Fix Traders on Xanadu

[Baloo 709]

These are part of what the Trader holds at Newspring currently:

 

3 x rods of transmutation @ 50s each = 150s

3 x large magical chests @ 50s each =  150s

3 x small magical chests @ 25s each =    75s

 

These have been here since the start - it would seem that not 1 has been bought

... down to a whole lot of rubbish that has been sold to it - that needs clearing out.

 

This is large capital tied up and makes cash for goods inaccessible to players.

Why not reduce the numbers above to say 1 each and replace monthly if sold?

 

[12:51:41] Economic breakdown this period: Earned=1393, spent=30610 Ratio=0.045508005

[12:51:41] Taxes paid=0, rate=0.0

 

Tried to sell a gold ring 44ql worth 3.9482 indicated by trader (?!?)

[12:56:52] Price is set to 20 copper. = got by examining item for price

 

and this is the reply from the trader:

 

[12:53:21] Windspring says, 'I am low on cash and can not purchase those items.'

surprise, surprise!

 

PLEASE FIX THIS !

Edited August 6, 2014 by Baloo

[Outlaw 697]

I don't think you understand how traders work or what they are for. (Although tbh, I don't think the devs know what they want them to be for either anymore)

 

Their capital isn't "Tied up" in those items. They also do get replenished. Those items are one of the reasons traders exist.

 

It isn't like if they sold those, the trader would have 150s after selling 3 transmutation rods. (They would have 37.5s I believe, although most people who buy an item like that, drain the trader themselves immediately afterwards anyway)

Edited August 6, 2014 by Outlaw

[Kegan 3,926]

That trader is not earning anything the ratio needs to be above .1 and it is at .04 so until you buy something it will stay that way.  That is the hard part about "public" traders is trying to keep the ratio right people just come up and drain what they can and never buy back the 10% they should to keep it earning.  

 

Now there are some players saying that there are bots draining coins off of them too but to me that seems far fetched.  I am not sure what people that are good at that kind of thing can accomplish though so who knows it might be true.  

Edited August 6, 2014 by Kegan

[Baloo 709]

Well if the rubbish were cleared out and there were sensible things to buy - and at sensible prices (Sleep powders at 5s each ?) - then maybe ppl would buy items from the trader...

[Dextrome 123]

Well if the rubbish were cleared out and there were sensible things to buy - and at sensible prices (Sleep powders at 5s each ?) - then maybe ppl would buy items from the trader...

[Leroy 315]

Well if the rubbish were cleared out and there were sensible things to buy - and at sensible prices (Sleep powders at 5s each ?) - then maybe ppl would buy items from the trader...

 

 

trouble is econ101. if prices of the sleep powders were put on par with the market value of them (1.5s) then why buy from a player... until they lower the value to say 1s or 50c or 10c to make a bit of coin... then the trader is stuck selling something worth just 10c for an outrageous 1.5s.

 

Personally I am viewing the only way to fix the existing trader system would be to make traders mobile AND impossible to pen (like a spirit templar). People would still drain them but would be near impossible to camp at. Make trader buyable items available at a starionary merchant at starter towns or though wurm shop, and on the mobile traders.

 

Also make it so you cannot sell 20 spindles to a trader, trader buys a couple items but has no reason to try to start up a costco in spindle purchases or any other typical 'draining' item.

[Outlaw 697]

That seems rather expensive

 

That's the price they are currently. He wasn't suggesting 5s, he was saying how rediculious it is at that price.

 

If they were say 2s, people may actually buy them if they didn't want the hassle of finding a seller and travelling to them, without upsetting the current prices.

 

We need to solve the issue of giving them an actual use. Currently, people have no reason to visit one other than to drain it monthly or buy a handful of items that most players never actually buy as they are so expensive. Why would someone pay so much for something to make it public only to have someone else drain it?

 

For how often people actually buy Magical Chests / Rods, most of those people would be perfectly willing to travel to a starter deed to buy them as it is such an uncommon purchase. Even if traders cost 10s I'm sure most people wouldn't buy them unless for aesthetic purposes if they didn't provide monthly income.

Edited August 6, 2014 by Outlaw

[KunAlt 844]

Thing is 5s was the normal (official) price for sp wen those existed only as a trader merchandise, then people started to get those as a reward for prem and prices was lowered.

 

About making traders wander or forcibly public, its ok for me as long as the current ones are fully reimbursed and expelled of the deed at mayor request.

 

Edit: BTW Xanadu was made "private traders" free by players request iirc, so idk why players now suddenly want traders on it.

Edited August 7, 2014 by KunAlt

[KanePT 699]

Edit: BTW Xanadu was made "private traders" free by players request iirc, so idk why players now suddenly want traders on it.

Edited August 7, 2014 by KanePT

[Rathgar 959]

Not broken, might need to adjust some prices, like it was said, sleep powder, they maybe were worth 5s when they were a novelty, now that everyone and their dog gets them for free, it should definitely be lowered.

[KanePT 699]

Not broken, might need to adjust some prices, like it was said, sleep powder, they maybe were worth 5s when they were a novelty, now that everyone and their dog gets them for free, it should definitely be lowered.

[Old_Lando 178]

Traders were launched as a system to give money back to the community.  To get a trader when the game started they only were on 21x21 deeds that cost 1G to purchase and had a 10s/month payment for upkeep every month.  Traders were a way to help those that purchased large deeds pay for those deeds.  Rolf also imagined that traders would be left open for everyone to trade with, but when those 1G deeds found that traders paid out close to 50S every month and that if they weren't locked away other players would just come drain them with nothing given to the deed they were on, the deed owners closed those traders off.

 

Now, deeds cost very little in upkeep compared with what they used to be, you can purchase all the traders you want for 50s a pop and though they don't give 50s a month anymore, they still give between 4-7s/month.  If you figure the cost for a deed to hold the traders on, because lets face it a trader building with no deed will be deeded over given a bit of time and you lose 50s investment in that trader, you make between 3-5s month   So it takes around a year for a trader to pay for itself.   

 

People don't like the free ride that trader owners get and Rolf doesn't like the system either so he announced the system being reworked and no one would be able to plant traders on xanadu.   The traders that are in the start city still get money just like the traders on other servers, but now rather than the people that invested in the traders getting the money it's whomever happens to trade with that trader after he/she gets money.

 

I was on a delivery yesterday and saw several alts that log in for 2 minutes right in front of the trader and then lose connection and log out.  Several times a day, so the people currently getting cash off the traders are mainly people camping with free alts, not toons that actually play the game.   

 

One of the things it has done is reduce the price for those that want to drain traders, since the money is only distributed to I guess around 9 traders now rather than being divided between dozens.  It sounds like from the ratio that was posted people are not checking the ratio to make sure those traders still get money, but what can you expect from f2p toons.

 

I'm pretty sure this wasn't the way it was intended to work either, but until Rolf decides on a new system that is the way it is.  What needs to be done is creation of a system that works.  It's easy to spot something that doesn't work, not so easy to figure out how to fix it.    To come up with a solution thought, we first need to understand the problem that traders are there to solve.  Why does silver need to be returned to the community,  Once the reasons for the current system being in place are known, at that point we can start talking about solutions.

[joedobo 1,187]

I'm pretty sure this wasn't the way it was intended to work either, but until Rolf decides on a new system that is the way it is.  What needs to be done is creation of a system that works.  It's easy to spot something that doesn't work, not so easy to figure out how to fix it.    To come up with a solution thought, we first need to understand the problem that traders are there to solve.  Why does silver need to be returned to the community,  Once the reasons for the current system being in place are known, at that point we can start talking about solutions.

Exactly! its really hard to make suggestions when we have no idea what the goal is. 

 

I been keeping Vrock ratio's good. Its not too hard to buy 10s worth of player made goods in one transaction. And in another transaction drain that 10s back into your pocket. Fixing the ratio is as simple as that.

 

I also admit to camping the traders. Its first come, first server, so I'm just making sure I'm first. I am maintaining the ratio's after all and I'm pretty sure others draining the same traders aren't.