Advanced Vending 101 ((Specialty Class)) | Page 1 | The Library ((Guides)) | Guild Forums

Relgabrix
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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:49 pm

Welcome Students to my Advanced Vending Class.

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The following chapters will be available for discussion:

A] The Dreaded Plague Of Inflation.

B] The Watchful Vender.

C] That Hip Young Lingo.

D] Mind Over Mouse. Keeping Your Cool..

E] Know Your Limits.

F] The Vender's Heart.

Those are just a few starters. I'll add more as time continues.

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 5:53 pm

Lesson [A] - The Dreaded Plague Of Inflation.

Everyone's seen it. Everyone's felt it. Inflation is everywhere as the greedy stoop to the lowest levels just to make a quick bit of gold.

For the longest time, Exchangers worked around the inflation, as long as the Inflators didn't go too far, we were content in seeing an item raise in price by about 50% then drop the next day to it's usual rate.

Unfortunately, inflation has spread far out of control, with organized groups setting on items every few hours or so. During these times, even Venders are hard pressed to keep up.

As I'm no different, and I'd certainly not want to see my Students and fellow Venders struggling either, here are a few of my hard-eared (Goldwise) life lessons.

First of these lessons:

[Vending Safely]

A great deal of the vending basics were covered in Sic-Sixxx's awesome guide. We know that you Vend by using your wits and reflexes to get good deals before others, and re-sell for a quick and easy profit. It's my favorite type of the Exchanging Jobs.

Now, as items are inflating and deflating on an hourly basis, you will need to be weary of much more than before.

First off - Know your prices.

TekTek is rarely reliable anymore, as prices change so rapidly. Your best bet to get an item's value range, is to manually search each item. To be more precise, put "_" marks around the item's name for exact results. Always search for the "Lowest Buy Price".

As a Vender, you're responsible for your actions. Remembering the basics that Sic covered, as in having your Password [Ctrl+F]ed and your eyes trained on the screen.

However, you need to be mindful of your instincts. If you see a CoCo Kitty for 110k, when their going rate is 114k, and then you see another CoCo Kitty at the same rate, and then another, be weary. It is likely that the value of the item's value is crashing, which could lead you to a "Dead-Time" in which you have several valuable items, but selling them would result in a loss for you. Most users, unless they vend with immense amounts of pure, will have to withdraw from the vend until they can sell the items.

Relgabrix
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Relgabrix
Vice Captain

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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:01 pm

Lesson [-B] - The Watchful Vender.

Vending isn't for everyone. To Vend you must have a few important abilities:

Memory - Being able to memorize prices and the contents of letters will ALWAYS be useful. Good deals won't wait for you to check the prices manually.

Eyesight - You might have laughed at that, but lets face it. You need a sharp eye to spot a good deal in a sea of text.

Reflexes - Being able to roll your hands across that [CTRL+V] and slapping the enter button take coordination and timing.

Patience - Vending is a waiting game. You have to have the ability to wait. Most starting Venders will also find a lot of frustration in their limited ability to beat some of the faster people. Remember, the faster Venders have month, even years more experience than you do. However, if you bring in one of the above qualities in surplus, you may just have the edge you need to rise through the ranks. ((I personally had Reflexes going for me at first, but learned the others as time went on.))

Now the second lesson:

[Riding the Waves of Inflation]

Prices are always going up and down. It's all most unheard of for an item to stay at the same price for an extended amount of time. Knowing how to spot an item that looks like it may be the target of imminent inflation strike may save you several thousand in your vending fundings.

A few examples are below:

[Vender] Spots Dark Halo in vend for 53,000 gold. Current MP value of the Halo is 57,000 gold. [Vender] then purchases the Halo for 53,000 gold.

[Vender] Then puts the Dark Halo in their shop for 55,000 gold.

A few minutes later, [Vender] spots another Dark Halo selling for 53,000 gold. Alarmed, as its now lower than [Vender]'s price, [Vender] has a few options.

[A] [Vender] purchases Dark Halo for 53,000 gold, thusly depleting [Vender]'s fundings by another 53,000.

[Vender] reduces price of their Dark Halo to 52,999.

A few minutes later, [Vender] spots yet another Dark Halo for less than or equal to the previous Dark Halo. This is a sign of an Item Crash.

[Vender] then has a few options.

[A] Sell the remaning Dark Halos at a lower-than 53,000 rate ((Thusly losing gold)) but hopefully sparing [Vender] from having to sell for an even lower rate. ((Losing more gold))

[Vender] purchases the Dark Halo, further depleting their fundings.

[C] [Vender] does nothing and waits for the prices to stabilize. Depending on their fundings, [Vender] risks the possibility of "Dead Time" as [Vender] awaits the items to either increase or, if truly unlucky, crash. ((If the prices go down by more than 10,000, I advise you cut your losses and either accept "Dead Time" or sell for 2-3k less than the current low price. This is unlikely that this will happen on the more popular items though.))

Trust your instincts. If something doesn't feel right, hold back a little bit. Wait to see what happens. Believe me, you will pat yourself on the back when you realize you saved yourself by avoiding an Item Crash.

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:03 pm

Lesson [C] - That Hip Young Lingo.

Knowing what's with the times will save you a lot of grief. Come on Father Time, get the dust off.

Certain items will always have the popular vote over others. Those items are the items YOU want. Why? Because those items can triple your chance of getting a quick sale. A quick sale means more money, faster.

The Third of these Lessons:

[Popular Items]

In considering what items are best for business, remember a few key things:

People like things that are "Cool". Heres a few interesting ones...

[Donation Items]

Kitty Plushies? Who doesn't want an adorable cat adorning their avatar? Cute and an instant hit, people crave these cats.

Ancient Katana? A chance to bring the ever-popular Japanese Culture to their avatar! A must have for all ages, though baby fatalities tend to increase when matched up with this item.

Steel-Plated Ninja Band? The GOD of all cosplays. Theres no limit to the number of Naruto fans out there, and they ALL want the Ninja Band. Lets face it it's just Narutoish. ((I like it for it's symbolic nature. Read it's description))

People tend not to like other things though.

G-Bot? Who's idea was this thing? I like to kick them around just to say "I'm Anti-Botting".

Ice Tiara? It fits with one or two good outfits. Other than that, I've really failed to see it's value.

[Event Items]

Event items tend to fall to the lower part of the popularity table. Likely the most popular will always be Easter 2003's Bunny/Chicky Slippers, and Halloween 2003's "Jacked Up Set". 2004's Event items are fairly popular as well. 2005 and onward suffer from an overabundance of items, and a distinct lack of interest.

[Fishing//Game Items]

These items are hugely popular with some, but lack any interest with others.

Rare Fish items are among the most wanted of these with the people who like them.

Look for yourself. If you see a lot of people wearing a certain item, theres a good chance it's pretty popular, and thusly, something you might want to deal in.

When I vend I tend to focus only on items that I know will sell quickly. There are always special exceptions, but for the most part, stick with what you know.

Relgabrix
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Relgabrix
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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:07 pm

Lesson [D] - Mind Over Mouse. Keeping Your Cool.

Vending takes time to get good at. Not only will you need to become a living price guide, you'll also need nerves of steel to cope with Vending. No, you're not in a life or death situation, but your heart will race, your blood will boil, and your victorious cheers will make people call the cops on you.

Fourth of these lessons:

[The Mind of the Vender]

Vending, it's what's for dinner. Venders will find themselves enthralled in the marketplace. It is addicting. It's like gambling, as you're always holding out for that one lucky shot. However, when the chance comes, you'll be hard pressed to keep your cool long enough to take that shot.

Adrenaline will pump through your veins as your body tightens, your hands fly over the keyboard, and you snap to get the win. However, if you cannot remain calm, you'll overshoot. That could mean not fully entering your password, or entering it twice, or it could mean hitting enter a fraction of a second before you finish entering it. It could also mean, in your mad dash to hit enter, you accidentally hit another key, meaning your password is invalid!

We all went through it, and at times, even I get too damn high strung to score a good deal. It happens to the best of us. You'll get used to it eventually.

A few tricks to helping you avoid some of the trouble.

Know your Keyboard. Have the feel of it down 100% and know that the keys you need to hit won't stick.

Use the Number-Pad's Enter Key. Having your left hand be positioned so that your pinky is on the [CRTL] key and your index finger is on [V]. Navigate with your right hand on the mouse. When the deal pops up, and you're going in for the kill, click in the password box, hit the magic password combination and slap the [ENTER] key on the Num-Pad. To help ensure that you don't hit 3 or . or any other number by mistake, vend with the NUM LOCK feature off. Since + can still be hit even when NUM LOCK is off, I personally simply remove the + key from the Num-Pad while vending. It allows me to be slightly less coordinated than what's normally needed.

Something you might want to watch for is the "Venders High". I personally feel it's an awesome state of mind. It's where you're aware of just about everything on the board, and your reflexes are timed magnificently.

Just try not to lose your temper. Remember, it's not easy to vend when you don't have a keyboard.

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:09 pm

Lesson [E] - Know Your Limits.

This one is really quite self-explanatory.

Fifth of these lessons:

[Your Limits]

Vending can take it's toll on a person. It is something of an addiction. You don't wanna quit! But remember. Food is good for you, especially in those long hours when you shun away the world for Vending. Remember to break every once in a while and try not to go too fast. If you do, you'll more than likely get slapped with a "Vend Ban" as in you were causing too much activity and the system booted your account for a short while.

Just take it easy. If you miss something, you miss something. You can be frustrated, but use that energy to focus yourself and wait out for the next one.

Good luck.

Relgabrix
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Relgabrix
Vice Captain

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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 6:13 pm

Lesson [F] - The Vender's Heart.

This one is perhaps the most important of all.

Sixth of these lessons:

[Your morals, your Heart]

Vending is our profession here on Gaia. It is our line of work. In your line of work, there will come a time when you will seize something valuable for nearly nothing from what it should have been. Human Error causes this, and you must take it upon yourself to judge whether your prize will be yours or if it will be returned.

We've all heard of them. The dreaded mis-price. Somone misses a 0 or any other number on the end of their price, and puts it up for sale. The items sold for a full place less than what it was intended for. That can be devastating.

My Students, my friends, my fellow Gaians, remember that the person on the other side of that item is a human too. Their struggles gave birth to that item, and it's fate is in your hands.

Now, I'm not saying return EVERY misprice you get. I'm saying, if the person comes to you, then evaluate them. How do they ask? Are they rude, do they threaten you or demand it back?

It's a known fact that I will return any quester's item that I obtain, so long as they have the courtesy to approach me politely. A great deal of the time that they actually inform me that they are questing I'll not only give their item to them, but give them a bonus for their own quest.

No, you don't need to do that, but remember. A single act of kindness can change a person forever.

If the person is relentless, however, rude, and acting despicable, I personally have no problem with blocking them and re-selling their item.

If you've obtained an item you absolutely want to the extent you don't want to return it to them, even if they are polite, it is your responsibility to act with clear and firm courtesy. Don't further darken their day by shaming them with your trophy.

I will admit, I'm not a saint for this. As I have a horrifically hard time turning people down who ask politely, I have a single memory of a time when I purchased a Demonic Pitchfork for only 14k. It's original owner was friendly and courteous, asking for the item back, stating that it was his mistake. ...it was back when I was working to accomplish my deadline for the Christmas Charity, and I desperately needed the gold from the Pitchfork. I'll admit, I reminded him of the Rules, and asked that he check his confirmation screen next time. I then blocked him and spent the next several hours in shame and personal regret. I suppose I'm just a nice person...but it hurt ladies and gents. Not as much as it may have hurt him, but I felt horrible afterwards. Someday, I'm going to buy that guy a Demonic Pitchfork...

Ah?

Oh...for now.

Class Dismissed.

Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 9:36 pm

Alrighty, this is open for review.

As I shouldn't have the authority to Sticky my own guides, if somone feels this is sticky-worthy, then please feel free to pin it. 3nodding

If there is anything more I can add, just let me know. =3

Relgabrix
Vice Captain

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[N]
Crew

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Posted: Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:30 pm

I thought I was the only one up at this time. xd

I love this guide. Stickied. heart

Posted: Sat Jan 27, 2007 8:41 pm

wow that helped alot....its just going to take a while to get it up and running lol...and the vending will be hard at first but thanks for the help and the add....whats going on with everyone?

Ga-Chan

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Jac E.

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Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2007 12:12 pm

It's a great tutorial Rel-sensei, but there are some mistakes...

Relgabrix

Lesson [A] - The Dreaded Plague Of Inflation.

Everyone's seen it. Everyone's felt it. Inflation is everywhere as the greedy stoop to the lowest levels just to make a quick bit of gold.

For the longest time, Exchangers worked around the inflation, as long as the Inflators didn't go too far, we were content in seeing an item raise in price by about 50% then drop the next day to it's usual rate.

Unfortunately, inflation has spread far out of control, with organized groups setting on items every few hours or so. During these times, even Venders are hard pressed to keep up.

As I'm no different, and I'd certainly not want to see my Students and fellow Venders struggling either, here are a few of my hard-eared (Goldwise) life lessons.

First of these lessons:

[Vending Safely]

A great deal of the vending basics were covered in Sic-Sixxx's awesome guide. We know that you Vend by using your wits and reflexes to get good deals before others, and re-sell for a quick and easy profit. It's my favorite type of the Exchanging Jobs.

Now, as items are inflating and deflating on an hourly basis, you will need to be wary of much more than before.

First off - Know your prices.

TekTek is rarely reliable anymore, as prices change so rapidly. Your best bet to get an item's value range, is to manually search each item. To be more precise, put "_" marks around the item's name for exact results. Always search for the "Lowest Buy Price".

As a Vender, you're responsible for your actions. Remembering the basics that Sic covered, as in having your Password [Ctrl+F]ed and your eyes trained on the screen.

However, you need to be mindful of your instincts. If you see a CoCo Kitty for 110k, when their going rate is 114k, and then you see another CoCo Kitty at the same rate, and then another, be wary. It is likely that the value of the item's value is crashing, which could lead you to a "Dead-Time" in which you have several valuable items, but selling them would result in a loss for you. Most users, unless they vend with immense amounts of pure, will have to withdraw from the vend until they can sell the items.

I don't understand the red bit... It that a mistake?

Oh and wary has no e. I'm... a bit of a grammar nazi. sweatdrop