Topic

Auctioning: Look before you price

There are some auctioneers that are putting one item up at a time, and slightly cheaper to FOOL you into selling for a cheaper price, not done out of good intention. You try to buy that item and it automatically gets re-auctioned by a silly little script.

So I ask every seller to look at every price in the list whenever selling something, one prime example of this is Hot n' Fizzy Sauce. Theres someone in there named [redacted] thats selling 1 hot sauce at a time and putting it lower than usual. This has been persistent for days now and it's getting very annoying to see sellers getting fooled into putting it up for much cheaper than intended by this automatic script account.

Again, it's when you see: "Lowest current auction price for a single hot 'n' fizzy sauce: 59₡" While yesterday and weeks ago it was being auctioned and sold at 70c average.

I don't know why these scripts exist but they're basically exploiting a lack of information about the items in the auction.

Posted 14 months ago by LųĉĩđεşşΨ Subscriber! | Permalink

Replies

  • Thanks for the warning
    Posted 14 months ago by Valandra Subscriber! | Permalink
  • First off, you should remove the name of other players if you aren't saying something nice about them.  Secondly, the person you mentioned is a respectable player, so it's not fair for you to judge them in that way.

    They likely are placing the item onto the auctions to sell them cheaply either to get rid of it, or to provide a reasonable price (or even cheaper) price for newer players.  The scripts that you mention aren't the ones auctioning the items (unless that player is testing out a new script they developed), but the ones buying up the items because they are under a threshold set by the "sniper auction" script (which I think was developed by that player).  It could also just be vigilant players who are watching the auctions for cheap items - some do that to get a deal, others do it to resell the item - it's called capitalism, and there is nothing wrong with it if supply/demand is dictating it. If someone posts a cheap item, and someone else buys it and then chooses to overprice the item and it doesn't sell, then they are out fees, and they will learn to reduce the price of those items.  Also if someone posts some items at a low price, and others opt to post for less vice just selling to a vendor, and someone else buys those items and resells them at a higher more 'reasonable' price, that is fine too.

    The auctions are intended to be a player based economy, but many players don't understand that and way over inflate the prices of things....others aren't smart enough to shop around, and often are buying at well inflated prices...but typically over time, things do tend to settle out...There is nothing wrong with posting items cheaply to get them sold either, but players that assume that the lowest price is the standard aren't being very smart about their posting of items either.  

    Frankly, it's best if players educate themselves on the 'value' of the items before playing around in the auctions.  Then you know if you should post something lower than the lowest price, or just go sell it at vendor, etc.  And you also know when people are trying to take advantage of you by over-inflating items also.

    BTW, per the encyclopedia, Hot and Fizzy Sauce is only 'worth' about 42 currants.  So pricing it at 59 currants is still over the rated value.  Folks buying it at 70 may have been willing to pay for the labor costs, etc., but if someone else is coming along to price it more reasonably...well...the buyer is the determining factor in what sells and what doesn't.
    Posted 14 months ago by ~Pink Flamingo~ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have found that with some items, they are more likely to sell if they are offered in small lots.  Not everyone in the auctions is looking for 100 of something.   They often need 1 or 3 of something in order to finish a recipe or quest and need it asap, even though they could go harvest it if they wanted to.   
    Posted 14 months ago by WalruZ Subscriber! | Permalink
  • All I have to say is I am stoked when I sell an item I placed up for auction... Who cares if it was a script that purchased it or not! All I know is I have more currants in my pocket then before...ahhhh yeah!!! And if that item gets re-listed at a higher price whoop-dee-do! I still got what I wanted. :o)
    Posted 14 months ago by MsZoee Subscriber! | Permalink
  • First, calling out another player by name is against the TOS.  I strongly suggest that you edit your post and remove the player name before someone files an abuse report against you.

    Second, as I understand your original post, your main complaint is that the person is selling the item for more than it is "worth", but not as much more as you think it should be.  Welcome to capitalism.
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • i habitually sell lots at below market price. that's how i like to move my inventory.

    sometimes i notice small lots that seem to be aimed at getting the uninformed to sell at way below market for the benefit of sniping, but i do not approve of taking advantage of people.

    THAT said, if i notice something is selling at an inflated price and i think it's not a fair price, i will flood the market with cheaper ones because i prefer markets where things can be gotten cheaply.

    last week one day i brought the selling price of a certain key down from 850 to about 100, where it's pretty stable now. it's not really worth 100, but if you need it in a hurry i guess it's a fair enough price.
    Posted 14 months ago by flask Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Without commenting on the topic, there does exist an auto-sell script.
    Posted 14 months ago by Saro Subscriber! | Permalink
  • There's even a group for people who use the auto-sell site
    www.glitch.com/groups/RNVN2...
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I have heard people talking in global chat about using the precise auction strategy described in the OP (reputable players, don't know whether the same player originally mentioned or not, since the name is no longer there).

    Windborn, your understanding doesn't match the original post.  The strategy is to sell as few of the item as possible yourself while keeping the lowest listed price at your preferred *low* number, by posting a single item at that price and relisting precisely when that listing sells.  You can then buy out the ones of that item that players list to match or beat that price, and either resell them at the much higher going bulk rate, or if you want to be slightly less obvious about what you're doing, process them and resell the product.
    Posted 14 months ago by Fnibbit Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I ALWAYS price things just below whatever the highest price is. Occasionaly I get burned by someone trying to sell the item for an inflated price.  No, I don't always know what the "right" price is, but I do know what the price is that will get it sold and out of my bags.  

    I've gotten some huffy letters from folks, saying I was overpricing my stuff.  I guess I'll know its overpriced if no one buys it.
    Posted 14 months ago by Feylin Subscriber! | Permalink
  • Ok, Fribbit, that is different from what I understood.

    But I'm still not sure why that shouldn't be allowed. If someone is keeping prices low, everyone else benefits too.  Unless you're saying that no one is able to buy any of the item for a price in between the "higher bulk rate" and the single low priced item.  Frankly, I didn't see that happening in the Hot 'n Fizzy auctions.  The lowest price seller doesn't have any other auctions except for the lowest price.  

    The auctions for items priced between the lowest price and the OP have been up for more than 7 hours.  It looks like this is just an auction where someone is keeping a small amount of cheaply priced goods readily available. 

    How is this a bad thing? 
    Posted 14 months ago by WindBorn Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I totally agree with the topic of this thread, "Auctioning: Look before you price". We should all be doing that when we sell things. Nobody can control the market unless you let them, and if other players don't check the prices of items beyond the lowest/average price on the auction screen then surely that's their problem. The 'race to the bottom' mentality of Glitchen is what leads to people having the ability to control the prices on the auctions.

    If you want to sell something quickly, make it the cheapest on the auction. Lots of people use the auction as a dumpsite and that's their choice. If you don't want your items to be purchased for resale (if that's indeed what is happening) then price them slightly higher or the same price as the 59₡. They'll sell eventually.
    Posted 14 months ago by DTC Subscriber! | Permalink
  • I wanted sooooo very much to not respond, but I *hangs head in shame* cannot help myself. Especially since @Beach Bum's already outed me. :)

    Firstly, I have only ever bought 1 or 2 lots of hot-n-fizzy sauce, and I re-listed those at a loss. So if someone is indeed buying low and selling high, well... it ain't me!

    Lucidess wrote: they're basically exploiting a lack of information about the items in the auction

    You've lost me at "... getting fooled..." and at 59c, the lack of information is not in the selling.

    Here's the "cost" of cooking 1 bottle of hot-n-fizzy sauce.

    I've used AH prices to make it fairer, and the final cost figure is 44 (assuming 1 energy costs 1 currant). The breakeven point for selling a full stack at a time is 49c each (after fees & commissions, and for 1 pc it's 51c).

    At 59c, no one's making a loss, even if you're selling 1pc at a time. 
    I have certainly looked pretty hard before pricing. Have you?
    Posted 14 months ago by ping Subscriber! | Permalink