Mall information assistant

[Konve]

Originally Posted by Midori Fairlona

If the customer has to pay anything then it won't work.

You are not going to get many people paying 1 PED at each mall/town just to tell what is inside. As the order fee for the auction is 1 PED you will see more use of that function before use of a limited search tool with an equal fee.

I disagree, of course.

There's a lot (a lot) of people who simply pay buyout price on whatever they buy on auction. And I mean even if something's tt+50 they'll pay +75 of 130% instead of 120% - simply to get away from the hassle of waiting and bidwars over a few PED.

So if, for example, that group of people could get a better deal then normal auction price for a fee of 1 PED..

Again, though, I don't like the idea to begin with - I'm just giving counter arguments for the heck of it.

[Midori Fairlona]

Originally Posted by Konve

So if, for example, that group of people could get a better deal then normal auction price for a fee of 1 PED..

But that is the core of the problem. They aren't paying 1 PED for a deal that is better than auction price, they are paying 1 PED for the chance to see if an item they want is for sale (and paying the same price again at each mall until they either give up or find what they want). There is no guarantee that they will find the item they are looking for or, if they do find it, that it is at least 1 PED cheaper than auction.

Also, the idea of a double charging mechanism is entirely impractical from a coding perspective. Why should MA go to the effort of coding a charging system for shop owners at the same time as a parallel system for buyers?

[nvcK]

Mall owners should hire these guys, why does MA have to make them ;P

[Dion Red Strike]

Shop owners and whatnot, do pay a 'tax'... this tax should be for a service provided... MA should implement something like this

[unionova]

I like Konve's arguments. And even if its annoying to run through malls looking for whatever you're looking for, I dont think a mall-auctioneer is a balanced solution.

I would, however, like to see a system displaying the shops in a given mall. For example, using the televator would bring up a display showing which shops are on the chosen floor, with basic information such as; a brief description (provided from the shop owner), owner information and wheter or not the shop is open (and fees paid).

[Konve]

Originally Posted by Midori Fairlona

But that is the core of the problem. They aren't paying 1 PED for a deal that is better than auction price, they are paying 1 PED for the chance to see if an item they want is for sale (and paying the same price again at each mall until they either give up or find what they want). There is no guarantee that they will find the item they are looking for or, if they do find it, that it is at least 1 PED cheaper than auction.

Also, the idea of a double charging mechanism is entirely impractical from a coding perspective. Why should MA go to the effort of coding a charging system for shop owners at the same time as a parallel system for buyers?

To create a psychological block against the fact that you're not just taking out a fee - you're taking two fees but as long as you don't have to pay both you don't need to worry about it.

Originally Posted by Dion Red Strike

Shop owners and whatnot, do pay a 'tax'... this tax should be for a service provided... MA should implement something like this

How about maintaining Entropia and keeping it online? I call that a service.

Anyway taxes are translated into loot, aren't they? I mean it's not decay.

Originally Posted by unionova

I would, however, like to see a system displaying the shops in a given mall. For example, using the televator would bring up a display showing which shops are on the chosen floor, with basic information such as; a brief description (provided from the shop owner), owner information and wheter or not the shop is open (and fees paid).

I agree to this. The shop owner could have a small area in the estate terminal to write the name/very short description of shop which could then be displayed with the info Unionova points out.