This is a snippet from a post I sent earlier to the Enchanters mailing
list...
<snip>
The secret to a healthy living with jewelcraft is to define 2 separate
jewelcrafting modes. The first mode is training. In this mode, you equip
every charisma, intelligence, and wisdom enhancing item that you own, define
a set amount of platinum to devote to training, and train until that money
is gone. Sell every item that you create right back to the vendor to
purchase more material to train more.
The second mode is profit. In this mode, you purchase a number of silver
bars (and electrum if you can enchant and craft it as well), a number of
each of the most popular stones (jade, amber, carnelian, jasper), and make
jewelry ONLY when you have a buyer for it. If people ask for items that you
don't have the materials for, make a note to carry a bit of that material in
the future and go get some to complete their order. People have been willing
to wait up to 45 minutes for me to fill their orders. Just keep them updated
to let them know you haven't forgotten them.
<snip>
I think one of the major causes of low prices and market flooding we are
seeing is the crafter's inability to distinguish between these two modes.
After crafting to raise their skill they end up with a pack full of jewelry
that they have to find a buyer for, and more often than not will drop prices
just to get rid of it.
Just my 2cp...
Qinie, High Elf Enchantress
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Lori Martin [SMTP:LMartin@...]
> Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 1999 9:34 AM
> To: 'eqenchanters@onelist.com'
> Subject: [eqenchanters] Jewelry and pricing (long txt)
>
> I wish that price-lists and standardized pricing really worked, but no
> matter how hard we try, it doesn't have much chance of succeeding. Why?
>
> 1) Enchanter Jerks - For whatever reason, there are those who insist on
> ruining jewelcraft for the rest of us by charging little or nothing for
> their wares or by undercutting us at every turn. These false enchanters
> are just interested in earning a quick buck, not in jewelry as a long-term
> and useful skill.
>
> 2) Market Flooding - Even on Prexus (a fairly new server) the silver
> market is already totally flooded. People don't know or don't care about
> the money you sink into the skill, they have seen on other servers or on
> the current servers that the prices are low to the ground and refuse to
> pay a reasonable amount for silver. If we try to save the market, it will
> have to be for electrum or higher.
>
> 3) Non-Enchanter Items - It's even more frustrating to be undercut by a
> non-enchanter selling a similar loot item for no money. They paid
> nothing to get it and can undercut us any day of the week. Given the
> option of paying 7-8 plat for an enchanter-made intelligence ring or 5-6
> plat for a similar loot item with an extra armor class bonus, who will
> choose the former? (example: +3 charisma necklace - a couple plat to make
> if no failures versus a doll that does the same thing - 7 gold to buy or
> free to loot).
>
> 4) We can't make what they want - True, some jewelry (int, str, mana, etc)
> sells decently. But, so many more want mana earrings or intelligence
> bracers or whatever that will never be an option for us. ("What earrings
> do you have?" "Only Stamina ones" "Oh, sorry, I need _____ ones"). Then,
> they go off in search of the loot item that will give them what they need.
>
>
> Does this mean we shouldn't try? Of course not, but don't expect a
> miracle because we set the price for jade mana rings at say 10 pp per ring
> throughout the servers. We need to educate people ... maybe a seminar or
> something where we all get together and sell our wares at the standard
> price and try to let the populace know why we sell them for that much and
> how the +2s and such all add up to help them out.
>
> I'm not interested in making a whole lot of money with jewelcraft (that's
> what my brewing skill is for), but I do want to make enough money to be
> able to raise my skill. For now, I mainly sell back unenchanted stuff to
> vendors or sell/trade for gems with my guildmembers to get money for my
> skill until I get to electrum. Then, perhaps the market will be more
> willing to buy my stuff.
>
> For those of you who can easily sell items for what they are worth ...
> perhaps you can give a seminar to those of us who keep finding ourselves
> with unsellable product and dozens of tells from people who find out the
> price we charge and either say they don't have enough money or run away
> from us laughing to their nearest loot monster.
>
> We can save electrum if we start now. Don't be discouraged, we just need
> to teach people the worth of our products and come up with a valid reason
> for them to buy at our prices.
>
> Thanks for listening
> Dietrich (Prexus server)
>