A Financial Experiment #2 by sable_darkfaerie |  |
STOCK EXCHANGE - A while back I wrote the
first part of this article, telling how I'd gotten rid of all my Neopoints
and possessions in order to see how long it took someone with nothing to make
it to 100,000 NP. Unfortunately, just as I had almost reached my goal, I got
a little side-tracked by real life and wound up visiting my (computerless) relatives
for nearly a month, and was unable to write the second half of this article.
However, I'm back now, so here it is! Better late than never, I guess… I began
my experiment on May 8th, and completed it by June 6th, so in the end it took
a little less than one month. On average I log in anywhere from 45 minutes to
1 ½ hours a day, so someone who spends less or more time playing will probably
have different results. This isn't meant to be an exact guide to earning money,
since it's impossible to factor in things like luck or random events, but hopefully
it will give you a general idea of how to start bringing in the NP.
First of all, here's the main thing I've discovered: The secret to getting
rich is that there is no secret! All you have to do is play games and use common
sense when buying and selling items. I kept a record of any items or Neopoints
I gained or lost for the duration of the experiment, and while it can be a hassle
writing everything down, you might consider trying it for a day or two. It gives
you an idea of how much you make (or lose) on an average day, and seeing it
on paper just might make you think about changing your spending habits a little.
Here's an example of a page from my record book, when I was about a third of
the way to my goal:
Captain's Log: May 24
Beginning NP: 33,110
Gains: Plain Omelette
Bank: 7 NP interest
WoE: 500,
200
| Meerca Chase: 365, 315, 245 |
Kiko Match: 352, 294, 258 |
| Poogle Solitaire: 200 |
Pyramids: 231, 187, 191, 166 |
Items Sold:
Kyrii plushie - 115 NP
2 apple pies - 90 NP
omelette - 25 NP
Items Found: Eo codestone
Total NP: 3,831
Losses
Woe: 100, 100
Sunflower seeds: 36
Neopian Encyl. K-O: 135
Poogle Solitaire:15
Pyramids: 50, 50, 50, 50
Total NP: 586
Profits: 3831 - 586 = 3,245 NP
Ending NP: 36,355
As you can see, most of my NP came from playing games. Personally, I'm addicted
to Pyramids, but if you're broke, or even if you're not, the flash games are
your best bet. You can only play them three times a day, but since they're all
free you can play as many times as you need to get a good score. An important
tip is to never accept anything less than your best. Unless you're in a hurry
for some reason, never settle for a score of 200 when you know you're capable
of making 300. I normally wouldn't suggest any gambling unless you're willing
to maybe lose money, but it never hurts to give the Wheel of Excitement a few
spins (well, some times it does, but not often.) Just keep in mind that there's
a chance your pet could get a disease with an expensive cure. There's really
not much more advice I can offer in the games department. Everyone's got different
preferences, just pick the games you enjoy and are good at and play them every
day. You'd be amazed at how it adds up!
Now, on to shops. Nothing much there that isn't covered in a dozen other articles.
Buy low and sell high, always use the Shop Wizard, and don't flood the market.
When using the Shop Wizard always search for the same item three or four times,
since it looks in different places each time and one result might be completely
different from another. My shop isn't my main source of income, I mostly use
it to sell the items I've won or found. One exception to this is the Igloo Garage
Sale. Whether you're buying things for your Neopet or for your shop, Mika and
Carassa are your best friends. They've got a *huge* array of nearly every kind
of item in Neopia, food, toys, books, trading cards, weapons, you name it, most
of it ridiculously cheap. The downside is they've also got a huge array of junk,
most of it ridiculously expensive. But as long as you've got a basic idea of
the worth of items the rip-offs are easy to stay away from. Any item that seems
to be hanging around there, or in any shop, usually indicates there's not much
of a demand for it, it's overpriced, or both. On the other hand, any item that
gets instantly snatched up before you can so much as click on it is in high
demand. The Igloo Garage Sale only lets you buy something every couple of minutes,
but even if you only get one item, say, a bar of chocolate for 29 NP, it's usually
worth it, since in that case I turned around and sold it for 550 NP. That's
it for the shops section of this article, except to be sure to always remember
that the third of every month everything is half priced, and if you're
cursed with a slow dial-up modem (like me) it might help to log on at ungodly
hours of the night (or morning) to buy things.
Another source of income is what we'll call the "freebies". In most cases you
have nothing to lose and the chance to gain a lot, all in less than five minutes.
Every day I'm on Neopets the first thing I do is stop at the giant omelette,
which is a guaranteed free (at least) 20 NP every day, or three free meals for
your pets. There's nothing wrong with a little omelette for breakfast, but do
try to make sure that's not *all* your pets eat. Think about how you'd feel
if you had to eat the same thing every day. Be sure to collect your interest
from the bank, and don't forget to stop at Coltzan's Shrine and the Fruit Machine,
and play Tombola every day. Any one of these could give you boost in your bank
account, plus free items if you're lucky. The shrine can also help to build
up your pet if they'd like to fight in the Battledome. I'm usually on in the
morning and can catch the Snowager sleeping once a day, but be careful there
since if he wakes up your pet will need a trip to the Healing Springs. Which,
by the way, is a great place for free potions, along with sometimes feeding
your pet and even curing them of diseases. Well, that's about it. Like I said,
there's really nothing to turning a profit that hasn't been said many times
by other people. Persistence is really the main thing - just keep playing those
games every day. It's probably a good idea to get some sort of "schedule" worked
out, especially if you have about the same amount of time every day. Log in,
get your freebies, feed and spend time with your pets, and play two or three
games you're best at. If you've got extra time after that, it's a good opportunity
to explore, try out new games, read The Neopian Times, or just do whatever you
feel like. Before you log off it's usually a good idea to put all you Neopoints
in the bank, since that my increase the interest you collect the next day.
Everyone wants to be rich, and as you see there's no reason why everyone shouldn't
be rich, or at least well off. A few minutes and a couple of games every day
and you'll have plenty of NP in no time. Just remember, no matter how much you
want those Neopoints, never neglect your pets over them. Always be sure to feed,
play with, and read to them. After all, what's the point of being filthy rich
if you're just going to hoard all your NP in the bank or put all your nice items
in a gallery? Almost everything in the game was meant to be used for the happiness
of your Neopets, so go ahead and spoil them rotten. You can easily replace anything
you spend. Earning NP is a piece of cake, it consists of almost nothing more
than playing games, so have fun! |
