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Re: Amakuromi Lopulkhina
I have friends that either quit or have decided to just take a break from the game because of problems in the game, both with the system and the community. I've noticed for a very long time now that the JP players have been really keeping their prices high despite the fact that, at least in the first 2 weeks, the prices of items were dropping steadily and as a whole. Well, now that it's been over 5 weeks since release, the prices have exceeded the artificial base that the JP players were holding back then.
Part of the problem lies with the crafting community and then the other part of the blame must be shared by the players as a whole. The problem with the crafting community lies in an anti-social or anti-trade behavior. JP players routinely only trade and deal with other JP players and this may be an extension of their anti-Free Trade stance outside of their game.
(Many people around the world blame free or open trade for their local problems, like jobs being exported to third world countries and then there's also the separate issue of illegal immigration that is an issue with everyone around the world, including Japan.)
This kind of closed community behavior affects the larger community as a whole because you then close off markets and then partition them from each other. This can cause unrealistic pricing trends which start to differ greatly from area to area or from market to market. I'll use the Birdsbeak hammer as an example since I'm well familiar with the product, both from a crafting standpoint and from the view of a buyer (or seller)
Birdsbeak Hammer has always been a pricey item due to the need for one very pricey mat, namely, the undyed canvas. The canvas has held steady around 30-40K for a good long while since release and I would say it wasn't until 2 weeks ago when the prices started to drop. As more weavers started to break into the Rank 20 level (Rank 21 is recommended level for synthesizing the canvas) the prices continue to steadily fall. However, this canvas is also a drop off several ghost type of monsters in the game, and so a lot of higher ranked "combatants" routinely farm for these, driving the prices further down. Curiously, the JP retainers and players continually kept their canvases priced high, around 25k or so. It was only in recent days when the floor collapsed and now I'm seeing these same canvas as low as 10K each in Ul'dah wards.
However, despite the price collapse of canvases, the Birdsbeak Hammers are going the other way. Where at one point two weeks ago they were priced as low as 30K each (I even saw one for as low as 27K) , they're now routinely found amongst players for 40K and on retainers for around 50K to 60K. Many of these overpriced items are found on both JP and non-JP retainers, but exclusively found in bazaars of only JP players (non-JP players usually carry shards/crystals for sale or for purchase)
Here's what I think is happening. Birdsbeak Hammer is only a very low ranked recipe but most players do not have multiple crafts leveled up to routinely succeed on the production of these items. Therefore, there exist artificial scarcity in the number of players that can craft these. However, despite prices on the mats decreasing, many players are trying to artificially keep the prices high on these items, either because these were crafted when the canvases were priced higher or because they want to get as much money out of the public.
I think it's the latter and not the former that is directly responsible for the overprice. But I would also hasten to add that this is also the responsibility of the community as a whole. Impatience and the seemingly abundance of gil from leves are perfect instruments for price gougers. You do not even need to bother with "calibration" of your prices because there will be someone out there who will pay whatever price you ask for an item which should be abundantly found just about anywhere.
This is why I'm a strong proponent of a centralized market which both breaks artificial boundaries created by players (and as a result, artificial barriers to entry) and creates a more truer sense of value for the community as a whole. AKA AUCTION HOUSE
Originally posted by Malacite
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Part of the problem lies with the crafting community and then the other part of the blame must be shared by the players as a whole. The problem with the crafting community lies in an anti-social or anti-trade behavior. JP players routinely only trade and deal with other JP players and this may be an extension of their anti-Free Trade stance outside of their game.
(Many people around the world blame free or open trade for their local problems, like jobs being exported to third world countries and then there's also the separate issue of illegal immigration that is an issue with everyone around the world, including Japan.)
This kind of closed community behavior affects the larger community as a whole because you then close off markets and then partition them from each other. This can cause unrealistic pricing trends which start to differ greatly from area to area or from market to market. I'll use the Birdsbeak hammer as an example since I'm well familiar with the product, both from a crafting standpoint and from the view of a buyer (or seller)
Birdsbeak Hammer has always been a pricey item due to the need for one very pricey mat, namely, the undyed canvas. The canvas has held steady around 30-40K for a good long while since release and I would say it wasn't until 2 weeks ago when the prices started to drop. As more weavers started to break into the Rank 20 level (Rank 21 is recommended level for synthesizing the canvas) the prices continue to steadily fall. However, this canvas is also a drop off several ghost type of monsters in the game, and so a lot of higher ranked "combatants" routinely farm for these, driving the prices further down. Curiously, the JP retainers and players continually kept their canvases priced high, around 25k or so. It was only in recent days when the floor collapsed and now I'm seeing these same canvas as low as 10K each in Ul'dah wards.
However, despite the price collapse of canvases, the Birdsbeak Hammers are going the other way. Where at one point two weeks ago they were priced as low as 30K each (I even saw one for as low as 27K) , they're now routinely found amongst players for 40K and on retainers for around 50K to 60K. Many of these overpriced items are found on both JP and non-JP retainers, but exclusively found in bazaars of only JP players (non-JP players usually carry shards/crystals for sale or for purchase)
Here's what I think is happening. Birdsbeak Hammer is only a very low ranked recipe but most players do not have multiple crafts leveled up to routinely succeed on the production of these items. Therefore, there exist artificial scarcity in the number of players that can craft these. However, despite prices on the mats decreasing, many players are trying to artificially keep the prices high on these items, either because these were crafted when the canvases were priced higher or because they want to get as much money out of the public.
I think it's the latter and not the former that is directly responsible for the overprice. But I would also hasten to add that this is also the responsibility of the community as a whole. Impatience and the seemingly abundance of gil from leves are perfect instruments for price gougers. You do not even need to bother with "calibration" of your prices because there will be someone out there who will pay whatever price you ask for an item which should be abundantly found just about anywhere.
This is why I'm a strong proponent of a centralized market which both breaks artificial boundaries created by players (and as a result, artificial barriers to entry) and creates a more truer sense of value for the community as a whole. AKA AUCTION HOUSE
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