Trade For Materials With Materials

thewayfarer

So we all know buying materials off of other players is ridiculously expensive. Barring a software change in the game, this situation will not improve, because players will always be greedy.

I would like to start a movement (for the lack of a better term) to encourage crafters to trade for materials with materials. Don't spend money on raw materials that you can mine. Don't buy from overpriced player shops. Instead, just trade.

To encourage this, I suggest the following:

- Create a chat room that is dedicated to material trading. This gives low level persons a place to go and find materials.

- For those of you able to use global trade chat, when you are asking to obtain materials, offer other materials as a trade. This will help spread the notion of material trading.

- Within your guild, when you are trying to obtain materials, try to do so via material trading than through gold. This will help spread the notion of material trading.

- Perhaps we can informally choose a location for material trading? Like, the center of Archosaur or something? This way, can we talk in the normal channel without spamming into populated areas.

- Don't play on both sides of the fence. So please don't put up raw materials in shops with exorbitant prices.

This won't solve the problem of inflated player shop prices. I'm not trying to solve that problem. I'm trying to circumvent it. I can, without any feeling of regret, trade away a bunch of glue for an equal amount of logs. There's no sense of getting ripped off or anything like that.

In terms of profit, you'll still make more money selling materials through shops than crafting. I saw a Hard Rim Muslin for 10k, and I doubt it's going to go down. There will always be people who are simply willing to buy materials.

Nonetheless, I would like to see this work. This movement requires (1) a good amount of participation and (2) spreading the notion so it becomes accepted practice. But I think we can do it. None of us likes to spend tens of thousands of gold on materials just to go up a rank.

What do you all think? Bad idea, good idea? Any ways to improve this? Any additional strategies? Is there a better location than Archosaur?

Zolaren - Sanctuary

It's a nice concept, but don't think it would work all that well. Two problems:

1) It means finding someone who not only has what you want, but wants what you have ... there's a reason cash replaced the barter system in RL

2) Not all mats are equal (even at the same level). For example Pig Iron will sell for around 1000 - Coal Dust I tried selling for 200 and got not takers! So would I trade 1 Pig Iron for 1 Coal Dust? I don't think so ...

If you setup a shop, you can essentially get the same idea. Offer the mats at a little below the going rate and do the same with offers to buy the mats you want. You'll have no problem finding someone to take you up on it. But it is a bit of a pain - first you have to find out what the going rate is, and it means leaving your computer running ... and (AFAIK) you can't put anything in your 'Buy' list that you don't already own ...

What I'd really like to see is a 'Mat market' that works the same as the 'Gold market' - all the mats/herbs are listed there, and you can place offers to buy or sell. Then go off questing/grinding (or logoff), and come back later to see how you did.

Arenamanager - Sanctuary

Zolaren - Sanctuary wrote: »

1) It means finding someone who not only has what you want, but wants what you have ... there's a reason cash replaced the barter system in RL

2) Not all mats are equal (even at the same level). For example Pig Iron will sell for around 1000 - Coal Dust I tried selling for 200 and got not takers! So would I trade 1 Pig Iron for 1 Coal Dust? I don't think so ...

#1 is true, although I would still support and promote such a movement.

#2 also true, but personal need (or lack of) and urgency will change the values attached to any item as there is a subjective aspect to most prices

Darth_rambo - Lost City

I can't go along with this. I need to sell my mats for coins, because I spent all my coins on mats, get it? I don't have time to farm mats, so I'm buying my way to the top. Now if you'll excuse me, my Obama fanclub has a meeting starting soon.

zionwarrior

hey im all up for it also im trying to set up a guide sorta like this but diiferent a bit cause i dont have a coin problem an i dont sell mats for profit i agree with u there wut i do is try to find good spawn spots "doing this ryt now for setting up my guild" then list wut drops wut and then havin a different friend set up mines locations an plant locations that way we might get the prices cut down and or altegeather stoped


"if you want something done do it urself no point gryping
if u can do it and make a change"

Cordent - Sanctuary

zionwarrior wrote: »

list wut drops wut

www.pwdatabase.com already does this ... for example Cotton

It also has a partial list of mine sites, but personally I don't believe that's the problem. If you're serious about getting your own mats, it's not that hard to find a few sites and start hitting them regularly. However, that takes time, and isn't much fun ... so people just buy them instead.

But I still think the real problem is the player shops ... most people don't want to sit around as a shop, so they end up buying at high prices and selling the mats they don't need at low prices. You could literally make a fortune just buying and selling the same mats, because (in your own shop), you can buy them for about 1/3 of what you can sell them at.

Arenamanager - Sanctuary wrote: »

personal need (or lack of) and urgency will change the values attached to any item as there is a subjective aspect to most prices

Yes and no ... say I'm short on Coal Dust, but do have extra Pig Iron. Would I trade 1 for 1? No. Because I know I could setup a shop - sell my Pig Iron for say 800, buy Coal Dust at 400, and effectively get 2 Coal Dust for 1 Pig Iron. And with those prices, I'd probably get it within 10 minutes. 5 minutes if I 'advertised' in the common chat.

It's not just need and urgency - it's also personal knowledge. I would never make a trade like that (other than with a friend) because I know the relative value, and how easy it would be to get a better deal. I'd just recommend everyone setup a shop to buy/sell at reasonable prices - you won't have to wait long, and if enough people do it, everyone else will have to adjust their prices too.