BAZAAR TACTICS
Making a Living in Everquest!
However, if you are interested in farming for platinum (loot drops and then sell those drops to vendors)… I have a few recommendations. One is the Acrylia Caverns. The ore and runes drop freely, stack and sell for reasonable profits. Even better is Siren’s Grotto. Stackable gems drop like candy here (most of which sell for over 35 to over 100 Platinum). Another place is the Plane of Innvation, where there is actually a wandering vendor in the zone, so you can loot your fill, sell, and repeat. of course, your level and durability will play a big role in where you can go, but this has been greatly enhanced with the availability of mercenaries.
On a side note, when I use the term “merchant” and “vendor,” I use them interchangeably. What I mean by either term, is an NPC that sells and/or buys items to and/or from players.
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WHAT JUNK SHOULD I LOOT?
· If space runs short, more often than not, looting stackable items over non-stackable items is the best idea. More often than not, 20-plus of the same item can out-price any other single item.
· However, this is not always true, so.....
· Try to recall what sells for the most and if you have to leave stuff to rot, dump the least valuable stuff.
· "No Trade" items NEVER sell to a Merchant and will generally NOT tribute (with little exception, such as certain armor and weapons).
· This also true for "QUEST" items, for the most part.
· Use the Veteran AA summoned Merchant(s) to your advantage (sell without having to go anywhere).
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HOW CAN I WIN MORE ROLLS?
· However, I wouldn’t roll against someone who actually needs the item.
· It appears that your rolls are improved if you are normally not the first or the last to roll. Try to get your timing down.
· It also appears that looking straight down and then sitting (meditating... have your book open) may sometimes help you roll better.
· Or sit on your horse (or any other mount).
· Lastly, it appears that the higher your charisma and to some extent, your agility and dexterity, the better you might roll.
· These suggestions on rolling do not always pan out, but from my experience, they do seem to help some.
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IS VENDOR DIVING (aka Merchant Mining) WORTH WHILE?
· My answer... absolutely!
· Vendor Diving is a term meaning you run about in key merchant zones checking each merchant for items that you might buy and resell for a profit... or perhaps, use yourself (re: tradeskills).
· Vendor Diving works because merchants resell what players sell to them.
· Vendors do have a limited inventory, so after a while, some items will "scroll off" their list until they sell enough items for them to scroll back onto their list.
· The key zones to vendor dive in are the Plane of Knowledge, Plane of Tranquility, the Guild Lobby, Abysmal Sea, Arcstone, the Guild Hall (oddly enough), Corathus Creep, Undershore, Crescent Reach, the near-zone-in-merchants in each theme of Seeds of Destruction zones (Off Void) and any Wayfarer Magus (whatever zone they may be in).
· When Vendor Diving, take as much as you are willing to spend, so you don't have to run back to the bank and come back only to find the item(s) you wanted all ready gone.
· When there is a zone/server reset/crash, the Vendor's also reset. I have found that even after a reset, they sometimes offer some desirable items… if you are fast enough to be the first one to them.
· Key items to look for are high end tradeskill items, high value tribute items, neat "placeable" items (sometimes it's the "flash" that makes the "cash"), high demand "need" items and so forth.
· Hopefully you get the idea, here. You will have to experiment and keep your own list of what will resell (above your cost).
· Just keep in mind, even a small profit is a good thing, especially if the item sells every time you toss it on your Bazaar mule. Not that many players can afford big prices, but can afford the more reasonable prices. Regular sales often mean bigger and more consistent profits than the once-in-a-while major sales.
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HOW CAN I TELL WHAT TO SELL TO A MERCHANT AND WHAT TO SELL IN BAZAAR?
· Generally speaking, if they don't drop that often, you should try selling them in Bazaar before selling them to a Merchant (or tributing them).
· Obviously, items that are tradeskill items, or quest items, are sometimes in demand.
· If an item is somehow in demand or useful, it is better to try and sell it in Bazaar and test the market for it.
· Research, research, research! Look the item up on the internet and see what it is for, if anything.
o If they are used in a quest that results in a decent item, they might be in demand (unless a task step actually requires looting the item).
o If they are used in tradeskills, especially in recipes that are for a skill level of 200, 250 or higher, they are likely in some demand.
o If they are spells that are not Merchant sold, they are potentially in demand.
o If they are not level restricted weapons and gear (they provide full stats to low level toons).
o If the item is merchant sold, anywhere, they are likely not in demand at all… unless they are costly items, only sold by hard-to-access merchants (such as an item that is only sold in one zone, particularly a zone where some races are KoS), only sold by a single merchant (somewhere) and/or you are selling them cheaper than the merchant does (this can be true of many gems).
· Use the in-game notebook (/notes) or keep notes on paper! Take notes on...
· Drop in the Bazaar and...
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HOW DO I KNOW WHAT PRICE TO LIST ITEMS FOR IN BAZAAR?
· Money gouging reigns in Bazaar. Just because the only person selling an Iron Ration is asking 1 Million Plat for it, does not make an Iron Ration worth 1 Million Plat!
· Keep in mind that despite Sony rules, players do buy Plat on line. They will then put a trader up and list an item, like that Iron Ration, for the Plat-seller to buy. So, if they buy 50K Plat on line, they will list the Iron Ration at 50K and the Plat seller will sign on and buy the Iron Ration.
· First off, get your charisma up (buffs, items...) and then go to a Merchant and see what they will offer you for an item. I do not mean what they will sell you the item for, but what they will BUY the item from you for.
· NEVER try to sell an item in Bazaar for less than a Merchant will pay you for it! You are trying to make money, not loose money!
· Take a look at what Buyers are offering for the item. If anyone is seeking to buy the item, the "high-end" offer is generally a good idea of the minimum price to ask for your item. (If you like what Buyers offer, save time and just go sell it to them).
· Now take a look at what Sellers are asking for the same item. They "low-end' price is generally a reasonable gauge on the maximum price you should ask for your item.
· Thus, you establish a minimum (Buyer offer) and maximum (Seller prices) to develop an idea of the real possible value of the item you wish to sell... and then you can price it accordingly.
· Now make a decision… do you want to have limited sells for a good profit? If so, set your price in the high-range and hope to sell it.... eventually.
· Or do you want to move product faster and profit by way of regular sells? If so, try to undercut all other sellers (even if by at just 1 gold)... just be careful not to sell it below NPC vendor prices (players will seek you out just to save 1 Gold per item, particularly with items generally bought in quantity (stackable items).
· Once you set up your trader, then price and list an item, your trader will always and forever recall the price that you set for that item.
· Generally speaking, the market value of that item will rarely ever go up, but it will often go down.
· If your item isn't selling, check the buyer/seller prices of others again and then re-price it! Go down on the price (again, don't sell below NPC vendor prices, or you loose money.... better to sell to the vendor for 1 plat, that a player for 9 gold... make sense?).
· My habit is to list "new" items at a high value (the price is just a guess on my part, if there nothing to gauge it by)!
· After a day or three, I will slowly bring the price down and down and down.
· I normally bring it down 1K each time (for items over 10K), 500 to 100 Plat at a time (for items under 10K), then intervals of 25 (under 1K), then 10 Plat (under 100 Plat) and then intervals of 5 Plat (under 50 Plat).
· I will do this until I reach a point that I am probably better off selling it to a NPC vendor.
· This process keeps me from having bags full of junk that just isn't selling.
· If an item doesn't sell by then, it will surely give you some confidence that it is best sold to a vendor (or tributed).
· I keep track of what a Merchant will give me for an item by "coding" it into my price using the Copper, Silver and Gold slots.
· Example, if a Merchant will give me 1 Platinum (or less) for an item, I will include 1 Copper in the price (re: I will list it at 10 Platinum and 1 Copper). The 1 Copper represents the 1 Platinum (or less) merchant value. If a Merchant will give me 127 Plat for an item, I would then code this in my price with the Gold (1), Silver (2) and Copper (7). Thus, I might list it at 200 Platinum, 1 Gold, 2 Silver and 7 Copper. Make sense?
· In short, the gold, silver and copper in my prices are just codes for how much an NPC Vendor will pay me for the item. This way, I don't have to check Merchant prices constantly.
· In the rare instances where an item will sell to a merchant for over 1K, I code it in as 9 Gold, 9 Silver, 9 Copper. This tells me I need to check my /notes (or a vendor) to find the actual value (yes, put the value in your /notes so you can know the actual merchant value as to not undersell it).
· This way I will never accidentally drop my price below "Vendor Value" and loose money.
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CAN I MAKE MONEY WITH TRADESKILL ITEMS AND HOW?
· No, in the sense that getting your skill to a high level, where you can craft items that are marketable, is a costly venture.
· This is also because "skill-up" items are normally made in mass quantities and the market will often be flooded with them.
· It is also because the costs of getting your skill up, in the long run, will likely outweigh any profit you make from a sales.
· However, yes, in the manner that you can make items and sell them for more than they might cost you to make.
· So, you need to figure out what seems to sell, try to craft those items and then put them up for sell.
· Generally speaking they will not sell unless you are the lowest price, as you will not likely be the only person trying to sell such items.
· Don't expect huge profits or you will be disappointed. However, you might expect small and regular profits that add up, depending on the item.
· The best selling items are probably made with Baking and Brewing (stat foods and drinks).
· Other items that might sell are high-end crafted armor, high-end cultural armor, high-end craftd weapons and high end crafted augmentations (Tailoring, Blacksmithing, Fletching and Jewelry Making).
· Crafted ingredients might also sell well, like Celestial Essence, various Tempers and similar.
· The reality is, however, is that the tradeskill components (ingredients) often sell better than the final item itself! This is because more people are in need of the ingredient-items for skill-ups, than the actual item itself.
· Now for the biggest possible profit maker..... that is, if you are a grandmaster jeweler. Harmonagate, Prestidigitase, Taffeite, Miragestone and Staurolite don't sell to an NPC vendor for very much. in fact, if players sell them to a vendor and the vendor then offers them fro resell, they don't cost much to buy off that vendor. If you are a Gm Jeweler, you can buy "cut' these gems and their vendor price goes up significantly! It is very easy to make several hundred plat on each gem! In fact, the profit margin is so significant, that you might even take note of what each type of cut gem (shape doesn't matterm they all sell for the same price) sells for and then step into the Bazaar and consider buying out Player vendors of those same gems (the profit will be smaller, and you do rick failed combines further cuttign the profit...), and then cut and vndor sell those for profit as well. Example, I wbet in bazaar one day and laid out over 10K for gems, cu them and even with a few failures and lost gems, I profited over 15K!
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SELLING
· You pass items to your mule by way of the shared bank (max 20-slots at a time).
· Try to fill all 80-slots of your mule! Why waste slots?
· Try to always leave your mule up in Bazaar when you are not actively playing.
· The longer you are in Trader mode, the more people have a chance to see what you are offering and the better chance you have of selling stuff.
· Variety is good, but having 100-slots of the same item is not necessarily a bad idea.
· If the item sells well, and you have enough of it to fill 100-bag slots, you can make a lot of sales!
· Organize! When filling your trader bags, keep the "known" sellers in the middle slots (lower left and upper right bags) and the "pricey" items in the deeper slots (lower right side bags).
· Keep the experimental offerings in the upper slots (upper left side bags). You may soon want to get rid of the cheap and experimental items by selling them to a merchant and this makes them easier to find and purge.
· It also helps in setting prices, as you know which specific bags have "new" items in them, so you can more quickly see what a Vendor will offer you for these items (you will simply look in the first bag, as opposed to searching through them all).
· Leave an AFK message up. That way if you get any tells, you can respond with an advertisement! Example, you can tell the other player, "Sorry I am AFK, but if you are interested in specific Slot 11 Augmentations, drop me an EQ-Mail!"
· This is accomplished by a Hot key you set up, or by typing: /afk Sorry I am AFK --if you are interested in specific Slot 1 Augmentations, drop me an EQ-Mail!
· Whatever you type after the /afk command will become your AFK message.
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. BUY AND RE-SELL! CORNER THE MARKET! DEFEND AGAINST UNSCRUPULOUS COMPETITION!
· Sell it to an NPC Vendor! You can make a lot of small coin profit by buying items from other players and then selling those same items to an NPC Vendor. You will be surprised at how many Sellers often list items at a price that is less than what a Vebdor will pay for that same item! Example, a Merchant might give you 10 Platinum for a "Junky Trinket." There is a Player selling twenty of them for 5 Platinum each. You can go buy those items for 100 Plat and then sell them to the Merchant for 200 Platinum! You just made 100 Platinum!
· Refine for profit! Players often sell GoD Raw Materials cheaper than the refined material. Example, Shimmering Nihilite is made from Raw Shimmering Nihilite. This item is used in high level Jewelry making combines, so it is a somewhat in-demand item. The combine makes 1-to-3 of them at a time (if you are able to refine GoD Raw Material). Players may be selling the Raw Pale Nihilite for 20 Platinum each, while the Pale Nihilite is listing at 25 Platinum each. If you buy 10 of the Raw Pale Nihilite (20 Plat x 10 = 200 Plat), refine them (with average success of making two per combine), you will then potentially have 20 Pale Nihilite that will could potentially sell for 25 Plat each (25 x 20 - 500 Plat). If so, you have just potentially made 300 Platinum! This is not to say, however, that Nihilite is a big seller! It isn’t!
· Buy and re-sell! If you see any items that, from your experience, are generally underpriced... go buy them from that player, mark them up a little and then re-sell them for a profit!
· Corner the Market! If you have the Platinum, you can corner the market! It's a risky venture, but it can work. If there is an item you know to be in demand, you can buy-out the other players who are selling that same item and you then become the sole seller of that item. You can now mark those items up! If people want this item, they will have to pay your price. BE WARNED however, this works only so long as you are the only person offering said item! The catch here is that the item needs to be in demand, as well as an item that is somewhat hard to come by. After all, unless you sit there and constantly buy out new Sellers, you can and will get undercut by someone else!
· Defend yourself from unscrupulous competition! Some players use a tactic that is considered wrong by most players, but it can and does work (and thus, the reason they do it). What they do is go up to you (while you are in trader mode), because they want to eliminate you as competition (you may be offering similar items at better prices). They will then stand in your line of sight. They might then cast up a pet if they have one. Then they might simply cast and recast spells, in front of you. They might buff you and turn you (and others nearby) into a wolf or some other illusion. They might also click open your trader window and then close it, over and over. They may even send you voice tells and regular tells. What all this does is play on the "lag factor" from being on-line for a long period of time (as a trader). In short, they want you to go link dead. By standing in your line of sight, adding a pet to that view, casting for the spell effects, the sounds and opening/closing your trader window, they can sometimes push you over the "lag edge" and force you go link dead. If you ever wondered why players cast up pets, casts spells and such in Bazaar, now you know why! The way to defend against this is to walk up to a corner or wall, face the corner/wall, look straight down, sit down and then go into trader mode. This way, they cannot get into your line of sight and it is far less likely they can drive you to link death!
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This Page Last updated December 31, 2010