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[NiteStar]

Was brainstorming about shops in the game. Currently, we have three types:

1) Standard shop
2) Random shop
3) Player shop

Its' the third type I'd like to focus on here, and I have a suggestion for how to improve it:

Right now, items are wiped out during map resets, which happens about every 2 hours.

Instead, why not turn it into a consignment shop?

Players would drop off the items they wished to sell, and when another player would purchase it, it would be placed in the player's bank account, minus a consignment fee.

I know that there's an in-game player shop option available right now that's working, but there are a few issues with this:

1) It's not intuitive; the interface is very difficult to navigate
2) Inventory is difficult to manage
3) Players can't play the game AND run their shop at the same time

Using the special shop as a consignment shop alleviates these issues, as it uses the game's already existing shop system to function.

As for capacity, that could be handled either by an item limit or a time limit (say, 30 days). The latter is my preference. After the limit expires, items are removed from the shop.

Additionally, players could pay an extra fee to keep items in the shop to sell longer, or to give items they designate preferential listing/display treatment.

There's more thought to be put into this and the discussion is on-going right now with a few folks in-game but I think it deserves some thought/merit.

Not sure though if the player or the shop should set the price. Perhaps both? Or perhaps trade/bartering could be incorporated into this?? For instance, a player doesn't have enough money to pay the exam value of an item but makes an offer at the consignment shop. The Post Office delivers notification of this offer (or selling player, upon entering consignment shop, is notified of offers), and can accept/deny the amount being offered for such items. The item would then be sold to the purchasing player and the selling player's money would be deposited into the bank account, minus the consignment fee.

BTW, the standard consignment fee should be at least 25%, if not great (up to 50% max though).

Thoughts?

[Cleo]

I was thinking of something like this myself: an area like the regular shops, but a shop for all different types of items (shields, armour, helms, weapons, etc). An NPC would be in charge, and you could set up an item to be sold for a price you want. Then the item would be placed automatically to one of the shops depending on its type.

To buy an item, on examine the item's ID would be shown (#20, #113, etc) along with the actual price, and you could tell that ID to the NPC to buy the item for the specified amount of money. The items in the shops would not be possible to buy by taking them out (so charisma would have no effect on lowering the item's price), and it wouldn't be possible to drop items there either.

As for capacity, I think both item limit and time limit would work: 15 or 30 items per square perhaps, with an expiry of 7 days (not adjustable; it should be enough). If an item is expired it's sent to the player's post office (making the post office used a bit more).

The NPC could also search the shop for an item you want to find and tell you where it is (along with its ID/price, so you can buy it quickly if you want, for example).

[NiteStar]

I like the part about unsold items being returned to you via the post office -- hadn't thought of that!

I think 7 days really isn't enough. If you don't want to go with 30 days (my preference) then how about 15 days? Split the difference kind of thing?

Also, Gramlath had some ideas for a quest tower, which could incorporate shops. I suggested that a quest would have to be completed (given by a town NPC) to gain access to this area, and successively higher levels of the tower (which would offer higher-level quests & shop items) would be accessible by completing higher-level quests, given by town NPCs). This sort of consignment shop could be set up in the tower ....

And, um, Lippy & Gramlath were talking about a ways to completely re-do the shop system to make it a bit more elegant and in-line with how other CRPGs do the buy/sell thing .... which might change how a consignment shop would be implemented in the game.

But still, if you can implement it sooner than the overall buy/sell redesign, that would be really cool!

[ghost101]

I use the PO I send items that p[layer's collect, but I send them when and if they are offline.

[idicus]

im all for it, it would let me drop off eq that was really good for players that are looking for Items without having to wait on me to login and then ask about it.

[NiteStar]

I love this: 5 months, 1 week after this discussion was opened, we have in-game implementation! 

[Mamoru]

Well, think of all the things that were implemented within a day I'd say
~Kiana~

[Floozy]

Thank goodness nobody even mentioned 2 weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ddhanna]

you had to go and bring that up........

[NiteStar]

-5 to Floozy! 

[idicus]

LOL 2 weeks? Bah, humbug! we have passed Dia by a long time ago!

[Mamoru]

Unless you people have any other suggestions related to this type of shop, I'm closing the suggestion because it has been implemented.
~Kiana~

[NiteStar]

Shouldn't there be more than four floors?

Perhaps a floor just for books, where books can be sorted according to level, grouped either by 10 or 25 or some other number? (e.g, books level 1-5, 5-10, 11-20, 20-35, 35-50, 50-75, 75-100, 100+)

I think that expansion of floors for categorizing and subcategorizing objects should be open.

[Cleo]

The point of the floors is not to buy/sell items inside them, but to easily and efficiently store items up for sale. The fact that you can pick up items from there to buy them is an added bonus. But you should really use the clerks for searching/buying items (and of course selling).

[NiteStar]

Some users may prefer to browse by the floors. #JustSaying.