Player Features and Ideas Discussion

Hello everyone. As a recent entry into market-dabbling and an economics minor, I've noticed something that is lacking in the current market system: the ability to "price discriminate". Specifically, the ability to price discrimination in the third degree: by identity of the person buying the good. Allow me to explain how this could possibly benefit the game at large.

I have been in Faction Warfare and its space for a cumulative year or so, and have also lived in 0.0 (mostly NPC, though some sov whiel Sodalitas XX was still around). These areas tend to lack certain goods because of high demand (ships, especially, since they're always being blown up!), or if they are available are at incredibly high prices (I saw Rifters for one million ISK in Stain). As not only a producer selling Thrashers in FW space, but also as a member of the Minmatar militia, I would certainly like to be able to charge very fair prices and get a one-up on competitors while also supporting my militia. The issue here is when the enemy militia buys up my goods. Certainly, I am gaining ISK and this is a voluntary transaction, but as the producer I value the enemy lacking ships to fight with at a higher level than the one million ISK I gain from selling the war target a Thrasher. It would be disastrous if the enemy militia decided to clear market and buy up all the ships I'm selling and use them against me and my friends later I imagine this issue also crops up in "freeported" 0.0: a gang red to the station-holders could theoretically dock up, buy ships and their respective fits in the station, and undock in ships able to take down the very people producing and selling the ships in the first place. So what I propose is this: a skill that lets you permit standings-based markups on one sell order per level, up to a maximum of 1000% of base sale price.


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Strategic Pricing:

Proficiency at making price markups based on the reputation of the buyer. Allows the standings-based modification of one sell order's price based on standings per level, up to a markup of 1000% base price
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Of course later skills could be implemented as "Advanced" versions so people with Tycoon trained could possibly markup most or all of their sell orders

Thoughts?

It would help the start-up industrialist, however. For example, just now all of my Thrashers were cleared in a certain market that was lacking them, and have been put back up on the market at a higher price. While I do appreciate the ISK, I also want to offer these ships at a fair cost that is well below regional average price to build up a good reputation. So why shouldn't I be allowed to go into my Transactions, see who is buying me out, and set them red to mark up the prices to them to prevent me being bought out? Certainly, a fellow FW or corp member could try to buy me out, but a further parameter in the skill could be personal standings. As the issuer of the sell order I should be allowed to use my own personal standings list to determine the markup, and if a supposed friendly is trying to screw me over I should be allowed to set them red on my personal standings list to keep them from doing so. The EVE Market as it is now is far too limited in options. In the real world, a firm can choose to sell capital to certain other firms while declining the sale to others (all as the selling firm sees in their best interests). In the EVE world, you simply throw up a sale order and it can be taken by anyone. The contracting system is limited too, as you cannot base those on standings either.

In short, allow sellers to choose who they sell to without having to make a contract each and every single time.

This would definitely add a new dimension to market PvP.

Anything that improves market dynamics is a plus to me.

I personally love this idea, and you can bet that it would be copiously abused during null sec territorial wars; though, I think a better implementation could simply be to modify the existing market interface and functionality rather than making it skill dependent.

This should also be done, but its not a "much better idea" than the OP.

OP's idea should definitely be done. Guy who writes "pointless" is just wrong.

the OP clearly stated the "point"... to allow marketeers to not supply their enemies, or at least ridiculously overcharge them, both awesome ideas.

seller and buyer woudl be terrible to add, then all you ahve to do is look on amrket every few daysa dn see common occuring anmes in the expensive item-lists adn just camp jita with tornados for those players.

like lets say jimmy sells technetium, you implement this... now every day you check amrket and see enw roders from jimmy selling his tech, you realize that jimmy must haul tech into jita everyday, now all you have to do is camp jita until you see jimmy enter grid, and is now dead.

I think this would be an interesting addtion to placing buy/sell orders.

Unfortunately, I don't know how easily standings can be brought into the market system.

How would the Goons "wreck the market"? Set everyone else red and never sell a single thing again? Great! That means others can swoop in and make a tidy profit off the resulting spike in demand.

We wouldn't do this in Jita. We would buy out the entirety of a null sec market with a neutral alt, or a spy in a blue corp, and then we would in the same sell order offer goods to goons to cheaply resupply (Jita +10%) while gouging the local inhabitants (Jita+170%) enough that it hurts them without making them flat-out refuse to buy it.

e: I should emphasize that Jita+10% is pretty par for the course and considered a "good deal" in null sec markets, since it's somewhat dangerous to ship things in for oneself unless one has a jump freighter and a cyno alt, and that Jita+50% is not at all uncommon even in well-regulated hubs like VFK-IV. The simple fact of the matter is that a line grunt isn't going to make a trek to Jita and back to pick up a new ship and fittings when it's time for an op; he's going to buy what's on the local market, even if it's at horribly marked up prices.