And I bought one from Hina for 50k, which might have been excessive, but looking at the market now I think I made the right choice to grab it while I could.

Gee. I think I offered 25,000 for one this summer and I was outbid. o.0

The guide has been updated again. Not a whole lot of change going on.

That's why I put stuff at higher prices than what's in the guide. I think people keep just following the guide exactly, and it results in no growth or return on investment. Which just encourages people not to invest in CIs, which means that there's less demand for new CIs, meaning fewer donations and not good things for the site.

We have to be willing to sell for what we think things should be worth, considering their age and level of availability, not just what they've been bought for in the past.

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(speaking of which, I notice that you guys didn't change any prices to reflect how much I've sold things for. I've sold the peeblo for 4K, the wood sprite for 7K, and the dove wings for 8K)

I'm with ya Cami on that, which is why I have sold my last two CI sets for 3k. I don't know who decided that all CI sets should be work 2k during the month they are released.

As for updating the guide, we use an average to set the high/low prices. So any extreme sales one way or the other won't make changes to the guide unless you sell many of them. This is the best we can do, because sometimes we get people who sell items for 50% off or something, and we can't let those deflate prices falsely either. I see for example that Peeblo only has 3 recorded sales near the price you've listed above, so they don't outweigh the other lower sales just yet...I will go back and double check though :)

Originally Posted by DariaMorgendorfer

I don't know who decided that all CI sets should be work 2k during the month they are released.

... ouch. :gonk:

Haha, I'm not the one who 'decided', but I have consistently selling large amounts at 2k/set. I knew I was selling lower than what people would have paid, and didn't see a problem with it (nor do I think those who bought from me did either.)

2k for a set when they come out, whaa? That's crazy. O__O

When I was selling monthly items earlier in the year I sold them for 1,333 gold AN ITEM and was turning people away.

I usually buy current month CI sets for 2k to 2.5k, though. Unless it's really difficult to get them, I usually get turned off by prices any higher than that.

I usually buy at around 2k, though sometimes I'll go a little bit over. I think it's actually a very fair price for a CI set right now. Since the amount of gold that can be earned from games went down, pure gold has become worth more. So... I don't think CI prices have become stagnant, if anything they've already increased (even though they're at the same price because the value of gold has increased slightly).

EDIT: Lol, that's sort of confusing. I don't know how to clarify what I'm trying to say though, so if anyone gets what I'm trying to say here, that's wonderful. xD

I ditto what Iro says.
I usually buy 4 sets. 2 at 1.8k before the month and 2 at 2k after the month starts and they are revealed. That's basically the income of one of my accounts maxing out on games every day (which I don't/can't do now).

/shrug/
Not sayin' I'm poor or struggling, just... meh. Game gold decrease will influence how much people are willing to pay.

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Haha, I get it Siri. i think I said that. ish. But... yeah, I get it.
xD

I think during the month where the CI's comes out they should be around be around 2k - 2.3k maybe, and after the month goes by they should go up....maybe? But this isn't fair only because if I was selling CI's again I would want to sell them for around 3k I don't know, I guess let people sell them how they want since every one think differently.

I agree with 2k per CI set, actually~ =O <3<3
I like that it's cheap enough for new and old users to save up for (a couple days of gaming can help immensely), but not TOO cheap. I wouldn't mind more than 2k, actually, although I probably would lessen my purchases every month if it were to rise too much, especially since I can't buy them with real money and have to use Mene goldies to get my sets for the month. ^^;;



Btw, would anyone know if the Valentines' Day 2010 EIs still cost 200g to 300g each? =O
I personally find them too cheap, but I don't know. D: How are sales for this? :x The most recent one is Cami selling a Love Knot Hairpin for 1k, so, yeah. @_@;; Should I sell my spare EIs from said event at the same price, or stick closer to the price guide?

Ryl: Sell for what you think things are worth. If no one else is selling them, then that makes you the authority.

Things are not worth what they price guide says. They are worth what one person is willing to sell for and the other is willing to buy for. The price guide is just a reflection of what things have sold for in the past, not a directive of what to continue selling them for.

That's why the prices, for the most part, almost never seem to change on the price guide. People are just like "The price guide says this and blahblahblah" but then you look at the date said item was last updated and it can be 2-3 months back.
This is why the items never seem to inflate, or gain worth imo. /:

I see~ =O <3<3
Well, I guess I'll sell them closer to Cami's price then. Even when they first came out I never really believed that they were worth 200g per item only. xDD;; Especially since people held on tight to them back then (and still continue to do so today). >3>;;

I'd just hate to cause artificial inflation by pricing stuff too high, is all. :x Natural inflation is all right, but, yeah. ^^;;

It's not really artificial though? :'3 I mean, if they sold for 200g when they came out per item, how can they be worth only 300g per item now, almost a year later? Tis natural they raise in price. xD <3

I guess. ^^;;
Anyhows, I've put the items up for sale now. We shall see then. XP <3<3

I'm against artificial inflation, but am fully for natural inflation.

My shop currently values some items at the high end of the price guide, and some of the older items as higher than the end of the price guide, because they don't sell often that I've noticed and I think they're more valuable than what's currently listed in the guide.

If no one is willing to agree with me and value them that high, then the items can either sit until people start agreeing with me or I may decide to lower it by a bit until I get bites. That's just how it works.

As Cami said, if an item hasn't sold for awhile/rarely sells and you feel it's worth more than what the price guide lists, then try selling it for what you think it's worth. It's only artificial inflation if you decide it's worth significantly more than listed. ie: An item worth 500g according to the Price Guide is suddenly valued 1.5k three months after the last recorded sale, and it's not an extremely limited item. (As an extremely limited item might be valued three times its high end three months after the last recorded sale if everyone knows there aren't very many of them.)

I agree with Cami, .Simplicity. and CK. You should set prices based on what you want to sell an item for, or think it's value really is. As one of the main people who edit the priceguide, I see prices stagnating because that guide has become some kind of rule of law. I am extremely cautious of allowing one sale to "inflate" an item's value, but if an item consistently sales for a higher amount, I then do adjust the guide accordingly. That is also why I don't feel okay with assuming an item's price is set when there have been drastic differences in sale prices and/or almost no recorded sales (for items such as the SNGs or MIs).

The priceguide is merely meant as a tool to help everyone know what an item's average price has been, it is not intended to be a Menewsha rule as to what items should or should not sell for, or anything like that. We should see items naturally inflate. For some reason, we often don't and I personally wonder if that is due to the priceguide. So then is the priceguide keeping prices unnaturally low?

Personally (and this is just me speaking as a member; not as a moderator or the person who adjusts the priceguide) I want to see the CIs I pay actual cash for increase in value over time. It's one way I can not only support the site, but support my ability to get rare items from before I was a member of Menewsha. 2000k gold seems low to me for a CI item that is over a year old (such as the steampunk headgear). If CI's increase in value, maybe people will actually purchase more of them during the month of their release, which will help increase site funding and help keep Menewsha strong and growing. Again this is just my opinion and not intended to be taken as anything other than that.

Also, I have been trying to update the guide at least monthly, if not more often; however if an item's price has not changed..You won't see a change in the "last updated" at the bottom of the post. I only edit an item's price when there has been value change. So if it says "last updated 8 months ago" that means that either there are almost no sales of that item, or the sales that we have seen have been consistent with the price listed. That does not mean the whole guide hasn't been updated, it just means that post did not need updating. Does this make sense? I also leave a post in here when I have updated something to help everyone out:) If there are other ways I can make the guide better, I am always open to feedback. It's a work in progress:)

I agree wholeheartedly. I used to buy 10 to 20 CI sets every month as an investment. I didn't donate for them because I didn't have the money to, but because of my demand, someone donated for those 10-20 sets.

But I just don't see the point anymore. Not if two to three years later, the worth of an item has only gone up 1 to 2K. I'd rather have my gold to buy commons that I can enjoy now. Since my demand (and the demand of others) has gone away due to a lack of inflation, less money is being donated to the site.

Inflation is GOOD for the site. It really is. It shows a growing community, it shows that it's worth donating to the site or investing in a way that encourages others to donate to the site. It makes people care about rare items.

I'll fully admit that I set all of my prices high, but I've also sold several items at my prices--because no one else is selling them, and because they're items that users want. If someone is willing to pay more for an item, then it's absolutely worth that much. That's not artificial inflation. As CK said, if items don't sell, you let them sit there or you lower the price. I generally let mine sit because I'm not in a hurry to sell anything.

I do think that the Price Guide does in some ways hinder inflation. Part of that's just because there are so few people buying and selling, but people seem to think that things are just plain worth what the price guide says, not that the prices are constantly changing.

I feel like it's a double-edged sword.

Inflation is good for the site, but too much inflation leads people to desperation, which leads to hacking. Mene is small enough that the staff is topnotch in fighting against that. I was thinking in the "bigger" terms, as I do hope Mene's user base grows. So many users (myself included) keep saying or thinking, "Please don't let this become like Gaia..", and I think one of the things preventing this is the economy.

We only have a few sets of items that the general user base will probably never own. Most CIs from 2007 can be obtained with diligent saving, even if they are more expensive (slipper set, Sash of Chaos/Scarf of Order) because they are stagnant for the most part.

But I gotta say, like Cami I wouldn't donate to make a stockpile. I would donate for two sets (one for use, one for storage), but if I knew inflation would be a winner, I'd donate more. I think I put $100 into the site in March of 2008, but the number could be off a few bucks here or there. I've always put faith in wing-type items. Overall, I'm happy with their current worth.

I know a lot of the user base is all "CASH SHOP IS EVIL" but that would be a sure fire way to get me to donate to the site... :/

I'm sure my viewpoint differs from many others. I own one of every item on the site, which is why I would donate for cash shop items, and why I tend to overpay for SNGs if I'm not lucky enough to grab one.

I absolutely would go for cash shop items, if it was the right items. I think the cash shop is a great idea for things that people are always going to want, like back wings, halos, devil's tails. Staples, I suppose.

But I also know that so many people object to the idea of Mene becoming "like Gaia" and would object to a cash shop entirely on those grounds. They'll assume Mene is being greedy, even though Mene really needs that money to survive.

Oh, definitely. I wouldn't go for cash shop items similar to commons and whatnot. The "staples" as you mentioned are what I refer to. Things that are a little bit too special for your regular monthly item.

I agree about the price guide being stifling when it comes to natural inflation. :x And admittedly, I'm one of those who too often rely on the price guide's values and see them as "set in stone", but not all the time. It is, after all, a price guide, right? But I also agree that it shouldn't fully dictate the prices, especially for older items.

For us older users, it's easier to see a trend and use natural inflation to our advantage. I mean, we've been here long enough, especially since some of you guys have even been here since 2007. Because of that, we can "see" the bigger picture. But, if were taking into account those who're relatively new to the site, how are they supposed to know that X item only inflated Y amount despite such a long period of time? I'm referring to some of the less popular 2007 CIs and a good number of 2008/2009 CIs as well.

Basically, if you're new here, it's a lot easier to see the price guide as "fixed", as it suits your purposes more. ^^;;

As for the cash shop... I won't object to it, because Mene does need some extra income to get better in the long run. But the items sold in the cash shop have to be "worth" real money? xDD;; I agree with the devil/angel wings and stuff being part there. But yeah, I can see why many will just complain about it. D:


DariaMorgendorfer:, I have a suggestion for the price guide. Why not have it say after every item when it was last sold? =O It will help others decide if they should or could sell stuff at a higher price that what's stated in the price guide. For example, if something is priced at 200g, and I saw that it was last sold 5 months ago, I'd be more inclined to raise the price on said item.

It's gonna end up being more work for you though, and I'm sorry for that. >.<;; I know you're a busy woman. :x But I really think this could help, since people often overlook the "last updated on ___" part of the post, since it's not even technically "part" of the post, hehe. ^^;;

Thoughts? =O <3<3