Less Supply Equals Higher Prices

[Ronk]

I tested this briefly while buying runes, though it should apply to all vendor aspects. When I bought a couple of runes I went back into the vendor to purchase more and the price had not budged. As far as my memory goes, I recall that if you bought only part of something that the price would go up.

This is why people would get mad if you just bought 10 of 40 black pearl. Because then the other 30 would be jacked up in price. My OSI play time was just before the release of T2A through UO:R and I quit shortly after trammel. Its possible this was something added in the UO:R era though I find that hard to believe.

The other possibility is that I merely didn't buy enough runes to trigger the price hike. Has anyone who buys regs had experience with price hiking? Could it already be implemented?

[Quin the Wretch]

I vaguely recall wondering at times why some prices were oddly high. I remember thinking it was a regional thing and I stopped shopping at those places. No idea what the mechanic was or how it worked though.

Obviously were not talking about factions either..

Shopkeeps should adjust prices based on karma/fame. Not sure if that happens here or not.

[Ronk]

I know with near certainty that the prices went up due to not purchasing it all. Some sort of supply and demand code. What I am unsure of is what era. I believe it was T2A...i.e. always...but I don't know for sure.

[Quin the Wretch]

Not saying you're wrong, but when the vendor restocks the prices are still low which wouldnt really follow your supply and demand scenario.

I do agree there was something that caused some price variation though. I was poor back then and every coin counted.

[Ronk]

Yeah, it was always weird to be but I know what you mean.

It would start with, say, 20 black pearl. If you bought it all, it would restock at 40 but the price would still be low. But if someone only bought 10 it wouldn't restock adn the price would go up. I never understood it but I def remember it happening because I use to grief reg buyers that way, lol.

[Tanglewood]

Prices charged by vendors were definitely determined by supply and demand from 1997 up until at least during UOR. I stopped playing around 2000/1 and remember always trying to be the first to buy the black pearl before others camping out in the mage shops otherwise the price would jump from 5 to 8 or more. I do not ever remember prices not being reflective of demand/supply during the years that I played

The same went for selling items to vendors in town. If you crafted an item and sold it, the more you sold to a particular vendor, that vendor would decrease the amount that they gave you for the same item (but there would be a minimum price which a selling price would not fall below).

If anyone can find this evidenced anywhere that would be great I would have to say I have not experimented this in game and probably should have before posting :p

[Ronk]

In addition to this inaccuracy I found...I noticed that many mage shops have two mages and an alchemist. On Great Lakes the 'small' three person shops always had an alchemist, a mage, and a mage guildmaster. There was always that guildmaster there that you couldn't buy from.

Imagine my surprise when I was buying regs and realized there were two mages at all of the little shops.

In addition, again, on GL, the mage shop in north britain (the one with the water) had more than just three vendors. I believe it had 5-6 (including the guildmaster)