Expectations of Plat for Ports or Buffs...

I guess I can understand that providing a service for people and working a character to be leveled and geared to apply said service, that the common courtesy would be to tip? Once I leveled my chanter all I did where ever I went was buff people without expectation. some people offered plat but I found most the time I turned them down. I was having more fun just handing out the Clarity and Augment for fun.

I mean sure everyone wants a character to make plat from spells, heck even on my mage I plan to sit in the Bazaar once Luclin unlocks on Agnarr selling pet toys. I wonder though at what point the expectation's of peoples time becomes a point of demanding payment for services. Sure it can be a two way street in some cases.

I guess what I am trying to say is, when does the element of doing things for people because you enjoy it out weigh the need for profit over time spent?

What is your absolute threshold that you demand payment for your service? thoughts?

Some people have fun casting spells on other people.

Some people have fun buying gear with platinum that they obtained through buff fees/tips/etc.

To each their own.

unless it costs a gem or something to cast then i wouldnt ever expect a donation. Like example the port to hate? thats a must tip imo. Tipping in general shouldnt be required, however its a sign of common courtesy and respect if you do tip when they mention nothing of the sort. i wouldnt have a bare minimum except for the gem costing spells etc.

When a tip becomes mandatory, it's not a tip and I wish people would stop calling it a tip if they expect it, it's like the added gratuity at a restaurant on your bill, it's taking away your ability to determine how good the service was.

Don't we already have 2 threads about this or similar subjects on the front page? I do agree with Kaicera and have stated in the other posts. The only time I expect to be tipped as a wizard is when going to Hate or Sky- You either give me the cost of the stone or you give me the stone. Anything else is just icing.

When dealing with it becomes a headache and finally takes all the fun out of actually helping someone. I used to typically buff and port/TL for free if i was doing nothing, if i got a donation great but i never expected it or required it and often turned them down if someone was nice enough to thank me.

While it hasn't happened much recently, i can remember people asking me for ports when i was in the EC tunnel because in Velious era and responding with something along the lines of "sure, come to EC tunnel and i will port you to any spot a wizard can" and getting a response with something like "can you come get me, i am in Everfrost and need to go to gfay" or something. Or the people who disturbed your group, often training them in the process to get you to buff/rez/port them out of a dungeon.

I use to feel this way before I had a character that could port, and buff. They can set whatever price they wish for their time. You don't have to pay for it, or receive it. Playing my druid I get bombarded with tells for ports, and buffs everywhere I go. It takes time out of my day and my journey to deliver these things to people, and i'm stuck medding afterwards. This is time I could have spent doing something else. I personally never ask for a dime, but I can completely agree with those that have a set price. I'd buff and what not if i'm just standing around, as do most. They wish to ensure their time is well spent, or they could just be doing something else otherwise. Why is this such a big deal?

Tip your porters and buffers ya cheap wads

I agree! Ports save serious time, and in many circumstances also mitigates risk.

Tipping people who port gives them a reason to keep doing it. If all of a sudden everyone stopped tipping, well then I hope you like running everywhere because there will be very few people just sitting there doing it out of the goodness of their heart.

The world is full of givers and takers. The specific behaviors can vary, but it really all comes down to this. Most people don't want to be a sucker if they are giving. and most don't want to be a jerk if they are a taking. So, as a result we get "customary" tips to help us all feel right about the transaction.

If you are hanging out in the tunnel advertising your buffs/rezzes/ports, then tell people what you expect in your WTS auction. They will take it or leave it, and you will vary your price according to demand.

If its tips you are looking for, then 1pp per level is appropriate for ports if they come to you. Price your buffs to the cost of alchemist pots as an alternative.

If someone asks you for a rez, and brings the corpse to you then a tip is normally 100pp. If its a low level toon, just eat the death you knucklehead and quit dying. If someone wants you to come to a different zone and rez them, 300 or more is not unreasonable for a price. Guess they have no friends (none on line anyway).

If you ask someone you don't know for a buff in a random zone, be prepared to be ignored. If you ask for it repeatedly, expect to gain a reputation as a PITA beggar. If you are fortunate enough to get the buff you ask for, then offering a tip is appropriate but more often isn't necessary. If the guy/gal expected plat for the buff they would be in the tunnel. If you have a buff to return, then do it for the person you asked's entire group.

If you need anymore advice on appropriate tipping in EQ, there is a tutorial available in PoK from an NPC named Martha Stewart.

+1

Offer buffs for donation and stipulate it ain't required and I always donate.

Run by me and buff me without me even noticing you're alive and run off before I can turn around to see... and I won't cuz I ain't chasing after people to give them money.

I port for donations sometimes for an hour here and and hour there.
I'd say 20% dont pay, 20% pay 5pp and the rest range from 10-40pp
Most i got was 71pp for a single TL+sow.

all and all it's decent plat for buying potions for alts/smaller items; considering the amount of people porting for donations (usually 2-4 at peak hours in EC ) it's a trivial amount of $ to make.

also it's hot and cold, sometimes i log in and bang out TLS and make 500pp that hour, or make 100pp.

I stopped doing pick ups because I was porting to zones, waiting on people to get to rings, buffing them, then porting them to the new zone and they would give you 3pp for your time. Which for me wasn't even so I just stuck to EC TLing here and there.

back in the day when PoP first came out.. I made money selling KEI at the pok stone... it was how you got money to get gear, spells etc. on a progression server I would assume it would be the same. Money was not as easy to come by back then as it is now.
It is still your time whether you are out there farming or sitting in PoK selling spells..

Time is money as they say.

225 mana for a TL takes a bit over a minute to meditate up.

300 mana for a group port + 150 mana for a self port to get me back to where I want to be is around 2 minutes to meditate up.

300 mana for SLN, 200 mana for Chloro, 100 for DS, 40 for SoW takes around 3 minutes to meditate up.

Every time you take mana out of my mana pool, in the era where long KEI isn't available, and FT items are in, I'm sitting around recouping the mana. That time I could spend running around killing stuff making plat.

Think about how much time you are saved getting a TL from Lavastorm when your group at Sol B collapses, to Toxxulia to join a new Hole group. Pay for that time you're saved by not running.

When I was porting I would say I was porting for donations, so yeah I expected a donation, most common donation was 10-20p with the occasional big tipper 50-100p. If people offered me 1p I happily accepted it and sent them on their way.

People would occasionally ask how much, I would simply reply whatever they wanted. Had maybe 3 or 4 ppl click the TL box and leave without paying. Didn't rage at them in tells or add them to a "list" or anything though.

Ports aren't an essential service that the community is obligated to provide, it's a time saving convenience so as somebody else said, tip your porter you tightwads. Or else run your tight those 3 zones instead.

What are your guys thoughts on paying people for imbues? How much is reasonable for like x20 stack...takes mana and time but not much else.

Oh yah Extended KEI was a big money maker.

I expect a tip when I explicitly ask for one in my spam. If I didn't ask for one, I don't expect one. If I don't get a tip, I don't say anything and I don't blacklist or any of that . I just move on with my life. 95% of all people I port/buff tip when my spam mentions it.