The Financial Column
"How to invest your silvers and watch them grow"
By Zioust

I hope that this is the first installment of many articles on merchanting in Gemstone. I will try to appeal to two types of players. First, the average GS Joe who just wants to buy a sword or shield to play with, and secondly, the GS merchant who wants to pursue a life of buying and selling. My family has been in GS for over five years now and I've don't a lot of buying and selling, so I hope that by writing these articles, I can save you a few silvers.

There are two basic places to buy and sell things in GS. First is the net, and second is the boards. To be a successful merchant or to find a good buy, you need to pay attention to both. When I was starting out as a merchant, I use to check the boards several times a day. It can be very profitable to be the first one to see a new ad. I've made millions by responding to ads quickly, grabbing an item before anyone else does. When someone finds an item in a box, or puts a rare item up for sale, it usually sells fast. If you're looking for a particular sword or shield, just keep paying attention to the boards and net. Everything, eventually, shows up for sale. Even Db items.

I have several basic rules that govern all of my buying and selling.Rule number one is 'Buy very practical GS stuff'. If someone comes to me with a morphing rod that turns into 15 weapons, all +10, all with fire crits, that they want to sell for 10 million coins, I say 'no thanks.' Sure the weapon is cool, but in reality, no one would use it. Its just 15 bad 2x weapons rolled into one. Buy items that people want to use in their everyday playing of the games. I guarantee you that more people in GS want a 5x fel hafter than a 2x morphing rod but for some reason, the morphing rod is twice as expensive. The most practical things in GS are padded armor, OHE crit weighted weapons, and strong, high enchant shields. They are the items everyone needs. Only buy expensive scripted items if you personally want to RP with them. They are not good 'investments'.

Rule number two is 'Don't be impatient when selling'. The biggest mistake young merchants or sellers make when trying to unload an item is to undersell it. They get on the net with some armor and ask 1 million coins for it. No one responds and they panic, eventually selling it for 500k when it was worth 1.25 million to start with. I've had items that I held onto for months before selling, waiting for someone to meet my price. They always do. On Tuesday night no one may want what you're selling but on Thursday, three people might. Don't sell it on Tuesday.

Rule number three is 'Never buy anything you can't see or that can't be tested'. People in GS will tell you all sorts of stuff about an item. It's a special falchion that runes will appear on twice a year. It's a 'naturally crit weighted' weapon, it just doesn't register on the AI crystal as crit weighted. I never believe anything that I can't test or a bard can't discover when singing to an item. I guarantee you that over ninety five percent of what you're told about something that can't be proved, including the history of an item, is false. And you always have the right to ask that a bard sing to what you're buying. Unfortunately we live in a time when most merchants are dishonest and knowingly lie about what they're selling. Btw, that isn't necessary. I've made plenty merchanting and I never lie about the things I'm selling.

And one final rule this month for the aspiring merchant only: 'Buy things that appeal to many people'. Buy OHE, not blunt because there's a much larger demand. Buy double leather, not plate for the same reasons. And if you want to move into the upper realms of GS merchanting, the 10 million coin sales, buy things that wizzies want. Wizzies have all the coins. The ones who can enchant to the highest level, make the most silvers in GS right now.

And finally, each month, I want to give a tip or two to people about what to look out for or to avoid in the GS economy. First tip: As breakage draws near, some 8x voln blessable weapons will be put up for sale. Don't buy these. They are, in all probability, annealed and will splinter the moment breakage returns. 7x or 6x voln blessables are much better buys. Id actually pay more right now for a 7x than an 8x. No seller will tell you that a weapon is annealed, so don't believe anyone who says one isn't. Tip number two this month, save your silvers now. As the great auction or house auction draws near, people will start selling off valuable items at low prices in order to raise coins for the auctions. Silvers will become harder and harder to come by. Stockpile now. I truly believe the silvers you put away now will buy you twice as much in a month or two.

Hope this is informative. Feel free to email me at Zioust@Magicklass.com if I can give you any advice or let me know if you'd like me to write an article about anything specific that pertains to merchanting in GS.

Zioust

Tips on Thieving and How to Make Yourself Feel Good Doing It
By Anonymous

First of all, most rogues think thieving is bad, and so they don't do it much. But if you can find a way, any way, to justify it, well, it makes it that much easier. For instance, I take this…patriarchal view of the citizens, you see. I'm their gentle parent who kind of watches over them. When folks die, that's bad, right? Therefore, if I see a fallen one somewhere, I say to myself, "You're helping them out, remember that," and I clean their pockets for them. It's very difficult to drag a corpse weighed down with thousands of silvers, and it saves the dragger that much back pain and gets the corpse raised that much quicker. I feel so good about myself sometimes!

You see someone asking for healing? Swipe the gems from their satchels lickity split and tell yourself that you're helping to heal the holes those sharp gems might make in their fine clothing! You see the point now?

Thieving is simply a lesson given that the person just kind of…forgets to ask for now and then. While they sometimes get nasty about it, they really are saying, "I care, thank you!" I'm sure I'd be hugged like crazy if folks knew how diligently I kept their pockets clean. That's the only bad part about thieving; you can't share your good deeds with others and get the pats on the back you deserve.

Other things I like to lend my gentle hand to is mass spells. Folks shouldn't ask for them and I don't like crowds much either. There, two good reasons for me to help the masses again! I bustle through and clean out their pockets left and right. It's the same with opening boxes: if I don't think I get a worthwhile tip, I go ahead and take what I think is worthwhile!

My favorites are the wand sellers. I watch some poor mage cast mass blurs and get not a wand while someone joined to him is selling a wand right in front of his face. I sometimes buy that wand and steal the silvers right back.

Think of me as the Unofficial Wehnimerian Tax Collector, except instead of giving the taxes to Moot Hall I just, well, keep it.

Well, now that I've shared the moral upside of thievery, I've a few practical tips. Don't steal from healers or clerics, first of all. Even I can't feel good about taking their silvers when they heal me. It's also not very sporting. I do admit, though, that a few of my brethren think that they should be stolen from first for just the same reasons. Also, never try to steal with wounds or scars; it's just that much more difficult. Always steal from the young first because that way they will have stories to tell when they're a grandparent like me: "Why, when I was young, the rogues were really tough! They stole your silvers and would swipe the chair out from under you and then they would bawl you out for not having more!" See? Once again, you're turning a potential evil into a true asset for them.

Remember to hold your head up high and do the right thing. If your will falters, reassure yourself by saying, "I love my people so much…"