The Rich Get Richer?

by bing_

As I was looking through the Neopian Times, I came across an article that had this description: "There's nothing us poor people can do to get richer..." This isn't the first time I've seen something like this…there are a lot of people complaining about how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. I thought about this for a while, and realized that I felt the same way when I first came to Neopia. There were times when I didn't have any NP at all…occasionally, I was even in the negatives. I got tired of always having to hope for 10 NP to suddenly appear, and I decided to do something about it. But what could be done? Like everyone was saying, there's nothing the poor can do to get richer…or is there? Everyone started out with the same amount of NP. Even the people who are now throwing money around started out being poor…right? So what was different between what THEY were doing and what I was doing? I thought about this, and I put together a plan on how to get money in NeoPets (and yes, it works).

Getting Started

This is probably the hardest part about getting money…actually getting it. The first thing you're going to have to do is open up a bank account. This process might take a couple days, or weeks, depending on what happens.

1. Play the games - You can get HUNDREDS of NP from the games if you practice enough. With the flash games, play them 3 times a day, if possible. Another good game to play is Dice-A-Roo. Play the game, but never take the NP. Just keep playing. If you get far enough, which you almost definitely will if you play enough (if it doesn't happen the first time, play a couple more times, it's only 5 NP), it will give you items. These items are generally around 20-50 NP. It's not impossible to win the jackpot, either. Try to put at least 500 NP from games into the bank a day. It builds up.

2. Buy Cheap Food - If you're just starting out, and trying to save money, hit the official shops for food. Once you get more money and can afford it, it's easier to go to other shops (but always more expensive).

3. Go into the shops a lot - Not only can you find great deals, but random events tend to happen. If you get something rare, you could become thousands of NP richer.

4. Open a shop…but that's the next section....

Running a (Successful) Shop

So, you've earned some money, and you're ready to open a shop? Great! It's going to cost 250 NP, which may sound like a lot now, but it's really worth it.

Why should I open a shop instead of selling things on auction?

Selling things on auction is okay, especially when you need to get rid of something and don't have a shop to do it in. The problem with auctions is that they're usually not as frequently looked at as shops. When you're looking for something to buy, you usually check the shop wizard first, and if there's nothing there, or the item is really, really expensive there, THEN you look in shops. Because of this, items selling in shops usually sell more than items selling in auctions. And you can generally make more money off of it.

How do I make sure that my shop is successful? There's soooo many shops already, why should people buy from yours?

The key to having a successful shop:

It's not having the nicest looking shop front
It's not having the biggest shop
It's not having the most advertisement

Surprised? While all these things don't hurt, it's not what makes people get thousands of NP. It's the cost that really matters. Making sure that you have the cheapest prices. So, how do you go about doing that? Here are a couple steps to making your stock sell.

1. Find things that are in demand I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. A lot of times on NeoPets, you'll get an item that is the "Big Thing." These are usually new, exciting items. Don't worry if you can't afford them when you first start, eventually you'll be able to, and when you can, stock up on a couple of them. In order to find out what the "Big Thing" is, hit the boards. What is everyone talking about? Something needed to get into the new world? Maybe an item that just came out that's different than anything that's already in the game. But how do YOU get these and sell them? That brings us to the next step....

2. Use the Shop Wizard. The Shop Wizard is something that every shop owner should go to a LOT. This will tell you where to find the cheapest items. What you want to do is find the cheapest items you can make money off of. Let's say the cheapest price for the toy you want is 100 NP. The second cheapest is 200 NP. Buy the toy for 100 NP. You can sell it anywhere from 100 - 199 NP, still have the cheapest item, and make a lot of NP off of it.

3. Save up items. Don't sell everything you have right away. Items can become rare. Something you paid 10 NP for could cost 10,000 NP in a month or two. However, if you have something that's rare or in demand right now, sell it. Items cannot only go up in value, but they can go down in value too, and you might lose money on it.

Basics? Yeah. But these things will help you make money…don’t yell at the people who are rich or can afford to buy things and sell them for high prices…they were just like you once. And you can be just like them if you follow a plan like this.