HAPPY VALLEY - It's hard to believe that it's already November, and Christmas
is just around the corner. If real-life shops are anything to go by, this is
the time of the year where shops make the most sales. By shopping carefully,
you can also get some great bargains.
During Christmas, some items gain in popularity, and therefore rise in prize.
This includes items like:
• Christmas Paint Brush
• Christmas Tree Negg
• Christmas Petpet Paint Brush
At the moment, normally a Christmas paint brush costs below 10,000 NP. However,
the last time I looked it was already at 14,000 NP on the shop wizard, and it
will surely rise even more to over 20,000 NP.
By buying these items now or holding onto any Christmas items you already have,
and selling them at the right time, you can make quite a big profit. If you
are a Neopian who want one of these items, and you still haven;t got one, I
would suggest that you buy it quick, as the prices are rising with each passing
day.
However, now is also the time to clear out any items you don't need from your
safety deposit. You may be asking, "Why should I do it now, when I can do it
at any time of the year?" The answer to that question is the Advent
Calendar.
Remember, last year when they gave out Lu Codestones in the Advent Calendar.
The price of the codestone went down like your bank account on a shopping spree.
Now, one year later, the price of a Lu codestone is still about 1,000 NP below
the other nine codestones. The same thing happened with items like Sketch a
Pic, once a rare item which is now worth a mere 10 NP - 20 NP, because it was
given out in the Advent Calendar. There are countless other items which suffered
the same fate: snowballs, neggs, slushies, turkey dinners, petpets ... the list
goes on and on. Why? Because if I've got one, you've got one, and everybody
else has got one, who wants one? The easiest way to protect against that is
to sell anything you don't want now. Don't bother selling any of the items once
it's been given out by the Advent Calendar. Chances are the price has already
dropped as shops compete against each other to get rid of the huge surplus of
items. If you sell your items at that time, you will definitely be getting rock
bottom prices. Plan on holding the item for a few months until the prize rises
back up a little, although it is quite unlikely it will rise back up to its
original price for a long time.
On the other side of the same coin, the Advent Calendar brings some great bargain.
As I already mentioned, any item given out by the Advent Calendar is bound to
fall in price. It follows that this is the best time to buy items. It is best
to buy between a day to a week after an item is given out by the Advent Calendar
as the item is usually at its lowest price. After that time, the item will slowly
rise in price again.
Last year, Neopets gave out the following useful items:
• Wet Snowball (one-use Battledome item which you should stock
up on if you use them)
• Clockwork Grundo (both blue and yellow ones were given out,
you should get these while they're cheap)
• Slushies and other foods (get them if you don't like feeding
your pets omelettes every day but want something cheap and affordable)
• Rod of Supernova (unfortunately it was a joke and when you tried
to go and pick it up, the pant devil ran off with it)
• Lu Codestone (WOW! Hoard a load of these, you'll need them during
the year for training your pet, especially if your pet is over level 40)
So get a stash of Neopoints ready to spend and get ready to shop away during
December.
Whether you are a salesman or a bargain hunter, December is when these things
take on another meaning altogether. By buying and selling at the right times,
you will be laughing all the way to the bank with a fat wallet full of Neopoints,
and a bag full of goodies to put in your safety deposit box.
Happy selling and shopping! | 
