Ever looked at your shop stock and thought ‘Why am I selling worthless tack for a few measly neopoints?’. Yes? Then this is the guide for you! This guide will help you go from selling Palm Fans and Tiki Tack Keyrings for no profit to selling desirable and rare items – even items you just can’t buy on the Shop Wiz!
When looking for items to stock your shop with, you should ask yourself the following questions:
1. Is this going to sell?
2. Can I sell this at a reasonable profit?
3. Is this the cheapest deal?
If the answer to all three of these questions is yes, stock up. If even one is a no, don’t bother – look elsewhere. As long as you follow that simple guideline, you’ll do pretty well.
But that could work on rubbishy items too. So how do you acquire unbuyable items that you can sell for whatever you want? Answer – look in the shops that sell them in the first place. This may sound obvious but so many people forget this point. In the shops, not only will they be buyable, they’ll be buyable for just a few hundred neopoints. But how do you recognize items of such worth? Follow these easy steps to find out:
1. The Pharmacy and Back to School Shop are prime targets. Everything in there is desirable and it’s easy to recognize the items that will sell for the most. Pick one to start off with.
2. Stay at the same shop for about 20 minutes. Keep refreshing. This way you will be able to see what sells like lightning and what moves slowly or not at all. A good rule to follow is that if something comes in with only one or two in stock and by the time you’ve refreshed it’s gone again it’s unbuyable or very expensive on the shop wizard. These are the bargains you’re looking for.
3. You need quick reactions and a fast connection to do this successfully. When something you’ve identified comes in, click on it straightaway and pay whatever the shopkeep asks – NEVER HAGGLE as someone else will snap up that choice item before you do.
4. Once you’ve got it, keep going back to the shop – these things come in groups and you’ll be able to get a couple more rare items.
5. Check what you’ve got in your inventory and then price check it with the shop wiz. If it’s unbuyable (100,000np or more), put it at about 50,000np – you’ll make a tidy profit and it will be sold in minutes. If it’s very expensive, chances are you bought it at a few hundred/thousand nps lower than the lowest price, so go about 50np lower than the lowest price you can find – again, tidy profit, sold very quickly.
When looking for items on the shop wizard, take the time to search about 5 times for each product. There is ALWAYS some idiot who prices a bottled faerie at 50np. Once you’ve found this fool, move quickly. Other people will also have seen this and it’s a race to see who gets it.
When browsing shops, DON’T buy on impulse if you don’t know for sure that the price is incredible. Some items, especially those with faerie in front of them, sound rare but some are red herrings and you could make the same mistake I’ve made – I bought a flaming fire faerie pizza for 200np and had to sell it at a major loss for 65np. If you’re not sure, check with the shop wizard. Even if it turns out you were right you can use the back button very quickly and buy the item and if it’s sold out, don’t worry – better safe than sorry and more bargains will come along.
Check out the island trading post for some good deals. Always check an item’s worth with the shop wizard before making an offer or you could lose out. Codestones and faeries are good items to look out for as they sell at a reasonable price and you can trade for them relatively cheaply.
The auction genie is a false friend and leads to impulse buying without thinking about an item’s real worth. I’ve found that most items on the genie are there because no-one’s buying them in a person’s shop, either because they’re worthless or they’re overpriced. Stick with the shops, shop wiz and trading post as they offer a much better safeguard from rip-offs.
Once an item’s in your shop, check the price with the shop wizard. If you price it too high, no-one’s going to buy it but too low and you won’t make a decent profit. Aim to get it about third on the list when you search for it on the shop wiz.
Don’t stockpile goods. If there are 100 items exactly the same in your shop, people begin to wonder how much profit you’re making and whether they’re being ripped off. About 5 or lower is fine. Keep any excess goods in your safety deposit box.
OK, sorry this is so long but there are a few last things you need to remember:
If you make a mistake and buy something for too much, don’t worry. Try auctioning it for the same price as you bought it and hopefully someone will buy it or sell it anyway and think of it as a lesson learned. Alternatively keep it and use it as part of a trade on the trading post.
It’s worth investing in your shop as it makes good returns.
Don’t stock tack next to great deals as it looks untidy and people are put off. A few good quality goods are much better.
The best goods come into the shops right at the beginning or in after about five minutes after a restock so try to work out when the shops restock.
Don’t annoy people with backgrounds that mean you can’t see the prices or too many blogs – a shop in the style of the official neopets ones is much better.
Good luck! – Amy