Thoughts from a merchant

[Theograd]

So I'm pretty well start to start my (temporary) leave of the server tonight, so I thought I'd pass along what I learned being a pure merchant on this server.

About 95% of my playing time was spent as Theograd, who does nothing but craft. He's a public character, so you can see my build if you wish. My goal when I started on this server was to be the biggest merchant on the server, and to do it only as a crafter. Anything that I couldn't make, I would try to outsource. Theograd wasn't a mule, he was my cash cow. I dont' think I reached my goal of being the biggest merchant on the server, but I'd like to think I was among them. However, I think I proved that a crafter can be a millionaire without another character pumping cash into him. So here's some random tips that I learned that might help anyone else who wants to give the merchant route a chance.

1. Reputation is everything. There are plenty of options for buyers out there, no need for them to take a risk if you've burned someone before.

2. Location isn't key, but it's important. We all know the biggest shop in the land is the Yew Bank Mall, and it's very unlikely it will be topped. However, that can work to your advantage. Find a spot that's not inconvenient, and doesn't have a ton of room for other houses near you. This will reduce next door neighbor competition, which I think is the biggest drawback of the Yew Bank area. As long as you run a good shop, and let people know it's there, word of mouth will grow your traffic. Remember, any spot in the world is just 11 mana and 13-15 gold in regs away.

3. Larger houses work better than smalls. I'm not saying smalls can't or aren't successful, but it's just my experience that having owned both in the same location, my L shape immediately drew lots more traffic. I think it may have somthing to do with larger houses sticking out more, as well as a possible safety reaction, since it's easy to get trapped in a small should someone come in to attack you.

4. Be visible. Try not to recall everywhere, take a jog. You'd be surprised how much business can come your way from it. Pick an outfit that is recognizable, and stick to it. I've been chased for screens at a time just because someone saw my skullcap in the corner of their screen, and needed something made quickly.

5. Assuming you have tinkering, always carry two sets of tinker tools and 20 iron ingots. With that, you can make any tool you need on the spot in order to fill an order that may randomly come your way.

6. Price reasonable, not cheap. To expand on this, price in such a way that you can keep up your inventory. One of the most common compliments I received on my shop was that they could always find what they needed when they came. I wasn't the cheapest vendor in the world, but not the most expensive either. I could have cut my prices and had more sales, but I wouldn't have been able to replace it fast enough, and I'd take on the appearance of not being stocked regularly. Gold is no problem on this server, and people will pay a little extra if they know they can get what they want immediately.

7. If you're new to being a merchant, keep a close eye on the Trading boards here. If there is an order you can handle, that isn't resource gathering, jump on it. Do the job fast if possible. Again, word of mouth is you best friend, and people here generally have no problem recommending people to their friends. This helps establish your reputation, which will in turn help your shop (or eventual shop).

8. Try to keep a reasonable amount of product on your vendors, but not a ton. The vendor costs eat into your profit more than you realize, especially since many items run on fairly thin margins.

9. Figure out if you want to be a specialty shop, or an everything shop. If you decide to go the everything route, figure out what items you can't make or can't make regularly, and outsource them. For example, I had the ability to make full spellbooks, but didn't care to put in the time. I worked out a bulk discount with Wise, and made a small profit on it. I didn't stock them for the money, I stocked them so people knew I always had full spellbooks, and would recommend it to others who were looking for one. Likewise with magic items. I had no way of getting them, so I just offered someone a free spot in my shop as long as they kept the price reasonable and the vendor stocked. He got business, and I checked that off my list.

10. Don't be so quick to ban any reds that come in. The worst that can happen is that you die, and you shouldn't really be carrying anything of value anyway. I had reds frequent my shop, and they behaved and were good customers.

What sells

In my experience, these were my biggest sellers:

Weapons
Katana
Halbard
Long Spear
Kryss

Armor
Dex Suits
Heater Shields

House Add-ons
Small forge
Anvils
Looms
Spinning Wheels
Ovens
Pentagrams

Misc
GM locked boxes
Runebooks
Greater Heal Kegs
Total Refresh Kegs
Greater Explosion Kegs
Bandages

And that's it. Yes, it is hard to run a popular shop, but it's fun. And it's not too bad for ego to see people you've never met before wearing your armor or holding your weapon. Best of luck to anyone that gives a merchant a go. It's an entirely valid playstyle here, which I think is one of the best indicators of how great a job Derrick and staff did on this server. Take care, and feel free to ask me any questions. Glad to help.

[CerealKillerr]

Good read, Sad to see ya go

[Pirul]

I must say, having dealt with Theograd on a couple of ocassions, his reputation was always next to none, and the 3 L-shapes he kept (Yew Merchant Center, Add-on show room, and the Candlepin Inn) where always safe, clean and well organized. Not to mention the first place I went when I needed something.

Theo, I wish you all the best, and hope to see you back soon. IMHO, the shard looses one of it's icons with your break.

[Jack Nickelson]

"6. Price reasonable, not cheap. To expand on this, price in such a way that you can keep up your inventory. One of the most common compliments I received on my shop was that they could always find what they needed when they came. I wasn't the cheapest vendor in the world, but not the most expensive either."

Hope your return, for whatever reasons that you are calling time out for, isn't too far down the road. Whether the Moonglow or Yew shops, I pretty much always found what I needed in whatever quantities at your shops.

It's not too difficult to make money here and potential vendors should listen to what he says. Price stuff reasonably and keep it in stock. A lot of people just want to buy what they need when they need to buy it and don't care about the cost.

Jack Nickelson

[Drull]

Playing a merchant is really rewarding. I highly recommend people give it a try, even if it might seem boring at first.

That said; I wish more people would 'price reasonably' and not undercut just for the sake to getting a little gold.

[yossarian]

It seems like every time i snooped someone looking for a magic katana, i only found one made by you

[Mikel123]

Great primer!

A long time ago, I needed some arrows made. 5k arrows and 5k bolts. I posted on the forums, and Theograd was the only one able to fill the order. (Little did I know, he was getting the feathers from chasing down birds, instead of just slaughtering some harpies like any sane person would do). He earned a customer for life at that time because, as he says... if you're known as the guy who always has what people need, price becomes much less of a factor than convenience.