Menu

Frequently & Repeatedly Asked Questions (FRAQ)

Welcome. If you've decided you are tired of being np poor and have chosen to embrace the glory that is the F5 then we welcome you. If not, you've come to the wrong petpage and you should proceed to the nearest exit.

What is the Cult of the F5?
We a group of devoted individuals attempting to restock using the new restocking system. Some call us crazy, but we prefer to be called devoted.

What is restocking?
Buying anything from any Neopets shop and reselling it in your shop, auctions or trades. And if you do it correctly, reselling it for more than you paid for it.

Can you make a lot of nps from this?
Yes. But really you should do it for the glory of the F5 not the nps. At least that's what we tell ourselves.

Cult Initiation

Getting Started Restocking

• Pick a shop
Book shop is good for beginner. It has plenty of restocks, restocks plenty of items, and it's hard to lose nps on the items. Choose whatever shop you want but in this beginner section I'm talking about the book shop.
• Supplies you need
• Neopoints - gotta have nps to make nps. Play games and sell everything you find to get your start up nps.
• Mozilla Firefox browser - tabs are great and will allow you to switch between shops quickly
• Ability to pay attention - being distracted will cause you to miss restocks which can make you cry
• Nerf desk - to keep you from hurting yourself banging your head on the desk when you miss a restock because you weren't paying attention (Nerf desk is currently under design by Carilor)
• Amount of nps need
This varies per shop. For books 30k (30,000) to 50k (50,000) will probably be enough. If you don't have that many take what you have. You probably won't restock the really expensive books until you've practiced a while anyway.
• Restock times
Restocks are random. So any second of any minute any shop can restock. Or not restock. This means:
• You will miss many restocks
• You will be late to many other restocks
• You will refresh an empty shop many, many, many times
• You will grow to despise the randomness of it all
• You should not keep breakable objects around your computer desk in case you feel tempted to throw things
• How to refresh
You have 2 choices on how to refresh.
1. F5
Clicking on F5 on your keyboard will reload the page to the spot where you left it. So if you were scrolled down when you click F5 the page will load scrolled down where you left it. This also frees your mouse to be poised over the spot where the items will appear allowing you to click on them faster.
2. Shopkeeper
Clicking on the shopkeeper also reloads the page. But it doesn't reload the images so this can be a faster reload. After reloading this way you can click the spacebar to go to the bottom of the page right away. It's faster than scrolling unless you're some sort of scrolling speed freak.
Try both methods and see which works for you. Both still count as worshiping the F5 button since the cult really covers all kinds of refreshing.
• How often to refresh
If you refresh too frequently you will get restock banned (see Other Cult Information section). But if you don't refresh often enough you will miss the restock. So you need to find a frequency that works for you. Here are some methods people use:
• Refresh every few seconds. Usually done in a limited number of shops (1 or 2). This increases your chances of hitting the restock but you are more likely to be rs banned. To limit their rs ban risk, some limit the time restocking by taking breaks during this method - restock 30 minutes then break for 30 minutes.
• Refresh every 6 or so seconds. Depending on how many shops you are in this can limit your rs ban risk and still allow you to hit a majority of restocks.
• Only use a limited number of refreshes per minutes divided into however many shops you are in. This can allow you to restock for a longer period of time but you may miss more restocks.
If you have a limited amount of time to restock during a day you should refresh more frequently and risk the rs ban. Chances are that by the time you would be banned you will be done restocking. Or if you do get banned, it'll probably be over by the time you are ready to restock the next day.
• What to Buy
Good news about books is that its really hard to lose nps on anything. Better books are usually on the bottom, restock in small (1 to 2) quantities and are more expensive than the other books.
• Buying an Item
You finally hit a restock and want to buy an item. So here's what to do.
• Click on the item
• A box will come up asking if you want to buy the item. You can click ok but it is better to hit the spacebar. In fact as soon as you click on the item just go ahead and hit the spacebar.
• Next you are taken to the haggle page. There is a box to type in the price you are willing to pay. You can click on the box. You do not need to erase that zero just click to the right of it. If you have shaky hand syndrome and can't click on the box, you could also click anywhere above the box and hit tab to take you into the box.
• Enter a price. Choose your price wisely as you probably will only get one chance at this (otherwise someone else will buy the item). Choose a price close to the asking price that is quick to type - like a repetitive number. Practice to see what works best for you.
  • 4545 - using 2 alternating numbers works well for 4 digit prices
  • 12312 - using 3 alternating numbers works well for 5 digit prices
  • 4444 - some prefer just repeating the same number
  Side note - whether you use the top row of numbers or the keypad is up to you. I use my left hand on the keypad while my right hand is on the mouse. Don't be afraid to experiment and practice different methods until you find what works for you.
• After entering your price you need to click on the neopet in the picture below the price box. Sometimes they are easy to spot and sometimes not so easy. You can see a variety of the pictures by heading over to Tiki Tack shop. Just click on items to get to the haggle page and see the haggle pics. Don't buy the items because they aren't good. Really. Not good.

Moving up in the Cult

Beyond Beginner Restocking

• Choosing a New Shop
When it's time to move beyond book, you need to pick out a new shop to restock in. There are plenty to choose from and almost all of them can be a great place to restock. The exception being Tiki Tack.

There are a couple of petpages which have imformation about each shop:

• toot126 has a shop list on their petpage (toot127) - Good information but you may want to double check on the what to buy information as it can become quickly outdate due to deflation.
• flamekit also has shop info on their petpage (WaveVortex) - Also good information that you should definitely read before choosing your next shop
Any new shop is going to be difficult at first so make sure you give yourself time to get used to your new shop.
• What to Buy
There will come a time, for some very quickly and repeatedly, when you will buy something that is worth less nps than you paid for it. Accept that fact. It will happen. You can't avoid it, but you can lessen the chances of it happening by learning the items in a shop before restocking in that shop.
• For a small shop - go to www.neoitems.net and use their Item Database (you'll need to register) to see all the items the shop sells. You can then use the shop wizard to check out their prices and make a list of what to buy and more importantly what NOT to buy.
• For a large shop - open the shop in two seperate tabs. Refresh for a restock in one of the tabs. After you see a restock go to the second tab, wait a few seconds, then refresh that tab. Now compare what is in the first tab and second tab. All the items that are missing are probably good (double check with shop wiz). What remains is probably not good. Make a list. Do this a few times in order to compile a good working list.
• General info on what to buy - for those who have sworn a vow of list abstinence or who just like to gamble you can try to guess which items are worth restocking. Here are some signs (applies more to larger shops than smaller ones):
  • Restocks in small quantities (1 to 2)
  • Are near the bottom of the restock (last couple of rows)
  • Are unusally colored
  • Sell for 10,000 or more
  Of course there are items which fit those criteria and are still a lost. But what's life without a little risk?
Keep in mind that there are petpages with lists, but the problem is that due to deflation these lists have to be updated constantly. And that doesn't sound like fun so most don't do it. If you use one of those lists and you don't want to lose nps, you should take the time to double check prices on the items.

Other Cult Information

General Restocking Information

• Restocking Bans
Every now and then, and sometimes more frequently, in order to smite those who try too hard a cultist (aka a restocker) is slapped with a restocking ban.
• What is a restocking ban?
  A punishment for refreshing too frequently that makes it so that you can no longer see the items in the shops.

• What causes you to be banned?
  Too much refreshing. There doesn't seem to be a set amount of refreshes that triggers a ban, but if you refresh a lot for a long period of time, you'll get to experience one for yourself. Consider it a right of passage all true restockers go through.

• How do you know if you are banned?
  A light will shine down on you from above and you'll hear a deep and slighly gravely voice say "You Are Banned". Actually not. There are no signs that you are banned except for the total lack of items seen in a shop. Which sadly, is very similiar to most of the time spent restocking.

  The easiest way to check is to go to a store that normally has items, like the Tiki Tack shop, and see if you see anything. See items? Then you aren't banned just unlucky. Don't see items? Then you're probably banned and even more unlucky.

• How long do restock bans last?
  It varies anywhere from 30 minutes until days. Thats right I said days. Mine average a little over 12 hours.

• What can you do while banned?
  Cry. Yell. Throw small objects around the room. All are very acceptable. You can also still restock at the Garage Sale (commonly referred to as the Igloo).

• Getting an Avatar Item


Acceptable Excuses for Missing a Restock

• Lag
• Late to restock
• Brain Aneurysm
• Restock Banned
• Lost consciousness after restocking for 43 hours straight
• Waiting in a different shop that didn't restock
• Chatting on the Restock Help/Chat board

Unacceptable Excuses

• Accidentally glued hand to keyboard
• I forgot what I was doing
• Shiny object distracted me
• Stopped believing a restock would ever occur




Frequently & Repeatedly Asked Questions (FRAQ)

• Is there a shop with a lot of ubs that no one else is in?
  Of course. The rest of us like to crowd into shops without ubs and fight over cheap items. That way we can leave uncrowded shops full of high profit items for those who ask this magic question. We're crazy like that.

• As a new member of the cult (beginner restocker) where should I go?
  Books. It has lots of items in the restock, hard to lose nps on the items and restocks frequently.

• What if I don't want to go to books?
  Then why did you ask me?

• What time do the shops restock?
  It's random

• But it says "eight minues or so" doesn't that mean every eight minutes?
  Or so. And that "or so" can be one minute or one hour or until you get up to go the bathroom. It's a LOT of wiggle room.

• So you can't tell me when the shop will restock next?
  Not catching on too quickly eh? Sorry my magic 8 ball is in the shop for repairs.

• Someone just got a rare ub item from a shop, should I got restock there?
  This is where we seperate the new restockers from the experienced restockers. Experienced restockers know that rare items are...what's the work for it....RARE. So if someone else just posted they got a krawk petpet the chances that another krawk petpet is going to restock right away is slim to a whole lot of none. Plus everyone who reads that they restocked that item and who doesn't think it through is now running over to that shop to restock one themselves.

• Someone told me they make over a million a day in less than an hour by restocking in shop X.
  People lie. Shocking eh? Don't trust people. Restocking takes practice and knowledge of the shops. And luck. You can make really good nps, but you'll work for them.









Need more help? Em has a whole list of restocking guides. Find one that's right for you.