A New Perspective on Markup

It used to be acceptable to TT anything markup below 110%. or 105%.

With Explosive Projectiles turning out more residue than anyone can ever use, which I think is wrong... EP's take TT materials and if anything, residue for EP's should be nanocubes that way the economy wouldn't crash like it has. I mean, just look, residue trading below 101% on orders!!! If that isn't crazy I don't know what is.

Well, again, this did bring something into perspective.

I found I was saving my residue up so I could make a few peds of markup on the residue. I put the markup aside into a ped pile in storage to see how it built up every time I sold some off. In a few hours of doing simple crafts, I had built that little ped pile into about 50 peds. That is 50 peds of markup I wouldn't have gotten if I would have simply stopped saving residue and TT'ed it. Yes, it hurts selling it for TT food basically on auction, but right now EVERY ped counts. I am used to residue being 107% on a bad day. Think of how much ped we are all being screwed out of because of the EP's churning out so much residue?

I don't think it's worth listing things for less than 105% that have a huge supply. I really don't. You take on the role of a hardware store. A hardware store has to have a variety of everything regardless of what is actually selling. It can take very long times to get a sale on certain merchandise, which basically makes the ROI not worth tying up the capital that is required to be tied up.

If not TTing something that is 103% causes you to deposit more peds, guess what? You are losing a percent or two because of the auction fees and the deposit fees. It is cheaper in this light, to TT it.

IF on the other hand, there are orders for what you have that would otherwise be TT food, then yes, it is worth saving up and filling the orders as long as you are able to keep acquiring more of it.

All of a sudden, 104% on ganganite seems like a fortune. This has caused me to look at all resources in a new light, and I've noticed an impact on my bottom line. Fill orders with all your TT food that you can, and TT the rest if you have to, but don't TT anything that routinely has orders or it will be taking peds out of your avatar.

Getting More for your TT Food! Auction Advice

While I am doing monotonous things like hunting... Yes, to me it is monotonous... I randomly think of things I don't consciously consider, and then I figure ok now I have something to blog about. Which, is why I am posting now.

A lot of people get a lot more markup for things that otherwise are sold to the trade terminal. The reason this works is because if you need a few pecs worth of a certain ingredient in a huge 10 or 20 ped or more per click craft, it's ok to pay 200% for tt food. If you are dropping several peds per click, or in some cases maybe a ped or two, it won't really affect your outcome much at all. You have two options. Buy in bulk so that you can get it "cheap", but why buy 4,000 ingots of lyst when you need 40 of them? Or buy what you need so that all those peds you would otherwise tie up are free for the main ingredients so you can get more clicks in your run.

So, when you are determining what you can get for smaller lots of "tt food"... Consider when you were crafting. What were you buying and what percentages were you paying for your small lots? Chances are similar lots for similar markups will continue to sell. Convenience is a service. Small lots can be convenient. So, the extra markup is the natural cost incurred by convenience, especially since you still have auction fees to contend with.

The only long term profits tend to come from markups. Not always, but, generally. I know the exceptions are rare but I do know of a very small few. Basically if you can make an extra few peds every hunt, thats an extra few peds you won't have to deposit later.

Go through, write down a list of materials youve bought in small quantities and the price range youve paid for them. This will give you a working guide from which to base future listings on. Certain wools and cloths are good for around 120 to 150% in small lots. Leathers.. Wood... Anything you can't generally do something with.

I hope this gives you some encouragement when deciding what to do with your hunting loot. Good luck!