(63) Armoring.

I've never had a non-guildmate craft an item for me, what's a reasonable tip for something like this?

To me it depends on how much trouble you and the crafter went through to "trade" and what the general profit margin (the difference in value between materials and finished good) on the item is:

If you traded mats for finished good, a good starting point is ~90% of the profit margin (if the margin on the GTN is 10,000 credits, tip 9,000)

If you traded mats and a fee for finished good then no additional "tip" is required. that is what the fee is for (but you might want to compare that fee to what the general profit margin is)

If you had to go to him and it was a bit of a trek, then decrease the tip slightly.

If he came to you and it was a bit of a trek, consider increasing the tip slightly

If you sent materials by mail and then got the finished good by mail, a good starting point is ~85% of the profit margin (if the margin on the GTN is 10,000 credits, tip 8,500)

If you sent materials and a fee by mail, or got the finished good with a COD fee then no additional tip is required. that is what the fee is for (again check the fee versus the profit margin)

If he got the finished good back to you quickly, then increase the tip slightly

If he delayed getting the finished good to you, then decrease the tip slightly

honestly, for armorings, mods, enhancements, etc., the tip is letting them craft for you in the first place because they keep and use or sell all the crits.

that said, people normally tip me anywhere between 50-250k

and, unless it's a server first schematic, if anyone wants to charge you a fee, tell them to get lost.

when it comes to earpieces, implants, and relics, however, crits benefit the customer, not the crafter. most of them that i've seen craft for tips as well, so i would suggest tipping at least 250-500k since they get nothing else out of it.

I dont just give them the tip. I give them the whole thing.

Dry.

Take into account that some items are more popular while other are less. Some of them are known by many crafters, some by very few or even one. One hilt is not equal to another hilt. A might hilt 27 is known by a dozen of crafters. A Resolve hilt 27 is known to two crafters on the server. Both hilts might be on equal demand, however there is less competition and "supply" on the Resolve hilt. It's obvious it will be more expensive and, the most important reason for which IT SHOULD BE expensive (500k-1 mil) to craft are schem-stealers. Lucky "nabs" who got server-first schematic are happy that someone ordered like 5-10 armorings from them @ 300k each. They craft and the other day they see the person who bought'em crafting them himself and undercutting the original crafter severely. From there the armoring spreads like a disease and every c-tech on the serve has it.

Oferring someone, who is exclusively crafting a rare hilt/armoring/barrel on the server, anything below 500k is an insult and a joke. You must understan that many of them go through a lot to discover those things.Not everyone is lucky enough to discover a schematic on the first try. If they got something server first they will want to make money out of it which they well deserve. Selling those things cheaply has very bad results as a day after some lucky moron gets it and starts flooding, entire crafter population has and he has a hard time making credits.

500k-1 million for a unique item is nothing compared to the time you must spend in the Operation to get your stuff. I know guilds that are still stuck at TFB HM 8 man since 1.4.

Do not be surprised if you are charged over 500k for a rare item. It is the only way to ensure that it's gonna last long in your hands and nobody will steal it. If Bioware would change crafting system this would not be the case but it's the only way to make money on your exclusive stuff. I managed to hold my Resolve hilt 27 exclusive for over a month. People had no alternative and they paid either 3+ mil for the hilt itself or 1 mil crafting fee. Once somebody else got it we fixed prices and he was glad and happy with it as he realised it's bringing hell lot of more credits than stupid undercutting. Then after month and half some fool came in and ruined it all for everyone. Was good while it lasted.

TL;DR

Reasonable fee depends on the grade 27 item's rarity and popularity:

If it's known by many crafters and is quite popular (most sought-after stats) - >-180k-250k

If known by few crafters and is quite popular - 300k-500k

If known by one-three people on the server and is quite sought-after - 600k-1mil

PS

It is sickening to see how people, early on, are acquiring their gear through sweat and blood and the fruits of their labour are later exploited which allows the rest of the server to gear up extremely quick with minimum effort. For me high prices for rare items is a matter of principle. There are many items I can't make and yet I don't spit or laugh at the crafters who make them and want to make as much of them as they can before someone steals it. If most players were those proper end-game raiders they'd understand.

(63) Armoring.

 

I've never had a non-guildmate craft an item for me, what's a reasonable tip for something like this?

Might depend on the type of armoring.

A guild mate and friend makes the guild members their armoring most of the time yet she refuses to charge them. A lot of hers are either blue quality or purple qualty.

I would check to see what quality of armoring you are gettting and go by that.

Tip what you feel like tipping, regardless of how many people know the schematic for the item being crafted. If the tip is required then its no longer a tip, and be sure to call out people who do that. Charging a fee is fine if they want to do that, but they should at least be honest and call it a fee.

It is sickening to see how people, early on, are acquiring their gear through sweat and blood and the fruits of their labour are later exploited which allows the rest of the server to gear up extremely quick with minimum effort. For me high prices for rare items is a matter of principle. There are many items I can't make and yet I don't spit or laugh at the crafters who make them and want to make as much of them as they can before someone steals it. If most players were those proper end-game raiders they'd understand.

There's already a thread for the super elite to air their grievances about the non exploit; please leave the off topic insults, hyperbole, and invective there.

Take into account that some items are more popular while other are less. Some of them are known by many crafters, some by very few or even one. One hilt is not equal to another hilt. A might hilt 27 is known by a dozen of crafters. A Resolve hilt 27 is known to two crafters on the server. Both hilts might be on equal demand, however there is less competition and "supply" on the Resolve hilt. It's obvious it will be more expensive and, the most important reason for which IT SHOULD BE expensive (500k-1 mil) to craft are schem-stealers. Lucky "nabs" who got server-first schematic are happy that someone ordered like 5-10 armorings from them @ 300k each. They craft and the other day they see the person who bought'em crafting them himself and undercutting the original crafter severely. From there the armoring spreads like a disease and every c-tech on the serve has it.

 

Oferring someone, who is exclusively crafting a rare hilt/armoring/barrel on the server, anything below 500k is an insult and a joke. You must understan that many of them go through a lot to discover those things.Not everyone is lucky enough to discover a schematic on the first try. If they got something server first they will want to make money out of it which they well deserve. Selling those things cheaply has very bad results as a day after some lucky moron gets it and starts flooding, entire crafter population has and he has a hard time making credits.

 

500k-1 million for a unique item is nothing compared to the time you must spend in the Operation to get your stuff. I know guilds that are still stuck at TFB HM 8 man since 1.4.

 

Do not be surprised if you are charged over 500k for a rare item. It is the only way to ensure that it's gonna last long in your hands and nobody will steal it. If Bioware would change crafting system this would not be the case but it's the only way to make money on your exclusive stuff. I managed to hold my Resolve hilt 27 exclusive for over a month. People had no alternative and they paid either 3+ mil for the hilt itself or 1 mil crafting fee. Once somebody else got it we fixed prices and he was glad and happy with it as he realised it's bringing hell lot of more credits than stupid undercutting. Then after month and half some fool came in and ruined it all for everyone. Was good while it lasted.

 

TL;DR

Reasonable fee depends on the grade 27 item's rarity and popularity:

 

If it's known by many crafters and is quite popular (most sought-after stats) - >-180k-250k

If known by few crafters and is quite popular - 300k-500k

If known by one-three people on the server and is quite sought-after - 600k-1mil

 

 

PS

It is sickening to see how people, early on, are acquiring their gear through sweat and blood and the fruits of their labour are later exploited which allows the rest of the server to gear up extremely quick with minimum effort. For me high prices for rare items is a matter of principle. There are many items I can't make and yet I don't spit or laugh at the crafters who make them and want to make as much of them as they can before someone steals it. If most players were those proper end-game raiders they'd understand.

Since when is anything server-first since the server merges? It's impossible for a group of crafters to not know a lot of the more desired schematics. I don't mean 5 or 10 either, I mean 30+ or so at any given time.

For a guildee? Assuming we're talking someone who is established in the guild, and you give them the mats, then it should really be zero tip and you should be given the crit duplicate. You're in a guild together right? Raiding will be easier the more people have better gear.

If the duplicate's not required then stick it in the guild bank and some other guildee will come in for it - and if you're like ours, you charge a reduced price for items taken out - hey, a contribution to repair bills/stims etc.

Your guild rules should cover nefarious behaviour though, if said guildee takes and then is found to be selling them, should be a matter for the guild master, hopefully you've got good and trustworthy guildees though.