Player-Owned Trade Shops

 

NOTE: This page will cover the mechanics of buying, owning and running a player shop.  If you wish to browse what the current shops are selling, visit Xygon’s listings at http://www.playershops.com.

 

Official Documentation, With Updates

Thanks to Valanis for help filling in information gaps

 

A Trade Shop is a PC (player character) owned and operated business. Unlike NPC (non-player character) shops, which carry a pre-defined inventory, owners of Trade Shops can sell anything and everything. The SHOP command provides all of the tools you need to run your shop.

 

Acquiring a Trade Shop

 

The first step in acquiring a Trade Shop is to stop by the local shop district to visit with the Shop Permit Authority. It is in this office that you can buy a deed for a shop, as well as buy permits for additional rooms for your shop if you are a Premium member. To purchase a permit, you must hold citizenship in the town in which you seek to own a shop. The price for a shop permit as well as extension permits is as follows:

 

One Room

100k

Two Rooms

150k

Three Rooms

200k

One Room Extension

75k

Two Room Extension

150k

 

To buy a permit, ASK CLERK ABOUT <option>, where <option> is: one room shop, two room shop, three room shop, one room extension or two room extension.

 

If you are Premium, it is possible to start out with a one, two, or three room shop, or you may purchase a one or two room shop and then purchase additional room extensions. Each Trade Shop can be a maximum of three rooms in size. Basic members are limited to a one-room shop only.

 

It must be noted that there is a limit to how many shops are available (usually 5 shops per room) and shop permits are only available if a shop space is open to be claimed.  The Permit Authority will continue to sell permits until the shop spaces have been filled and will sell more permits than the number of available spaces, so buying a permit does not guarantee a shop.  Permits do not expire, however, and may be used to claim a shop in the future.

 

Once you have purchased a shop permit from the Shop Permit Authority, you must find an appropriate location for your shop. There are Trade Shop districts in each town where all shops are located. Holding your permit in your right hand, use the SHOP CLAIM command to claim a shop in the area of your choice. There is a 5 shop maximum per room, so if you use SHOP CLAIM in a room with 5 shops, it will not succeed. Only the character that purchased the permit can use it to claim a shop.

 

NOTE: There is no confirmation to claim a shop in a specific room.  Make sure you know which room you want your shop in before you use SHOP CLAIM!

 

To add more rooms to your shop, purchase a permit from the Permit Authority to extend your shop and stand in the main room of your shop.  Then use SHOP EXTEND PERMIT <direction> to add your new room.

 

If you wish to change a room’s direction from the main room use SHOP EXTEND <current direction> <new direction>.

 

Shop Décor and Setup

 

After claiming your shop, go to the local Trade Shop Furniture merchant to choose the appropriate furniture and décor, including a sign, door, roof and interior items. Interior items consist of display cases, tables, and other furniture décor for each room of your shop. When purchasing furniture, you can indicate which room of your shop to put it in. The Trade Shop Furniture merchant will notify you of what piece it replaces. While inventory containers, signs, and decorative items can be purchased anywhere, large building materials such as facades, roofs, walls, floors, and ceilings can only be bought locally, due to the difficulty of transport.

 

The containers that will hold the sale items (tables, for example) have a limit to the number of items they will hold. The Trade Shop Furniture merchant will provide information on the containers. Each Trade Shop room can hold a maximum of 25 items. Therefore, a three-room Trade Shop can have up to 75 items for sale at a time. Use the SHOP ARRANGE command to arrange the furniture in your shop to your liking.

 

When ordering shop furniture, you must specify which room you wish your furniture to be placed in if not in your shop’s entry room.  For example, if you wish to order the item that is number 1 on the list for your room to the east of the entry, you will ORDER 1 FOR EAST.

 

In the case of multiple items in the same room such as containers, make note of which item will be replaced if you buy your selection.  If you wish to replace a specific item but ORDER says you will replace the item you wish to keep, add SWAP on the end of your order command, after specifying which room you wish to place the item in if not your main room.

 

For example, if you have a silk-covered dress mannequin and an intricately carved ebonwood stand in your entry room and you wish to replace the stand with number 1 on the order list, typing just ORDER 1 may replace the mannequin and not the stand.  Typing ORDER 1 SWAP would replace the stand if ORDER 1 would replace the mannequin.  If your mannequin and stand are in your east room and typing ORDER 1 FOR EAST would replace the mannequin but you wish to replace the stand, use ORDER 1 FOR EAST SWAP to replace it.

 

In all cases, when you ORDER, you will be told the room title the purchase will be placed in (and direction from main room if necessary) and the purchase price  You will also be told which item will be replaced and if you may receive a discount for trading in your existing item, if any.  You will then be asked to confirm your order.

 

Lists of furniture available for purchase in the different towns may be found on Tierus’ page.

 

SHOP SIGN lets you write on your sign to describe your wares. Each room can have one column-formatted sign, which can be purchased at the Trade Shop Furniture merchant. Use ]] (two right brackets) to insert a return.  Signs have a limit to how many characters may be written upon them, so plan your words wisely!

 

SHOP ROOF toggles the visibility of your shop's roof (provided you purchased one from the Trade Shop Furniture merchant)

 

You can close your Trade Shop to the public by closing the portal on the outside. You'll be able to let yourself and group members in, even while it is closed. Closing the shop will not stop anyone inside from purchasing items, which makes it possible to hold private sales.

 

Tips for Effective Selling

 

Use the SHOP SELL command to add an item you would like to sell to your display case or table. Hold the item in your right hand and use SHOP SELL <price> to put the item for sale on your display. You may also designate which container you wish to place your items up for sale in by using SHOP SELL <price> <in/on> <container>. If you want to remove it from sale, simply PULL the item from the display.

 

Shop owners may have their items loresung by a bard or assessed by a warrior to obtain information about the items such as item bonus, weighting/padding or enhancive properties.  If the item is placed for sale within 45 minutes of the loresong or assessing, the information will be visible to customers when they GET the item.

 

Not all items may be placed up for sale in a shop.  Paladin-bonded weapons and items with light-reactive glimaerstones may not be sold.  With few exceptions, items can only be placed up for sale if they do not contain other items.  Placing items up for sale will not clear any attunements, so if an attunement can be cleared, be sure to do so before you put it up for sale!

 

Partnerships

 

SHOP PARTNER allows you to offer partnership to someone. This person must be in the room and needs to accept the offer. You can have up to 4 partners for your shop. Typing SHOP PARTNER by itself will list your partners and give usage to name new partners or clear existing partners.

 

Each partner can sell items in the shop and access their profits. The shop owner does not have any access to the partners’ profits, but the shop owner does have the ability to disband the partnership at any time. If this happens, the partners’ items will be available in closed boxes at the Shop Permit Authority for pick-up, including any profits due.

 

Other Options

 

SHOP INVENTORY lists the inventory you have put up for sale, how much they sell for and how many items have stacked in a single entry.  This verb will only list the inventory for the room you’re standing in.

 

SHOP BAN lets you ban up to 15 people from your shop.  Typing SHOP BAN will list the people you have banned from your shop.  This verb can be used outside your shop.

 

SHOP HAGGLE lets you give your shop a bias towards particular races or professions in the form of a percentage applied to the prices normally charged. Race always takes precedence if its value is not 100%.  This verb must be used in the shop.

 

SHOP TRANSFER allows you to hand shop ownership over to one of your partners. You will be removed from the shop entirely, with no further claim to the location or contents.

 

SHOP DEED turns your shop into a deed which can be sold back to the Permit Authority or to another player. The shop must be cleared of inventory before this can be done.

 

SHOP POLICY displays important information to help keep your shop from foreclosure, and the information is also given in this guide.

 

Profit, Tax and Rent

 

SHOP WITHDRAW turns your shop's hard-earned money into a local bank note without deducting a note fee. You must be in your shop to do this.  Typing SHOP WITHDRAW by itself will also display your current account balance.

 

SHOP DEPOSIT allows the owner to add silvers to the main shop account, useful as a way of making sure there is enough present to cover the rent.  You must have the silver on your person in coins.

 

As a responsible business owner, it is a requirement to pay a 3% sales tax, which is automatically deducted from your sale price, on each purchase. No more than 1,000,000 silvers in tax will be deducted from any one item. This tax is subject to change.

 

Each month your shop will be assessed a rent of 10,000 silvers per room. The rent will be taken from the owner's shop account, so it is wise to make sure there is always enough there to cover costs. A shop that falls behind in rent will be repossessed. Shops that haven't been visited by the owner in 180 days, even if the rent is being met, will also be repossessed.

 

Customization

 

GM-run Trade Shop merchants will have the ability to customize your shop by altering the room name, room description, exterior facade, and furniture items. Players should be careful if they wish to transfer their shop to someone else, as it may remove certain customizations.

 

Trade Shop Policy (Also Given in SHOP POLICY)

 

In order to guarantee proper upkeep of trade shop properties, the Shop Permit Authority requires the following of shop owners:

 

1.     Rent must be paid promptly each month. Failure to pay rent for 90 days will result in the loss of your shop.

2.     Each shop must be visited regularly by its owner (note: visitation by partners does not count toward upkeep of the shop). Failure to visit for 180 days will result in the loss of your shop. Note: A “visit” requires that the owner pass through the portal (either alone or as the leader of a group) into the shop and then use one of the SHOP verb options to check on its status. The Countdown restarts when you enter your shop, giving you another 180 days. Please be aware that this applies to ALL accounts, including those that are temporarily or permanently closed for any reason. If you are planning a Gemstone Hiatus, clean out your shop!

3.     In the event that your shop is reclaimed by the Shop Permit Authority, your inventory will be held by the permit clerk (in a box identified by your name on the floor of the Shop Permit Authority office in the town your shop was in) for a maximum of 90 days, after which it will be permanently lost. Please be aware that this applies to ALL accounts, including those that are temporarily or permanently closed for any reason. If you are planning a Gemstone Hiatus, clean out your shop!

 

Tracking Inventory

 

Shop owners and their partners may purchase shop manifests and registers, respectively, allowing them to keep track of their shop balance and the inventory they have placed in their shops for sale.

 

Manifests can be used by owners to keep track of shop inventory and balance, as well as the current appearance of their shop and the price biases for each race. Registers can be used by partners to track up to 12 rooms in which a partner holds inventory.  In both cases, data is tracked in real time.

 

Manifests and registers cost 50k each and can be purchased from the Permit Authority clerk.