Less Popular Shops Actually Worth Your Time

So, I was traveling around Neopia the other day, visiting the tourist attractions, local favorites, and the shops, and I went into one shop in particular. I saw some items I really liked, and figured, "Hey. I'm going to do Shenkuu a favor and buy from their small business and help supports their land, instead of buying it from a user's shop." I knew that meant I would be spending more neopoints on an item than I needed to, but what's life without a little variety?

Upon returning home, I settled down in my comfy red chair, and, after reading the Neopian Times editorial, randomly thought that I might as well look up what price the item I bought actually sells for in user shops, just to help me count my losses a little. But boy did I have a surprise.

The item actually sold for nearly double, in user shops, what I'd paid for it in Shenkuu!

But it wasn't a rare item, and no one else had bought any others of it when I did. And then it hit me: people nowadays are ignoring Neopian shops more and more and more! That means, that tons of you guys are missing out on some good profitable items, simply because you don't feel like browsing all the tiny, unpopular shops around Neopia. You want to stick to 1. What you know, and 2. The rare chance of getting mega-high profit items.

You figure that if the shop doesn't ever restock items that won't make you hundreds of thousands of neopoints when you're lucky enough to snag one, that there's no point going to the shop at all. HOWEVER, making double the profit on even a 300 neopoint item really adds up when you realize just how many opportunities you have to do it, since hey, you really have virtually no competition at these little shops.

So in order to save you the time of having to browse every little shop you come across, and then search 10,000,000 items in the shop wizard just to compare prices, I've listed out the top 5 less-popular shops in Neopia that you really need to start restocking in!

You're welcome.

#5: The Slushie Shop on Terror Mountain

A young striped Eyrie greets you when you enter this unpopular shop. "Slushies cost like, 100 neopoints," everyone says. "And they're all priced for at least 500 in that shop!"

While there is definitely some truth to that, there's also more to the story, as well. Many slushies that restock in that shop are worth anywhere from 100-500 neopoints more than they're priced. Try checking the prices on the shop wizard for the lower-priced slushies first, because those are the ones you will generally make a small profit from. This shop is abandoned, absolutely amazing practice for beginners in restocking, and, once in a while, you find something really worth your time!

#4: Exotic Foods in Shenkuu

Run by an apathetic red Nimmo, this shop hardly ever has restockers, or even visitors, lining up in front. Which is great for all of you restock beginners, because you can start making small profits here without spending a lot of neopoints! And food sells pretty well in user shops when you price it right; so this shop is definitely something for you to consider.

#3: Tropical Food Shop in Mystery Island

Run by a very strange but very kind blue Techo of sorts, this shop is full of probably some of the coolest and most delicious looking foods you will ever see. Seriously! Check out some of these foods:

Lesser Bearded Plantfruit

Thornberry Crepe

Owabit

Okay okay, moving on. (Seriously, I can't get over that bearded fruit, though!) The reason this shop is number 3 is: 20% because of its amazing foods, and 80% because when you manage to find something worth a profit, you usually get a pretty darn good profit. However, on the flip side, there's usually only 1-3 items at a time in the store that will make you that good profit. BUT, going back to the good side again, the shop seems to restock a lot more often than others, changes up the items more frequently, and, like shop number 4 on this list, you have virtually no competition.

#2: Plushie Palace in the Market Plaza

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," you tell me. "Now look. That shop ALWAYS has restockers in it. It's a very popular shop to restock, because you don't have to be filthy rich to afford the rare items, and you make an extremely decent profit!"

Very true. HOWEVER, all of those rich and/or advanced restockers looking to make a 50-100k profit on rare plushies? They're completely ignoring the COMMON plushies almost always sitting in that shop, that are worth more than DOUBLE what they're priced, just because they don't want to miss "the good stuff". But for beginners, or people looking for pocket change, and even advanced restockers, really need to start checking these other plushies out in their spare time. For example:

Blue Kyrii Plushie

Sells in user shops for: 1,000 NP

Sells in Plushie Palace for: 400 NP

Green Buzz Plushie

Sells in user shops for: 500 NP

Sells in Plushie Palace for: 200 NP

And those were just the examples I found when I ran by the shop in the middle of writing this article. No one buys these items, because they're too busy waiting for the "good stuff". But what people don't seem to realize, is that if they went ahead and bought these smaller-profit plushies, they'd:

1.Still be making a profit (and even small profits add up!) and

2. Be making more space in the shop, and therefore be making more room for the rarer plushies to come forward.

So, next time your pet asks you for a cuddly stuffed toy to play with, head over to Plushie Palace and buy the ignored merchandise; because as soon as your pet gets bored of it, you can sell it for a profit!

#1: The Smoothie Store! in the Neopian Bazaar

Before you start judging, give it a chance. I once made a huge profit over the course of a month of selling almost nothing but smoothies in my shop. Like all stores, Neopian and user-run, the smoothie store does have some overpriced stuff. BUT, when you do find profitable items, they give you anywhere from 500-2000 NP profit.

Fair warning, though. The smoothie shop is sometimes completely empty of other restockers or customers, but other times, it has a sort of cult-following that all seem to show up at the same time to restock there. Thankfully though, 8/10 times you visit, you will be virtually alone, with only maybe a few others at most.

So there you have it! The top 5 stores in Neopia that really need to be checked out more often. Whether you just need the extra pocket change, easy experience in restocking, or simply just want to see what those less popular shops have to offer, these are the five stores to start with! Good luck!