Game Time: 5/26/2006 9:23:29 PM
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Commerce - Overview One way to make money is to find somebody who is selling stuff cheap and buy it from them. Then find somebody who wants to pay a lot for it, and sell it to them, thereby making a nice profit. Universal Marketplace Looking for something to buy? Have something to sell? The Universal Marketplace is your ticket to merchant madness. The Universal Marketplace will give you a general idea of the prices that certain items are selling for across the universe. It will also give you a general idea of the prices that other players are willing to pay for these goods. By default items are sorted by their CATEGORY, ITEM NAME and PRICE. You can sort items by their title heading (this feature is not yet functional) Local Commerce Menu To buy and sell items select the "Commerce Menu" from the a Status Screen or your Inventory Management Screen. Here you will be able to conduct commerce with others in the same Sector as you. Buying Items If you don't have anything specific in mind that you want to buy you might want to check the Universal Marketplace first. Ok, now that you have decided what item you wish to buy, you will want to go to the Commerce Menu. You can do this from a Status screen (Base or Starship). After you arrive at the Commerce Menu you are presented with a list of items for sale and items wanted. Since we are trying to buy something we will concentrate on the list of items for sale. You are presented with a list detailing the Item Category and Name, a buy link, the price that the seller is asking and the quantity that they have placed for sale. If you want to buy the item just press the Buy link in the Your Action column, next to the name of the item you wish to buy. Next you will be allowed to select the quantity you wish to purchase of the type of item you wish to buy. Press the Complete Transaction button and you're done. Check your inventory list and you will find your purchase. Selling Items Selling items is as easy as buying them, except you need buyers. Finding a buyer isn't very hard, just use the Universal Marketplace. Once you've located a potential sale, travel to that Star System and go to the Commerce Menu. The lower table, titled, Item(s) Wanted is where you will find your buyers. If you want to Sell an item you have just press the Sell link in the Your Action column, next to the name of the item you wish to Sell. Next you will be allowed to select the quantity you wish to sell of the type of item you selected. Press the Complete Transaction button and you're done. Posting Wanted Ads When operating your Base, there are times that you will want other players ships to transport and sell items to you. These items might include fuel, weapons and equipment. To attract sellers you can post a wanted ad. To do this, from the Commerce or Inventory Management Menus you will find a link, "Post Wanted Ad." You will then be directed to select the category of the item you want to buy. Next you will be asked to select the item you want (using the drop down combo box), the quantity you want and the price you are willing to pay for it. If you want everyone to know about it be sure to check the Universal Marketplace box. Posting For Sale Ads As you begin to accumlate Ore Mines, Smelters and Factories you will want sell some of the items that you produce. To do this you will want to place a For Sale Ad. From your Status screen you will want to select the Inventory Management link. This will present you with a full inventory list. On the right side of the row containing the item you wish to sell you will find the Sell link. This link is your key to selling any item which you own. Similar to buying an item, you will want to check the Universal Marketplace to be sure that your asking price is in line with other sellers. If your prices are five times as high as someone else who is only three sectors distant you probably won't attract many buyers. The exception to this is if you are an exclusive supplier of an item and some distance separates you from your nearest competition. As in real life when the supply of an item increases, the price will decrease, when supply decreases, the price increases, Economics 101. You will now be asked to select the quantity you wish to place for sale and the price you wish to ask. Press the List Item button and your done. Modifying Commerce Listing After you have placed items for sale you are sure to want to modify prices or update quantities for sale. To assist you in this we have included some links to ease your burden. If you want to modify Price or Quantity just click on the Price or Quantity link in the row you wish to change (they both take you to the same screen). You will then be taken to a screen that will allow you to modify the Price or Quantity. If want to update the quantity to the maximum quantity you have On-Hand just click the link in the On-Hand column of the row you with to update and your Ad will automatically reflect the current quantity you have in your inventory. If you want to Delete your Ad entirely just click on the Delete link in the Your Action column. Commerce Hints On the surface buying and selling things seems like a pretty simple concept. Once you get started you may find it more complex than expected. Some factors to take into account are the distances between where you buy an item and where you sell it. Be sure to factor in the cost of fuel. Small ships are much more forgiving in terms of fuel consumption than larger ships. A large ship with less than a full cargo hold can be a money sucking pit. Whenever possible run with a full cargo hold, even if you make less profit on some items, earning something is better than nothing. Navigating a ship with empty cargo space is similar to putting your vegetables out to eat but never eating them, they will rot anyway. |