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Becoming a Restocker (Half Price Day Edition)


by wiggertori

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Restocking is fun and addicting once you get the hang of it, but it is overwhelming when you first start. You will go into a shop and your first thought will be "So many prices and so many items. Where do I begin?" There are thousands of items around Neopia; some that restockers would call "junk" and some rare. I will tell you a few tips on starting out as a restocker.

Start with one shop just to kind of get the hang of restocking. I recommend the Neopian Fresh Foods located in Neopia Central. That shop is easy to learn and its almost always stocked. Look up prices on certain items using your shop wizard. If it's cheaper in the shop than the shop wizard, buy it even if it is only a 100 NP difference. You can haggle with the shop keeper to get the price lower to make more profit. Every neopoint counts, so haggle your way down until it won't go any lower. When the shop restocks its shop full of items, buy everything new you can. This restocking job is based on TRIAL AND ERROR. If you see something that has restocked and you haven't seen it before, buy it! If it isn't worth it or is very much worth it, in the end you will know for future reference. It will take a while to learn prices and items, but you will see a lot of the same things in shops that you know aren't "rare" and not good to buy much of. Just keep trying and stocking; you will make profit.

A little tip on haggling with the shop keeper. When you haggle with the shop keeper with the item you are trying to buy, if it's a rare or high profitable item, try not to haggle too much or you will lose the item to another buyer. Always start out haggling really low so that the shop keeper will lower the price. Usually go up about 50-100 NP depending on the item's worth at that point. For example say the item is 1200 NP. Haggle 400 NP, 500 NP, 600 NP, and so on until the shop keeper will not go lower.

There are also items in shops that are "unbuyable." Unbuyable items are ones worth over 99,999 NP. Items worth over 99,999 NP are the ones you will sell in the trading post or an auction. Let's take a morphing potion for example. The green Uni morphing potion goes for around 15k. You can sell that one in your shop. Now take a baby Koi morphing potion that goes for around 450k. You can not sell it in your shop for that price. The high priced items usually have a set amount of neopoints in shops such as 2,500 NP, 5000 NP etc. Those you want to go after! Some are not worth it, but a lot are. My philosophy is "You will get a rotten berry out of the bunch, but the more you try the better chance you will get a rare berry." Berries stand for items, so just keep that in mind. Never let that rotten berry get to you no matter how bad it stinks.

Then along comes half price day. This is on the THIRD of every month. Have tons of neopoints ready. Almost everything is worth buying and you'll make huge profits. Get ready for the big BOOM. Everybody wants in on half price day. Shops sell out VERY quickly. There's your big BOOM! Get that refresh button ready because you will have to be in it for the long haul. This is a very competitive day for everyone trying to get as much as the can for as low as they can. You've got to be fast at getting all the good stuff. That might mean cut back on the haggling a bit or you might miss your chance at a big profit. ;)

A lot of people end up getting "shop banned" on this day. Shop banned, what is that? you ask. Shop banned is a little set back as you could say being a reseller. It is where NO items will show up in the shops; they will be completely sold out (at least that is what it will say). If you are shop banned, the time varies how long you are banned for. It can last anywhere between 1 to 24 hours. Don't get discouraged if you are shop banned. Just look at all the cool things you got that day! If you are shop banned, no, you cannot get on a side account and buy items. You can only restock on your main account. The reason behind that is because you can make profit from it and that is against Neopets rules.

After you get the hang of restocking, open a few tabs with the shops you like. Keep refreshing every minute or two. every few seconds if it hasn't restocked in a long while. The restock time are very random and you have to keep your eyes open! Some items stay in the shop for a very long time because simply they are not worth buying. You will see a lot of items in the shops like this. If they don't sell often, they probably aren't worth buying. A lot of items go down in value due to "prizes" in games or given away from neopets. Such as the Key Quest items. Most are worth 1 NP now.

Stocking the items you have bought is easy. Just go to your inventory and quick stock every item you want to put in there. When you go to price it, however, make sure it is the lowest on the shop wizard so the Neopians will buy it quicker. If your item hasn't sold in a few days, lower the price on it a little bit so it will sell. If you run out of room to put items in your shop, put them in your safety deposit box for later. As the items sell down in your shop, stock those.

The moral of this whole article is:

Restocking isn't at all what it is made out to be. You have to be fast, competitive, and dedicated. Try not to get shop banned. Haggle your way down to earn every single neopoint you can. You're one neopoint richer! Never give up on restocking just because you missed a few items, or gained no profit. keep trying you will get faster. You'll learn with trial and error and with practice you can be CHIA-RIFFIC at restocking!

 
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