market

Hi all - when a new item becomes available, eg, platypus, the initial suggested price on the market (or rrp) before any are actually for sale is always much, much lower than they end up really being sold for. Can anyone explain to me how this happens, as I can only ever offer these items at a small percentage above rrp. How does that figure end up, usually days later, so much higher? I don't need to know - I've just been curious. xx

 

Hi,

I believe (please correct me if I'm wrong) that the initial value of a completely new item is the CC value of the item as listed in the barn. Once an item has actually been offered for sale in the market (as opposed to simply being available but greyed out), the market price fluctuations take over.

-cpeterson

 

My understanding is that the initial suggested price is based on the exchange value of the item. When the market value surpasses the exchange value, the market index becomes dynamic and the suggested market price will adjust itself based on current market prices.

To someone who doesn't watch the market on a regular basis, this is extremely puzzling because all they see is a huge jump in price in a matter of days. But if you watch carefully, you can get a fleeting glimpse of a few listings of that item at very low quantities at the maximum price available. It's hard to catch them as they are snatched up very quickly, but what these people are doing is driving up the market price. That is, they list at the max price, wait for the market index to adjust to that price, and then make another listing at an even higher price. Rinse and repeat until someone lists at a price that buyers consider too high, which is when other offers start rolling in.

It's a gradual process but it can take anywhere from days to weeks depending on how many people in that market are willing to make the sacrifice and sell these items at a loss to themselves.

 

The opposite thing also happens, mostly with tree fruit, but also some of the artisan products. You can buy most of the regular tree fruits way below the exchange value (shown in the barn), but the market index never goes below the EV. So even though the price of plums is between 30 and 40 cc (in the first pages), when you want to sell plums, the initial value (market index) is 90 cc.

The highest price you can list an item for is 75% more than the market index (or only 50% more if you don't have the market fairy rune.

 

I wondered whether some poor soul had to sacrifice their produce. I've nearly done it myself, but wondered if I was missing something, like the limit being altered a few days in. Worth the waste, I guess, if you've got several of something and intend to reap the benefits later on. And great for the lucky ducks who spot the cheapie item at the right time. Thanks for replies all. xxx

 

I went through several rounds in the general forum to get the official answer.

the initial price is, as noted above, the "donation" price, think of this as the initial base price, if you wish). The price that you see initially when you click on "make offer" for an item will never go below that price. However, as soon as people start actually selling product, then this price gets modified to either the base price OR the average, whichever is lower. This is important because that price you see initially sets how much you can sell the product for. You can sell the product for as low a price as you wish, but you can only sell it for a certain percentage above that base price. People with the correct tree of wisdom rune can go above that.

This is a big limitation when animals are introduced and during some events, as noted above. When a new animal/product is introduced, A few people have to sacrifice and sell product for the price available (sadly, I think it is new players who get sucked in, but I may be wrong). Eventually the price rises.

During events, its a tad different. Sometimes the price skyrockets so quickly that the average cannot actually keep up. Some people with runes can post for higher than others without the runes, so those without runes wind up only being able to put up items for sale at a price well below the existing offers. (there are other anomolies, but that is the rough gist, you can think the rest out_.