For the life I me I can’t figure out why so many items are selling well below the market average.
I have been checking prices over the last few weeks and 9 out of 10 times the sell orders are well below the indie cost to make it *(even with the best industry skills and BPO’s from all components required to finished product BPO’s.
Only thing I can think of it players are putting no value on their time or the materials they have mined/PI/reacted or even the isk cost of the industry runs.
I’ve run through a number of calulations even if you applied the lowest market values for the base materials before processing into the next lvl components they value of used items for a finished product still costs more than some of these sell orders.
And player wonder why they aren’t turning a profit on indie. Golden rule is always put a value on your time, whether it’s mining, or hauling, cover your costs of reprocessing and doing reactions. As no item costs nothing to make.
Yes I hear some saying “well it costs me nothing to process, do reactions and build in my player structure”, yes this is true, but by selling below the market cost values you’re throwing away isk, If you can make it next to nothing, then use that advantage to get more profit margin compared to you market hub competitors, if you can make a item to market 25% lower than the market value that’s an extra 25% isk you gain.
It’s just dumbfounding that there are players cutting their own throats to get the cheapest quick sell, when they could have a higher profit margin and use that to invest in new BPO’s or items they might want.
Love to hear what others think about this cut price mentality of players in the market hubs.
In some cases you’re right in that the player doesn’t know the true value of what they are selling. Very odd since a simple check of the market they would see an idea of what others are selling (and buying) it for and adjust their price accordingly.
In some cases I think it’s a typo. From time to time I’ve picked up several high end ships at outrageously cheap prices! (usually have to go into low or null but on the whole I think it’s worth the risk, usually).
There is a selling strategy that calls for listing something at an outrageously high price in a secondary market station or a remote area figuring someone will eventually buy it rather than make the run to Jita or Perimeter.
And I also think sometimes it’s an attempt to manipulate the calculation of the estimated prices and regional averages.
It‘s rarely the case that items sell below optimal production cost for long without a reason. Reasons could be, existing stock meets CCP balance change, items come from other sources than production, market manipulation, item is infested with “minerals I mine are free”.
You also may not calculate with the optimal setup which would be nullsec T2 rigged Sotiyo, and fully vertical integrated production.
I dabbled in industry some years ago, and created spreadsheets showing how I could potentially make many billions per month. When I put my first batch of production on the market, I realized just how depressing trading was, and dumped most of my stock below production cost just to get rid of it. With the rise in sales tax and broker fees, this problem will probably get worse, with manufacturers just dumping stock to get out of industry.
Sometimes people aren’t trying to make a profitable sale, but are just looking to sell their stuff in a short timeframe.
Maybe they need ISK right now, got the stuff because it fell off a freighter or the items were gathering dust in a forgotten hangar.
If their sell prices are indeed stupid, put up your items for the ‘correct’ price and wait a bit longer until the other sell orders are gone. Or buy them yourself - you may help your own wallet and help the others sell their items quicker.
