UOSA Guide to Good Business Practices

[SJane3384]

This is basically just guidelines on how to keep yourself regarded as an honest, trustworthy seller, as well as how to not get yourself scammed. These are based on my two years of experience on UOSA, as well as the experiences of several other veteran players.


Forum Sales
- When advertising a sale, always be upfront about what you expect your minimum bids to be. Cite recent sales of similar objects if possible. Setting a buyout is not necessary, but may help you sell the item more quickly.

- Set an end date or timeline, so that your customers know whether to bid/keep bidding, or move on. Leaving someone hanging for weeks on end not only frustrates them, but may make some of your bids fall through as well. Also, giving a timeline will allow your winning bidder to be secure in the knowledge that they won't be undermined by another player.

- Once you agree to a sale, you should NOT accept more bids. If you are constantly trying to go for the "bigger score" instead of the happiness of the buyer, people will begin to mistrust you. Most UOSA players are adults, with many real life responsibilities. Some buyers will watch a thread closely until they win, but then wait to contact you until they have time to meet ingame. Others may not have the time to check the thread more than once a day. When you determine a buyer, an acceptable timeline of response should be somewhere between 24-48 hrs. If you haven't talked with them in that timespan, then and only then is it ok to re-open bidding.

- Use clear, concise, and straightforward language when advertising or communicating with a buyer. Vague statements like "Blackfoot won the auction with 1gp, but keep bidding until I hear from him!", or "Sale ends Friday, but I might change my mind if more bids come in", make you look greedy and untrustworthy.

- Try to be as transparent as possible in your dealings with people. Any discussion, aside from sale meeting place and time, should be done in the original sale thread. If you are PM'd here or in IRC, post the pertinent details in the thread. If you are agreeing to sell with the contingency that someone has the money by a certain date, clearly define the date and make it public. If you are taking rares or other objects as currency, make sure you and the buyer both post an agreed-to monetary approximation before the sale takes place.

- Do not accept private bids. Generally, posting a private bid will create suspicion among other players that you are in fact just trying to bump the price on your own. Especially if it becomes a common recurrence, people will begin to mistrust you and won't want to buy your items. The one exception here is housing. As we are a Trammel-free server, there is always great risk in letting your home location be known. Private bidding on housing allows some of the more "notorious" UOSA players to purchase real estate, without the worry that they will be griefed later. If you are honest in all other dealings, most likely people won't begrudge you taking private bids for houses.

- Do not try to steal other sellers' threads. If you are selling a similar item for a lower price, put the name and price of the item in the title of your own separate thread, instead. You wouldn't like it if someone did it to you, so don't do it to them.


IRC Sales
- When selling an item in IRC, NEVER do so solely through PM. In IRC, scamming in the main channels is not allowed, and is a bannable offense. Scamming in PM however, is not subject to that rule. To avoid any accusations of scamming as well as being scammed yourself, best practice is for both parties to state clearly the terms of sale in either #secondage, or on the forums.

- It's a good idea to have a forum thread as well as your IRC sale. Directing potential buyers to a thread allows them to review the information as a whole, including viewing any pictures and seeing other players' input. Information in IRC can be hard to follow (especially during peak times), and potential buyers may miss vital pieces. IRC can also sometimes become a troll-fest, and so to keep your reputation in tact, it's best to avoid serious topics.


In-Game Interaction
- If the item you are selling is worth more than 5-10k, ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS use a trusted broker. No matter how nice the person seems in chat or PMs, unless they have a well-established reputation here you shout NOT trust them. Ask around or do a forum search to find a list of currently available trustworthy brokers. Also make sure that you are dealing with the legit person, and not an imitator. Guild tags, clothes, and names can be imitated easily. Sending a forum PM, and getting precise details as to which character the broker will use, will help you to ensure both your safety and the buyer's.

- An alternative to the above, if possible, is to use a vendor. While this is a 100% secure option in terms of money transfer, the buyer may not feel as safe, for two reasons. 1) There is nothing to stop the buyer from being killed immediately after purchase, 2) There is nothing to stop another player coming in and usurping the sale before they get there. If you intend to go this way, always ask the buyer whether they are ok with it, before committing to sell.

- Use basic security precautions when selling an item. A simple reveal scroll can save you a lot of headache later on. If you need more information on UO security, do a search of the forums or check the wiki.

- When setting up a vendor ingame, make sure you type in clear descriptions of each object. Also make sure to double check ID'd items. "Scamming" by accidentally classifying a Might weapon as a Vanq, or something similar, could mean the end of sales for your shop. Taking a few extra minutes to check your work is definitely worth it.

- When setting prices for your vendors, take a look through the forums, as well as places like Yew and Vesper malls. Too high, and people will avoid your shop all together. Too low, and you may be screwing yourself out of all your hard-earned money. When in doubt, you can also ask your fellow players in IRC or in the trade forum.


Advertising
- When advertising an item on the forums, don't spam the thread with "bumps". One a day will easily keep it on the front page of the trade section, and more than that may discourage players from digging through the thread to check bids.

- Along the same lines, in IRC, don't constantly spam links to your sale thread. #Secondage is not for selling at all, and most users will direct you to the trade channel, #SecondageTrade. Spamming more than every few minutes in either channel WILL earn you a ban.

- When advertising a shop, be very clear about the location/type of building, and include both a map and coordinates. Also be clear about what it is that you are selling. A generic "RARES HERE" shop may fail to draw in customers, as people don't generally run to BFE when they can find specifically what they want much more easily.

- Contests are a great way to call attention to your shops, but make sure the rules and gameplay are both fair and transparent. Having a contest that appears rigged will affect players' opinion of you overall, and will hurt sales.







Following these guidelines can make the difference between being regarded as the shift-eyed dude who sells "found" goods out of the back of his car, and being regarded as the trustworthy Mom 'n Pop retailer down the road. It's your choice, guys.

[Upgrayedd]

Great advice!

[Zelek Uther]

Thanks SJane!

[chumbucket]

Personally, I would like to add that you should only use Blackfoot or Matron de Winter as brokers. Frankly, I don't trust anyone else to do it.

[Maahes]

Thanks for the great guide SJane3384, moved to the guide section.