Lessons learnt from a trade event

[Midori Fairlona]

I have just now finished what is, perhaps, Entropia's first trade event and I think it would be very useful to get some feedback from everyone that was involved or decided not to be involved. This will then provide a good resource for anyone thinking about making a similar event in the future, so they do not make the same mistakes.

I first proposed the idea of an event in this thread and then formally announced the event in this one.

Please post your comments about what you think went well, and what could have been done better. I would appreciate honest assessments, so don't be worried about hurting my feelings.

+ reps to everyone that points out a strength, weakness or improvement to be considered for future events. Also, if you chose not to be involved, what would encourage you to participate next time?

Thank you.

[Sammy2004]

uhm...

2 be honest....
for me i always trade a lot in hades c.
so nottin new there for me...

and more...uhm...
well seen a few more peeps, yes...

hope they stick..lol

furthermore..

nottin..lol...

just trading.

gl.

[Tendor]

The best thing was the beginning. Hadesheim became really crowded and everyone put so much effort into that event.
But soon a few people left and most of the others followed them, but no new traders came back. I tried to attract them with standing there all one, but it didn't really work.
Sometimes, when there was more going in the event's thread, the place became crowded again, but especially within the week it was almost emptry.

I have no suggestions, since the only one I would have had would be the one you already told us. Some kind of regular times when we should meet there would be great.

[whodi]

Maybe next time have someone standing in twin/pa/ anywhere else telling all there is a lot of trading going on in Hades! Just to give everyone a heads up or a chance to find something at maybe better price.

[The Elf]

Originally Posted by whodi

Maybe next time have someone standing in twin/pa/ anywhere else telling all there is a lot of trading going on in Hades! Just to give everyone a heads up or a chance to find something at maybe better price.

this method is actually what drew me to Hades this week in the first place, when i was standing in Twin and *someone* came thru with the free advertising

obviously effective in my mind, and i think Hadeshiem needs something to be happening there anyway, so i'd say good choice of location as well.

if only there were some way to keep the interest up long enough to establish Hades as a trade center, then it *would* help alleviate the spam from Atlantis and Twin.
...hmm... anyone have any ideas here besides throwing more prizes at the traders?? (that could get kind of expensive)

[Sammy2004]

lol


put an auction in hades.
not in service center...
only round table with auctioneer in it.
open and exposed.
servicecenters block the chat when inside.
so make it open auction under the tree or something.

then peeps would come easier..lol

we should try raising a vote and try discussing with marco.

[Midori Fairlona]

Thank you all for your comments so far, however I would like to focus more on the trade event aspect in this thread instead of revitalising Hadesheim. While I would love for Hadesheim to become more popular, I was hoping this thread could be a resource for future event organisers no matter where they decide to stage their event.

Anyway, here is the first lesson I have learnt through organising this event:

[Midori Fairlona]

Lesson 1

Don't be too ambitious on your first attempt. Without any previous examples to gauge the level of support I should expect, I inadvertently set my goals too high. With the benefit of hindsight, I now see that a series of small events would have had a much bigger impact and more success than a single week long event.

Also, plan small and grow from there. First set a single event (perhaps about an hour in length), then leave a gap of a few days or a few weeks and decide if you want to hold one again. Jumping into the deep end with a series of events every day for 1 week was really stressful. Remember to plan time into your schedule to relax with no thought of upcoming events to bother you.

[Midori Fairlona]

Lesson 2

Decide who you want to attract.

To encourage as many traders to attend the event as possible, I allowed anyone buying or selling any product or service to be eligible for selection to the prize draw. What I ended up with was primarily a small group of sellers and an occasional buyer, and most of those buyers were not after the products that many of the sellers had to offer.

I can see two ways that you may be able to counter this problem:

1. Only allow buyers to be eligible for the prize. There are always more sellers than buyers in this game, and sellers will go wherever there are buyers. If you can attract a group of buyers with a chance to win a good prize then large numbers of sellers will come streaming in after them.
2. Focus your event on one area of the market. Perhaps have a mineral trading event or a tailoring materials event. This will reduce the number of traders you will be able to attract, so a lot more work will have to be done on the advertising front, but there will at least be a greater chance of buyers and sellers wanting to deal in the same items.

[Xantonia]

It was a good first attempt and I did turn up on the first few days. Although there were so few people there I did try to hang around (even had a boogie with Elf and a few others) but with time limited in the game I did wander off elsewhere so I could continue crafting or something else.

I will also admit that on occassion I forgot it was taking place.

Perhaps a series of regular small events - i.e. every Saturday for the month of xxxx. By making it regular people will naturally start to turn up. Some advertising on the boards for every saturday so people don't forget. Once a regular pattern has been established people will feel confident that when they turn up others will be there and so it will grow.

Unfortunately any event like this is hard to get off the ground and only perserverance on the part of many people will make this work.