Welcome to Gaia! ::

Now before we begin... vending is NOT the same as exchanging. Vending does not require interpersonal interaction with other users. Also, I did not make this guide on my own, it's a conglomerate of information from other venders, vending guilds and various price guides. I can't guarentee results. With vending, a single mistake can possible cost you a night's worth (or more) of profit. In fact, a bad decision could bankrupt you. So vend at your own risk.

Common vend/exchange terms:

1k = 1000g
AB = Auto-buy
SB = Starting bid
TO, T/O = Taking offers
PURE = Gold only

Remember, venditor emptor (seller beware) and caveat emptor (buyer beware) both apply on the vend!

DOUBLE CHECK YOUR PRICES! Don't just trust any price guide, they are not the law but merely suggestions.

It's not a place for the meek, it's harsh and you'll soon see why.

You are a vender here. Your sole goal is to make a profit. You are not a charity or a bank. Don't let your morals or ethics get in the way of your profit. Exploit or be exploited. I will discuss this in depth in a later chapter.

I can't stress this enough. If you truly want to be fast at making gold, you need a fast connection. If you want to be the one to grab those cheap sealed letters or underpriced donation items, you need to have a FAST connection speed. If yout don't have it at home, consider libraries, school comp rooms, or other means. You can be successful at vending on a slow speed, but it's alot more difficult.

Oh, and copy-and-paste your password. Everyone else does, so you need to in order to have any shot.

You'd be amazed at how many people sell trunk/giftbox items on the vend for less than sellback. This is one of the quick ways to make a buck. Consult a priceguide and try to remember as many as you can. I've bought more than my fair share of android prostetics and fresh grass skirts for less than sellback. Keeping a running memory of these is helpful, because if you try to look up the price the item will be gone before you get the chance.

Know your math. People seem to love selling large amounts of fish on the vend for less that what they could get from Logan. Seedkins and Biters seem to be particularly confusing to a large portion of the gaia populace. If you can do the math in you head, you'll come out on top every time.

EX: 75 Seedkins - Sold on vend for 350g. Sellback = 525g. Profit of 175g.

It might seem small, but every little bit does help. The justification for profit is profit.

Know what you are buying and know the profit margin. Don't buy an item for 12,999 when there are 5 more going for 13,500. The best you could make is 250 gold, and that's way to much to spend both money and time wise. Look for a decent margin.

Another tactic is to search for item value gradients such as Letters being worth less than the item. Buying the letter, opening the item then reselling the item for more is something that venders often do.

Another aspect could be in regard to if you have a large supply of a certain item. You can buy up other items up to the point that you want to sell at, usually 2-3 itemsm then you can sell at the lowest on the vend price. If you see anyone selling lower, just buy em up and put it up at your price.

Trying to always be the lowest on the vend isn't easy, but it's the way to make the fastest buck. But someone else just put an item in lower...

Undercut, undercut, undercut! If someone puts an item in for less and you can afford to sell it for lower, put it in at 1g or 5g less. Try your best to keep your prices low so they sell first. The more transactions you make, the more profit will follow.

Nine times out of ten, someone will either PM you with a stupid/begging offer, or offer you a decent amount but a few k less than you are asking. Don't send trade.

More than likely this person will go and sell your item up on the vend, so make your own rules. If you are uneasy about selling, don't do it. Someone else will come along to buy your item.

I love how people sell "junk items" for 50 - 100 gold. Funny thing is, alot of vendors just let these items sit. Buy them, and buy them constantly. You can sell most the items later for 400g. That's a 400% + profit! So what if it's only a few hundred gold? If you buy enough of them, you'll be making more than you would with a great deal of other items. Which brings me to my next point.

I know some people make a decent amount off of them, but I find store items to be time consuming and weak in profit. Aside from a small list of items, most of your commons will sit and rot in your store for a while before someone buys them. Again, if you see an item for less than sellback, buy it, but be wary of items that are within 75% of store price. This excludes Duckys, Bao and Fairy Wings though, as they are decent enough moneymakers.

So you spent 50k on donation letter(s) thinking you would make some cash, and honoez! A whole bunch just came up for the same price. Sell the letter off and take a little loss. You need to have a steady gold supply, and getting bogged down trying to make a tiny profit or even breaking even can harm you greatly. If you get truly good at vending, a small loss will become miniscule.

So now you've made some profit and you've accidentally sold an item for far too cheap. Perhaps you forgot a zero or typed a 0 where a 9 should've been. Try PMing the buyer, ask nicely, explain the mistake but if they don't reply or say no. Drop the topic. You screwed up... plain and simple. There is a second confirmation window that requires your password for a reason. Learn from the mistake.

What about if you pick up someone elses misprice? Well, this is purely upto you. However, as a vender your concern is profit and while I won't tell you what to do in this situation. It's perfectly fine to take the item and ignorelist the user. It's not your concern and the vend rules are clearly in your favor. Don't feel bad, you just made a profit.

Ooooh... now I hate these. Sometimes people will get their accounts hacked and the hackers will sell their items for 1g or very cheap. When you suspect that those items maybe involved in a hacking, got to the Q&F and GCD to confirm it. Make a thread about it if necessary. Read up on the seller's posting history.

If it is indeed a hacking, send the items back in a trade with a reasonable title but DO NOT complete it. Show the user that you are willing to return the items but demand compensation (at least to break even). Also, wait for a mod to formally get back to you. I've heard of situations where items were returned to the user only to have the hacker sitting there ready to do it again. Wait for formal instructions from a mod and be firm. Vending is not a game.

Now this is intended as a joke of course but it's something that all venders should take to heart.

Gaian Rules of Acquisition: http://www.gaiaonline.com/guilds/viewtopic.php?t=1398716

Enjoy.

What's with sealeds this month? gonk

xP They're like 7k..

Or maybe you're right, the dark side is calling.. ninja