Prices for products - overpriced on Release?

[Jukken 230]

It's much faster making bricks...I can run 5 toons at the same time producing a hell of alot more bricks, than I can with just one toon making mortar.

(making mortar with non-prem alts is a waste of time).

 

If someone thinks it's all about actions...I'll gladly trade 2000 QL 10 dirt - for 2000 QL 90 gold ore...

[gnomegates 1,429]

Once again it comes down to supply and demand. Some say its not hard making mortar vs bricks and the such, and both are subject to what you define as hard. But in the end it comes down to the fact that you need alot of bricks and mortar to build a decent project. Now you can sit there and make your own 5k bricks over the course of 5-7 days if you do it 3-5 hrs a day, same with the mortar, so now you have 10-14 days of 3-5 hour days invested in making your own mats, or you can place an order with someone that has already or is willing to do it and spend those 10-14 days building and "having fun" instead of grinding out mats. That is why people are willing to pay for these items. Its about their time and convenience.

 

Nothing in wurm is hard to do, its all about time, if I can pay player x to do something that will save me a set amount of hours and be able to do something else in the same time, then that time has a value, and right now that value on bricks is 2s/1k and mortar is 3s/1k. The 10i per action is thrown out the window when demand goes beyond the ability for most people to produce. When a supplier of those materials has to turn down customers because there is not enough time for them to meet the demands, then prices will go up. This can be a short term effect or long term, but it happens all the time.

 

Consider years ago the "Tickle me elmo" doll that came out shortly be Christmas. It became such a hot item that people were buying it up left and right and selling it on ebay for 5x-10x the suggested value. The supply of this doll was not able to keep up with the demand of people buying it. People were willing to buy it at those prices because they wanted it at that moment in time, when they wanted it and did not want to wait for it. Thus their time had a value on it, and they were willing to spend that money to get what they wanted instead of waiting to find it themselves at the suggested price. Its the way everything in life works, demand goes up, to a point that supply can no longer keep meeting the demand, thus prices go up. Sometimes the prices never go down, other times its just a passing fad.

[Flatline 9]

Once again it comes down to supply and demand. Some say its not hard making mortar vs bricks and the such, and both are subject to what you define as hard. But in the end it comes down to the fact that you need alot of bricks and mortar to build a decent project. Now you can sit there and make your own 5k bricks over the course of 5-7 days if you do it 3-5 hrs a day, same with the mortar, so now you have 10-14 days of 3-5 hour days invested in making your own mats, or you can place an order with someone that has already or is willing to do it and spend those 10-14 days building and "having fun" instead of grinding out mats. That is why people are willing to pay for these items. Its about their time and convenience.

 

Nothing in wurm is hard to do, its all about time, if I can pay player x to do something that will save me a set amount of hours and be able to do something else in the same time, then that time has a value, and right now that value on bricks is 2s/1k and mortar is 3s/1k. The 10i per action is thrown out the window when demand goes beyond the ability for most people to produce. When a supplier of those materials has to turn down customers because there is not enough time for them to meet the demands, then prices will go up. This can be a short term effect or long term, but it happens all the time.

 

Consider years ago the "Tickle me elmo" doll that came out shortly be Christmas. It became such a hot item that people were buying it up left and right and selling it on ebay for 5x-10x the suggested value. The supply of this doll was not able to keep up with the demand of people buying it. People were willing to buy it at those prices because they wanted it at that moment in time, when they wanted it and did not want to wait for it. Thus their time had a value on it, and they were willing to spend that money to get what they wanted instead of waiting to find it themselves at the suggested price. Its the way everything in life works, demand goes up, to a point that supply can no longer keep meeting the demand, thus prices go up. Sometimes the prices never go down, other times its just a passing fad.

Yes Gnome this is a good point.  Some items cost much more than 10i per action and some less (like planks).  The price of 10i per action is far less relevant, what is relevant is the price people are willing to pay.  However, some people are using other players to produce the items for them then just sell it onwards for a profit, which is fine also, as you say it is supply and demand.  I think many people make products for bulk sellers and cannot be worried about actually listing their products on forums as they 'work for' the big seller and are paid immediately upon delivery of the items.  These people probably do work for 10i per action, and in many cases provide their own tools and materials also.  

Edited March 7, 2014 by Flatline

[gnomegates 1,429]

Yes Gnome this is a good point.  Some items cost much more than 10i per action and some less (like planks).  The price of 10i per action is far less relevant, what is relevant is the price people are willing to pay.  However, some people are using other players to produce the items for them then just sell it onwards for a profit, which is fine also, as you say it is supply and demand.  I think many people make products for bulk sellers and cannot be worried about actually listing their products on forums as they 'work for' the big seller and are paid immediately upon delivery of the items.  These people probably do work for 10i per action, and in many cases provide their own tools and materials also.  

 

Yes what you say is very true, I am known to to pay people all the time to produce items for me which I in turn sell at a profit. Those that supply me with the goods make a guaranteed amount of money, they don't have to advertise, make the deal, deliver or any other issues. They just produce. They make money, I make money by being able to supply the demands my customers have and my customers get the goods that they want. Often times I will supply the mats and tools and food needed to craft items, I leave it up to those doing the work how they wish to proceed. Some do it just when they need a few coins, and are not interested in full time bulk supplying, others do it on a reg basis but are not interested in the logistics after the product is made.

 

So many people fail to see the overhead of what goes into running a bulk supply business. The cost of storage, bsb's are not free, they take time and mats to produce. The cost of delivery, my knarrs were not given to me for free. The cost of upkeep on our own deeds. Most the time people have set up their deeds to be friendly to the business, thus the cost of keeping it up is an expense. The time to deliver to a customer, do you charge delivery or not. Many of my customers will know that I don't charge delivery for 90% of my orders. If I have to sail against the wind to get to a location and it takes extra time, all these things factor into the cost of mats. Its not always clear cut 10i per action, there are many other factors that have to be accounted for.

 

I've been doing this for over 10 years now in online games, from Ultima Online to WoW and Dialbo3 to trading in FOREX and now in Wurm. its all the same. At the end of the day its about supply and demand and what people value their time. Why do so many people buy fast food, or microwave dinners, or prebuilt / premade anything. Its all about time, and time is money. To many people it is worth the 1$ to get that cheeseburger from McDonald then it is to make their own at home. 90 secs in the drive thru vs 10-15 mins at home. Its about finding the balance between the two and someone putting a value on it and making a profit from someone else's time.

 

Its the true circle of life, been happening since the dawn of time. One cave man has something the other has, he can go out and get it himself, but to him it can be worth his time to trade for what he wants then it is to put the time and effort to doing it himself.