As the customer, how do you treat the "1 plat undercut" in bazaar?

Discussion in 'The Veterans' Lounge' started by Jonny Panic, Sep 20, 2014.

  1. Jonny Panic Augur

    The title pretty much sums it up, but just to go into detail...

    When someone has item Y for sale in the bazaar for x plat, and another has the same item in bazaar for x-1 plat, how do you respond? This is probably more relevant for those of us who AREN'T regularly Scrooge-McDuck-ing around in plat.

    I also imagine the responses differ for some folks depending on whether the item is a single-shot purchase (like a piece of gear) versus a supply-item purchase (like food or tradeskill supplies).

    When the price is low overall, I don't worry about it much... but when the price of something (be it a one-shot item or a supply purchase) rises to where a 5% or 10% difference is significantly more than 1p, I feel a little insulted. It's not really a deal at all.

    Someone sells an Ethernere Greatclub for 6k, someone else sells it for 5999, I buy the 6k one. Someone sells Ethernere Essences for 370p each, someone else sells them for 369p each, and they're both well-supplied, I buy the 370p ones. Although right now I'm not buying either, just advertising in chat to avoid setting a buyer up and inciting a buyer price battle.

    I just feel that the 1p undercut is more of an insult than a deal.

    Thoughts?
    Aanuvane likes this.
  2. Burdi Augur

    I think we should introduce the broker bribing feature for evils race to solve this problem.
    In essence, Good guys must do a minimum percent cut, evil don't.
  3. Uuvin Augur

    I am both a seller and a buyer. As a seller, the 1 plat undercut annoys me - but I just drop my price 5%. if they undercut by 1 plat again I match their price. if they drop 1 more plat I ignore them. I know many other sellers and some are not worth the time it takes to look at what they sell, others are new 1 shot deal type sellers and also not worth worrying about. As a buyer, 1 plat is meaningless. I base my purchases on WHO is selling it. I use my knowledge of the sellers and ignore those I dislike, those that churn materials or do the undercutting, or have buyers that are rip-offs. I would rather buy an item 1- 5% higher in cost than anything from some of these other folks.
  4. Donroy Elder

    If I get a 1 plat undercut, I reduce my price below that by at least 100 and sometimes thousands depending on the price of the item. Usually I price match the lowest Bazaar item otherwise. And just like the OP, if I'm a buyer and there's a ridiculous undercut of the item I want, I buy the more expensive one.
  5. Pikkell New Member

    When I'm shopping I'm usually buying supplies for tradeskills. So I'll buy anywhere between 20 to 100 of an item. I always sort by price and start buying the cheapest items first. Even if the vendor is only selling one or two items. It means more running around the bazaar, but it also encourages people to sell at reasonable prices. At least I hope so. I try to avoid shopping from the obvious farmers with names like Bigsale.
  6. Danille Augur

    I never pay more than the lowest price to prevent price gouging.
    Mintalie likes this.
  7. Annastasya Augur

    For single items i always buy from the seller(s) with an even price, because ...99 guy - Halfling you! This is not the Price is Right. When buying in bulk however, the small undercut turns into a significant savings, even the ..99,7g,4s,2c guy. On the whole, however, Halfling that guy too!
    Leerah likes this.
  8. Kalipto Augur

    Great post! I've always wondered how other people thought when they saw someone getting undercut by a few measly coins. Here's how I do it:

    If the undercut isn't a significant difference, I ALWAYS buy the one that's more expensive.

    If the prices are the same on two vendors, I buy from the person with the better name. For example, if someone has the name Bazmule or Ilikecats or some stupid name that tries to express I phrase, they're out completely. I buy from people with actual names, fantasy aimed names, to be be accurate.

    If someone undercuts my own prices by a few counts, I'll just discount the item by a significant amount. so say I'm selling for 100k and someone puts theirs up for 99k I'll change my price to 60k.

    Anyway, that's how I roll.
  9. Wayylon Augur

    Undercutters don't bother me, is the peeps that buy all of an item and Jack the price that pisses me off.
    Geroblue likes this.
  10. Garshok Augur

    I tradeskill for plat, so I both a seller and a buyer.

    As a buyer, I always buy from the higher of the two when someone offers what I call the 'Mickey Mouse discount," which is how I view discounts of less than, say 3-5%. C'mon dude - 369 is not a real savings on 370 plat, and 149k is not significant savings on a 150k item.

    As a seller (for tradeskilled goods - meaning that I rely on selling in volume), I match prices with the lowest price. I will usually contact someone trying to undercut by a minuscule amount and point out how 'price warring' is beneficial to neither of us and match their price. If they keep lowering, I will start undercutting them and keep pointing out how they aren't getting any more sales than they would price-matching. If it is someone who is particularly hard-headed, I will reduce the quantity I have up for sale and just keep manipulating their prices until we get to where I think it is worth buying them out, then return to normal.

    Karma catches up to those folks if you dabble in the bazaar long enough. One player (buyer and seller) on the server repeatedly ignored tells and in-game messages from several other players about his pricing. Not even 'I would prefer to keep doing it this way, just flat-out ignoring others, never bothering to reply.

    Then one day he made a mistake on his buyer and a five-digit item became a six-digit item, and he lost several million plat as he was sold several of the item at nine times the bazaar price. When he asked for his plat back, we patiently explained to him that as he had never bothered replying to communications before, he was going to have to live with his mistake. [Ironically, another buyer had made the same mistake two weeks before. I had bought items in bazaar and sold to him until his buy line was exhausted, then returned the plat when he came back to the keyboard. Even though we were economic competitors, we communicated regularly and maintained a good relationship - he didn't make a point of ignoring others.]
    Leerah and Mithrandyr like this.
  11. Addikeys Elder

    It's what makes the EQ Bazaar and market great. Put whatever price you want. Buy at whatever price you want. Why stop at paying 1 pp over the lowest price? Buy the same item that is priced the most. It's your money.

    To answer the question in your title, often times I will pay the lowest price because I value my money. After 14 years the money has added up quite nicely.
    Mintalie likes this.
  12. svann Augur

    I always just buy it at the lowest price. Just look at it this way - if you have the 2nd lowest price then yours will sell 2nd. Be patient.

    And really, if people really did look at prices and buy it at the lowest price +1 do you know what people would do? Thats right - they would price it at your price +1.
  13. Marshall Maathers Augur


    I am guessing people distinguish between seeing 150,000 / 150,001 and then 150,000 / 149,999. I am guessing the people that state they would buy the +1 price only relates to the latter case.
  14. Siddar Augur

    I always buy the one plat higher item if I am buying something and see someone undercutting by one plat. Never once seen a +1 where someone tried to make a price 1001 to get people like me to buy a item instead of the 1000 one.
    Leerah likes this.
  15. Siddar Augur

  16. IDotPeople Augur

    As a buyer, I will always go for the lowest price first, whether it is 10k cheaper, or 1 copper cheaper. If it is TS items, sometimes I'll buy them all, other times I'll buy everything under a certain amount. Could care less what the trader's name is, they all there to sell you stuff, who cares how fantasy it is.

    As a seller, will typically undercut anywhere from 1 plat to 20-30 % on items I just want to get out of my bags and be gone forever. Items I know are worth more, I'm okay waiting until 2nd or 3rd in line to get bought from. However if people are undercutting me too much, just plain do not know what the item is actually worth, I have no problem buying the others out. Finally, every few months, I will do a purge on my traders. All items that are worth less than 1 or 2k or so, just plain get tossed on the ground, they are just wasting bag space.
    Mintalie likes this.
  17. Porterz73 Augur

    I generally never buy from the person who is 1 pp lower unless the item is less than 10 pp. I also tend to avoid the career Baz bots if the price is close.

    Everyone will have their own approach to the 1 pp undercut but I almost always avoid those items.
    Leerah likes this.
  18. Mithrandyr Augur

    win!
  19. Beimeith Lord of the Game

    I'll buy from whomever isn't acting like a , unless I am buying out the whole bazaar on something because I need them all.

    Acting like a defined as:

    1) Undercutting someone by less than 10%-ish on single items worth more than 1kp, (or multiple items under 100p).
    2) Buying over someone for less than 10%-ish on single items worth more than 1kp, (or multiple items under 100p).
    3) Trying to trip up people with prices. (If the prices for something are 100000 setting your price to 1000000 in the hope someone mistakenly buys yours.
    4) Price-gouging / trying to create artificial scarcity. (If Pelts are worth about 100p, and someone buys them all up one day, they don't suddenly become worth 500p).
    5) Setting weird/stupid prices, aka "Rule of 5," if the price isn't evenly divisible by 5, it's a stupid price. (1111p, 1234p, etc.).


    When I sell, I undercut everyone by a significant amount because I hate selling and want it gone as quickly as possible.

    As an example:
    1) If an item is listed for 10k, I'll list for 9k, unless I have multiples (3-4+), then I'll sell for 7.5k to get them gone quicker.
    2) If someone matches my price, I'll lower it. (9->8, 7.5->6.5).
    3) If an item is listed for more than 2 days without selling, and no one has yet matched my price, I'll -still- reduce it further to get it gone. (9k -> 8k. 7.5k -> 6.5k).
    4) I won't list items worth less than 1k plat unless I have a large stack and they are likely to sell as a stack (like Silks/Pelts/Ore etc.)
    5) If an item I list for 1k is undercut by someone else, I'll drop it down to 500, then 250, then 1p. If it doesn't sell @ 1p in 1-2 days I'll vendor it or give it away or destroy it.

    There are a few exceptions to the above. I won't sell certain high-value items (HVI) below a minimum of what I think they are worth:

    If I list a HVI for X amount, and someone matches my price, I won't lower my price to undercut them.
    If someone undercuts my price on a HVI below what I think current market value is worth, I'll de-list mine until it returns to what I think it is worth.

    When I buy, I will set minimum prices I think are fair:

    1) If pelts are worth 100p, I'll buy for no less than 25p.
    2) The more rare an item is, the more I will buy for base price. (Dragon eggs are worth more than basilisk eggs, etc. I won't try to buy them at the same price)



    Suffice to say my traders/buyers are not very popular. For that reason I keep their names anonymous to most people.

    I've gotten many an in-game email asking me to collude with people to not drive down/up the price on things, lol. I just tell them I'm only there to get it sold/bought as quickly as possible and then I'm done. Fighting me on it hurts them more than me.
  20. Serona Elder

    I always buy/bought the very lowest price, under the idea that I want others to buy mine when it's always the very lowest price - even if only by a small amount.