"Do auction houses suck?" - Raph Koster

**Serpensio** · 15th July 2012, 01:18 PM

Originally Posted by Androcles

Players who identify shortages or surpluses in one continent or another could act as resellers for various products. However if they didn't own a shop in the land they were selling, they would be forced to sell everything at wholesale prices to another merchant.

The Economy is, hopefully, going to be far more local than than, with shortages being local spots on a continent, not continent-wide. The only sure trade between continents should be of items the continents do not provide already.

If units of Iron were wholesaling for 6 silver and retailing for 8 silver in Valdonia but were wholesaling for 10 silver and retailing for 12 silver in Quadaroth... I should be able to arrange for the shipment and/or move them myself by ship and resell them for a profit... making Iron more available in Quadaroth and putting upward pressure on prices in Valdonia. If I'm able to wholesale from Iron mines in Valdonia and sell my iron retail in Quadorath... I'm going to make a lot of money. If I buy retail in Valdonia and sell wholesale in Quadaroth I'll still make a little money.

If you're only making 6 extra silver wholesale, I'm curious, how you plan to commission a ship, hire a crew, and pay for all the other logistics it's going to take to sell your goods on another continent?

**Yoube** · 15th July 2012, 09:53 PM

By selling larger quantities I suppose?

**Androcles** · 16th July 2012, 01:12 AM

Originally Posted by Serpensio

The Economy is, hopefully, going to be far more local than than, with shortages being local spots on a continent, not continent-wide. The only sure trade between continents should be of items the continents do not provide already.

A lot depends on player density.

I suspect that hardwoods would be very common on Nupoanqa, and very rare on Quadaroth. At the same time, Iron might be rare on Nupoanqa and fairly rare on Nupoanqa. That would also extend in most cases to more advanced products like bows and armor. In any case if you purchased 1K units of hardwood from loggers on Nupoanqa for 10sp a unit, spent 2sp (convoy to port city then transport by ship) a unit getting it to market in Quadaroth, and then sold them for 18sp a unit... you would be getting a 50% return on your investment. That's huge, and very profitable... even if you are losing 1 in 5 shipments to pirates and brigands.

If you're only making 6 extra silver wholesale, I'm curious, how you plan to commission a ship, hire a crew, and pay for all the other logistics it's going to take to sell your goods on another continent?

Out of my 20% overhead, I calculated roughly half that to cover ship transport. So let's say I've commissioned a cog, and were transporting 120 tons of exotic hardwood. So at ~25 cubic feet per ton were looking at ~2500 cubic feet of wood. African Blackwood would run you about $360 a cubic foot (wholesale in very large quantities like this.) So my cog could in theory transport ~1.1 Million worth of African Blackwood per trip, assuming I can make a round trip in 2 weeks I'm going to make the run 20 times over the course of a year and come back empty for the purposes of this discussion. The cog and it's 15 man crew would make over 2 million dollars over the course of the year just from a 10% commission on the hardwood. Were I to bring silks and swords back to Nupoanqa on the return trip transport costs would plummet and profits would really start to become obscene.

**tbiggy** · 16th July 2012, 02:04 AM

Ah, economics explained. Also, items that are not common in different areas can be sold at higher profits than local sales can produce. This alone will get shippers and traders to be the economic boon for economics. This is what I plan and will be rich, rich I tell you, rich.....

**Androcles** · 16th July 2012, 02:15 AM

My plan as well.

**Nefastus** · 16th July 2012, 10:51 AM

Originally Posted by tbiggy

Ah, economics explained. Also, items that are not common in different areas can be sold at higher profits than local sales can produce. This alone will get shippers and traders to be the economic boon for economics. This is what I plan and will be rich, rich I tell you, rich.....

Something tells me you will be actually very poor.

**tbiggy** · 16th July 2012, 04:35 PM

Obviously you know nothing about supply and demand. Those that have rare or unseen goods for sale can just ask a price, while those that sell everyday seen items have to contend with price wars from other vendors. So buy exotic items in areas that they normally sell such items will be cheap, and selling exotic items where no one has seen them will give big pay outs.

**Serpensio** · 16th July 2012, 04:47 PM

Yep, but, I'm going to be preying upon any merchants not of Nupoanqan origin, so, I think I'll be richer than you.

**Nefastus** · 16th July 2012, 05:32 PM

Originally Posted by tbiggy

Obviously you know nothing about supply and demand. Those that have rare or unseen goods for sale can just ask a price, while those that sell everyday seen items have to contend with price wars from other vendors. So buy exotic items in areas that they normally sell such items will be cheap, and selling exotic items where no one has seen them will give big pay outs.

I wasn't even referring to what you said in regards to economy. As far as my knowledge of business operating and trading, please hey, don't even try lecturing me. I've been a very very successful trader in all mmos I played. Made fortunes simply trough reselling and middle trading.