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Buying from the Exchange can be an extremely stressful, but rewarding, way to earn a lot of gold really fast. The first and foremost thing to remember is courtesy.
Don't blame, don't accuse, don't tease, and never call someone a noob... even if they are. It's all business in the exchange, and therefore you should maintain business courtesy (how would you like to be treated if you were a businessman?).
Haggling is important. First you must determine 2 things. What is my ideal profit gain? and What is the highest I will pay and still earn a profit?
For me, my ideal profit gain for everything under 200k is 18%, add 2% for MP tax and you have 20%, of current lowest market value.
For items under 75k the highest I will pay is 7% (including tax) of current lowest market value.
Anything from 75k to 200k the highest I will pay is 5% (including tax) of current lowest market value.
200k and up the highest I will pay is 2% (tax) minus 5k of the current lowest market value. My ideal profit gain is 15% (including tax).
mv = current lowest market value
ip = ideal price for profit
h = highest price I will pay
So, pretend I want a Chyaku Norisu Scarf and the mv is 212k.
mv - (mv * .15) = ip
mv - (mv * .02) - 5000 = h
212 - (212 * .15) = 180.2
212 - (212 * .02) - 5000 = 202.76
The point of haggling is to come to a middle term, so for buyers you should start with the lowest you can go without seeming ridiculous. Sellers, you want to start a bit higher than what you want.
So you bid 181k (I like to round up when placing the first bid). If they want to haggle they'll counter your bid with something near mv, usually about 2% off. Then you'll offer again. Lets say, 185k? They offer, then you offer, and you continue like that. Then, one of two things will happen; you will either settle on a price that's somewhere in the middle of the two first bids or you will reach your h, your highest bid. That's when you say something like, I can't go any higher than 202k (I round down on this one). They say yes or no. If yes then you can sell it in the mp and end up with about 5k profit, if no then better luck next time. Once it's all settled, regardless of whether or not you actually buy something, say thank you.
If you place your first bid and they respond with 'add' then it means they're not interested in haggling. I usually stay away from these unless I can convince them to haggle anyway. Usually what happens is that you end up competing against other buyers instead of bargaining with the seller. This makes for a higher end price than the h, the highest bid, that you wanted.
Please remember that it is a game. Don't get too serious about it. If someone decides not to sell or if they ask you to leave, just listen to them. They will respect that. Don't take insults too seriously, and don't be afraid to say, no. Maybe you're trying to get an item you've been questing for a while, but if the bid gets higher than you're willing to pay... just wait. You'll have another opportunity to get a good price.
Btw, Sometimes you lose gold... it just happens. You'll make a bad business decision and you'll just want to kick yourself. Chillax, don't worry. Gaia is a game. It's supposed to be fun, so don't let a little lost gold discourage you from playing.
Hope that wasn't too confusing.
-Teshia Lyndall
 serbus · Sun Feb 03, 2008 @ 09:11am · 1 Comments |
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