Spawn shops! -Tips, Tricks, and Information-

Hello everyone, here is a brief guide on spawn shops. I will be covering what they are, how they work, how you get one, as well as some tips on running them.
http://tinyurl.com/Spawnshopguide

Table of Contents
1. What a Spawn shop is
2.How they work
3. Shop selection
4. Making Money
5.Tips


Section 1. What a Spawn shop is.
​

A Spawn shop is a user run market stall in EcoCityCrafts public marketplace. Spawnshops are used for players to sell and buy items, exp, and more in a genuine user to user environment. these shops cost 5k/week to rent and often are sold/bought for more from other players.

To apply for a shop go here:
http://www.ecocitycraft.com/forum/forums/applications-residents-town-protection-mayor.22/
and then apply using this format:

Spoiler

• A Spawn Trade-Shop Rental will allow you to have one of your very own areas within our spawn trade area. Access will be extremely easy as it will be through our spawn market portal! The same way all users must go to visit their town portals! This room will be yours and you will have full building rights within it. It is your responsibility however to watch the expiry dates and clean out or purchase more weeks before your expiry date. After your room has expired it will be cleaned out without notice. If you would like to add more days you may fill out this exact same application; keep in mind it must always be a minimum 4 week purchase. Expiry dates will be listed in this thread.
• All expiry dates are in EST (Eastern Standard Time) - Click for time. Shops expire at exactly 12:01AM EST on Expiry date.
• If you want to add on time its still a minimum 4 week purchase - up to maximum 10 week total time.
• If you want to relocate you lose your original rental fee and give up your old location immediately upon application processing. As well any purchased time on the old location does not move over.
• If you are giving your location to another user, your entire current location will be cleaned out, and their name will take over as owner. As well your account will be the one that is charged for the time requested. The receiving user's time will start over as if it were a new application + the time you are purchasing for them.
• If you want another users location, make an application on there expiry date at 12:01AM EST. All dates are in EST. Making an application sooner will just get you denied and possibly fined for an improper application.
• Regarding priority. If an existing owner has an "add time" application in after his expiry yet others are already making applications for that location; the existing owner will get priority. It is all based on when the applications are being processed. If there is no add time application in during processing however you will take over the location.
• Please keep in mind you will not be able to add members to the building area. You will be the only one with access rights.
• Maximum one per user!
• Building Rules:
  • This area can have anything you like within it. Get creative and make an awesome store. It must however be a store. A minimum of 8-10 trade signs must be in your store area. Not following this rule risks getting evicted. This is not your personal private plot; this is your commercial store plot.
  • No Redstone lamps
  • No working redstone
  • No lava
  • No fire
  • No water
  • No vines
  • No naturally grown trees. Must be made by hand.
• TIP: Expiries happen on every monday, so if you order on tuesday you will recieve an additional 6 days free as we start counting from the upcomming monday + 4 weeks!
• TIP: Be sure to check the expiry date thread to ensure the location you are applying for is not taken. Further more you can use the command "/region info station<#>" to be 100% sure. Example: If you wanted to check if someone is in the 26th station you can use "/region info station26" command and see if any usernames are listed in the members area. Also be sure to check any applications done before yours in the Resident+ section to ensure you are not applying for a shop that another user has already applied for. Not following this TIP may result in a fine applied toward your account. Please be extra careful and know what you are doing. We give you three options on the application to ensure you pick an empty one.

Instructions

• To apply for a Spawn Trade Shop Rental you must post a topic in Applications (Resident+) forum.
• Title of your application must have the following tag: " [Spawn Trade-Shop Rental Application] "
• Subject of your application must have the following questions copied/pasted and answered:
  • IGN:
  • Do you have the applicable cost in your balance:
  • How did you make the funds for this application. (Lying will result in a ban):
  • Have you read the trade-shop building rules:
  • Which station would you like your Trade Shop to be located at:
    • If that one is taken what is choice#2:
    • If that one is taken what is choice#3:
      • Check availability here: Thread
  • Is this a new trade-shop / relocating to a new one / adding time to an existing one / or giving to another user:
    • If giving to another user - which one is receiving it:
    • If giving to another user or relocating to a new shop - have you cleared out this shop for transfer:
  • How many weeks are you ordering? (Minimum 4 / Maximum 10):
  • The GameAdmins handle applications at least once a week. Do not constantly ask staff to do your application. We can see there are outstanding applications and handle them when we are able to. As well, after payment has been taken your changes are not instant, please wait patiently as they are applied. All users must be aware they will be fined for an improper application. Take extra care when applying for various server features. By agreeing to this you are agreeing to abide by and accept the possible consequences of everything listed in this section:

Section 2. How they Work.
​

Spawn shops are small plots filled with trade signs. These trade signs either buy or sell your stock. To maximize profits, you want you buy and sell signs to have competitive prices, and lots of stock.

You get your plot, and you start to make a design. A good design is one that is appealing put gets the job done. You don't want a shop made of cobble, but you also don't want a shop that has no space for signs.

Spawnshop availability and claiming:

If a spawnshop is not empty, it is not available. If you come upon an empty shop, you can use the command:

/rg i station##

To see if it is owned (swap in the station number in place of the # symbol). If someone is listed as a member, then they own that shop. They just haven't built anything.

You can also claim expiring shops.

The list of expiring spawnshops is here:

Http://www.ecocitycraft.com/forum/threads/trade-shop-rentals-information-expiry-dates.5589/

Shops expire at 12:01am est, 1 minute after the end of a Sunday (so, 1 minute into the new day, Monday).

If a shop expires 8/10/14, then you can apply for it on 8/11/14 at 12:01am est.

The staff uses your forum post time to determine who was first to post the claim after 12:01am est.

There is a link in the wiki to a clock and it suggests that you use it to post right at 12:01am. I have found that if you use that clock, you will be late and others will out-claim you. It is not in sync with the forum time.

Section 3. Shop Selection.
​

Obviously the top choice for shops would be the first 4 rows, however these are extremely expensive and rare. Choosing a shop might often come down to the only one that is open, but if you want to buy from a user you have a wider range of choice. The best shops are the ones closest to
-The entrance to all four sides
-The warps
-The sign placement near the portal

+The shops closest to the portal go in order of shop row placement, first row, second row, etc. These shops simply attract more attention because they are the first ones the user sees. However, these shops are very hard to get, so I won't dwell on them too much.

+There are two warps to either side of the market. Again, the first warp is to the first row, etc. But, the recently changed market allows for a second warp sign to be next to the previously "bottom" row shops. These shops are now attracting a lot of foot traffic because they are frequently traveled. This turn the former 10th, 9th, 8th row shops, etc. into shops that are more valuable than the 6th or 7th row shops.

+This is a small category but when you /warp market you are faced with eight signs, two for each road. The red and blue sides are the signs closest, so people may be inclined to click them more often.

Section 4. Making Money.​

All in all, the best spawn shops are the 1-4th rows. However, you can make a decent amount with any shop. The key is advertisement, competitive prices, and loyal customers.

+Advertisement is key to a shop, arguably the most important part. Advertising with a neat message can draw some big attention to your shop, especially to people who are looking for a good deal. The advertising can turn a 1k/day shop into a 10k/day shop. I would not recommend an ad with a spam of symbols or one that breaks trade rules as this makes your and your shop unappealing.

+Competitive prices are an essential part of a good shop. The top tier shops can usually get away with having less competitive prices simply because of convenience. However, the lower tier shops can compete with the earning of these top tier ones due to competitive prices. This means setting your buy/sell signs slightly different to the those of the top tier shops. This gives customers most incentive to shop with you even if it means a further walk/fly.

+Customer loyalty can be the easiest of these to achieve. This is done by doing the first two things correctly. If your shop is neat, professional, and good prices, you will establish customers who know your shop number and will constantly bring the customers back to you.

Section 5. Tips.
​

Spawn shops have many small things that you can do with them to help increase their use.
-Know what to go all in with. Nether stars usually only sell when someone is buying a star tool. For this reason make sure to keep them all in your sign so when someone buys you out you make as much as possible.
-Know what to reserve. EXP is a constantly changing market and there is really no scenario where someone will need a TON of exp. (30k+ orbs). For this reason, if you have more than that keep some in your reserves because the prices may drop and rise without warning.
-Know your increments. Most people will only be needing to buy one anvil at a time, however, people usually buy wood in increments of 64. Know the usage of items and base your sell increments on that, no one wants to hold right click for an hour just to by one of each item.
-Keep building items in bulk. Often you will have someone who is making a large build, for this reason a buyer should never have to run out items to buy. keep a large stock and restock in bulk.
-Always transfer profits to buy signs. In my personal experience, the best way to run a shop is to put all the money you make from selling an item, into a buy sign for that same item. When you are done using the shop you will get all the money.
-Remember that a spawn shop is passive. Your money will be made shortly and spread out. They are worth it if you're willing to work with it.

 

Please feel free to leave all feedback and anything I missed/should add!


also, @Gernen @SnDxCH4RG3R

 

Thank you @_TANSTAAFL. I have added the information you provided.

 

No it's fine, it's still relevant.

 

Kind of late but yes I would say for their money, 1-4 are the best, yes 5th row is decent but I have owned a fifth row and it just doesn't achieve the same profit ratios as a fourth.