Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Die Nacht]

Second year in a row that the trader tells me this. I don't get it, I'm giving him a shit ton of stuff, valued at 20K+ AND letting him have a 1000+ profit, yet he still doesn't want to trade. I kept asking for less and less items and but keeps saying that and then he just leaves.

Now I have to wait ANOTHER year without iron weapons? What does he mean? How can I make him accept my items? I'm mostly selling crafts encrusted with gems and the such.

[Corai]

Since your selling so much at once, instead of 1000, he wants a 5000 profit. Sell in small clusters.

[Talonj]

Since your selling so much at once, instead of 1000, he wants a 5000 profit. Sell in small clusters.

Translation: Your trader is looking at a percentage profit -- 20k+ and a 1k profit margin is less than 5% over.

If your broker is crappy, make 3-4 small trades at double or so first (buy 500 worth or so) and then, once they're happy with you, drop your wealth and buy out the caravan.

If you make him mad, like you were, offering slightly less items that may have appeased him before your first offer will still make him mad, because he already is becoming impatient with you and is expecting an even higher profit margin in compensation.

Alternatively, you can always creatively kill them, especially if they're elves. Minecarts add a nearly-infinite number of ways to creatively kill merchants, after all.

[Urist Da Vinci]

It may also be a percentage profit rather than a fixed profit. I usually give 150% - the cost of what I'm buying, plus half that amount. The traders are always happy or ecstatic.

[Die Nacht]

Is this new? I used to give them a near zero profit and they would be happy. No, it is dwarves, not the elves; I don't trade with the elves. When I see them I just yell "Yay! Free stuff!".

[Goodguy3]

Your broker's persuasive skills have a lot to do with it.

[Die Nacht]

Your broker's persuasive skills have a lot to do with it.

If that's so, then that explains it. My current broker's persuasive skill sucked, badly. Sigh, hopefully I don't get attacked until next year...

[HiEv]

It may also be a percentage profit rather than a fixed profit. I usually give 150% - the cost of what I'm buying, plus half that amount. The traders are always happy or ecstatic.

^This.^

Even at 50% profit (trading away $150 worth of goods for $100 worth of goods), after the first year I still have enough useless trade goods remaining to buy out the entire merchant stock a couple of times over.

Using a series of small transactions instead of one large one also trains up your broker faster.

[Garath]

most fun is that trading a lot of small transactions improves social skills. If you have someone you want to see as mayor instead of the guy demanding you make windows, let him do all the trading and only trade one item at a time

[terko]

Using a series of small transactions instead of one large one also trains up your broker faster.

Don't they gain skill only once per caravan arrived? Regardless how often you trade with that very same caravan in the very same year.

[HiEv]

Using a series of small transactions instead of one large one also trains up your broker faster.

Don't they gain skill only once per caravan arrived? Regardless how often you trade with that very same caravan in the very same year.

Nope.  It's once per attempted trade.  You gain 50 skill points, distributed among Comedian, Flatterer, Intimidator, Judge of Intent, Negotiator, and Persuader (around 5-15 points each), every time you attempt to trade something, even if the trade is rejected (see here).  This can be used to rapidly train up those skills.

My broker/baron in my current fort has the highest social skills in my fortress.

[Psieye]

Using a series of small transactions instead of one large one also trains up your broker faster.

Don't they gain skill only once per caravan arrived? Regardless how often you trade with that very same caravan in the very same year.

You're thinking of the Appraisal skill, not the other skills.

[Dorfimedes]

I'm not sure about this, but I don't think the price of the items on the trader's side of the screen reflects the inflated price you agreed upon when setting priorities with the liaison. The items you're trading for may be more valuable than than the interface suggests.

I'm just guessing though, because I've had trouble with this too and I tend to set the priorities for imports rather high. If someone can confirm whether or not it's working as it should that would be nice.

[King DZA]

When merchants said that, I always thought it was because I was giving them an unbelievable deal...

[Garath]

it was, they couldn't believe you were offering them so little