that's when that item will finally sell. (It saves you some effort re-checking prices to see when they recover.)

[Bloody]

But maybe I'm wrong. Does anyone have any particular method to gauge how low is appropriate for various items of different levels.

Secondly whats a good technique to maintain gill flow when one's niche of the market is being flooded with unreasonably low prices.

First, look at sale history, compare with current listings, and follow supply and demand. Lots of sales recently slowly driving price up? Price high and hope for prices to keep rising. Prices dropping? Post in the middle and hope for recovery, while using your other retail space for different items.

Second, if your market gets flooded, get a different niche. Keep your supply from the old niche (no need to go to crasher's level) because the market may go back up to what you are used to. Ultimately though, the best way to do good on the marketboard is to have a variety of products up that each generate decent income. That way, if one market crashes your income doesn't grind to a halt.

[Astral145]

When did morals and Business ever go hand in hand? No such thing as morals in business. Business has to compete and try to make everyone "BELIEVE" there product is a higher quality product versus the business next door... its the very nature of a monetary system.

[Zojha]

[...] its the very nature of a monetary system.

Money doesn't have much to do with it - Money is just a substitute trade good to simplify swapping goods and when people lose faith in money (such as during hyperinflation), they frequently go back to swapping goods and services directly.

It's competition, plain and simple. Two people want the same thing (Like people buying their item first), only one can get it, so they'll have to decide who gets and who doesn't. The most classic way is to just cull the competition (either by killing the competing people, destroying their base of competition by destroying their facilities/resources, buying them up/bribes, crowding them out, propaganda etc etc), but if that's not an option, all you can do is to make trading partners a better deal.

[TallonOverworld]

Not a growing trend of underselling but more like "i will just sell cheaper than you" no matter what. People who run the market have full knowledge of what is selling and how much but ive seen cases of extreme underselling to the point of 150-200% lower price where you simply wonder if the person who sells is nuts or just never pressed the history button.
All you can do here is just buy it and re-sell it at the normal (higher) price but theres no way you can manipulate the market which can only be achieved through monopoly something i havent seen so far.
Now, just like any ordinary market there's the undefiable presence of demand-supply. Lower demand means higher prices and vice versa. I always operate under this logic and has earned me quite a fortune so far.
Since you presented the example of rainbow cotton (i have no idea what this is and what it is used for) you should consider a few things before you decide to farm it and therefore sell it.
Demand from market(prices,selling history etc) -> Time spent to gather,production cost if crafted -> overall profit.
If you are satisfied from all these steps then go for it or find smth that is most close to this.
But generally dont bother with people that undersell. Sooner or later someone will buy what they sell and no big deal... Just find things that are needed for end-game stuff and you will make a fortune in no time.