(TFT) TFT: Pricing

["Dave Seagraves" <dseagraves@austin.rr.com>]

Matt wrote . . .

>Being mostly a player, I never liked automatically being penalized on
>the prices I should recieve for items.  I realize that the goal is to
>keep a character's money in check, but if a character or party goes
>through all of the risk involved in aquiring a 14-hex dragon hide, I
>think they deserve the reward of selling it for a fair price.
<snip>

   You're right, they should be able to sell it at a fair price, but I
believe a quarter of list price is fair.  My post left out a lot of
information, including referring to the FINDING MAGIC ITEMS FOR SALE rules
on AW38.  Here's a section of my campaign's ground rules:

Buying and Selling Stuff
   A character may buy or sell any normal items (i.e. non-silver, non-fine,
and non-magical) in the books and in the Rules Addendum.  Buy everything at
listed prices.
   You can automatically /sell/ anything you own and get one-quarter of its
new price for it at any city - a good way of disposing of all those swords
and armor you took from the brigands.  Or - for valuable items such as magic
items, potions, and fine or silver weapons and armor - you can use the table
below.  This table replaces the one on AW39.

9 - Wants it desperately!  Will pay three times its value.
8 - Wants it very bad.  Is willing to pay 160% more than its normal value.
7 - Wants it really bad.  Will pay 125% more than its book value.
6 - Wants it badly.  Will pay twice its value.
5 - Would really really like to have it.  Will pay 75% over its normal
value.
4 - Will pay half again its book value.
3 - Will pay a third again its value.
2 - Will pay 15% over its normal value, grudgingly.
1 - Calls you a thief for asking extra money.  Will take it at fair market
value, or not at all.  May try to /take/ it (so check with the GM for a
possible future late-night encounter of the unfriendly type).
0 or worse - Tells you his friend doesn't like you, and he doesn't like you
either!  Check with the GM for playing out the imminent fight.


   So basically if the characters want to sell something right away (like a
dragon hide) they can get its /wholesale/ value (1/4 of list) by selling it
to the medieval equivalent of a pawn shop.  If they want the list price for
it (its /retail/ value) they'll have to invest their own time to sell it
using the above table and the rules on AW38.
   Long ago I read a book about the auto sales business written by a former
used car salesman.  He proposed a scenario to illustrate this point: Buy a
brand new car at retail price, then come back an hour later and try to sell
it right back to them at the same price!  They'll laugh at you and only
offer you the /wholesale/ value of the vehicle, and this is true at any
other car lot as well.  They're in the business to make money, and they
don't make money by buying and selling at the same price.  If you wanted to
get the retail price you'd have to open up your own dealership!
   Another example: Take ten random paperback books in mint condition and
add up their cover prices.  Then take them to Half-Price Books and try to
sell them.  Certainly you'll get less than half of the total cover price for
them.
   I have no problem with the party getting more than the wholesale value
for that dragon hide, but only if they can (a) find a retail customer
willing to buy, and (b) convince him to buy it from them instead of anyone
else.
   (By the way, I arrived at wholesale prices being a quarter of retail from
Diablo the computer game.  Griswold the Blacksmith will sell you a sword for
10,000 gold, then buy it right back from you for only 2500.  I thought that
sounded about right so I adopted it for my campaign.)
   My apologies if I've overexplained.

Dave Seagraves
Seagraves Computers   dseagraves@austin.rr.com   1 (512) 255-2760
Taco Bell: Good food, false advertising, chintzy portions, criminal staff


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