Archive for the 'trader in SWG' Category
After many weeks of organizing, packing, preparing, delivering things here and there, cleaning, ordering and generally working towards putting Moneta to rest…
I finally took a break. And what better way to unwind and relax than to go fishing?
Looking to avoid any crowds I decided to visit one of the remote outposts on Yavin IV. The weather wasn’t bad …but it’s Yavin IV so that’s not saying it was good either. It’s never been a favorite fishing spot for me. The water has an odor to it I can’t quite describe and the bottom of the rivers and lakes tend to be dark and muddy. You often find that if you stand in the same place too long you slowly start to sink.
But I set out with the goal of catching a rare fish found only in this place, so I went. After a few hours with little to show for it, I sat on the shore, nibbled at the lunch I’d brought with me and thought about my shop.
There’s still quite a bit of organizing I’d like to do. The inventory has slowly been dwindling… though not as quickly as I’d like. I won’t have room to store all that is left once I fire the vendors. I should really try to sell off those remaining components since I won’t need those for a while… if ever…
And that’s about when it hit me. When had it become a forgone conclusion that I was closing up shop for good? I don’t remember ever making the conscious decision about that.
Maybe it was preparing for Moneta’s end. Did I just naturally extend that to my personal life? Did I just assume that everyone else’s departure should lead me to do the same?
Perhaps it was that dream. No doubt, it changed my perspective on all I have here. It was both a surprise and a relief to find that the greatest joy in life really does reside in those simple pleasures - putting in a hard day’s work, time with old friends and the opportunity to meet new ones, meeting challenges and finding ways to overcome them, taking the hard road and feeling the satisfaction of looking back at how far you’ve come….
I realized that I don’t need the shop, the factory, the vendors, the fancy trinkets, the big house, … I don’t need any of that to live and be happy. There is a simpler life out there than the one I’ve been trapped in for so long. And I’m ready to give it a try. Ready to give up my comforts for a taste of it.
Is this forever? I don’t really know. I know enough about how life works to never say never. But for now? For now I’m satisfied to put aside the life I’ve been living and get back to the simple things that make me happy.
Like catching this silly fish.
My devotion to the members of the Moneta Community Network is unwavering. Like many of our members, I spend a good portion of my time and energy working toward making things better for everyone. Overall, I enjoy my role and don’t mind the work required to get the job done.
Much of what I do everyday goes unseen by most of the members. I maintain the roster, send out emails, get information to new members, work out problems behind the scenes, strategize ways to improve the way we run things, regularly check in with key members to provide support and run errands to get folks what they need, etc.
Yet there are times when it just doesn’t seem like enough. In addition to my other responsibilities, I am our guild’s only tailor. I’m also the only one who does any sort of cooking. It’s in these areas that I most often feel like I’m really rather useless.
Sure, I provide uniforms for the squad and offer free wardrobe consultations to all the guild members…. but I remain entirely useless at providing enhanced clothing with could significantly help folks out.
I make sure that everyone has access to munchies and crunchies…. but while being very tasty, I’m afraid the nutritional value of my food leaves much to be desired.
I know there must be those out there who think that I could do either or both if only I’d put the effort in. And they would be right. But the truth is that I sometimes struggle to keep on top of everything that’s already on my plate. Beyond just the time and energy it would require, I must admit that neither enhanced clothing or quality food really move me. Just the thought of having to attend culinary classes or spend countless hours fiddling with my reverse engineering tool is enough to make me want to pack my bags and disappear.
So it seems that despite my occasional bouts with guilt, I shall remain the useless tailor, providing mediocre goods to these extraordinary people. And hoping they’ll forgive my ignorance. 
The committee came to a decision last night. We all agreed that the needs of our members can best be met by making our union official. So I acquired the necessary device and registered our new guild.
I’ve written before about how uncomfortable I am with the titles and all. But I’ve decided to step outside my comfort zone and accept the position of CEO. I believe in this project and I’m passionate about seeing it succeed even if I’m not the ideal woman for the job.
Fortunately, I’ve got a great team.
Brassk Gilla has taken the position of Executive Vice President. His clear thinking and good business sense has been instrumental in bring us this far. It doesn’t hurt that he’s quite personable (for a Trandoshan) and has inspired many to eagerly follow him (who wouldn’t be inspired by “Do it, or I’ll eat you”?)
LongJie Yun is our Vice President of Logistics. He is an accomplished pilot whose skills will certainly help us secure the most efficient and profitable shipping routes. He’s made himself available to help train new pilots as well.
We’ve several positions we still need to fill, but we’re off to a great start.
I was working in my shop the other day when a couple came in.
The woman walked in and the gentleman ran in after her yelling, “Hey!”
I said hello and asked if there was anything I could help them with. The woman ignored me and walked over to the vendor. The gentleman looked at me and said, “I need a ring.” Before I had a chance to respond the woman said, “Come on, I got one.”
“Well I need one”, he replied. In a harsh tone she said, “You didn’t get yourself one??!!” Sheepishly he replied, “No.” She marched back over to the vendor and purchased a second ring. I smiled gently at the gentleman and said, “Looks like she’s got it for you.”
She swung around abruptly and said, “There! Now let’s go.” She was out the door in a flash. The gentleman politely thanked me and then ran after her.
I give that marriage 3 days.
I was out doing some bargain hunting the other day. I did a search for all items selling for a credit. I picked up a couple of paintings, a load of couches we used to decorate the guildhall and various little nick-nacks. Good deals, all of them.
A pack for sale caught my eye. It was named “+20 Power Bits”. I don’t do much work at all with enhanced items. The couple of time I’ve bothered to enhance a piece of clothing it’s been just to add +10 luck to a wedding gown. After all, every girl should have as much luck as possible on her big day!
To someone who doesn’t work with them much, +20 power bits are quite high. The limit is +35 and it takes someone with a lot of experience and luck to produce that. I personally can’t make a +5 bit so I quickly saved the waypoint for the +20 pack and went to check it out.
The vendor the pack appeared on had only a few items on it. Other packs were labeled ‘+30 bits’ and ‘+35 bits’. Every other pack was listed for the maximum number of credits - so not really for sale at all. Why the heck would someone be dumping a pack full of +20’s?
I purchased the pack and was immediately guilt ridden. It had to be a mistake. None of the other packs were for sale. A pack with 34 +20 bits was certainly worth more than a credit. This poor trader had made a mistake and here I was taking advantage. Shame on me!
I quickly took down the name of the woman who owned the rest of the packs on the vendor and added her to my friend list. When she showed up as available, I tentatively sent her a tell.
“I bought a pack from your vendor yesterday. I think it might have been a mistake”, I began. “The +20 power bits?”, she replied. See. I knew it. Too good to be true. It was a mistake. I started thinking about whether I’d retained the waypoint for the shop so I could return it to her…
“No, that wasn’t a mistake. I don’t use the 20’s. Only 30’s and up.”, she said. I reread that line over and over with my jaw hanging low. Whoa! She doesn’t even use the +20’s. They’re beneath her. She continued, “I was actually planning to fill that pack up with 20’s before you bought it.”
Needless to say, I’ve saved the waypoint of that vendor. One man’s trash…(No, you can’t have it. Go find your own trash! :P)
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 spending a lot of time in the guild hall. Besides decorating my new office and setting up offices for others, I’ve been cleaning out and reorganizing supplies. While working, I noticed our supply of guild uniforms was depleted. Not surprising as we’ve had several wonderful new members join in the last couple of weeks.
I was busy replenishing the uniform closet when I received a tell from a gentleman. He said he enjoyed my clothing and wondered if I’d be able to meet him in person. Usually that means they need some clothing made and so I asked right away what I could make for him.
His response was a bit perplexing. He replied that he didn’t want me to make him anything, only that he wanted the chance to meet me in person and thank me for the wonderful clothing.
At this point the whole thing sounded a bit odd. I receive hundreds of sale emails from my vendors in a week and while a few unique names might stick with me, for the most part, I don’t make a habit out of memorizing each customer’s name. I do keep a list of customers I service in person as they usually return and it’s helpful for me to remember which wanted all black items and which favored electric purple. He didn’t appear on that list.
The general rule in business is to make the customer happy, so I agreed to meet him, despite my confusion over who this man was and which clothing he referred to. I asked where we should meet. He replied, “Yavin IV, for reasons unknown to me.” Huh, what does that mean?
Now I really had a funny feeling about the whole thing. I sent a quick message over the guild chat that I was going to meet some strange man on Yavin IV and could someone please come look for me if they didn’t hear from me soon. I tried to keep it light hearted. After all, it wasn’t likely I’d really be in any danger. I carry a decent weapon on me at all times and while I’ve got a slow trigger finger, I’m not afraid to shoot if I need to.
A smuggler friend answered back right away. “Wait! Don’t go.” I was a bit alarmed at his alarm. “You don’t have a bounty out on you, do you?”, he asked. Who on earth would be out to get me? I’m just a tailor!
Immediately my friend sent me a group invite and I joined. “Group with him first.”, he told me. I gave him the name of the gentleman and he joined. I arrived on Yavin IV to find my friend had been interrogating this stranger, assuring him he’d be in danger if any harm came to me. The man assured both of us that he only wanted to thank me.
The gentleman did thank me. And it turned out he did have some items he wanted made. Surprise, surprise. He was a pleasant man, an easy customer and paid very well.
Even though it turned out there was no danger at all, I’m grateful to my smuggler friend. When Bermuda left, I didn’t really have anyone to call if I got into trouble. It’s nice to know that now I’ve got someone to watch my back.
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’.
