The Main Entropia Universe Profession
While most of us think of Hunting/Mining/Crafting as the main Entropia Universe professions one takes precedence over them all. Its called Trading and to become successful in Entropia Universe one must learn its "ins and outs".
Most of us already immersed in the Entropia Universe think of trading as a side note to everything else but if there was no trade there would be no RCE(Real Cash Economy)whether it be via shops, the in game auction, selling and buying posts on forums, or peer to peer trades in game. Everyone is looking to buy their goods (resources, equipment, services) at the lowest prices while those selling are looking to get the best prices on what they have to offer. The economy in Entropia Universe is a small microcosm of the way trade works in real life.There are many different types of traders in Entropia Universe and I will try my best to explain just exactly what they mean and why some trading is frowned upon while other types are not even given a second thought.
First on the list is the flat out Trading profession. Its a skill less profession (as far as gaining skills from Mindark) but it does require real life skill, tenacity, and a good eye to spot the best deals in the market place. A good percentage of the traders (what I like to call Value added Traders) perform services in Entropia Universe. It can stem from someone consolidating resources to refining certain resources for a better than average return either in their shops, on the auction, or other peer to peer trading. A good deal of the Crafters out there benefit from players who consolidate resources. Most traders work within the confines of the going market price and make their PED(Project Entropia Dollar) from either holding onto resources so when the market price rises they make PED or snapping up small amounts of resources which are hard to sell otherwise at below market prices. Most beginning Traders will start out in this type of trading because it requires a minimal investment and over time its possible to save enough PED to move onto higher priced commodities.
The next on the list I like to call the Player Trader which comprises the bulk of the Entropia 
Universe participants. The main profession of the Player Trader is not strictly trading. They either Hunt, Mine, Craft, or perform so other type of service. They basically sell whatever they acquire from participating in their chosen profession. I call myself a Player Trader because I tend to sell most resources and items I loot via the auction and I usually keep the markups at or below the market prices. Market Prices can be determined via web sites like http://e-pec.info/forum/index.php, http://www.pe-trade.net/ , http://www.peauction.com/index.php, or with the latest Version Update 8.11 we can now see pricing history directly in the Entropia Universe(examples shown above). The Player Trader is what leads me to saying "Trading is the main Entropian Profession" since everyone whether they are conscious of it or not participates in buying and selling goods and/or services pretty much everyday they play EU.
Next, I will only touch upon this since its such a heated subject across the Entropia Universe, are Resellers. Its such a "gray area" between all the different types of trading. Reselling, by many, is considered the worst even though the majority of the population does resell at some point in time and in some fashion. This will be gone into more detail in another Blogtropia post so I don't want to go into great detail but my definition of a "Reseller" is someone who takes advantage of rare items and resources in game and in turn raises the price a great deal more in hopes that someone out there is willing to pay that price. If an item bounces from reseller to reseller to reseller it can dramatically increase prices especially if that item continues to remain in demand and rare. While we all love to hate the professional resellers in Entropia Universe, many including myself ride on their coat tails when it comes time to upgrade or when we happen to loot a great item or resource. There is a very large "grey area" when it comes to Player Traders and Resellers. While I would hate to generalize I think the animosity towards Resellers is the belief that they offer nothing and take out everything but like I said that is for another post for another time.
Universe participants. The main profession of the Player Trader is not strictly trading. They either Hunt, Mine, Craft, or perform so other type of service. They basically sell whatever they acquire from participating in their chosen profession. I call myself a Player Trader because I tend to sell most resources and items I loot via the auction and I usually keep the markups at or below the market prices. Market Prices can be determined via web sites like http://e-pec.info/forum/index.php, http://www.pe-trade.net/ , http://www.peauction.com/index.php, or with the latest Version Update 8.11 we can now see pricing history directly in the Entropia Universe(examples shown above). The Player Trader is what leads me to saying "Trading is the main Entropian Profession" since everyone whether they are conscious of it or not participates in buying and selling goods and/or services pretty much everyday they play EU.
Next, I will only touch upon this since its such a heated subject across the Entropia Universe, are Resellers. Its such a "gray area" between all the different types of trading. Reselling, by many, is considered the worst even though the majority of the population does resell at some point in time and in some fashion. This will be gone into more detail in another Blogtropia post so I don't want to go into great detail but my definition of a "Reseller" is someone who takes advantage of rare items and resources in game and in turn raises the price a great deal more in hopes that someone out there is willing to pay that price. If an item bounces from reseller to reseller to reseller it can dramatically increase prices especially if that item continues to remain in demand and rare. While we all love to hate the professional resellers in Entropia Universe, many including myself ride on their coat tails when it comes time to upgrade or when we happen to loot a great item or resource. There is a very large "grey area" when it comes to Player Traders and Resellers. While I would hate to generalize I think the animosity towards Resellers is the belief that they offer nothing and take out everything but like I said that is for another post for another time. To sum it all up to participate in Entropia Universe means you will be trading or selling your resources, items, and/or services. That means the number one profession in Entropia Universe is Trading - its a huge part of what everyone does almost every day. The question is what type of Trader do you want to become?
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4 comments:
great post, enjoyed reading your taking on the oldest in game profession. :)
you guys are doing great work to introduce hopefully new ppl to the game and giving them an understanding of what to expect when they get in there.
i'd +rep all of ya, but this is not that forum. :P
Trading is ok, its part of the system and its healthy for EU.
Problem is when traders get greedy and become dirty resellers.
The problem is MA allowing hyper inflation to occur. At the moment it's at a level comparable to Zimbabwe.
MA needs to increase supply dramatically to push down prices, or at least supply close substitutes that are widely available.
Limited mod faps anyone?
normal trading is fine. i think if you specifically buy nonstackable items from the auction to sell them right back on the auction you are not providing a service. i think that activity is BS.
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