Opportunities within Entropia for product differentiation seem to be at a minimum, making it difficult to convince players to buy your product at a higher price than what the other guy is offering. Convenience is one factor that can sway many—with respect to shops, especially in the malls, players who know a specific item is regularly kept in stock may simply come back to save time.

But, I’m thinking there may be a way to take that one step further…

Bundling

Armor traders already know that it can, at times, be easier to sell a complete set of armor than piece by piece. But what about bundling other items? Would miners buy bundles consisting of a finder, extractor and several amps at a slightly higher markup based on the convenience factor? Obviously there will be many “DIYers” who would never make such a purchase. But, if the bundle saves the purchaser enough time there is the possibility it would make the higher cost feasible. I’m thinking some “market research” might be pertinent here.

And then there is another trend that almost defies logic…

Low TT, High Markup

After watching the Entropia Auction for the past few years, I’ve observed many items will sell at a much higher markup than what the market average is, so long as the TT value is low enough. This even holds true for Limited items, although to a lesser degree and, most of the time, only with the more rare items. I believe these are compulsory “gotta have it now” purchases.

Take the Alekz Precision Scope as an example. The scope’s maximum TT value is 34 PED, which can be quite a large chunk of change for the non-depositing players. Average markup on it generally ranges from 2-4 PED. However, if you toss an Alekz Scope with a TT value under 10 PED onto the auction with a buyout of 4-5, sometimes even as high as 6 PED, it will generally sell. And then there are often cases where a full 34 PED scope won’t sell with a buyout of only 2 PED. Don’t believe me? Try it.

(But, please note, if everyone tries this at the same time, it will probably just break the market! )

Simply do the math and it is easy to see why these low TT, high markup items sell. A player might not have 36 PED to spend on a full TT Alekz Scope with only a 2 PED markup, even if it is a better deal. But they may very well have the 14 PED to spend on an 8 PED scope that has a 6 PED markup. The urge to “have it now” kicks in at this point.

What Else?

Hopefully someone out there can put this information to work for them. But I would like to get more minds tackling this “problem” and get a quality, informative discussion going. So, my question is, traders, how do you differentiate your products in Entropia? Please post your ideas and comments!