[BriGuy]

Hi Cyberdogs! 
Having an economy on a server is such an amazing feature!  The ability to buy/sell items in shops really is a fun way to either find that which you need or sell that which you have in surplus… it also provides entertaining interaction and communication with each other!  One issue I’ve seen is that I (and I suspect I’m not alone) have no idea what prices to set for my items.  Basic economics would say that I should try to make the price as low as possible (potentially undercutting competitors selling the same items) but that could potentially destroy the value of the items (ultimately leading to a crashed economy).  This is already happening with enchanted books as the prices have dropped quite a bit in the past few weeks.

Farmed items are typically expected to be lower in price because of ease of farming, but the time and effort spent on building the farms has to be taken into account as well.  If prices are too high no one will buy; if prices too low, the return on investment makes selling items not worth it.

Although I fully support the rules against advertising in chat, the problem is trying to get input from other Cyberdogs as to what they are (and ultimately are not) willing to pay for items.  To my eyes, I have not yet seen a forum topic for prices and advertisements (if one exists, please let me know where it is).  What do you say, Cyberdogs?  Should we create a (even if temporary) pricing/advertising forum topic so we can see who has what for sale at what price?  Either way, I would very much like to hear what you think fair prices should be. 

I’m specifically interested in what you think mob drops are worth (namely Gunpowder).  I currently have gunpowder set at 5 DCD each.  Do you think that’s a fair price?

Feel free to reply with items you're interested in selling and see what other players are willing to pay for them!

[Brianetta]

Don't be afraid of crashing the economy, it's very unlikely to happen just because you set prices too low. If anything, that would be excellent news for new players without much money to spare. The danger is massive inflation. Prices are insanely high on the server right now, due to the large number of players who have large piles of DCDs to fill their mattresses with.

The admin team would be delighted if the humble DCD could become valuable again. If just one single DCD was still worth having, I'd be very happy. We are not there yet, alas.

[christopher.broga]

all and all when i got to market i am a bargain shop hunter... I spent well over 10k today picking up this and that =)

[BriGuy]

all and all when i got to market i am a bargain shop hunter... I spent well over 10k today picking up this and that =)

I do the same!  It's fun to hunt for specific items at decent prices (and in stock)!  Swing by my garden-themed tent anytime if you're looking for mob drops!

[BriGuy]

Don't be afraid of crashing the economy, it's very unlikely to happen just because you set prices too low. If anything, that would be excellent news for new players without much money to spare. The danger is massive inflation. Prices are insanely high on the server right now, due to the large number of players who have large piles of DCDs to fill their mattresses with.

The admin team would be delighted if the humble DCD could become valuable again. If just one single DCD was still worth having, I'd be very happy. We are not there yet, alas.

Perhaps I'm over-analyzing things (that tends to happen often) but it seems to me that value vs inflation is a matter of perspective.  Sure there are a few exceptions, but I don't feel that prices in the temporary mall are too outlandish (point of clarification: I'm referring to Survival2).  I enjoy playing on the server and high-priced items means I have to play more to earn more before I can be rewarded with the purchases I want/need.  By "crashing the economy" what I meant was that, if everything is cheap, then everyone gets everything they need and no one needs to buy anything anymore.  As an example, I have now placed Mending on everything I use; a Cyberdog selling armor/weapons/tools will have lost my business because I have no need for their goods.  Granted this is just one specific example. 

[Gawin]

What I did was start with a price I thought was a bit on the high side. I then either raised it or lowered it based on how well it sold.

If it sold out quick and often I raised it a bit.
The reverse if it did not sell at all.

I find a lot of times my prices are very close to everyone else. The big thing is I know people will pay a little bit more if they know the item is always in stock. They know for the most part if you come to my shop there will be iron. So when they need it they come to me first because they know it will be there.

It is a balancing act to be sure. I have many items that dont really sell that often like logs and blocks but I do sell a few stacks a week and again I keep it stocked.

I often see people trying to cheep sale the items. Inevitably they run out of stock and cant keep up with demand. They put them self out of business and really only make crap for DCD wile a little patients and a competitive price would have made them more money and longer customers because they would have been able to keep stock.

So best advice is find a price that keeps the items from selling out to fast but selling that you can keep up with the demand.

[BriGuy]

What I did was start with a price I thought was a bit on the high side. I then either raised it or lowered it based on how well it sold.

If it sold out quick and often I raised it a bit.
The reverse if it did not sell at all.

Excellent advice!  I'll swing by your shop this evening to see what you have  

Perhaps 5 is a bit cheap for Gunpowder as it's been bought out a few times (but I also haven't been fully stocking it either; don't want to give the impression that no one wants it   )

[Wodong77]

My perspective is that I'm tight with my DCD especially now that we can't just outright buy via Paypal things like warp cards.  I think when I got here they had paypal for some shop items for part of October but now it's gone.  So I have to scrimp and save my DCD for one of three things that I really want: more claim blocks, diamond home, and/or a warp card (provided it's enabled for Sur2).  Parting with DCD is somewhat painful, to be honest.  What I'm trying to get at, if I see something I want at a cheaper price I'm more likely to part with DCD even if it keeps me from getting one of my big ticket items for that much longer (to a point; I *really* want diamond home perk).  So, is it a concern of crashing the economy?  I mean, it might be piddly pocket change, but then again if a price is too high for my liking, I spend zero DCD.  Which is better/worse?

[Brianetta]

We have you right where we want you, wodong77. (-:

[glowlee]

I think another thing to take into consideration that other people have mentioned is that now, everyone is getting DCD per hour, therefore no matter what, everyone who plays gets DCD in their pockets - not just patreons or people who focus on selling, therefore the higher prices (within reason) are more acceptable now.

Also Bri, sorry for buying you out of gunpowder twice

[AngelinaMeow]

I personally try to walk around and keep my prices sort of around the general prices of others. That said, if an item is a pain in the butt to get regularly, I either don't sell or don't drop the price to lower than I think it's worth. On the flip side, while I try to avoid undercutting other sellers too badly, I also won't set a price I think an item won't move for.

An example is Notch apples. While I respect other sellers and I hate to not match their price on Notch apples, I just don't think people will ever pay three digits for one. (Please don't hate me for saying so! It's just what I think. 0:-o ) So I set my price considerably lower, around a price I personally would be willing to consider. Same goes for blaze rods, though I think peeps have been dropping their prices to near mine lately.)

I have a decent chunk of change, this is true. But I dunno...certain things I just would rather grind out myself than pay humungo fees for. Ghast tears, concrete, certain heads. A bear head for example. I might have considered 50k, but never 100k (unless I had every single other head in the game). Luckily I don't need one now, but that's just my thoughts. Common heads tho? I'm not paying four digits for a zombie head...but that's just me. If you can get it, gg for doing so, but personally were I selling zombie heads I'd go for about 500 because of zombie grinders.

So that's just my logic when I set prices.

[BriGuy]

Also Bri, sorry for buying you out of gunpowder twice

Don't be sorry - I just have to restock the store!  As Brianetta said, "we have you right where we want you."  Would you have bought ALL of the gunpowder if the box was full?  Would you have bought as MUCH if there were 1700 GP in the chest?  Having a limited amount available at any given time is a sales tactic that seems to work   
Thanks for your patronage!

[BriGuy]

I'm not paying four digits for a zombie head...but that's just me. If you can get it, gg for doing so, but personally were I selling zombie heads I'd go for about 500 because of zombie grinders.

AngelinaMeow, you make excellent points; and I agree with many of them.  Your comment quoted above is a very valid and fair opinion but it brings to light something that I brought up in the original post.  Sure, farms can produce items in quantity, often leading to massive surplus, but does that directly relate to price? 

Allow me to put a "real world" perspective on this:  A professional who has been working at their trade for about a decade is typically able to diagnose, evaluate, interpret and resolve issues a lot faster than one without their previously vested time, experience and gathered knowledge.  If the job is able to be done faster, does that mean that they should charge or be paid less? 

While it's true that farms make for fast amounts of drops, there are variables that need to be considered... first of all, the time and effort which was put in to creating the farm.  Whether it is an original design or one copied from tutorials, the items still had to be resourced and the farm had to be built. Some farms can be extensively elaborate; information and understanding of how redstone works and how farms produce has to be taken into account as well.  It's a "goods-and-services" combination.  Lastly, keep in mind that this server does not allow for AFK sessions which means that the merchant has to be present by the farm to allow it to produce.  Instead of being away from their farms, passively collecting drops while doing other things, they have to find things to do close by while the farm does its magic.  Time is money, and to rule out a price because it was farmed as opposed to organically hunted may be considered by some an unfair bias against farms and farmed items. 

Again, I see your opinions as fair and valid; i'm not attacking you or your views.  I agree that some item prices could be lowered if collecting them is made easier; however in my opinion, lowering an item to one-tenth its listed price just because it's farmable is a bit extreme.  I'll keep your suggestion in consideration and will re-evaluate the asking price for the creeper heads I have for sale at my shop. 

[Brianetta]

Your "real world" perspective isn't aligned with the real world, where automation and industrialisation inevitably, and dramatically, reduces prices.

[BriGuy]

Your "real world" perspective isn't aligned with the real world, where automation and industrialisation inevitably, and dramatically, reduces prices.

This all depends on the level at which one aligns the comparison.  Giant corporations which use industrialized automation to package, label, box and ship their products ARE ultimately able to reduce prices; but, they surely paid a pretty penny to the company who designed, created and installed the machine.  That's the "services" of which i referred.  You're talking about an established business with price reduction over extended periods of time.  Also, savings in price are related to bulk sales.  I'm talking about a much smaller business model (like a plumber or computer technician) and a relatively fixed market (unless the number of players on the server spikes in triplicate or more).  I would say that a massive AFK farm that produces THOUSANDS of items per hour would be better suited for the comparison to industrialized automation.  The farms on our servers produce a few dozen to a few hundred (if lucky) items per hour.