We’ve been seeing a lot of confusion and misplaced anger surrounding the Commodities Exchange. While some of it is warranted, most of it is just due to a lack of familiarity with the system. Since there is no tutorial for the CX,I’m going to elaborate on the buying side of the market, because this is what most people are going to use it for, and an understanding of the demand side will make the supply side more transparent.
In the first few days of early access I was able to earn ~5 platinum at level 20 by simply buying materials from the CX and selling crafted items. There are plenty of ways to make money using the CX, so I want to just get that myth out of the way early.
Buyers
You benefit the most from the convenience that the CX brings, but you also currently face some hefty fees if you use it wrong. Currently there isn’t much transparency on the fee structure the CX uses. Everyone keeps saying it is a 2% or 5s fee, but it isn’t that simple. Either way, The heaviest of these fees are only present when you use the CX in a very narrow way. Lets work around that.
Buy Now
This should be your least used function of the CX. The only situation that Buy Now is useful is searching for Amps or Dyes. If you’re looking for crafting materials, it is very rare that you will be searching for only 1.If you just don’t want to create a Buy Order, then using Buy Now to purchase a bulk of crafting materials is easy. The CX shows the current lowest price for an item, but that doesn’t mean an entire stack of it is available at that price. Instead, you can change the quantity to 50 (or whatever you need) and put a price higher than the lowest price, and you will only be charged the cost of purchase, not your entire quoted price.The benefit for this is that you’re not fighting with the market trying to sort through stacks and find the best price per item against 6 different increments of stacks. You get exactly how many of an item you want, for the price you want or less.
Create Buy Order
This is the bread and butter of the CX, and will be used regularly by any crafter purchasing in bulk from the CX. This is what will also heavily influence the market because it displays a both sides of supply and demand.The Buy Order shows you two prices: Competition and Buy Now.
Competition is the highest listed Buy Order currently outstanding.
Buy Now shows the current lowest priced item of that type available.
As a buyer you have two options depending on your motivation. If you need a steady influx of crafting materials, you can set an order above the competition. This will get you a steady amount of materials mailed right to your box, and they will always be at the cost you listed. Option two is setting a price below the competition and waiting for the market to lower. As more people post more goods, the price will eventually come down, or as more buy orders are fulfilled demand will come down and more sellers will sell lower.
Sellers
The CX gives you a lot of tools to see the demand side of the market, and you can use this to either get money fast or invest in the long haul.
Sell Now
This is your get money fast option, and again one that likely won’t be used often. This option is matching your sell price to the highest listed Buy Order for that good. This means your good will sell instantly as long as the Buy Order is outstanding. This is how you’ll generate that rapid income you need to pay someone for that weapon they just crafted you. It isn’t the most efficient uses of your goods, but it is the fastest.
Create Sell Order
This is where Supply gets to set their side of the market. This is what a buyer will see as the “Buy Now” price, and dictates the top end of the scale. Create Sell Order gives you two bits of info just like Buy Orders; Competition and Sell Now.
Sell Now is the current highest outstanding Buy Order for that good
Competition is the lowest priced Sell Order outstanding
If you know that a good typically sells for more than the current competition or sell now, then set a Sell Order for that price. The market is always going to Fluctuate both ways, and as long as it is a reasonable price you will eventually sell your order.