OT hammers cost 50 pp each.

[lecompte]

I have a kinda strange stance on this and providing in game services:

If people wanna BUY my services for something (I.E make it worth my time, convince me to leave my camp, stop doing whatever I'm doing) then I charge a premium -- you want me to go help with peggy cloak $$$, want me to come track Hunter/Forager $, want me to help you kill something for your MQ $$, want me to PL you $$.

If people wanna BEG (nothing wrong with begging, in my book, so long as you are prepared to hear no) my services, that happens on MY time, when it is convient for me and it may not be a good time for a while and I sure as hell won't be helping a level 30 monk/rogue/whatever get their epic.

If I'm sitting around in EC trying to hawk (hoc?) OT hammers (not that I do), I'm going to need that dollar incentive considering the risk I'm exposing myself to by handing over strings and to pay for the time I'm sitting around in EC selling them.

[Daldaen]

The risk is a joke.

GMs even stated somewhere that in the event someone stole the strings they would refund them if you petitioned.

There is almost no risk involved. Just minor inconvenience.

[lecompte]

Admittedly, it has been a while since I've petitioned but 1) you maybe waiting a week or more, 2) thier stance may have changed but I'm pretty sure this falls under the heading of asking people to transfer items for you, not supported by staff, don't do it if you don't trust them. 3) Last time I know of someone who lost items to theft of a few items after asking for a transfer (8 months ago), the player who stole the items was banned but the items were not returned.

[Tecmos Deception]

Originally Posted by Daldaen [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Just minor inconvenience.

And people who own 1-2 items ~200k items to use for getting OT hammers aren't willing to be minorly inconvenienced for less than a few thousand plat.

Really is more than just a minor inconvenience though. Recharging 200k items and handing that item to a stranger? Neither of those things is entirely without risk, and even a small risk of losing an item worth that much is a pretty big deal.

[August]

I believe the cost of the hammer is directly related to the plat required to obtain the strings.

It may only cost 68pp to charge them, but you have to look at cost to recoup the investment. If you spent 310K on getting them, you need to sell effectively 62 hammers before breaking even.

that's a lot of work.

JC works on the same principle. Yes, platinum ruby veils only cost me (101+132)/.95 on average to make, but I put the time and money (granted, not nearly the 310k) to make it happen so i can 'print' money, so to speak.

I think most consumers would be flabbergasted at the margins most items sell for. That 12 pack of coke for $5? Probably wholesaled to the store for $3, $1 to produce.

[Daldaen]

If that coke were selling for $50 for a 12 pack when it cost $1 to make, then you'd have a point. There are definitely some things marked up that much in real life. But not that many run of the mill every day things I'm guessing.

But really... What's to stop me from soloing a wizard up to 50, paying 5k for an OT hammer and keeping the strings? Are you (those of you purporting the risk involved) saying that I should be able to keep the strings and sell them as I see for, at the cost of that character getting vilified on boards and RNF. Cause with the anonymity of the Internet and rerolls, that sounds like a pretty easy way to snag 200k. And I'm quite tempted!

I will be the Robin Hood of EC. Taking the riches 200k strings, selling it to another rich person then redistributing the wealth.

[Danth]

What folks charge for hammers probably has less to do with actual cost than with finding the motivation to do it. Someone who's so rich as to be able to afford Strings isn't going to feel like moving his duff for 500PP.

Danth

[Daldaen]

Yes that's definitely part of it.

But 1-2k is pretty reasonable for just using your own OT hammer for 1-2 to proc and get 10 feet from the turnin mob...

[Ele]

it is known

[August]

Originally Posted by Daldaen [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If that coke were selling for $50 for a 12 pack when it cost $1 to make, then you'd have a point. There are definitely some things marked up that much in real life. But not that many run of the mill every day things I'm guessing.

I think you're missing the point. The cost to produce a 12-pack of coke of "$1" comes from the raw components of the coke, the labor that it took to produce said coke, the packaging of the coke, and the distribution of the coke.

in this instance, everyone is saying 'but it only takes 68p per charge!' - which would be the equivalent of me saying 'why do i pay $5 for a coke when the actual COKE - the syrup + Co2 - only costs 3 cents?

You're discounting the costs besides the raw materials. In the strings case, you're completely discounting the EQUIPMENT that is required to produce the OT hammers (2 strings -300k) - not to mention the labor (recharging the strings, the time it takes to get the hammer by porting out there - never forget that time=money).

What we're really looking for is 'return on investment'. If I spend 310K on two sets of strings, I need to perform, at 5k each, about 65 strings to 'break even'.

I need to then advertise my services, be available for those services. Say you put 1 hour in for each hammer via all your combined efforts - that's 65 hours you basically work just to break even, after wasting opportunity cost by investing in strings versus any other commodity that you could flip to make money off of. That's also time you could have used to camp highly sought after drops (if you're an enchanter and you can solo HS, that's quite the opportunity cost).

Basically, the 5k is fair. Owning strings and providing services requires a huge resource allocation, commitment to performing a task, and a somewhat competitive marketplace where multiple people perform identical services. Not to mention the market will bear whatever people are willing to pay

Also disclaimer: I don't own strings. I am a JC'er and I get people who want to buy jewelry for about 5p over the material cost because, and I quote, "I could just buy the materials myself and have you combine them and it costs me nothing". Nothing is more aggravating to me than people who think they have everything figured out and that time/skill/investment has nothing to do with the price of an item.