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Professions, what is the point?
zacoria1405
Member Posts: 230 Arc User
I can't under stand why people are selling items in the auction house so cheaply and hardly making anything on the items as well as driving the price down for everyone else.
For example: Take a pair of exquisite gemmed trousers.
Create 1 pair ornate trousers, 40 minutes minimum with epic tailor.
Create 1 pair fancy trousers, 40 minutes minimum with epic tailor.
Create 1 pair exquisite gemmed trousers, 12 hours minimum with epic tailor.
Total time = 13.5 hours.
Cost of dragon egg, residuum, crystal =40,000 AD.
The chance of making a gemmed pair is allegedly 60% with all epic assets. I've kept a check on the last 400 items that I have attempted to make gemmed and received 201 gemmed and 199 un-gemmed, so realistically it's not a 60% chance and more like 50%.
People in the auction house then sell the gemmed pair for 70;000 AD. Subtract 10% fees = 63,000 AD. Then subtract cost of materials (40K) = 23,000 AD profit.
The same people then sell the un-gemmed pair at 22,000 AD. Subtract 10% fees = 20,000 approx. then subtract cost of materials (40K) = loss of 20,000.
So for every 2 pairs they sell, 1 un-gemmed and 1 gemmed they make a total profit of 3000 AD. What is the point in all that effort including searching for materials and using 2 of your profession slots for 13.5 hours for 3000 AD. This is also keeping the prices ridiculously low to the point where it is no longer worthwhile bothering.
I really can't understand the logic in this at all and can only put it down to the fact that people are really bad at simple mathematics or just plain stupid.
It's hard enough to make AD to buy all the really expensive stuff that characters need at higher levels without having to try and compete with compete clowns who obviously havn't got a clue what they are doing and basically spoiling it for everyone else.
For example: Take a pair of exquisite gemmed trousers.
Create 1 pair ornate trousers, 40 minutes minimum with epic tailor.
Create 1 pair fancy trousers, 40 minutes minimum with epic tailor.
Create 1 pair exquisite gemmed trousers, 12 hours minimum with epic tailor.
Total time = 13.5 hours.
Cost of dragon egg, residuum, crystal =40,000 AD.
The chance of making a gemmed pair is allegedly 60% with all epic assets. I've kept a check on the last 400 items that I have attempted to make gemmed and received 201 gemmed and 199 un-gemmed, so realistically it's not a 60% chance and more like 50%.
People in the auction house then sell the gemmed pair for 70;000 AD. Subtract 10% fees = 63,000 AD. Then subtract cost of materials (40K) = 23,000 AD profit.
The same people then sell the un-gemmed pair at 22,000 AD. Subtract 10% fees = 20,000 approx. then subtract cost of materials (40K) = loss of 20,000.
So for every 2 pairs they sell, 1 un-gemmed and 1 gemmed they make a total profit of 3000 AD. What is the point in all that effort including searching for materials and using 2 of your profession slots for 13.5 hours for 3000 AD. This is also keeping the prices ridiculously low to the point where it is no longer worthwhile bothering.
I really can't understand the logic in this at all and can only put it down to the fact that people are really bad at simple mathematics or just plain stupid.
It's hard enough to make AD to buy all the really expensive stuff that characters need at higher levels without having to try and compete with compete clowns who obviously havn't got a clue what they are doing and basically spoiling it for everyone else.
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Comments
You can 't do anything against ZEN Buyers. They don't care how much they earn. So you have to search something to build where you can get more AD and not everyone will build the same things.
The problem is that the main point of your argument is based on a fallacy. Your cost may not be your competitors cost. Although 40000, may be the current price, it is not what I, and many others paid. After a recent event, where dragon eggs could be farmed, they were selling for less than 15, 000 AD. I put every AD i could get into dragon eggs so my breakeven point is much lower than yours. I don't directly compete with you, since I sell mostly mailsmith items and they still sell in the 90-110 K range. Even selling the junk for 20,000 I recoup my investment.
Second, AD is not the only way to get Dragon eggs, events, profession packs, dragon scale vendor (my favorite) etc. can provide them. I consider any achieved these ways, free (others may not). Since it was not the dragon egg that I was spending the Zen on, it is a bonus.
Third, eventually the market is going to dry up anyway. As more players get level 20 in crafting tasks(more competition) and fewer players need the equipment (less sales) prices will go down more.
And this is the reason I love alchemy, it is the only profession that caters to repeat business. You may not make as much per sale, but with consumables your buyers will return.
If you pay the eggs with gold, your margin are higher than other. The problem is the excess of dropping of prices and a too high farm rateo.
The Shore set is dropped by 100k, the artifact belt lost a lot of value, the T1 set are really low.
Pricing items for sale based on your historic consumables cost is not a sound economic model
Currently, I'm at a total loss tbh as to what exactly you are supposed to do as an end game player to finance further character progression. If you have an augment pet and personalised jewellery you're looking at 1.2 million ad minimum (in Greater MoPotency) to take your enchantments to rank 8 on one character. Not to mention all the refinement points needed for those and all the other artifact gear you've by now acquired.
Professions are super easy to level and very accessible. So it does stand to reason that if the player base stagnates, more players already have their gemmed gear or have levelled the professions themselves and the prices on these items plummet.
As a player since launch, I don't expect to be super rich and able to buy any and all items from the zen store with my huge pool of ad, but it would be nice to be able to buy a few greater marks each week
I'm fortunate enough to be able to spend real money on zen and wouldn't be averse to doing so. But personally the cost, for example buying Blood Rubies to finish of my artefact weapon, is too high.
The price of items required for the higher levels is ridiculously high and people just killing the market for professions really isn't helping. I've already spent enough money on this game and really don't want to spend anymore even though I can easily afford to. I just wish people posting items in the auction could just spend 10 seconds thinking about what they're doing before they post their items, it would help everyone out no end.
Absolutely true and I don't. Basing it on actual costs is good practice. Make money and put competitors with higher costs out of business, double win. When those costs raise and you cannot increase prices due to competition, you need to diversify. Until then, sell.
Players need to stop selling items that they cannot profit from. In part of my post that was not quoted I mentioned that at some point the market is going to dry up and be overflowing with competitors. You need to adapt. If you can't obtain supplies at a reasonable cost, stop selling. When there is an upward change in the market, jump back in. If you don't want to open another profession, like alchemy, change products.
I will give two examples, there are others.
There are events (we have already had 2) where unfined wood/metals/leather/cloth were needed. I made more AD from the Siege of Neverwinter than anything else I have done and bought 27 adventurers with the profit to boost my leadership income. Set your workers to harvesting, build up a supply. When the price of those items goes up for the event, pure profit. There is no cost except time for harvesting. Wonders of Gond was the other event and it runs multiple times per year.
Sell to your competitors. Some players don't like spending time harvesting and refining for crafting, sell your harvested and refined items daily.
Too many players focus on the high ticket items, check the lower priced items. If you can do volume, you can still profit from many professions.
I wanted to address this in a separate post, since it is off the main topic. One of the problems with the port to Xbox starting with TOD is that refining was introduced, but the Mods that provided crafting supplies were not in. In particular, Dread Ring, is needed. The chest rewards for one of the dailies, included greater marks (not Potency) greatly reducing the need to purchase them. Personally, I'm not in a hurry to upgrade stuff as long as I can enjoy the parts of the game I like. Refining will get easier as the early mods are released, then it will get even worse with Elemental Evil. Wait it out if you can, resist the urge to buy your way to upgrades.
Just because you're a pricegouger doesn't mean everyone else has to be
Lykopis - GWF
Embrace the cashgrab