The Art of Pricing

By Charabis

<!-- if (!document.phpAds_used) document.phpAds_used = ','; phpAds_random = new String (Math.random()); phpAds_random = phpAds_random.substring(2,11); document.write ("<" + "script language='JavaScript' type='text/javascript' src='"); document.write ("http://ads.tentonhammer.com/adjs.php?n=" + phpAds_random); document.write ("&amp;what=zone:93"); document.write ("&amp;exclude=" + document.phpAds_used); if (document.referrer) document.write ("&amp;referer=" + escape(document.referrer)); document.write ("'><" + "/script>"); //-->

If you have ever played a MMORPG,
you're probably familiar with this scenario. You're in town resupplying
when someone shouts out, “How much is this item worth?” Usually my
response would be “Whatever you can get for it.” However, with crafted
and dropped items being comparable, that answer won't work for Vanguard.



A new approach will be required. It's more likely that the dropped
items will be priced based on how the crafters price their goods. But
how does one begin to figure out what their items are worth? That's
what we'll examine now.

Time

Time is an important consideration in calculating your costs. Time is
money! You need to remember to charge for it--figure out what your time
is worth, and charge appropriately. You need to remember to not only
charge for the time involved in making the items, but also the time
required to get the recipe in the first place, as well as for material
acquisition.



Time is a valuable commodity. You have every right to charge for it,
but be reasonable. Obviously, the more in-demand your services are, the
more your time is worth. Remember to recalculate your time costs
periodically if things should change, such as higher demand for your
goods, longer journeys due to resource location changes, and so on.

Materials Costs

This covers not only the costs involved in purchasing needed supplies,
but also the costs involved in acquiring
the supplies. Yet again, you have to factor in time, so consider
the time it takes to get your needed items. Since you have to spend the
time collecting supplies, you can charge for it.



Also remember to cover your recipe acquisition expenses. Remember to
calculate in your time, as well as any monies you needed to expend to
get the recipe. Divide that amount by the number of that item you can
realistically expect to sell to get the recipe cost per item.

Other Costs

There may be other costs associated with making items. These would be
things such as any fees involved in accessing necessary workstations,
or even fees required just to get into a city where the desired
workstation is.

Markup

You need to make profit too! You'll need a markup to accomplish this.
Once you've figured your costs to make the item, you need to settle on
a markup. A percentage is the best way. Simply take your costs and
multiply by the desired markup. Add that number to your costs and you
have a final item value.



As you can see, there's a lot to the process that isn't written in
stone. Your time costs can vary greatly even from month to month.
You'll need to remember to recalculate periodically as things change to
keep up to date. The key is to keep current and keep competitive.



After all this calculating, you're ready to sell your item. Of course,
that's a completely different subject entirely. Happy crafting!

style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">How do you price your
crafted items?

Do you have more
ideas for Charabis and our readers?
style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">
Discuss this topic
in our href="http://vanguard.tentonhammer.com/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=4548#4548">forum!