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Why Exchange prices are high

SystemSystem Member, NoReporting Posts: 178,019 Arc User
People seem to think that regular people are inflating prices on the exchange, but I don't believe that is the case. I've sold many items on the exchange and I have a theory as to why the prices are do high. Any time I put an item on the exchange for a reasonable amount, it is bought almost instantly. I can see this happening once in awhile, but every time? I'm pretty sure gold sellers are buying anything priced reasonably and immediatly reselling for insane prices. This not only makes them money when someone is dumb enough to buy the item, but also acts to make everything expensive, which in turn makes people think they NEED to buy the gold to get anything decent on the exchange. There's an easy fix to this though.
Make anything on the exchange bind on pickup. It's harsh, and it means people won't be able to buy something fo their friend, but I think it's worth it for a stable game economy.
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Comments

  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I can't think of an alternative, other than leaving it as it is, but I disagree with how you propose to combat the problem. However, I also agree that this is a likely reason for the excessive prices. It can be easily combatted if everyone reports them and nobody buys from them.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Actually, it's because the game has been out for - what? - two weeks? There's no market average, no previous trends to follow. Everyone is just making up a price and sticking it up on the Exchange, that's what I do, and it's why i've got about 6 million credits. There's no simple way to compare prices on the exchange, so you just see what it's worth and add a percentage. If you can't buy it in the stores, up the percentage, if it's green or blue or purple, up the percentage again.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I make a good living under by underselling all the high prices, eventually others will lower theirs to compete
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    SpicySteve wrote: »
    I'm pretty sure gold sellers are buying anything priced reasonably and immediatly reselling for insane prices. This not only makes them money when someone is dumb enough to buy the item, but also acts to make everything expensive, which in turn makes people think they NEED to buy the gold to get anything decent on the exchange.
    That really doesn't work. Try it.

    Say there's an item that most people post for, say, 5,000 energy. So you post it for 10,000 energy. Now, what do you do when some guy posts 10 of them for 9,500 energy? If you do nothing, your item at 10,000 energy will not sell and you'll be wasting an auction slot. If you buy all 10 of them, you're sinking 95,000 energy to immediately lose 45,000 energy (because you're overpaying) in the hopes that you can sell each item for a measly 500 energy profit instead of the 5,000 you wanted to make.

    Yuck.

    The problem is that every opportunity you spend energy to create can equally well be taken advantage of by (and must be shared with) guys who didn't have to spend a penny.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    momiji wrote: »
    I can't think of an alternative, other than leaving it as it is, but I disagree with how you propose to combat the problem. However, I also agree that this is a likely reason for the excessive prices. It can be easily combatted if everyone reports them and nobody buys from them.

    That's not much of a solution. If you take away their main source of getting credits fast, you put them out of buisness. I'd like to see them completely eliminated from the game
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You can't simply ask to have steps taken to control the economy.

    When the happens in the real world, BAD things follow.

    Let it stabilize on its own. Meanwhile, go earn badges and use those to buy things.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    JoelKatz wrote: »
    That really doesn't work. Try it.

    Say there's an item that most people post for, say, 5,000 energy. So you post it for 10,000 energy. Now, what do you do when some guy posts 10 of them for 9,500 energy? If you do nothing, your item at 10,000 energy will not sell and you'll be wasting an auction slot. If you buy all 10 of them, you're sinking 95,000 energy to immediately lose 45,000 energy (because you're overpaying) in the hopes that you can sell each item for a measly 500 energy profit instead of the 5,000 you wanted to make.

    Yuck.

    The problem is that every opportunity you spend energy to create can equally well be taken advantage of by (and must be shared with) guys who didn't have to spend a penny.

    Yes, but if you have 50 people whose sole job is to keep the economy inflated, it becomes much more feasable. I don't think they would care about using a million credits buying every item they see priced reasonably so they can keep pricing things high.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You can't simply ask to have steps taken to control the economy.

    When the happens in the real world, BAD things follow.

    Let it stabilize on its own. Meanwhile, go earn badges and use those to buy things.

    It's not changing the economy. Why do we need to be able to buy something then resell it?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    dr_Drake wrote:
    I make a good living under by underselling all the high prices, eventually others will lower theirs to compete

    I sell for the suggested price, unless it is the high end for the rank. IE MK VIII for captain, where as MK VII is common, so it is sold for the suggested price on the item.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I think it is fine as it is. It provides a platform for an efficient market so that prices reflect the demand and supply of the in game economy. Granted that we in the early part of the game and there is a high level of market inefficiencies mainly due to the players adjusting to the market but given a bit more time, the prices will adjust to equilibrium prices as the market begins to mature.

    What I would suggest is actually making the market less efficient so that we could have more fun in the trading side of the game. I would suggest that the markets be separated so that exchange in Earth Station only shows items that was posted there and the exchange in alpha memory only shows items listed there. That way, some people can enjoy the game by trading -- buying from an exchange in one station and travelling to another station to sell.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I see no need for the exchange. I get all my equipment from drops and rewards as well as from tokens. Even got me and EPS console or 2.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    SpicySteve wrote: »
    There's an easy fix to this though.
    Make anything on the exchange bind on pickup. It's harsh, and it means people won't be able to buy something fo their friend, but I think it's worth it for a stable game economy.

    No way, no how. That would destroy the economy. No longer could you buy things for an alt or a friend. It would seriously hamper fleets. And until you can mail credits, its the only way to get money and/or items to another person.

    The prices have already started stabilizing and coming down. At higher levels the prices are still a bit ridiculous because there are very few people at that level. Give it a couple of months and it will be much more reasonable. The pricesfor Mk II and Mk IV stuff have already come way down. It happens in every new MMO. Now I would like to see a real auction house like WoW and Warhammer and City of Heroes.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Agree with the previous poster. Mk I & II stuff have come way down in the past week or so.

    Tribbles, to give an obvious example, were selling for over 1000 credits during headstart; and these were the basic ones.

    Now? People are dumping them on the exchange by the hundreds for only 1 Credit given how common they drop and reproduce.

    Given time, prices should stabilize across the board. For now, I'm enjoying the ride to Admiral ^_^
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Because higher-level players are farming and selling stuff for stupidly high prices?
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Money is ridiculously easy to make. A PvP match in LT.CMD gives 2.5k-3k credits. I mean come on, how easy do you want this game to become?

    Quests also give awesome equipment for feds.

    And at the same time you level super quickly.

    I think the prices are fine.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Maybe that some gold sellers are in there too, but not as manny...

    the high prizes are logical, as some ppl already said, high-level stuff is selling for insane prizes because there is not a high supply.
    its a supply/demand question, if everybody gets Quantum Torps MK II as loot every day AND nobody need to buy them on exchange, the price for it CAN'T be high ^^

    Give the economy some time, in 2-3 weeks, when all of us are at lvl45, there will be almost no equipment in exchange bellow MK X and the supply will be high, the demand low (because everyone will get lots of the equipment in looting, fleet actions or simply for badges) and so the prizes will be LOW too^^
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Eeverything up to blue/purple I will sell for really rock bottom price usualy just a bit more than replicator, on the off chance somebody who can use it sees it, buys it and enjoys it. Will the favour be returned? Probably not.

    But I don't need the credits so whats the point of over pricing everything. Where is the endgame energy sink? It dosent exist.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    SpicySteve wrote: »
    People seem to think that regular people are inflating prices on the exchange, but I don't believe that is the case. I've sold many items on the exchange and I have a theory as to why the prices are do high. Any time I put an item on the exchange for a reasonable amount, it is bought almost instantly. I can see this happening once in awhile, but every time? I'm pretty sure gold sellers are buying anything priced reasonably and immediatly reselling for insane prices. This not only makes them money when someone is dumb enough to buy the item, but also acts to make everything expensive, which in turn makes people think they NEED to buy the gold to get anything decent on the exchange. There's an easy fix to this though.
    Make anything on the exchange bind on pickup. It's harsh, and it means people won't be able to buy something fo their friend, but I think it's worth it for a stable game economy.

    The market will stabilize. I visit the market and never buy, for example, a MkVI item that posts for 60,000. Even a purple simply is not worth it (the difference in value between a green and a purple is one of degree, not revolution). But I found a phaser turret that was quite nice for 5,000, at a point where I did not have the exploration credits to buy it. Took me a few days though.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    I sell everything at face value, and buy next to nothing from the exchange.

    I've seen mkll phaser arrays on sale for insane figures , and an NPC two rooms away that sells them for a fraction of the going exchange rates.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    SpicySteve wrote: »
    It's not changing the economy. Why do we need to be able to buy something then resell it?

    So when you replace gear with something better you'd rather 'sell' it to your replicator?

    If you sell it for a fair price on the exchange;
    then not only does the buyer benefit because he got it less than 'list price' but you benefit because you sold it for more than the replicator would give you.

    Thats the whole dang point.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    If bind-on-pickup is too restricting, there should be a no-resale flag instead so that anything that comes off the exchange can't be put back on the exchange.

    Unregulated markets are nothing but a price-fixing minigame for gold farmers. Unsurprisingly, this is equally true in real life.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    And as to getting money. That's not a problem, just make sure you shut off autogrouping and you're fine. By rank 5 or 6 you should have 15-20k easily and that's with buying other equipment. I know in the beta I hit 100K every time before I hit Lieutenant Commander.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    SpicySteve wrote: »
    Yes, but if you have 50 people whose sole job is to keep the economy inflated, it becomes much more feasable. I don't think they would care about using a million credits buying every item they see priced reasonably so they can keep pricing things high.
    Not really, it just compounds the problem. To keep the economy inflated, you have to buy *every* item that's offered for a non-inflated price. If you want to keep it inflated to 2x, you buy an item that's inflated to 1.8x -- some other group of 50 people will decide that they'd rather keep it inflated to 1.8x, since 50 people keep buying all their items at that price.

    Then someone will see that they can get 100% sale rate by inflating items to 1.6x, and the market will never go to 2x again. You'll take a loss on everything you bought at more than 1.6x. To keep the market on an item at 2x, you have to buy every item offered at less than 2x, which means you have to be only very slightly less stupid than your customers.

    All this means is that your potential losses are even higher. Meanwhile, you're helping out all the players by ensuring they can sell their items at a really good price. (Which means they can more easily buy from vendors, buy ships, and so on.)

    It really doesn't work. Seriously, try it. You'll lose a fortune.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Op, keep in mind that the exchange is STO's limited version of EVE's market. It's player driven. The long and short answer as to why there is a Mk1 photon launcher for 100k is: because you can and sometime in the future someone will be drunk enough to buy it.

    I don't honestly think its the gold sellers up to mischeif in this instance, energy credits (the thing they sell) are so damn easy to get from reprocessing all the none-green/blue items you're handed, you can even strip old and useless equipment from ships, reclaim the energy then bin the hull to free up a slot.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Markets are self adjusting.

    The game being a one-server environment should make the market too big for these kinds of manipulations.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    If anything the market is going to eventually crash because so many items are coming into the economy and so few are going out.

    For most people Common quality items are just fine, especially until max level. These items do the same damage as their counterparts without the additional stats. Since they don't bind, once someone is done using them (and upgrades to the next rank) they'll go back on the exchange.

    The items don't ever leave the economy unless someone vendors it or quits the game, letting them rot.

    Eventually there will be more items than people to buy them and money will be even more worthless. The actual sought after items will go for ungodly prices that very few will be able to afford.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Dakirn wrote: »
    IFor most people Common quality items are just fine, especially until max level. These items do the same damage as their counterparts without the additional stats. Since they don't bind, once someone is done using them (and upgrades to the next rank) they'll go back on the exchange.

    More people need to realize that the vast majority of common level items can be found at a vendor. Yes you may have to look. I laughed myself out of my chair when I went to Starbase 39 and looked at the exchange. Phaser Split Beam Rifles Mk VI were selling for 15k-30k. While in the next room there was a vendor selling them for 1,065 credits. I bought a bunch of them and then posted them for 8K, they all sold within 4 hours. Only did it once though as I felt a little guilty.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    You don't really need gold in this game. I have friends that make a fine living without selling to the exchange.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    Phaser Split Beam Rifles Mk VI were selling for 15k-30k. While in the next room there was a vendor selling them for 1,065 credits. I bought a bunch of them and then posted them for 8K, they all sold within 4 hours. Only did it once though as I felt a little guilty.
    Don't feel guilty. Keep doing it. You're bringing the market down from a totally ridiculous 15k to a merely somewhat ridiculous 8k.
  • Archived PostArchived Post Member Posts: 2,264,498 Arc User
    edited February 2010
    More people need to realize that the vast majority of common level items can be found at a vendor. Yes you may have to look. I laughed myself out of my chair when I went to Starbase 39 and looked at the exchange. Phaser Split Beam Rifles Mk VI were selling for 15k-30k. While in the next room there was a vendor selling them for 1,065 credits. I bought a bunch of them and then posted them for 8K, they all sold within 4 hours. Only did it once though as I felt a little guilty.

    Yet someone else inflating prices.
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