Visions of Easter Neggs, or How to Buy Way Too Much Candy and Rot Other People's Teeth with It by queen_atlantis |  |
NEOPIA CENTRAL - Why should you buy and sell candy? Because it's fast and easy,
can provide a quick profit, and most of all because candy is wonderful! This is
the ideal job for pets (or people) who can't tear themselves away from the windows
at the Chocolate Factory, who can blow their allowances on Neodrops and Sweeties
within a matter of minutes, and keep a half full box of chocolates under their
bed to snarf on in the middle of the night. It's also good for people without
much experience selling things, because it is very easy to learn the tricks of
the trade and become a Candy Master.
Surgeon General's Warning: If you can't handle mild amounts of stress and slight
monetary risk, than this is not the pastime for you.
Getting Started
So you want to sell candy, huh? I got some news for you. It's easy. But, you will
have to do a little work, some thinking, and maybe some basic math. If this sounds
like too much then hit the Back button right now and go read the comics. They're
good. If you still want to become a Candy Seller Extraordinaire, then you'll need
to have the money, know what to buy, and maybe even *gasp* do a little homework.
But, lucky you, I'm here to help you out of your caramel confusion, your dark
chocolate dilemma, your peppermint problems, your -- okay, I'll stop right now,
just read on...
Funding
The great thing about restocking candy is that you don't necessarily need to start
out with a lot of money. Candy can be cheap, and it can be expensive. You won't
need Neopoints to make Neopoints, but you will need Neopoints to make a fortune.
Don't have any money? Go play Sutek's
Tomb until you get a nice score (say 1200), win a couple hundred NP, get an
avatar, and go buy candy. Destruct-O-Match
works, too. The ideal situation is for you to get a good sized chunk of money
for spending without dipping into your savings. About 800-2000 NP is enough to
start.
Buying
The most important part of selling candy is buying it first. How can you sell
what you don't have? That's a tricky bit of physics to work out, and bordering
on the impossible, so you'd best get shopping. Before you buy anything, however,
move any and all PetPets from your deposit box. They can, and will eat your precious
candy. There are documented cases of these kinds of 'incidents', one I know of
which involved a hungry Snarhook and a particularly expensive Chocolate Aisha.
Just thinking of it brings tears to my eyes. The following is a list of things
to keep in mind while shopping. Ignore the last hint.
Helpful Candy Shopping Hints
- Don't buy Strawberry or Lime Jelly anything.
- Sweeties are give-or-take; they can be wonderful buys or humungous losses.
They never sell out quickly, so do some research before buying.
- Neggs are good. Usually.
- Items which have a very low stock number when they are first put up are
usually rare.
- Gourmet candies are safe buys.
- Hit refresh a lot.
- Know your chocolate!
Put all of your money into Tyrannian penny stocks.
I hope you ignored my last helpful hint, it was just a decoy to throw off those
lazy people who couldn't be bothered to read the whole article. I know nothing
about the stock market. Hmmph, imagine that, someone not wanting to hear all
of my wonderful words of wisdom? The nerve... So, back to the chocolate. The
most common items found in the candy factory are crackers of various sorts,
Neopet-shaped chocolates, and chocolate covered items (not chocolate covered
Neopets; I think that's illegal). Sometimes you'll see a meaty Lupe treat, but
they're usually overpriced and not worth your time. Chocolate Neopets come in
5 basic varieties:
- Milk chocolate
- White chocolate
- Dark chocolate
- Orange chocolate
Mint chocolate
I've listed them by approximate value, from top to bottom, least to most. Milk
and White chocolate are the most commonly seen, followed by Dark and Mint, and
then Orange. Dark, Mint, and Orange are your best bets for a good buy, but some
White and Milk chocolates can be extremely valuable. I recommend research. There
are other varieties of candy, such as hard candies, toffee and caramel, meringues,
jellies, things on sticks, and gumballs. Let the buyer beware. If you've never
seen it before or you don't know what it's worth, don't buy it without finding
out its Shop Wizard value. You may miss out on a great deal or you could sidestep
a great ripoff.
Research
Sure it may be cute, and maybe it sounds yummy, but that's no guarantee that
it's a good buy. If you don't know what it's worth, why buy it at all? There
can be large differences between the selling price in the Chocolate Factory
and the selling price on the Shop Wizard. Know your Gourmet candies. Often they
will sell in the Factory for hundreds (or even thousands) below the Shop Wizard
price. Very common items are not a good buy.
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There needs to be a large (positive) difference between the Chocolate Factory
price and the Shop Wizard price of what you are going to buy. By large I mean
at least 100 NP. This will keep you safe for a little while from possible inflation
and deflation, and will provide a nice profit. The Factory routinely sells stuff
with a huge difference in prices. Anything with a difference of less than 20
NP is risky, and less than 5 NP is stupid.
Pricing
If you've read the article this far, then you're a smart Weewoo and can figure
out how to price things on your own. My only advice to you is to utilize the
Shopping Wizard's max/min price functions to find a good price range, and never
sell something for less than you bought it. Prices fluctuate, and you might
be able to make a profit later on if you let it cool off in your deposit box.
Shop Wizard prices will go down, slightly, immediately after the Factory restocks.
If you buy a bunch of the same item, it's usually best to only put up 2 or 3
for sale at a time and keep the rest for later. The price will go up with time,
often in the same day. If an item is really rare, or worth a lot (more than
1,500 NP) then only stock 1 at a time. This way, other shop owners who are trying
to lower their prices can more easily buy your candy to put in their shop. Tricky,
huh?
A few last things to remember:
- When buying keep an eye on your NoH, Neopoints on Hand, in case you need
to sprint over to the nearest National Neopian ATM to make a quick withdrawal.
- Gourmet = good. Common, who cares?
- Don't let your pets anywhere near your candy hoard. In fact, don't let them
know you have one.
Watch out for Meesha and Purrow.
Good luck and happy hunting!
Author's Note: I hope you've enjoyed this, and I'd love to
get feedback about the article. I'd also love some White Chocolate if you're
really feeling generous.
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