Becoming a Shopkeep: Maintaining Your Shop

      There are so many different ways to obtain different items to resell here in Neopia! Some common methods of getting items are to complete dailies, restock from Neopian shops, and completing quests! For me, I prefer to get items from my dailies and restocking in places like the Post Office! Sometimes if you are lucky, you can even get rare items from random events! If you’re a returning player, you may have some rare items tucked away, so be sure to check! It’s also worthwhile to check out the Igloo Garage Sale and the Almost Abandoned Attic for some great deals. Battling in the Battledome is another awesome way to get items. You could get codestones and other rare items – these items are usually easy to sell in your shop and are a guaranteed source of income.

      Some user shops have set themes, like faerie quest items or baked goods. Even so, this is not necessary and you don’t have to do that. Some users just take items from their safety deposit boxes and just directly move them to their shop. TNT recently introduced this feature, and it has been extremely helpful. Thanks, TNT, for this! Now, it’s even possible to sort by rarity of items in your safety deposit box, making it even easier to find rare items to resell. By being able to move items directly from your safety deposit box to your shop, you no longer risk losing the items to an unfortunate random event!

      Pricing your shop can take time, but Premium users have access to the Super Shop Wizard, which makes pricing super easy. One search and you will find the cheapest prices in Neopia! If you price your items a bit under the latest items listed, you have a better chance at making a sale. If you price items like codestones or dubloons for a few neopoints under the latest price, they should be sold within minutes.

     Per contra, if you do not have Premium, you can refresh the regular Shop Wizard a few times to get a good estimate on how the item is priced, and you can go a few neopoints lower than that. You can also check Jellyneo’s Item Database, but those prices don’t always reflect true and current market value.

      I highly recommend investing in increasing your shop size as well! This way you can hold many items and don’t have to restock your shop as often. It eventually gets a bit expensive, but nothing expires. It also adds a bit of credibility to your profile as well, as it shows that you are an active player. My shop just hit level 250, and it holds 1200+ items and is another pretty number on my profile!

      You may notice that some items (especially ones worth 1 NP) sit and don’t sell super quickly. This can be annoying, as it takes up valuable shop space that could be used for other items! This is when you have to start putting in a little legwork to get your shop out there. There are a few ways to get your shop advertised, and while they take a bit of work, it often pays out at the end.

      An easy way to advertise your shop is to have a link to it in your avatar signature for the Neoboards! Since there are some avatars that require large amounts of items, there are always Neopians looking to buy items in bulk. You never know, someone may find your shop and just want to buy fun items!

     Another way to keep your shop advertised is to have a running board on the Shop Ads board. Here, you can have a thread where you can post whenever you update your shop. If you’re lucky, a kind Neopian may also stop in to chat and bump your thread! It’s always nice to have people drop their own shops, so you can take a look and see if they have anything fun themselves! It’s important to remember to post these direct links in moderation. The Shop Ads board is a bit slower of a board, so one doesn’t need to be constantly bumping your thread. Be sure to also bump other people’s boards on here, and maybe checkout a few items!

      One less talked about way of advertising your shop includes putting an ad up on the Marketplace. If you are graphically inclined, you can make a cute image and advertise your shop! If making photos aren’t your thing, you can always make a text post. Be sure to use easy to read fonts and leave links to your shop! While you need a larger shop size to make the Marketplace board, it’s a great way to get exposure to your shop.

      You can also make your shop a bit more personalized by customizing some things in your shop! There are many users who are great at coding and art that make premade shop graphics. Personally, my favorite is the shop view counter by Neomallers! I love seeing how many people have visited my shop and if there’s anyone viewing at the moment. It makes me feel a bit more connected to the community, reminding me that there’s other players out there.

      Overall, running a user shop takes time, but the results are worth it. If you can invest a few minutes a day in pricing items and stocking your shop, there will be a nice surprise in your shop till when you go to check it! There is nothing better than waking up after having had price your shop the night before to a full shop till. If possible, investing in Premium is so worth it for the Super Shop Wizard alone. Keep your shops stocked and you will succeed!