The Art of Pricing

If you have ever played a MMORPG, you're probably familiar with this scenario. You're in town resupplying when someone shouts out, “How much is this item worth?” Usually my response would be “Whatever you can get for it.” However, with crafted and dropped items being comparable, that answer won't work for Vanguard.

A new approach will be required. It's more likely that the dropped items will be priced based on how the crafters price their goods. But how does one begin to figure out what their items are worth? That's what we'll examine now.

Time

Time is an important consideration in calculating your costs. Time is money! You need to remember to charge for it--figure out what your time is worth, and charge appropriately. You need to remember to not only charge for the time involved in making the items, but also the time required to get the recipe in the first place, as well as for material acquisition.

Time is a valuable commodity. You have every right to charge for it, but be reasonable. Obviously, the more in-demand your services are, the more your time is worth. Remember to recalculate your time costs periodically if things should change, such as higher demand for your goods, longer journeys due to resource location changes, and so on.

Materials Costs

This covers not only the costs involved in purchasing needed supplies, but also the costs involved in acquiring the supplies. Yet again, you have to factor in time, so consider the time it takes to get your needed items. Since you have to spend the time collecting supplies, you can charge for it.

Also remember to cover your recipe acquisition expenses. Remember to calculate in your time, as well as any monies you needed to expend to get the recipe. Divide that amount by the number of that item you can realistically expect to sell to get the recipe cost per item.

Other Costs

There may be other costs associated with making items. These would be things such as any fees involved in accessing necessary workstations, or even fees required just to get into a city where the desired workstation is.

Markup

You need to make profit too! You'll need a markup to accomplish this. Once you've figured your costs to make the item, you need to settle on a markup. A percentage is the best way. Simply take your costs and multiply by the desired markup. Add that number to your costs and you have a final item value.

As you can see, there's a lot to the process that isn't written in stone. Your time costs can vary greatly even from month to month. You'll need to remember to recalculate periodically as things change to keep up to date. The key is to keep current and keep competitive.

After all this calculating, you're ready to sell your item. Of course, that's a completely different subject entirely. Happy crafting!