Pefumes - doomed?

[Ramiz]

Nobody wants to buy it, do not know why. Is the game unbalanced, or I am not a good trade partner. Scrolled up and down the River, sent so many scrolles to various producers (sandals, cosmetics, sculpture, jewelery etc.) nobody wants to trade, and the prices of the luxuries on the market (lev5) are outrageous. Anyways, I am seriously thinking about leaving the city and starting something else. Maybe the wheel of fortune gets better for me.

Thank you for reading my sorry letter,



Amunheker » Xyon Al-Jahrabi
Ramiz

P.S. People do not even answer my scrolls ?!

[OhhJim]

I've had no problems selling it in Bastduat. Perhaps it just depends on your surrounding cities. Nobody buys your perfume on the market?

Edit: I see we are over 32 hours apart (in travel time). I guess conditions are much different in your area.

[Ramiz]

I have 2000 bread already, but I dont want to buy luxuries for 35 - 40 bread, if you catch my drift, just want to trade, fair and square!

Thanks, man!


Bastduat Travel Time: 33h 18m

[Rama-Seph]

Many scrolls go unanswered (at least 2 in 3, for me). Sometimes this is people not logged in at the same time (different time zone) or even non-english speakers, so remember to just expect a low response rate. Many people had trouble figuring out even how to read or send scrolls (a bug in IE7 means you have to reply before you can even read them) so they may not even be able to read/reply to scrolls.

As for perfume, it's part of a cycle. A small amount of perfume is needed for the L4 palace upgrade, and another small amount for a second city. After that, the demand doesn't pick up until cities start upgrading to L8, or building temples and sacrificing to Osiris. There is a LONG lull there (and similar lulls are felt for sandals, cosmetics, and sculpture, at different times) and when you're in it, it feels like there's no way to prosper. Try diversifying--sell bricks, or baskets, or clay, whatever you can, until demand for perfume picks up again, as it eventually will. Hang in there and keep working on direct trades and finding demand.

[Siptah]

In my region perfume was sold for 25-30 till yesterday quite easy. Today no one bought it, so prices fell to 20. But i am sure it will be back to at least 25 in the next few days. and speaking of direct trades - most people were quite happy when i offered perfume. so its perhaps a regional and time limited dry phase your just in.

[Sandra Linkletter]

Do you have a ship? The OP, I mean.

[martincowly]

perfumes are in low demand until level 8 palaces, or people in Osiris' nome start donating. Your best bet is probably to upgrade your bakery/wheat fields and pump out bread, or if there is a market for bricks/pottery/baskets, sell that. I find that making baskets/pottery in bulk, and selling them for 6/7 bread is a pretty good way to go when you have a resource nobody wants.

[Ramiz]

Yeah, but it is like this for 3 days, just holding my prosperity down. And the neighbors, do not even want to donate the temple, I did it myself once, but now it just do not seem to have any point. Pissed blood to trade oil for henna, and was buying jewelery, sometimes even against my benefit.

Anyways, thank you guys, I wish I was in your neighborhood!

[Siptah]

another possibility is trading with people far away. i am making trades that take over 20 hours and both partners are making much profit from it. perhaps you can find an area where perfume is needed more. that many hours look strange at the beginning, but if it becomes steady or even daily, it is not really an obstacle. try it, you might find someone in this forum willing to trade who needs perfume or on whose market there is none. It takes up some ships though, i would not do it if i had only 1 or 2 ships.

[Ramiz]

10 ships ready, doing nothing. Erased all those bastards, so called allies.

[Siptah]

i just looked you up at the nomes map, you are in that position with many oil nomes around you. same here for me, i am actually even more in the middle of them :) look in the nomes map for a region in which there is only one oil nomes and then the next is 5 to the north an 5 to the south. perhaps you can trade/sell your perfume there.

[King Faticus]

your region is an exact copy of mine.. even that jewelry devouring god

I donated twice up to 45 but cannot afford to do it anymore.. Im already behind the other cities in my region

and now they want to increase that gap by removing the temple bonus because I CANNOT donate!
selfish people in this so called cooperative game :rolleyes:

Perfume will go through that phase many times... it will be in demand.. then not be in demand.. then be in demand again

the temple demand for perfume is negligible really so once the palaces are finished your screwed.

your best bet is to found your second city asap

and found it on more profitable and consistent resources like bronze or leather

[Ramiz]

Scrolls Sent
Delete
[To: Hello] perfummes for sculpture 50 : 50 [11/15 @ 5:40 pm]

Delete
[To: coheed] sculpture for perfumes 50 : 50 [11/15 @ 5:02 pm]

Delete
[To: Bajingo] sculpture for perfumes 25 : 25 [11/15 @ 4:54 pm]

Delete
[To: CodgHotep] perfume for cosmetics 50 : 50 [11/15 @ 4:51 pm]

Delete
[To: TNT_Mash] sandals for perfume 50 : 50 [11/15 @ 4:49 pm]

Delete
[To: Dreadmime] perfume for cosmetics 50 : 50 [11/15 @ 4:45 pm]

Delete
[To: interwal] perfume for sandals 50 : 50 [11/15 @ 4:43 pm]


They do not even bother to answer.
I was seriously regarding henna for my second city, but it is more likely it will be like you said, IF I decido to continue this torture...

Thanks for the advices, people!

[Siptah]

i would not recommend taking a ressource as second that is needed for the same goods as that of your first. diversity is your best chance to make profit while one ressource is not selling good.

[Ramiz]

Stretching already stretched economy? I figuered it is better to make one decent city then to make two bad.

[King Faticus]

go for bronze because the sculpture shop requires oil.. and you won't have to trade for it.

bronze is also self sufficient and produces all the materials to make sculpture without trade.. also when military is added bronze will dominate.

[Rama-Seph]

Am I reading those times right, those were all sent within an hour of your first post? You need to wait longer before determining that someone won't respond. This is a slow-paced game, relatively, and people may tab in to check things every few hours. If you haven't heard back in 24 hours, you probably won't (but twice I've had replies later than that).

[Siptah]

go for bronze because the sculpture shop requires oil..


?? what did i miss ??

[Ramiz]

Those are just last few scrolls, been sending them for days everywhere, north and soth, and King Faticus - Thanks for the tip!

[Otus]

Why don't you try trading for ressources?

I made some deals 17 perfume for 51 cedar/emeralds/gold/kohl/henna or even 100 perfume for 300 cedar/henna/kohl and after that I traded those ressources for things I needed or used them up myself.

Bear in mind that some people don't trade often so they may have trouble producing perfume/jewels. They could have only their ressource for trade. Also, to produce perfume you need 1 oil + 1 henna + 1 worker = 3 workers and for sandals/sculpture you need 2 leather/bronze + 4 reed/pottery + 1 worker = 3.8 workers. You should offer a bit more than simple 1:1 trade for it.

[Sandra Linkletter]

go for bronze because the sculpture shop requires oil.. and you won't have to trade for it.

bronze is also self sufficient and produces all the materials to make sculpture without trade.. also when military is added bronze will dominate.

? Sculpture only requires bronze and clay.

[Torgen]

he means the upgrades to the sculpture shop.

[Ramiz]

[QUOTE=Otus;215669]Why don't you try trading for ressources?

Tryed everything, people are just narrow minded, thinking about instant wealth, like they do not need anything from other players. I think everybody needs everything in this game, like in life.

[Sandra Linkletter]

he means the upgrades to the sculpture shop.

Oh, lol. I upgraded my sculpture factory to level 2, and then destroyed it so I could retool to make luxuries that I can't afford to buy from my neighbors, from raw materials I have grabbed when I can find a decent price. I figure I will rebuild my sculpture factory after I get the rest of what I need for my second city. :D

[King Faticus]

? Sculpture only requires bronze and clay.

not to upgrade it

it requires bricks and oil after a certain level

[Sandra Linkletter]

not to upgrade it

it requires bricks and oil after a certain level

Yes, they told me. :) Some day I will worry about that.

[King Faticus]

yes I found that out after I posted

I hadn't refreshed the page before replying and didn't see the replies o_0

[Sandra Linkletter]

Hey, I'm giddy with happiness. I finally have begun my palace upgrading to level 4, and someone is selling me the perfume I need for my 2nd city for a decent price. I'm just 2200 bread, 1500 bricks, and a day or two from my second city. :D

[MadZedong]

not to upgrade it

it requires bricks and oil after a certain level



Really? For an oil producing city that sounds great (and comforting.)

[King Faticus]

we were talking about perfume.. not oil ;)

he wanted to know what was best.. I told him he would have a completely self sufficient sculpture industry if he goes for bronze.. since he already has oil.

[Eplekongen]

Ramiz sent you a scroll, 200 oil for 100 sculptures, or 100 perfume for 100 sculptures. 3 hours 54 minutes away from my capitol. I basicly have 100 sculptures to trade with you and you choose weather you want to trade oil or perfume, maby 100 oil and 50 perfume? :) Just send and I'll send back first chance i get.

Also,I have a second henna city 1h 30mins away in Raett (city Lumpadido). I would love to have an oil for henna relationship with you :)

(All this is in the scroll I sent you)

[Nyarlahotep]

I don't think perfumes are doomed. Even if nothing changes, in a week or two there are gonna be about 1000 pharaohs looking to get that lvl 8 upgrade and a handful going for their 3rd city. After that it should be a fairly constant rate, it's just that so little is needed initially.

And in all probability TM and Reed would't want there to be one lux item that was significantly less valuable that all the others. An since this is a game in progress they could always balance it out somewhere.

That said, I have never personally had trouble with perfumes, though it doesn't help that I am only 3 nomes south of NomeZero. My first city was oil and my second hennah, and I don't regret a thing. I can independently produce one lux (perfume) and by buying only one other(khol) I can make a second.

My strategy has been to produce as many of my own lux items as I can (currently: perfume, cosmetics, and jewelry) by buying raw materials when i see them cheap.

[Agamemnus]

not to upgrade it

it requires bricks and oil after a certain level

???????

[Eplekongen]

???????

Sculpture shop level 4 requirements:
105 bricks, 7 oil

[Monster]

Don't forget lad, that the later upgrades - level 8 require a shed load of perfume... So it WILL become very wanted in large quantities.

[Ramiz]

I sure hope it will come to that point. Thanks.

[roboczar]

It's true that the game doesn't make things easy for people who want to do direct trades, but it's not because people don't want to trade. There's also nothing fundamentally wrong with perfume... as palaces upgrade and people start expanding, perfume prices grow, then level off.

In the early part of the game, you make far, far more money simply trading or selling the initial products, for instance baskets, pottery, even bricks. If you look at it purely in terms of relative profits, you often have higher margins on the basic items at the beginning, than you would if you bought a 2nd luxury resource and started making luxuries... you will find it very hard to simply break even when you factor in labor and cost.

[Tinkerbell]

I feel your pain. I really do!

However, every dog has its day. In my neighborhood we are going through a sculpture bonanza & dat's ME. Palace7 = 245 sculpture

P8 = 371 perfume

This is YOUR time to shine!

P4 = 17 perfume

It rotates among the 4 non-jewelry lux in increasing amounts & is predictable & in order. Each time, the lux is just a tiny bit less than the required jewelry.

P4 & P8 = perfume
P5 & P9 = sandals
P6 & P10 = cosmetics
P7 & P11 = sculpture

After awhile, every different level is near you & that means there are customers out there for your products. People get 2nd cities & those also need to be upgraded from P1. More customers for you.

The jewelry dealers only own you for the first week of this game. After that? Yup, you own THEM.

1 kohl = 1 emerald = 1 gold
1 perfume = 1 jewelry

I always trade straight across or 2 resource = 1 lux = 4 baskets/pottery mix of their choosing. NO exceptions. Both ways. Scroll the world & go distance if you have to, but you will find out that 10 Nomes is the farthest you ever need to go, even on Day 1 of your gameplay. Your customers ARE out there.

2nd city ~ 39 sandals/sculpture + 24 cosmetics/perfume + NO jewelry

3rd city ~ 1800 sandals/sculpture + 1462 cosmetics/perfume + NO jewelry

As I said, we ultimately OWN the jewelry people

:D

[Sandra Linkletter]

I counted the number of dead or dying cities in my nome and the next nine nomes closer to the center from me.

Level 1: 32 cities dead
Level 2: one city amber on leather
Level 3: one city dead on emerald, one city amber on cedar, and three cities red (one cedar and two emerald)

By far the largest number of dead cities never even advanced to level 2. Lack of resources or of trading partners did not kill these cities.

[Tinkerbell]

My neighborhood had the very same thing Sandra. It will pass. Reed will sweep out the dead cities. Also, there are 5/10 Nomes on each side of the Nile specially saved for satellelite cities & not new players. Your future customers will move in & they desperately need your products.

Nothing will ever come to you. (OK, after awhile they DO come to you if you are a fair & reliable trader)

Go get it! :)

EDIT: Perhaps this will also help. Why do you care about dead cities? Ignore them, cuz they are a waste of your time. L3 & up are the only ones with boats. Do NOT be afraid to approach the bigger fish. THEY absolutely need you!

[Sandra Linkletter]

My neighborhood had the very same thing Sandra. It will pass. Reed will sweep out the dead cities. Also, there are 5/10 Nomes on each side of the Nile specially saved for satellelite cities & not new players. Your future customers will move in & they desperately need your products.

Nothing will ever come to you. (OK, after awhile they DO come to you if you are a fair & reliable trader)

Go get it! :)

EDIT: Perhaps this will also help. Why do you care about dead cities? Ignore them, cuz they are a waste of your time. L3 & up are the only ones with boats. Do NOT be afraid to approach the bigger fish. THEY absolutely need you!


As usual, you and I fail to communicate. This time I will bother to explain.

I was posting support to the idea that perfume cities are not automatically doomed, nor are cities on any other particular resource. The largest cause, so far, of dead cities is being abandoned not long after they are founded.

In actual fact I don't give 2 breadcrumbs about dead cities, but they are data in this discussion.

Now is the reason for the content of my post more clear to you?

[roboczar]

I don't believe Tinkerbell said anything to warrant such a response. We're all friends here, right? :D

[Sandra Linkletter]

I don't believe Tinkerbell said anything to warrant such a response. We're all friends here, right? :D
You are right, I should be more patient with her, or him, as the case may be. We do have history, however. ;)