A Coin Conundrum: Gentry Versus Freemen

[Starstarfish]

Second, the silver is now in a limit, so the savings that can come from player merchants vs. npcs will be even more important, opting to seek out merchants rather than going to nearby NPC store.

I think it might be a thing in conditioning folks to sense the thrill of the deal with other PCs rather than the thrill of getting that little automatic ding of bargaining down an NPC shop.

Perhaps we need to introduce the option of a contest of Mercantilism or Charisma

[Puciek]

Second, the silver is now in a limit, so the savings that can come from player merchants vs. npcs will be even more important, opting to seek out merchants rather than going to nearby NPC store.

I think it might be a thing in conditioning folks to sense the thrill of the deal with other PCs rather than the thrill of getting that little automatic ding of bargaining down an NPC shop.

Perhaps we need to introduce the option of a contest of Mercantilism or Charisma

It's already there, but people don't use it. You are welcome to suggest that when discussing price with people, best way to popularise it . Check out help contest

[Delphine]

But this, of course, will require for merchants to go out and seek the trades, not just post an announcement and wait for the mail. I think that hawking wares and street selling are seriously underrepresented.

This. This this this this this this a thousand times over. I've said this before to individual people, but I'll say it again here: You HAVE to PROMOTE yourself. If you want people to buy your shit, they have to know you have shit to sell. Business isn't a, "BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME," game. It has to be a constant plug. C - O - N - S - T - A - N - T.

And I'm not talking about dumping a post on a public board and walking away. Who reads public boards? (Okay, I sometimes read public boards, but whatever. And someone is probably going to reply to this and say, "I read public boards..." My point is that throwing up a post on a public board isn't enough.) You should be bringing up your business in your RP. You should be constantly trying to drum up work. Is no one buying? Then try something different. This is a hustle game and if you want to be "top-of-mind" (ie. if someone thinks, "Man, I really need xyz. Who should I go to?", you want to be the first person they think of), then you have to work at it.

Take my advice or leave it, but I work in Public Relations IRL. Knowing how to promote businesses is, quite literally, my RL job.

[Starstarfish]

Some people don't naturally IRL have a personality like that to naturally know how to do that. Maybe we should ponder up a list of tips for folks who might not inherently know how to do that.

[Delphine]

Some people don't naturally IRL have a personality like that to naturally know how to do that. Maybe we should ponder up a list of tips for folks who might not inherently know how to do that.

I hope this doesn't come off as snarky because it is 100% sincere, but have you considered Googling? I would suggest you look for "guerrilla marketing" techniques. Obviously some of the tactics wouldn't fit because of theme, etc. But you could get some ideas that way, at least

EDIT: Also, "how to personally brand yourself," might be a good one. And just, "how to promote a small business," is always good.

[Puciek]

It actually doesn't have to be elaborate at all. Simply shoving into conversation that you sell good, ask do they need a new comb, or maybe is their furniture rotting, or "Oh my your clothes are so tattered! Let me sew you new ones" is all you need to drastically increase your sales. If you are not charismatic as a person, use descriptive words + stats to spread charisma around, nothing wrong with that!

[Starstarfish]

I hope this doesn't come off as snarky because it is 100% sincere, but have you considered Googling? I would suggest you look for "guerrilla marketing" techniques. Obviously some of the tactics wouldn't fit because of theme, etc.

I think it's the consideration of things not matching theme wherein people (particularly people new to game) might get into an odd position of using terms/ideas that don't really match up here.

I'm not necessarily asking for myself, more I was thinking if potentially the Silver Belt the like IC Merchant's noober Guide could be updated to include some such tips.

[Delphine]

I hope this doesn't come off as snarky because it is 100% sincere, but have you considered Googling? I would suggest you look for "guerrilla marketing" techniques. Obviously some of the tactics wouldn't fit because of theme, etc.

I think it's the consideration of things not matching theme wherein people (particularly people new to game) might get into an odd position of using terms/ideas that don't really match up here.

I'm not necessarily asking for myself, more I was thinking if potentially the Silver Belt the like IC Merchant's noober Guide could be updated to include some such tips.

I mean, I've considered posting a guide on the board in the guild hall, but I'm not talking about super secret PR/marketing tricks here. I'm talking about the sorts of thing Puciek is mentioning: simply talking about your business. Or host an event at your business. Give out samples. Use moods. Use rumors. Use the public boards (but don't rely on them entirely). That's it. Just basic stuff.

[Starstarfish]

I know, just from experience that is much different in this game than in a lot of others were being a Merchant/crafter is literally just putting things into a shop and people will come buy them, because that's the expectation of how things are handled. So things that might seem like common sense IRL aren't necessarily the sorts of things people are used to. Indeed on other games some of those things aren't really allowed or are against various IC laws/rules or OOC rules.

So it might not really be deep super secret knowledge and should likely (in theory) be common sense, but putting it out there in some capacity would ensure that it is available for everyone equally. Sort of like the whole concept that TI players have the 59 character rule about things they like to buy. No one would know that if they weren't told as that's not a thing elsewhere.

[Puciek]

I don't think anyone disagrees with more helpful helpfiles, so if you are up to it submit them via request board .