<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2 Final//EN"> <HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Merchant Empires Manual: Trading</TITLE> <META HTTP-EQUIV="content-type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META NAME="keywords" CONTENT="Merchant Empires Manual"> <META NAME="description" CONTENT="Merchant Empires Manual"> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#ffffff" LINK="#aa0000" TEXT="#000000" > <FONT FACE="Helvetica"> <HR WIDTH="100%" SIZE=2 ALIGN="CENTER" NOSHADE> <P ALIGN="RIGHT"> <A HREF="index-5.html">Next</A> <A HREF="index-3.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="index.html#toc2">Table of Contents</A> </P> <H3><A NAME="s4">4. Trading</A></H3> <H3><A NAME="ss4.1">4.1 Buy low, sell high</A> </H3> Being a profitable merchant in Merchant Empires is not difficult. All goods will fetch a higher price at a neighboring port. Being a highly profitable merchant requires balancing a number of important pricing factors:<br><br> (1) Personal relations. The merchant's personal relations to the government that controls the port of sale affects the pricing of goods.<br> (2) Global relations. The global relations of the merchant's race and the race of the controlling government also affects pricing.<br> (3) Distance from availability. The distance to the closest port that offers the good is an important pricing factor.<br> (4) Supply and Demand Index. See below.<br><br> Personal and global relations have a direct effect on the amount of profit that a port attempts to receive. As your relations increase, the amount of profit that the port seeks on a given trade decreases. This means that your bargaining power will also decrease as there is less difference between the price that the port offers and the price below which it will not do business. As your relations increase, your bids will have to be closer to the offered price. <H3><A NAME="ss4.2">4.2 Hierarchy of Goods</A> </H3> First level goods:<br> (1) Biochemicals<br> (2) Food<br> (3) Ore<br> (4) Precious Metals<br> (5) Slaves<br><br> Second level goods:<br> (1) Textiles<br> (2) Machinery<br> (3) Circuitry<br> (4) Weapons<br><br> Third level goods:<br> (1) Computers<br> (2) Luxury Items<br> (3) Narcotics<br><br> <H3><A NAME="ss4.3">4.3 Supply and Demand</A> </H3> <P>Every good has a supply and demand index. This number directly affects the price that the port is willing to offer for a good. As a good is purchased by a port, and the supply increases and the demand decreases, the price that the port will offer for the good also drops. Inversely, as a port sells more of a good, the price that it charges rises as the port's supply of that good decreases. Over time and/or with the trade of lower ranked goods, the supply/demand index of a good will increase.<br><br> A frequently used strategy is to trade in lower ranked goods long enough to increase the supply/demand index of a higher level good, thus increasing profits when your merchant switchs to trading in the the more lucrative higher level good. <H3><A NAME="ss4.4">4.4 Upgrading Ports</A> </H3> <P>If a sufficient amount of goods is traded at a port, the port has a chance of being upgraded or gaining a level. An increase in a port's level brings an increase in the port's ability to defend itself. In the event that port is raided, higher level ports will contain more credits. When a port is upgraded, there is a chance that it will begin to trade in a new good. Ports must be level 5 to trade in the third-tier goods. If traffic at a high level port decreases below an amount that is necessary to sustain it's status, there is a chance that it will downgrade to a lower level. <P ALIGN="RIGHT"> <A HREF="index-5.html">Next</A> <A HREF="index-3.html">Previous</A> <A HREF="index.html#toc2">Table of Contents</A> </P> <CENTER> <HR WIDTH="100%" SIZE=3 ALIGN=CENTER NOSHADE> </CENTER> </FONT> </BODY> </HTML>