Merchanting Etiquette

[Dan 12]

I can understand it's a dog eat dog world on Runescape, But recently since moving to lower valued items and buying in bulk I've noticed lots of under-cutting by massive margins which in turns really ruins it for everybody else & yourself.

What's your thoughts on this? Are you happy to match the selling price and not under-cut people or do you under-cut when selling items? I'm just curious as to what others do. I'm the first to admit I've always just under-cut as that was the quickest way to get what I wanted. I've been trying to adapt a different view on it and just match the current selling price and in the process I've seen some items I'm selling drop in large amounts where people won't undercut you by 1-2gp they will completely try and throw you out by dropping 200-400gp which when selling lower valued items, can make a big impact on you.

 

What's your view?

[Kaleun 0]

Just a part of the buying/selling game, you under-cut someone or they do it to you. Nothing more to it than that, otherwise I think it would be price manipulation if people matched prices to their liking.

[English 13]

This is the worst part of trading high-vol items in my opinion! 

I usually match the sell if I'm heading off and won't be on for a bit but if i'm actively flipping i'll usually undercut.

On low vol items I always match sell.

One trick that can scare people is if you cut the margin to 1gp between buy and sell. Most will panic and totally sell their stock and if you've got a few buys you can buy all their stock for a little cheaper (since they flood the market) and then you get control over the sell price.

Risky but great when it works.

[tvojamtka 15]

I almost always undercut but only by as little as possible. It's just efficient. Makes it all flow faster and it's just far less stressful, just throw it in there and forget about it.

[Tantro 2]

When flipping lower ticket items I tend to undercut, but on higher ticket items that most people will only be flipping maybe 2-of at a time that has a trade volume of 2-4/hr I usually just wait.

[James 63]

I've noticed this a few times on items also, and I agree, it does ruin the profits for everyone involved.

When I first begun merching, I would always flip on the exact margin, because the first video I watched told me it was good etiquette. Undercutting by 1-5gp is just standard procedure (and higher for higher items), but when people are undercutting for large amounts just to quickly dump their items is not efficient in the long run, because more research has to be done into new items.

[zips 18]

I always try to undercut by the smallest amount possible. If I undercut by too much I risk bringing the price down and ruining a renewable flip..

[Flancy 1]

Depending on the items I will undercut.  When I am unfamiliar with a high volume item I will tend to undercut by 1 gp, but when I actively trade a high volume item I will go as far as putting my offer up to 25 gp below their offer.  

All depends on the situation for me but I would be a huge fan if everyone would match each others margins.

[Duckimo 35]

I think it depends on the volume and value of the item, If it's something like Zulrah scales or Death runes. No, there's no need for it. If it's something a bit more competitive like chins or a low volume item like DWH/Arcane, undercutting is part of competing and it's where I make the majority of my profit. But I do also understand the implications of how much undercutting can affect everyone else's profit and for this reason I try to undercut as little as possible.