Suggested reasonable prices for tradeskills and buffs - for discussion

[Buzzboy]

Given various other threads on here regarding what constitutes reasonable pay for various tradeskills (and buffs as well) I thought it might be useful to have a thread/discussion so everyone who does stuff can post what they regard as reasonable for what they do. I will try and collate responses and edit the initial post periodically to keep it in line with people's responses, so hopefully people who are new to tradeskills know what to charge, and so people who need tradeskillers or buffs have an idea of what is reasonable (or can be pointed here if their offer takes the mickey).

Please try not to make this a discussion on payment versus tips and the meaning of the word tip, as there are other threads ongoing around those issues. I also know we all do things cheaper for guild-mates, regular customers etc etc and this list is not to meant to include such factors. So just post a list of what you charge or would expect as a reasonable tip (including charge/ql or charge/skill needed) for any of the following (although the list is just as a starting point representing common requests, other buffs and items are welcome to be included). Please note that tradeskill costs are intended to be where all non-reusable parts are brought to you by the person paying.

The starting values listed are based either on other recent posts/threads I have read, what I'd expect myself for those cases where I have characters who can do them, or what I'm used to tipping/paying for things I've needed multiple times - feel free to argue with them - that after all is the point of the discussion!

Tradeskills:

Building an implant: 0.5K/ql/implant
Striping a ql 200 implant: 100K
Making carbonum armour: 1.5K/ql/piece
Making bronto/mantis armour:
Making dragon armour:
Making CAS or barter armour:
Making a VT egg: 4 million
Converting a carbon-rich rock: 50K
Making a nano crystal (excl. carbon-rock above):
Converting a mausser:

Buffs (grouped by character class):

Enhanced senses:
Feline Grace:
Take the shot:
Superior 1st aid: 100K
Iron Circle:
Essence (high level):
Extreme prejudice:
Mocham's: 50K each
Infuses:
Masteries:
132 wrangle: 100K
Maestos:
Offensive steamroller:
Total focus:
Riot control:
Ranged energy weapon mastery:
Assault rifle mastery:
Rifle mastery:
Pistol mastery:

[secondkenlon]

Iron circle. . . really depends on the character. If you fly up in a yalm and your level 20 character has a full suit of omni-pol on, I expect something more that "Thx" and you running off.
If it's an obviously non-twinked character, a "Thank you!" is sufficient.

[__________Honeypearl]

Originally posted by Buzzboy

Tradeskills:

Building an implant: 0.5K/ql/implant
Striping a ql 200 implant: 100K
Making carbonum armour: 1.5K/ql/piece <-- i ask for 1k/ql/piece since lots of ppl want this service.
Making bronto/mantis armour: 1k/ql/piece
Making dragon armour: 1k/ql/piece
Making CAS or barter armour: 1k/ql/piece
Making a VT egg: 4 million
Converting a carbon-rich rock: 50K
Making a nano crystal (excl. carbon-rock above): 1k/ql/piece
Converting a mausser: 1k/ql/piece

Buffs (grouped by character class):

Enhanced senses: i dont have agent but i offer 50k on this buff
Feline Grace: 50k
Take the shot: i dont ask for this buff unless ur in team mission and should be free if the agent is in your team.
Superior 1st aid: 100K <-- i dont have doc but sometimes i offer 200k for this
Iron Circle: 50k
Essence (high level): behemoth/gargantua i offer 100-200k
Extreme prejudice: dunno what this buff do lols
Mocham's: 50K each
Infuses: 20k ?
Masteries: 10k?
132 wrangle: 100K <-- ermm i ask 1k per point on this coz u need to zone 2 times inside the backyard to the park drain mobs, recharge ask if they are rdy.. wrangle then zone 2 times again back to backtard then to tir rock, but since the grid is relocated outside the south gate and mobs are everywhere i say 100k is fair.
Maestos: 100k (most traders needs to drain for this)
Offensive steamroller: i offer 100-200k on this
Total focus: dunno what this buff do
Riot control: i offer 100k-200k but most of the time soldier do it for me for free lols dunno why.
Ranged energy weapon mastery: no idea
Assault rifle mastery: no idea
Rifle mastery: no idea too
Pistol mastery: im dumb i dont usually ask for soldier buffs

The consequences of asking "tips" is ppl might give u 5k for 132 wrangle which is not as easy as right-clicking the button like other buffs do.

[Buzzboy]

Thanks for the long and helpful post back. Having talked to a couple of guildmates they seem to agree that low level buffs (like feline grace, enhanced senses, pistol mastery etc) they tend to be happy to do for free as long as character isn't too high level. Even if the character is high level they thought about 20K was adequate.

Surely some of the other high level tradeskillers and buffers out there can add what they think is reasonable too - whether they agree with above or not??

[Buzzboy]

Oh and just as a note - the extreme prejudice is an engi buff for +120 to grenade and pistol - and not many engineers tend to have it due to the cost of developing SI and PM that high.

The take the shot buff tends to be needed by mid level non-agent characters trying to equip the "TIM scope". The one time I needed this I did offer 200k as tip but the agent concerned insisted on doing it for free (big thanks).

Also I do have a doc alt who can do SFA and personally am quite happy when someone offers a 100k tip for doing that - to be offered 200k for it is extremely rare in my experience.

I'd also be interested Honey on what you think is reasonable for multiple Maestros' as in when someone wants 3 different ones at once (as you can manage with a single drain) - would you expect more as a tip than for one or not? Certainly my quoted ideal tip for Mocham's of 50K each is based largely round the fact most people want 2 at a time - I do have an MP alt who does Mooches and would actually consider the 100k adequate as a tip even if person wanted 3 or 4 all at once.

[Elbo]

Extreme prejudice:

If you need a +120 pistol/gernade buff then you can afford at least 120K. But those engineers who have raised the nice blue skills up this high 120K should be considered 'base' level.

See the engineers forum for a list of who can selfcast.

[_____________Punkbum]

i'm a soldier, i do all buffs for free on clanners if i can self cast em and u come to me (dont expect me to come to you, i wont do it). If i cant selfcast it, u wont get the buff, except if u bring a trader or MP along that will buff me (u give him the tips then...)

BTW total focus is a self-only buff...
OS i cant self cast yet, but i wouldnt ask tips for it, a thx will do (i wont decline tips though :P)

hope that will help,

PS: in the last 4 or 5 months i didnt tip for ANY buffs, its simple: You buff me and i buff you :P (rrf and OS is always welcome i noticed)

[_________Neurofreeze]

How about adding exceptions to the nanocrystal rule? I have the feeling that making a GA1 or NS1 nanocrystal from a disc is more expensive than other pre-QL120 discs.

And what about improving weapons?

[Buzzboy]

My impresion was that, other than activating pepper pistols from weapons receptacles and converting chemical maussers, not that much weapon improvement went on....

The GA1/NS1 costs are being discussed in another thread at the moment and the current suggestion on there seemed to be that it depended partly on whether it was something being converted so the person could upload it themselves who was paying (in which case it was at or only marginally over the usual fee - 100K for GA1 was mentioned), or whether it was to sell on (in which case a larger tip would be expected - 250K was mentioned for GA1 in this context)

[_________Neurofreeze]

Ah, thanks for the info. That's good to know.

[________________Jica]

I never charge to buff people, never have and never will.

I charge tips for some services, but if someone asks me to build one implant at tir grid, then sure I'll do it for free. All depend on time, amount and workload.

Close friends and guildies get items made for free.

Regarding getting buffs.. I found it a major pain to keep hunting traders for maestros every 30 minutes. So I rolled a trader on a second account so I could buff myself Not the fastest way, but I'm at least self sufficient now.

[connall]

Well, as a clan agent, everyone gets buffs for free if they ask nicely. I will very rarely charge clanners or neutrals, and Omni employees get nothing, no matter how much they offer. When a tip is offered, about 50k seems usual for FG, or ES, and I don't think that I've ever received a tip for UA or TTS.

The only exception to free buffs is for anything that requires false profession to use. Usually it's only inconsiderate people that ask me to go fp anyway, and most often I'll just apologise and turn down the request. I don't think that most non-agents realise exactly how gimped we are for 30 minutes, if we fp for them... Most agents I know don't want 30 minutes of not casting their highest buffs and a -400 nano init, just because someone can't be bothered to hunt out an enforcer for a mid-level essence. There are times when I'll go fp for people, but usually only if they are desperate and I know I have 30 minutes free. Then they get asked for a tip.

Oh and don't ever try to give Jica a tip if she considers you a friend... My ears still haven't recovered from the bashing that they took the last time I tried to tip her for work...

Ailish
Thinker, Doer, Warrior-Poet
Presdient of First Light
Queen of West Athen

[Great_dane]

The only buff I agree to pay for is Extrem Prejudice, because only few players can cast it, they have to raise 2 dark blue skills (that are used only for this buff) and they generally don't need it for themselves.
I'm a crat, lots of players need a psychology buffs to wear MKII armor, and I never asked for money to buff them, so I see no reason to pay for a buff from someone else.

[Phione]

I'd be more than happy to pay for a good Wrangle (e.g. 132 or 131, but 3~5 mil a shot is just too much)... The rest... I don't see any reason that it should charge (maybe the engie Pistol buff).

I don't charge ppl when I give them my ess (regardless if they're rude or not, tho they might end up on the ignore list), therefore I expect the same from buffs others is able to selfcast...

[Afelia]

I don't like the idea of "reasonable" prices.

1 week ago, I wanted payment from every wrangle above 71.

Then I got a new implant setup and can do 109 selfbuffed. That is now the new limit for prices...

Same with IDs. I can make ql 159 Nano Formulas, but I will charge several millions because it will take me 1-2 hours and I have to get some outside bufs. Ask me to do a ql 50 disc and a nice "Thank You" is enough. (ie, Tip if you want). When I can do QL 159 NFs without breaking a sweat, that will become much cheaper.

An apparent Uber Twink that comes and asks for wrangles should pay/tip more than the apparent newbie asking.

-Af.

[Unit99]

When I do a tradeskill job for someone (I can do them all aside from tower making) I always charge way lower then I see people advertising on these boards. I'm not a greedy person and just do my part to attempt to get this sick economy back in check. Wish more would think along these lines when I browse through the RK1 market.