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The difference between a trader and a reseller

Wollongong

Wollongong

Elite
Joined
Mar 7, 2006
Posts
4,675
Location
Calypso
Society
Odysseus Unbound
Avatar Name
Jerry "Wollo" Wollongong
Everybody hates resellers (At least,that's what I gather from the forums), yet...trading can be the most profitable trade in the universe (according to an MA advertisement).

So... is a trader a reseller, and a reseller a trader?

Literally, no... a trader by definition buys something, and then sells it elsewhere without changing the product, allthough packaging may change.

But, in EU, I reckon there IS a difference.

On the one hand, there are some individuals who clear out the market, buying up each of a single item and then put it back on the market for 10% higher, causing inflation along with their profit.

On the other hand, there are those who stand at PA for long times, buying small quantities of goods for a price slightly below auction price, and selling it at market price once they have a large quantity.

When I started, I was really happy with these guys, as they enabled me to keep going. I could not afford to save up 1000 skins so I could auction it off, so I was pretty happy getting a higher price than tt.

Now, I am a bit further. Now, when I don't feel like hunting or anything, I hang around PA a bit, offering to buy stuff for a few percent below auction price. I buy only stuff I have an actual use for in crafting, or items that I would be putting in the auction myself otherwise.

Do I profit from this? Of course: I buy my crafting materials a bit cheaper (but I still lose bigtime on crafting :D ), and on the other stuff I buy (stuff I also collect in hunts myself), I can get a small margin... a few pec here, a few pec there... often after a long time of keeping it in storage... but yeah, small pecs, which helps me subsidize the losses from crafting.

Does the seller profit from this? Of course, he/she gets more than tt for his skins and hides, even at very small quantities.

So yeah, the way I see it, everybody gets better from it. Yet, still... some people approach me (AFTER I advertise the price at which I buy), and then ask me to buy, and get insulted after I put the money in at the rates I advertised. Some closed the deal with one final word: "reseller"... :D

Eh... okay...

So, what do you guys think:
- is there a difference between traders and resellers
- should I cry myself to sleep tonight, now that someone has called me names :D
 
Trader is a nice way of putting it as a reseller in my book...
then again just my opinion...
Traders: Buy to Sell to make Money
Resellers: Buy to Sell to make Money
 
Business is business but a win win deal is best

I buy, sell, trade and resell. When I am selling goods in the market place that I have mined or looted I don't begrudge traders their margin - after all time is money and it is not fun standing around in PA or TP tapping your keyboard.

Selling and buying should work so that everyone wins. When both parties gain there is no reason for resentment or jealousy. But not everyone appreciates this.

At the end of the day no-one can force you to do a deal you don't like. If the price isn't right turn down the trade. Business is business, so don't expect it to be a charity. If you don't like the price there is always the TT or the Auction.

Bad trades usually arise out of misunderstandings and bad communication. Try to make everything clear to the other party - what you want, what you will pay or take for the item and don't mess up the maths. :eyecrazy:
 
This has been covered a thousand times but here's my take again.

The 'bad guys' are those who manipulate the market prices using muiltiple avatars, those who constantly relist the same items over and over again at higher prices, those who use macros/bots to instantly bid on everything that gets listed under market rate, those who try to monopolise the market on certain items by buying everything that's available and holding on to it, those who bid up the price of an item to above the current market rate purely to maintain the 'worth' of an item they own, etc etc.

These people are worthless scum and disembowelling is too good for them.

Buying and selling common resources on the street in PA/Twin/anywhere is a useful service, and as long as you're not misleading people (e.g. by telling noobs that the narc they just found on their first mining run is TT food), there's nothing wrong with it whatsoever.
 
Personally, I think the difference is one may have a moral code, while the other may not ;)

- Nightwolf
 
I see nothing wrong with what you are doing Jerry. You are providing a service here. For us hunters with small amounts of cheap stuff (animal muscle oil, animal hides, etc...), using the auction for 1-3 PEDs worth of stuff is not feasible. Auction fees kill you. The only choice is TT it or have someone else bundle them up. Selling 30-50 PEDs worth it is possible to make a PEC or two after the auction fees.

I look at it as a service. I still make more selling you 200 animal hides for 2.02 than TTing it for 2.00.

Keep doing it. No reason you should feel bad at all.
 
An example of something a reseller would do but not a trader:
Buy every Ghost footguard (took this as example since there was a thread with a guy claiming he did this) available in auction for tt+50 and put them all back in auction at tt+100...
 
My opinion:

Trader - buys for market price and sells after much time again for market price.
Reseller - buys below market and sell for market or more as fast as he can.
 
Hi, there r many types of resellers here. Here is my top 3.

1st: Little fishes. Some buy as u say at lower rates then sell to auct (or most times to real crafters/taylors etc.to save even auct.fees) cca at market price. They add a value to the stacks by their time invested to get bigger amounts and risking money they put in stacks will be lost due to the market fluctuations. Nothing bad at all

2nd: Big time resellers, they buy all items of certain type and relist em in auction at higher MU (causing inflation) They, as u sayed, dry the market buying massive amounts, than place it in auct with higher MU. Again,maybe surprisingly,nothing bad at all. This is free market, price only determined by suply/demand. They just offer. Complaints should also go to those who actually PAY for it, eventhough it would be mistake.

3rd: Collectors/speculators. They get many looted amps/armor sets/weapons/materials/appartments which they speculate on the price growth. As in RL, risks vs profit equation. Something bad about it?

In my opinion, most of complains to the resellers comes from bad/zero understanding of what Free market and RCE really means.

~Eman

PS: If EU goes on and grows, it will be interresting to see,how MA will solve bigger problems like monopoly, cartel agreement etc., which are in RL controlled/persecuted by exact organs and laws. Will they pay a team which will take care about it? Or will there be a law of a jungle? Who will be a first man to get a virtual penalty? :D
 
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This dead horse is starting to smell really rank..lets kick it some more...yea know..tenderize!..

:rolleyes: :silly2:
 
The difference between traders and resellers is exactly the same as between intelligence officers ("ours" and "good") and spies ("theirs" and "bad"). When the guy who buy and sell stuff is your friend/socmate/yourself you call him a trader. Otherwise it's reseller ;). There is no difference besides your own attitude.
 
I think there is a differance.

Reseller Buys an item in auction/from shop, then immediately put it into auction at a greatly inflated price. They will try and force the price up.
Motto- Buy at market, sell above.

Trader Buys stackables in small amounts over extended time periods, so that they can then sell at market price. They are not trying to drive the price up, but are using the fact that an item with a tt of 1pec and a selling price of 103% is only worth auctioning in large amounts.
For a sweater/hunter, who can't afford to wait till they have 10k of an item to sell in auction at 103%, but are happy to sell at 10 skins at 101%, an option not viable in auction with the 5 pec fee, this is a valued service.
Motto- Buy amounts too small to be worth auctioning at slightly below market, and then when you have a large enough amount, auction it at market.

I think there is a difference beyond "make a profit." It's the method they use to make the profit. The trader offers a service that is beneficial, the re-seller benefits no-one but them self.
 
Dorsai said:
Trader
...
Motto- Buy amounts too small to be worth auctioning at slightly below market, and then when you have a large enough amount, auction it at market.
Click to expand...

In that way there are no sweat resellers, only traders :scratch2:

Although in overall you might be right.
 
Hostman said:
My opinion:

Trader - buys for market price and sells after much time again for market price.
Reseller - buys below market and sell for market or more as fast as he can.
Click to expand...

I assume your trader will make profit out of market price change during long time. I think that type of activity better to call investor. Both trader and reseller need to turn around its money quick.
 
Zero difference. Check the dictionary.
 
Mikass said:
Zero difference. Check the dictionary.
Click to expand...

I just did. No entry for Mikass. You don't exist. ;)

We are not talking about A dictionary definition of the two words, we are looking for a definition that is valid for EU.
 
:deadhorse:
 
Dorsai said:
I just did. No entry for Mikass. You don't exist. ;)

We are not talking about A dictionary definition of the two words, we are looking for a definition that is valid for EU.
Click to expand...

No such thing. Why would be valid outside EU and not valid here ?

If dictionary defines a word one way you can`t make up another definition for it.
Of course lots of people use words they don`t fully comprehend, but that`s another issue. ;)
 
Mikass said:
No such thing. Why would be valid outside EU and not valid here ?

If dictionary defines a word one way you can`t make up another definition for it.
Of course lots of people use words they don`t fully comprehend, but that`s another issue. ;)
Click to expand...

actually.. the entire modern English language has been derived over the years by assigning different meanings to words.
 
Nihilist said:
actually.. the entire modern English language has been derived over the years by assigning different meanings to words.
Click to expand...

true, language is indeed a living organism that keeps changing. however there`s difference between a polysemantic word and not knowing the meaning of the words one`s using
 
Mikass said:
true, language is indeed a living organism that keeps changing. however there`s difference between a polysemantic word and not knowing the meaning of the words one`s using
Click to expand...

however.. a word can become polysemantic in ones own mind with a mere thought. - ; )
 
Mikass said:
No such thing. Why would be valid outside EU and not valid here ?

If dictionary defines a word one way you can`t make up another definition for it.
Of course lots of people use words they don`t fully comprehend, but that`s another issue. ;)
Click to expand...

+ rep, as your right.

But, also, not right.

Words start meaning one thing, and end up meaning another.

"Gay" used to mean "happy". Now it means "Homosexual".

"Ni gger" is derived from the Latin word "Niger", meaning "black", that was a descriptive name, with no connotations. Now it's an insult, and a bad one, at that.

"Pathetic" used to mean "Someone to feel sorry for" now it means "a miserable person".

Words get meaning from the context they are used in.

A classic example of this is the word "Spastic".
It used to be a clinical diagnosis for a person suffering from a specific medical condition. it is now called "cerebral palsy" as the original name got used in a different context, and went from a diagnosis into an insult. So the medical condition got re-named.

Why can't I re-define "reseller" and "trader" within EU? I see there to be a difference, just as "The Spastics Society" saw a difference, and re-named them selves "SCOPE"?

(No insult intended. Using the above case for the sole reason to show how the meaning & connotations of a word can change in a short period of time.)
 
how did your mind go there?

i would have used an example like "fair".

but i'm just fair like that.
 
Eh.. I already posted in the first post that literally the words mean the same. But also, that context matters... I liked the intelligence officer vs. spy example... it kinda illustrates it.

What we see in EU, well..what I see anyway, is that there are two types of traders, both with their own strategy. A strategy so distinct, that it deserves to be treated as distinct, and as such, would need a word.

Some have argued here that the evil is done by market manipulators. If so, you shouldn't be cursing about resellers, but about manipulators. However, reseller has become the "accepted" phrase to indicate such activities, which...sadly... also stigmatizes the fair traders.
 
Nihilist said:
:deadhorse:
Click to expand...

Not tender enough yet..still not smelly enough...kick it some more

(am going to have to throw these boots away though!! P U !!, maybe I can give them to a reseller :silly2: )

(ducks for cover)
 
As you point out, trading is a part of EU, so why cry?

There are different ways of playing this game, and IMO all is OK.
 
Alexis Starfire said:
Not tender enough yet..still not smelly enough...kick it some more

(am going to have to throw these boots away though!! P U !!, maybe I can give them to a reseller :silly2: )

(ducks for cover)
Click to expand...

i'll give ya tt for the boots.. i know many a player that would love the bloodstain look on them.

*ducks for cover*
 
Nihilist said:
i'll give ya tt for the boots.. i know many a player that would love the bloodstain look on them.

*ducks for cover*
Click to expand...

Nothing a bleacher can't solve...
 
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