Archive for the 'merchant in SWG' Category
You can have multiple factories, vendors, crafting tools, tons of high quality resources, adequate storage, a great brand name, a well researched price list and a fancy droid with a crafting station installed…but without customers, you’re not a trader.
So how do you go about getting customers? There’s many different strategies and which will work for you depends on what line of business you’re in, what kind of business you run and even your personality. But here’s a few good places to start:
- Put your tag up. Choose a tag that clearly describes the trade you’re in. Make it easy for folks to see what you do and they’ll be more likely to approach you about your products.
- Walk. Now that you’ve got your tag up give them time to read it. When you’re in a public place walk, don’t run.
- Go out and meet people. People like to buy from someone who’s familiar. Get out of the shop and do some crafting in the cantina. Chat with folks at the bank. Talking with folks about general things can open the door to discuss what your business can do for them.
- Be polite. Always. Even the Dark Lord himself doesn’t want to do business with someone who’s lacking in social graces. Any time you’re out in public your potential customers are watching you. Act like you care.
- Follow up. If you have a positive conversation with someone about your business don’t forget to follow up! Send them an email telling them you enjoyed meeting or talking with them… and don’t forget to include the waypoint to your vendor. If someone asks for a product you can’t yet make, take down the name and item. Email them when you learn to make it. Even if they’ve already bought the item elsewhere chances are good that they, or someone they know, will want it in the future.
- Give it away. Freebies are a great way to get your brand name out there while also improving your reputation with potential customers. It doesn’t have to be big and fancy. Choose something you can afford to give away.
If you put your focus on your customers (not your level) you’re sure to become a successful trader 
So you’ve decided to be a trader rather than a collector of schematics. You’ve started stocking your vendor with all the items you can make, done your research, experimented on the bazaar with various items and prices and you’ve got a price list started. Perhaps you’ve even made a few credits selling already! You’re off to a great start. Now’s the time to aquire the other things you need to run your business.
- Factories. Sooner or later you’ll want to own your own factory. Many items require crated components and these can be costly to purchase from others. All things considered, factories are a good investment. In addition to being able to make the components you need, factories are a great place to store extra materials.
- Crafting tools. Be sure you make or buy at least 3 quality crafting tools for your area of expertise. It’s also good to have a generic on hand as well. Having 3 will allow you craft continuously with little or no wait time between items. This is also the time to experiment with where you keep your tools and materials. Be sure you’ve got things set up for maximum speed and efficiency.
- Personal crafting station or droid. You’ll need one or both of these to craft higher level and higher quality goods. I highly recommend droids with crafting stations installed but they may not be the best choice for you. Do your research before you buy.
- Brand name. Depending on which trade you’re in and what type of business you plan to run, you may want to put some effort into developing a brand name to set your products apart from your competition.
- Suppliers. If you’ll be harvesting all your own materials, you’ll need to obtain harvesters and survey tools. If you’ll be purchasing materials or components it’s a good idea to see if there’s someone in your neighborhood you can get a deal from.
- Storage. Trading for a living requires that you have a lot of materials and components available. Which means that you’ll need to find storage solutions. I already mentioned that factories can be a great place to store excess materials but then you have to go to the factory to retrieve them. Another possibility is to create a personal storage vendor. These days vendors can be packed up into your datapad and carried around for convenience. This is a good solution if you’re careful to attend to the stockroom, maintenance fees and always double check to make sure you’re packing, not removing, the vendor and everything in it.
Even with all this taken care of there’s still one more thing you need to be a master trader. Can you guess what it is?
I’ve seen a lot more traders around lately. You see them surveying for materials outside Mos Eisley or at the bazaar, presumably selling their wares. Many I’ve met are concerned about one thing - becoming a master of their trade. They set their crafting tools to practice mode put it on auto and expect to come back a few hours later a master trader.
But from where I’m sitting, I think they’re missing the point. You’re not a master trader until you’ve mastered trading, or the buying and selling of commodities. Otherwise you’re just a collector of schematics.
So, what’s my advice to new traders seeking fame and fortune? For starters, take your tool off practice mode. Actually make, by hand, several units of every item you have a schematic for.
- Record what materials are needed for each. You’ll need this information later to know which materials and how much of each you’ll need to harvest or purchase.
- Take the time to figure out how much each item costs you to produce. Now’s the time to start developing your price list and step one in doing that is figuring out how much you need to pay just to make it.
- Do some market research. Head to the bazaar and see what comparable items are going for across the galaxy. How many are up for sale already? Who’s your competetion? Is there a niche that’s been overlooked that perhaps you can fill?
- Get a vendor. Place a shop, set up a vendor and begin to sell the items you can make. You’re going to have to experiment a bit to see which items will sell best and at which price. Don’t assume that because an item is lower level there isn’t a demand for it. It’s also ok to sell things for less than they cost you to make. You’re paying for your education here!
- List on the bazaar. It’s a whole different game. Items tend to sell for much more on the bazaar in Mos Eisley than on vendors. Folks will pay more for the convenience. You’ll also find that demand is different. Those who are new to the galaxy have different needs and wants than those that have been around a while. So experiment and find out what you can make that they want.
That should keep all you traders busy for a bit ;) Next up: What you need to run your business.
I’ve been asked which is the best trader profession a few times over the past week. I find it an odd question. I’m a tailor because fashion is my passion. I always assumed shipwrights enjoyed crafting spacecraft and weaponsmiths felt strongly about powerful weapons. I guess it’s not always that way.
Which profession is ‘best’?
First, I have to wonder why they think I’d remain a tailor if I didn’t personally feel it was ‘best’. Then to answer their question I have to calculate what ’best’ means to them. Turns out for some it’s how many credits they can bring in and for others it’s how easy it is to master.
I suppose I can understand considering the potential profits. We all need to make a living. But to be honest, if money were my only consideration, I wouldn’t be a tailor. I make enough to take care of myself but I’m not rich.
I’ve only ever been a tailor and I went about mastering it the long way so I’m in no position to offer advice about the easiest profession to master. In general, sewing isn’t difficult and I’m able to craft high quality goods from even the most mediocre materials so I guess in that respect, tailoring is ‘easy’. But like any trader profession, you still need time to the learn the ins and outs of your particular craft. You need to accumulate experience, factories, resources, schematics, vendors and a customer base. There’s no magic formula for any of it. There’s many paths to being happy and successful in a particular trade.
I’ve agreed to mentor and help some wannabe traders. But I think the most valuable advice I can give is to follow your heart and make your own path to success. That’s what makes a trade (and trader) the ‘best’.
I witnessed an act of exceptional generosity today.
It started when someone contacted me late last night. I was busy at the time and asked them to please send me an email with her order and I would fill it over the weekend.
This morning I opened the email. She wanted a Twi’lek noble crest. I’ve never made one before. It called for 10 units of green diamond, a very rare type of gemstone.
I searched vendors across the galaxy but the cheapest I could find was 10,000 credits for a single unit. I’ve never seen any resource cost that much. A further search for information through the crafting network revealed no other potential source. I hate letting customers down, but with little choice I sent word to her about the situation.
As I expected, she was put off by the cost. As a last resort I checked with my guildmates to see if anyone had any ideas about where to find green diamond. I was surprised when Ik’o answered back that she had a stash of it. I informed her of my market research and the potential windfall she had in her hands.
I was shocked when she agreed to simply give my customer what she needed. We needed twenty units total to make the two noble crests she had originally requested. She gave the customer a hundred. That amount of this rare, possibly extinct, resource might have fetched her a million credits had she sold it.
I know a couple of million dollars might not be a big deal to some. But had I offered as much to this customer it would have been 1/7 of all the credits I have.
To add to her act of generosity she then offered some to me! I was touched but politely declined. She gave me some anyway. :) It was an extraordinary act of generosity I won’t soon forget.
Tags: MMORPG, PC game, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, SWG
When I first came back to the galaxy I found that technology had advanced while I was away. The reverse engineering tool had been invented and tailors were using them to deconstruct enhanced clothing items to make new and better clothing.
Joy. One of the main reasons I’d chosen tailoring as my career in the first place was because there was no experimentation involved. None. Experimentation involves luck and skill, neither of which I have. I was approached a few times about making enhanced items early on, prompting me to obtain a tool and make an attempt at figuring out how the whole process works. I took a few notes and played around a bit. But I soon found that although it was less profitable, there was still a market for non-enhanced items. I packed away my reverse engineering tool having only ever made one enhanced item. A shirt, for my son.
Today I was approached by a gentleman looking for an enhanced shirt. He had everything I needed, just wanted me to put it together for him. That didn’t seem too difficult so I agreed. Upon opening the pack he handed me I immediately froze. He had given me three 35 power bits. These are rare. These were nothing I could ever create in my wildest dreams. Not even surrounded by an army of buffing musicians and a yacht full of lucky trinkets.
While trying not to sound too impressed, I casually asked him how much he estimated the pack he had handed me was worth. He replied about 8 million credits.
I tried to look cool as I re-read my notes and carefully proceeded. I checked and re-checked every step. With two of the steps complete I checked the status of the attachment I’d created. It wasn’t what I’d expected.
“Uh oh. Please tell me I did NOT screw this up.”, I said to myself. What had gone wrong. I looked back over my notes. I’d followed the steps why didn’t this look right at all?!
I began calculating the cost of my mistake. I could clean out my whole bank account and still not have enough to reimburse this gentleman for my mistake. How would I even tell him?
I swallowed hard and told him, “Uh, I think there might be a problem.” At that point I’m not sure which of us was more concerned. I told him it looked as if the power had been reduced in the process. “Impossible”, he said. Yet I was staring at the numbers. Only +11 on the first modification and only +7 on the second.
I was prepared for all hell to break loose at this point, hoping only that he wouldn’t insist that I sell my house to cover what my bank account could not.
He sort of laughed at me. Then informed me that indeed, that’s what the finished product should look like. Phew. Never been so shaken, or relieved, in my whole life. I finished the process and handed him back his pack, complete with a perfectly constructed 8 million credit shirt.
I’m just hoping no one else asks me to construct enhanced items for them. It’s emotionally exhausting!
Tags: MMORPG, PC game, Star Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, SWG
From the time I began my work as a tailor, I’ve always taken a lot of pride in my work.
Even back in the days when I was just starting out. I carefully sampled for all my materials and put every item together by hand. I’ve since switched to purchasing my materials in bulk, leaving my survey tools to collect dust in the bank. But I continue to make each item of clothing by hand.
I know many who use ‘automated’ crafting tools and factories who think I’m a bit nuts or at least a little silly for not taking advantage of the technology. I just don’t find that satisfying.
I’d much rather meet my customer in person and make them a shirt to match their favorite pair of pants. Or that jacket in just the right hue to complete their look. Or let them try on several pairs of pants to see which style suits them best.
I prefer working this way so much that I offer a 25% discount off my very reasonable list prices for customers who contact me personally and special order their garments.
Sure, there’ll always be a market for the standard black clothes, but with about 6 million different color and item combinations it’s far more satisfying to craft by hand that perfect item for a specific customer.
