I notice a lot of shops and properties have changed hands over the recent years for whatever reasons. Some of you, I am impressed with how far you have expanded, for I have watched you start with next to nothing and end up living the dream, land areas, a shop in every TP (almost), yep.
Many of you know what you are doing and need no advice from me.
But. A lot of new players will come into the game as they always do, and need some advice. There really are a lot of people in the real world too, who want to start a business and have no clue why their efficiency is down or why customers are frustrated. Inexperience is no ones fault, we have to overcome inexperience by doing. And we can compensate for it by seeing what others have to say about what it is we are trying to accomplish.
There are a few things that would be so amazing yet I haven't hardly seen anyone attempt to do:
90% of my runs through shops, are looking for things that are not available on the Auction. This can be a UL Weapon, or a full set of UL armor, or a Fi/Ra/Co amp of any configuration. Some are rarer than hen's teeth. Some aren't. Sometimes I want to see if theres any good deals on estates. I know there usually aren't any super bargains falling through the cracks, everyone runs a pretty tight ship on markup, but... There are many other games where you can see what is for sale in what shop. Entropia doesn't do that, I wish they could do that, but who knows maybe MA will implement something like that in UR5, who knows. It would be smart if they did. Idle gear is not making MA money, and no ones going to buy it if they can't find it.
I once seen a UL gun, priced insanely cheap, I thought about buying it. After an hour or so I decided you know what, I wanna go buy it. I had forgotten what shop it was, and by the time I got to the shop I know it must have been in, it was already gone, someone beat me to it. But I didn't even know it was there if I wouldn't have been bored enough to stroll through the mall one day.
The point I want to make here is... If you are going to offer rare items, UL items, anything that has any significance, make it as conspicuous as possible. This may mean putting a giant sign over a shopkeeper that says "RARE ITEMS SOLD HERE" or something. Some people I see, have put UL's amidst shelves of L items... When I see a bunch of L items and no clear indication of UL's, I book it out of there, and maybe other players do too, I don't know.
I am not telling anyone how to run their shop, but just highlighting the importance of making your important items stand out so they are easy to spot. People can't buy what they can't see or find.
