Trading. AM I missing something?

[steveredd]

So ive played this game for a while and I like to do the trading as when I go to places for a mission ill grab what I need where im going. the problem is how do you turn a profit or how dose trading work to make money EVEN a little bit?

Im going over the small amount of prices I have and what People are selling for and What people are buying for never seem to add up to any profit Even moving to islands. Maybe im missing something? thanks for the help and advice.

[titanopteryx]

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[VaeliusNoctu]

I am too nearby that point in the game so i add here to learn it too.^^

[Hammer]

I think it is heavily reliant on your trading skill, even if you buy export goods at colonies and take them to places where it is in demand. Supposedly it could take a while before you're actually turning any profit due to trading skill.

[VaeliusNoctu]

Originally posted by Hammer:

I think it is heavily reliant on your trading skill, even if you buy export goods at colonies and take them to places where it is in demand. Supposedly it could take a while before you're actually turning any profit due to trading skill.

Maybe but that would be realy unlogic how you increase your skill if you make nearby no profit? In all trading games i know you can make good profit and get more with higher skills or access to new goods.

[Randyyyy1234]

You'll need to hire an officer who has high trading skills including hight trading skill points and three perks(basic trading, higher trading, and perfessional trading) to make sure your trade is profitable.

[VaeliusNoctu]

Thx...

[titanopteryx]

Doing the missions for the shopkeepers where you transport goods will level your trade skill. You might try what i call combat trading at first, which is to pick up the shopkeeper mission in order to force the pirate ship to spawn so you can go board and loot it. The shopkeeper mission always spawns a pirate ship that comes after you. You still have to complete the mission but you make a lot of money looting every container. Ironically the accountant class is the best for boarding enemy ships because the accountant's unique skill makes a bunch of valuables spawn in the containers on the enemy ship.

[VaeliusNoctu]

Nice...that sounds like a good advice.

[wolvescream]

You suck at trading, in the beginning. Hire a Purser with high skill in trade.
Get trade ships and buy in big quantities. Take notice of the colors of the goods. Buy when colonial goods in green, sell where purple. Best get news about needs in towns. Goods in demand sell best.

Later on you should be able to buy a storehouse. Store goods there and do the harbormaster missions. They ask for some goods and pay lots for it.

[neuserz]

Always use the Trade Book in the Logbook. When you contact the shopkeepers it updates the prices. Then you can see all the goods where you should buy/sell them. Actually there is a "bug" when you (or Purser officer) get a decent level of Trading skill, and all 3 trading "Ship Abilities", there will be lot of goods with higher Selling prices than Purchase price. Once you find a goods with equal prices, just start buy/selling them and your trading skill levels up quickly. After some clicks the puchase price goes lower and sellig price rises... then you have unlimited money. I call it "bug" because it kills the game for me by eliminating the challenges to get more money.

[neuserz]

"Trade book" is on the 7th sheet of the Logbook (press F3 to open Logbook).

[wenttobullsworth]

Trade skill is important to get the best price however what even more important is knowing what to sell and where. Basically anything in the trade book that is blue mean imported goods meaning you will turn a profit only if you buy your goods from a green marked location for those goods in the trade book. However, the best things to sell to turn a profit is the thing that have both an up and down arrow on it those are demanded items. For example, Willemstad will demand coffee and saint-pierre and Basse-terra both sells coffee for cheap. With using a lugger weight down with coffee costing around 40000 I usually get over 65000 for them. This is with a trade skill a little below 30 with no purser. The big difference is I play the accountant background which start with a better trade level. However, even on my other runs I still turn a profit from this just not as much.

[Elenoe]

just a related question.. what is "normal" selling price for coffee? I still can't grasp the stolen/normal thing. I captured one ship full of coffee. I bought some more on the main ship. But they don't offer different prices (and the spread fells abnormal given I'm accountant and have lousy pursuer with some skills). So no idea what is supposed to be "normal".

(On the side note, no idea how to handle it at all. Unless I'm sitting somewhere for a month, I keep playing but I need to be interacting with warehouses more often then once in a month to bring new stuff. And as said.. even legit purchased commodity doesn't offer different price, so it's very confusing.)

[Morindacil]

Originally posted by Elenoe:

just a related question.. what is "normal" selling price for coffee? I still can't grasp the stolen/normal thing. I captured one ship full of coffee. I bought some more on the main ship. But they don't offer different prices (and the spread fells abnormal given I'm accountant and have lousy pursuer with some skills). So no idea what is supposed to be "normal".

(On the side note, no idea how to handle it at all. Unless I'm sitting somewhere for a month, I keep playing but I need to be interacting with warehouses more often then once in a month to bring new stuff. And as said.. even legit purchased commodity doesn't offer different price, so it's very confusing.)

Colonial coffee goods normally buy and sell around 110-120 pesos per 1 crate. Places that demand it like Willemstadt buys and sells it double the amount, like 230 pesos per crate. I often just buy coffee from Saint-Pierre or Basse-Terre and sell it to Willemstadt, along with some other goods like cocoa. Have a good purser though or level your own commerce skill.

Places that demand certain goods in high often are marked with a peach/white double arrows, unlike the green arrow that indicate local/colonial goods.

[Elenoe]

yeah, 230 would be adequate. Willemstadt currently offering 166 which seems way too low :/ That is with about 40 trading and 2 skills