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Reselling
Ferrolio
Posts: 68Member Beginner
So today there was an interesting conversation in the Merchant channel that got me thinking about everyone's favourite topic - Reselling. What exactly is it? And why is it so frowned upon? It's something I've never quite understood. Yet in UWO, there are few things worse than being labelled a reseller.
And before people start accusing me of being some gross perpetrator in this regard. Understand that I am someone - who up to this point has played and focused on just one character. I spend very little time bazaaring stuff. I'd much rather be on the high seas and out in the wilderness exploring and adding to my discovery catalog. So for me, it actually makes a lot more sense to price things less than the competition. That way I can clear out my inventory and get back to adventuring, which is what I much prefer doing. I'm sure people resell the stuff I sell. And I'm okay with it.
So with that caveat out of the way...Help me understand why our community is so against this concept? I've played other games with bustling economies, and the idea that people do this was normal, accepted, - even praised at times.
I'm not talking about scamming others, or taking advantage of newbies. Nor capitalizing on people who are miles off the actual price of something, such as someone selling a ship for 500m that they didn't realize was worth 5b, as an example. That is wrong, and we are perfectly within our right to ostracize people who do that. But is that really the same thing as reselling?
To me, it seems like if Person A sells something to Person B, who then sells it to Person C later - Person A, for some bizarre reason, still feels like they're entitled to the amount Person B sold it for. I'm not sure they feel this way, but they do. Surely if they wanted a higher price, they could have set it as such to begin with? Not to mention that people's valuation of things is relative; including their time.
It would be like if I sold something to an antique store - I know full well that they will likely sell that item later for a profit. They have the resources to do so. In this case it would be the knowledge of antiques, and their establishment, to hold and display said items. This is normal practice in the real world. In-game this would be analogous to the people who chill in Seville, and spend much of their time buying and selling.
I know there are people out there who genuinely enjoy playing the market. I mean, it's a significant aspect of UWO. Like I said - I would prefer doing other things with my time. But some people really can/want to make a living using their knowledge of prices, contacts, and interpersonal skills to get by. And I say good on them.
So why then, are others in our community so fervently against it? Are they just bitter at losing out? Or maybe it's the fact that prices tend to fluctuate so much, that they feel like they got the short end?
I genuinely don't know, and haven't spent much of my time buying or selling. So if anyone has some insight, or just has an opinion about it - please share it. And let's try keep it civil ;)
Comments
The examples you give of real life business as with the antique store is that the store will likely reach a type of customer the original seller might not, do therefore the store is needed.
In this game we all have access to merch chat. So if we WTS an item we reach everyone so not much if any need from the middle man.
I’ve had little experience with resellers but I would imagine that they try to buy an item for much lower than its value to then sell it for it’s true value. The experienced won’t fall for this but the new might.
There has been times that I have wanted to bulk sell some ticket junk and I have looked for resellers to give me and offer because it benefits me to move the stuff and also benefits them.
Personally I’ve not noticed many recently cos it’s hard to tell them from the ticket item sellers now.
I also think some resellers bulk buy and hord stuff then force the price up when it becomes rare.
But if someone isn’t deceiving someone or lying then maybe it’s just smart business.
As for me sitting in sev all day long is not how I want to play the game.
I think one of the main issues we have ingame is the dishonesty amongst people, ofcourse people want cheap goods, I'm sure every one looks out for bargains when they go shopping in the real world, UWO is no different really.
What I tend to do is ask PC and get different quotes, so for example I would ask when I log in, ask again a few hours later then maybe again before I log off. That way I get 3 different prices and hopefully more confident that the price is right. What tends to happen is some of these buyers will then see a PC as a way to PM you ingame and then say "I buy for 200m" or whatever so you definatly have to play smart when prices are concerned.
Something else aswell is sometimes sellers claim to sold X item for say 5b and then that sets the prices. I think thats something that maybe should be looked at more but can't think of any solutions for this at this moment in time.
Just remember to get a few quotes, ask in company chat, ask in merchant chat then maybe also ask in world chat all, ask on discord channels or facebook groups that you are in. Just try to protect yourself as much as possible against the dishonest buyers.
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This is an interesting topic
which I believe I have more expertise than most. In real life, this is called a
free market system. In the Seller A,
buyer B, Seller B, Buyer C version, it is a very
fair system, despite what Player A or the general population thinks. Player A, has neither patience or time to
find out the value of his goods and FREELY enters into a sale to player B. For the convenience, of time and effort he is
penalized a certain value. Player B, who has a ton of time, can shop this good
around and get the best value for it. It is his payment for time and
knowledge.
I have never done any
reselling in game, but I think the Player A's of the game think the Player B's
who tell them their ship is worth XXX when its market value is YYY and don't
have the time to look for another buyer have nothing to complain about. The XXX
is not the value. It is the price Buyer B is willing to pay for the good right
now. If player A sells it, it is
also the price seller A is willing to sell it for right now.
And dont confuse value with price - lets take an example.
You have some old family heirloom worth $1000 you want to sell and take it to an honest antiques dealer.
That dealer might then tell you its worth about $1000 and tell you she can offer $300, which you then migth be able to haggle up to $500 and you decide to sell for that.
Now a dishonest dealer might say the item is worth about $100 and offer that. In some jurisdictions taking advantage of the sellers lack of knowledge can be considered fraud.
Then there is market manipulation where ppl post fake WTS or WTB to give a false impression of what items are traded for - many of us know them - they offer good deals and when contacted they somehow always just did the trade with someone else. IRL some people try to do this on the stock market - if caught they are punished severely.
Carlax, I disagree.
If player A wants full value for his good, he must spend the time and effort to get a 2nd and 3rd opinion. Check the market forums. If he has no idea what the item is worth, he can always keep it and wait for more information. Nobody forces A to sell. Why not put the item in a bazaar and wait for someone to pay the price you want to sell it for?
if the item is a ship and you want Billions for it.. the there is all the more reason to take a LOT of time to get 4th and 5th opinions on the value before selling.
What idiot sells a family heirloom without getting a 2nd or even 3rd opinion?
I hate sitting in seville shouting wtb/wts. It's not how I want to spend my time in game, but to some this is their game. Let them enjoy it.
Obviously no one endorses scammers and I feel many will tell someone if their price is too high or too low.
I usually sell items below market value to move them quickly and sometimes feel I have scammed myself! Lol.
That is a fact - not an opinion. Ok, the civilized part is an opinion, but it IS the law in many places.
He gets a Dgaff and has no idea what it is or what it does.
He says he wants to sell it in chat then get berated because they have done it in world chat instead of merch chat.
They have no idea what merch chat is but find their was there.
They then say they want to sell in merch chat and get a barrage of pm’s
Saying How much. The guy doesn’t know how much so he’s like “I don’t know, how much is it worth?”
The guy replied “I’ll give you 200m for it”
(The seller doesn’t do a pm because he doesn’t yet know what a pm is)
Has he been scammed?
Personally I think so.
It’s down to morals at the end of the day.
I will always try to sell higher than value and buy lower. But I always make sure the person I deal with knows the true value.
Like I’d say, it’s worth 600m but I’m only prepared to pay 500m cos I’m not in a rush to get it.
Or it’s worth 600m but I don’t need to sell so if you want it I’ll take 700m. (That’s on occasion, not every time, often I buy and sell at regular price)
The scenario above is something similar to what happened to me when I was new, but tbf the guy that I sold my dgaff to gave me above the normal price to help me out.
If it was someone not as nice I’d likely of been ripped off, and I’m no mug.
But when you are knew to the game and maybe not in a company you don’t always know what is going on.
My opinion is if you are willing to do that in this game it really reflects on your real life personality because I couldn’t bring myself to intentionally scam someone.
This game is different to real life.
Just like in real life things that are crafted sell for a profit so you make something then you choose the price.
But when it comes to NC stuff we all know there is a market price that fluctuates depending on the need.
If this month a Dgaff is priced at 600m then it’s 600m base and any negotions around that are between buyer and seller.
If someone makes a new person think that it is 200m then it’s a scam no matter how you word it or twist it.