Hey everyone! Don't know if a thread for this exists already or not, but I just wanted to comment that our beloved currency seems to be failing. I've noticed that in player shops, everything is dirt cheap! As a buyer, I don't mind. However, I want to open my own shop soon and at the rate prices are dropping, it won't be profitable at all. When I first started on this server, I thought I was getting a deal when I bought a slimeball for 100r. Perhaps I was just naive, thinking it was a good price, but today you can get them for 45r! I think we as shop owners should raise our prices again! We should, as a group, stabalize the value of the rupee once more! Selling items for less than their value, just to compete with other shops, isn't a way to survive. With the daily bonus aswell, it's not as if money is scarce. Everyone could aford the previous prices. They only meant you savoured the big ticket items, that diamond pick, a bit more since you put that much more work into buying it. The only reason prices have dropped is competition between the various shop owners for customers. It's not fair to the people who toil, getting the resoures to sell. It's not fair to the customer... nevermind, they get everything in this arrangement. I know I'm not alone out there in this thinking. However, I prepose we put it to a vote. If your a shop owner, answer the poll. If your not a shop owner, kindly refrain. If you say no, give a reply and explain your reasoning! Let`s try to get a debate going!
I think the economy is operating fantastically as it currently is. Each server seems to have its own mini economy, with prices varying from server to server. For example diamonds standardly sell for 20-25r on smp, 25-35r on smp2, and 35-45r on smp3. Obsidian sells 1 for 10r on smp1, 5 for 2r on smp2, and 10 for 1r on smp4. This promotes cross-server transactions and interactions, and encourages players to visit other servers for trade and purchasing. Player stores will be so low as to not make any profit. Some stores are cheaper then other stores for certain things, and more expensive for others, but in the end everybody makes money.
Wow - I have never seen Obsidian 10 for 1R anywhere, and I travel all over every server looking for it sometimes... could you point me in that direction?? Regarding the value of the Rupee, I think it depends on what types of players are currently on our servers. Some players like to build and create beautiful and / or useful structures on their property in town. These players sometimes would just prefer to buy their materials, and focus on building rather than mining. Mining is dangerous and time consuming, and normally not what a builder craves. These players shop around for the best deals on the materials they need, and usually stick with a shop they enjoy after a while. Other players (like me) very much enjoy going out and gathering the raw materials to sell. I spend my days hunting slimes and blazes, and mining glow stone, obsidian and lava. These are items I have developed techniques to gather quickly, and that my shop is known for selling cheaply. I like to think that I have the some of the best price on SMP2 for these items... but I don't try to stock everything in the game. You can't come to my shop looking for pistons or amour... I don't stock those. And so the economy works well - buyers and sellers, builders and miners. I have only been on the server for a month or so, and already have a (ridiculously) large amount of money saved up. This is because I shop around for good deals on products I sell, and then I set my price a few Rupees lower - like Wal-Mart! I understand that this can drive down the prices overall, and that price wars can make the R seem like it has lost value a bit at times; but this is always good for the consumer. After the price drops low enough, there will be a floor that it will not go through. If I didn't believe that 39R for my slimes was worth my time to mine, I would stop selling them at that price. If I can't keep them in stock because the price is too low, then buyers will be forced to look elsewhere and buy at higher prices if they really want the item. Supply and demand will always drive production and pricing. At this point, I have set my prices as low as I can - I can't even restock the rest of my items lately because the demand for the items I sell most frequently is so high, I am constantly working just to keep those in stock. This means that if someone can produce more than I can and manage to sell for cheaper, they will be able to take business from me. Innovation will also severely impact prices on certain items... recently many new and efficient designs for cobble stone generators and obsidian generators has driven down the prices on these items dramatically. Automated wheat and cactus farms have reduced prices on these items as well. If someone were to develop a legitimate way to grow diamonds in town tomorrow, the price of diamonds would fall through the floor as well, regardless of their actual utility in the game. Overall, I agree with you that prices have been dropping to very low levels on most items on the server. I do not, however, think that this is a bad thing. I believe (and this is my personal opinion) that shop owners will need to continue to find faster and better ways to produce their goods in order to remain competitive in our market. This will always be good for the consumer, and will help to make the Empire grow in beauty and function due to the availability of affordable resources to our talented citizens.
I wish i could. I dont know who was selling it, but it was being mentioned on smp2 the other day and i believe a few people took advantage of it and went to purchase. Personally i am a creator as opposed to a miner, but i do harvest all my own wheat and wool for creations, and get my own sand/sandstone. I find it easier to buy diamonds for tools and cobblestone from player stores, it supports local business and saves me time. That being said though i do enjoy a good mining trip every so often to refresh resources and get out of town for a bit.
