gold bar market : boom, now bust?

[Haron]

I don't think voodoo is the best way forward in this case. It's a matter of supply and demand. Gold bars need a use. Not only for one-time investments, but something you'd use more regularly. As part of some form of trade, attack, repair or upkeep of some kind. Something that would make us spend gold bars on a daily basis. Maybe as part of production of other goods, for example.

[Stan Rogers]

CJ spoke somewhere, further developments are almost certain to have GB needed for construction and development.
These features however are running on a timeline set by admin for various reasons.

I would be very surprised if ship specialization, port development and others did not involve GB to some extent thus raising the demand.
I not sure if voodoo is the way to go either but maybe the voodoo hut recipe specialization could have some sort of alchemy curse doing something.

Maybe admin should look at something short term for now that could be phased out as GB need grows with development.
A Special Event in Avonmora maybe as these have been known to happen but as demand grows, events are less frequent and lesser profit and eventually get all but phased out.
That way, there could be a better reason for traders to stockpile and when an event happens, try to unload or purchase depending on the event and take advantage of it.

Although CJ has calculated that 50k profit can be made from 1 trip currently, these shipments are not covered under nation insurance and one skirmish can result in loss of millions. For a trader to try to run bars on a full time basis is nothing more than a fools errand in my personal profit vs.risk analysis. Others may disagree.

[Malachi Constant]

Although CJ has calculated that 50k profit can be made from 1 trip currently, these shipments are not covered under nation insurance and one skirmish can result in loss of millions. For a trader to try to run bars on a full time basis is nothing more than a fools errand in my personal profit vs.risk analysis. Others may disagree.

I made the top 10 fleets list and then lost all profit in one skirmish. My own fault.

Sorting gold prices right now is too much of a chore to make it worth while in my opinion. There needs to be an active gold pricing list without having to sort everything. That would make gold trade more appealing as a trade good.

If the buy/sell and volume were sorted in an Active ports page devoted to gold and updated hourly? 15 minutes? And showed volume and prices like a stock market and their fluctuations(green/red arrows, price changes %, volumes, history) you could better gauge a 3 port route to expand those 1 trip profits.

[PhoenixKnight]

Gold bar trading is a challenge and risky by all measures.
1. You have to keep constant eye on port prices to change your routes.
2. Any successful skirmish or attack will cost anywhere up to 2 million gold.
3. If your travel time is too long, you could end up losing gc.
4. It takes too long to be able to be a successful gold bar trader.

I have written a "Gold bar Production and Trading" Manual that I have in SSAA and ATC. I put in my knowledge as well as some tips from other gold traders who were willing to share with me.
By all accounts, it is a very risk business which is why you need a big stash built up before you even consider selling.
I am not personally fond of the price fluctuations and it decreases the profit a lot.

If you trade market to market, there will be days or weeks where you have to stop because there is no profitable transaction possible.
If you are producing, it will be cheaper to buy from the market till level 9 or 10 and then it will not be profitable to sell till level 12 or higher.
Huge investment! Huge Risk!