Hello Everyone;
I would like to welcome you all to my trading guide. While I am aware that there are many of these in circulation, I have always wanted to make my own and explain the way in which I went about trading on Torn. Would I class myself as a successful trader? Yes, in that I went into trading to with the goal to be fully self-sufficient in terms of my finances allowing me to train and progress through the game on my own; that is to say, without handouts from other players. Since I started trading, and at the time of me writing this I have amassed over $1,750,000,000 in assets and capital. My grand total is much more than this though, however, but every now and again I feel the odd urge to lose a fair bit playing Blackjack. I will, however, be honest about my start into this game. I did not start with nothing. After creating my account, I did spend a little bit of money (approximately £13) for my subscription and a couple of Donator Packs. This did give me a slight head start into the ‘trading game’ but is in no means necessary and did not affect my overall approach to trading; it simply meant I got some decent capital sooner rather than later.
So, what can you expect from this trading guide? I have broken this guide down into six distinct stages. These stages are what I used to formulate my method of trading (not that I claiming it is in any way unique). The stages are as follows and will each have multiple sub-sections within them for further explanation and to break down some of my ideas. I have not, however, decided to break down what you should and should not trade for this should be up to you; what works best for is something that only you can teach yourself. Anyway, the sections are as follows:
- Before you start trading,
- Starting to trade & trading,
- Expanding your trading and services,
- Scale,
- Trade Protection,
- The Newspaper.
Now then, let us begin….
1. BEFORE YOU START TRADING: Before you start trading, there are a few things that you may wish to think about as these (these being my three sub-sections) will ultimately shape your perception of the trading game and thus the way in which you go about trading. This section has been broken down into three sub-sections:
- Trading Goals,
- Levels of Trading,
- Learning the Market.
I.I Trading Goals:Trading goals are exactly what it says on the tin. These set out what you want to achieve from trading and will often shape the way in which you go about trading. For example, if you are getting into trading to make it your primary, or only source of income, then you will need to put much more effort into trading and all of its aspects. This can be slightly daunting at first though, especially if you have little money to work with. On the other hand, there are people that use trading as an extra source of income meaning that not as much effort is required and can take a more relaxed approach. I have taken to call the former the 'hardcore traders', and the latter, 'chilled traders'.
If, however, you are just starting out you may want your goals to be money orientated. For example, setting yourself a certain amount of profit to reach in a given period of time.
Your goals are completely up to you but in my experience, having something clear to work towards really does make a difference! The satisfaction from reaching a goal is an excellent feeling too!
One of the best starting goals would be getting a
BAZAAR as this will allow you to sell everything in your own personal shop. A bazaar is the trader's best friend and is where you will likely do 95% of your selling as it removes the need for selling everything via trades. Bazaar prices are often the steepest as no discount is needed in order to sell, as it often the case when selling via trades. If someone wants to buy something that is in your bazaar, they simply click buy, no hassle needed. This does not mean that people will not ask for discounts from time to time, but generally, you will get a better price selling here.
I.II Levels of Trading:When I look at trading, I see two main forms of trading. Both are common, and it does not mean that you can only utilise one over the other. I have chosen to call the two forms of trading ‘Everyday Trading’ and ‘Big-Ticket Trading’.
Everyday Trading is arguably the most common form of trading and covers the widest range of items in Torn. These could be anything from basic weapons and armour, medical items, drugs, energy drinks, candy and lots more. These are generally items that are widely available and have the fastest turn-around time (the time it takes from buying the item to selling it). Quite a lot of these items are on the lower end of the price list and are great for newbie traders as it means they are affordable and don’t require to have capital tied up for long periods of time. A great example of this would be Bottles of Beer. Beer can be bought either from Bits n Bobs (in the city) or from other players. Bottles of Beer are pretty damn cheap, costing $10 a bottle from Bits n Bobs, or from about $600 to $750 from other players but can be sold for $900+ in a bazaar.
However, not all items with a fast turn around time are cheap. Energy drinks and particular drugs (mainly Xanax) are some of the games most popular and most used items in the game. Energy Drinks, or simply, cans, can range from anywhere from $1,800,000 to $3,700,000 per can. These items have a very fast turn-around time and can often net a profit of about $200,000 per can. If you do not have the capital to trade cans, don't worry, there are plenty of other items that can be just as great to trade. As previously mentioned, Xanax is always in high demand and can be purchased for around $810,000 and sold for $845,000 netting you a nice $35,000 profit per pill.
The only possible downfall to trading everyday items or low-value items is that they do not always make you as much money per item as others can which can make trading seem very slow, but with this being said, there is much less risk involved.
Big-Ticket Trading, on the other hand, requires a lot more starting capital than you would need for everyday trading. These items can cost anywhere from a hundred million, well into the billions. However, some may consider anything with a value of about $20,000,000 and up to be a big-ticket item (this is just a matter of perspective though). Big-Ticket items generally do not have the same turn around time meaning you could be holding onto them for days, even weeks before you see a profit; but, if you can get these items for the right price, there is the possibility of making tens of millions in profit from a single item(s)/trade(s).
While it is true that some items are capable of netting you tens, or even hundreds of millions in profit, there is a much bigger risk involved. Not only may you be stuck with the items for a lot longer, it is also easier to end up losing money on big-ticket items as people are far more likely to haggle on price before buying so trade these items only if you know exactly what you can sell them for, and if you get them at a good price.
I.III Learning the Market:Learning the market of your chosen items is the best thing you can do! Although the market can change frequently and should be watched closely, knowing roughly what particular items can be purchased and sold for is one of the biggest advantages when wanting to trade full time. Knowing these prices for certain items is far more reliable than simply looking at the current market price of an item as it means that you can compensate for slight changes in the market. For example, if you know that morphine is currently selling for about $42,000 each and that you can buy it for $38,000 each, even if the price of morphine was to drop slightly due to a flooding of the market with a large quantity, you can afford to sell it cheaper and still make a profit. If you were to rely solely on the market prices and this was to happen, you may find yourself only breaking-even, which although is better than losing money, does not help you.
In addition to the above, some of the best items to keep a close eye on are those that either always in demand or those that are currently in demand. These kinds of items often have what I would call 'buy times' and 'sell times'. The perfect 'buy time' for an item would be, of course, when it is at its lowest or an uncommonly low price. For example, the market could potentially be flooded with a particular item. This can sometimes result in an uncommonly low buying price as everyone may be competing with one another and undercutting each other in order to sell their items as fast as possible. Periods like these is when you should take advantage of the chaos, buying a fair amount of an item and waiting for the price to 'recover' where you can sell it for a nice profit. There is a flipside to this though, as it is possible that an item may not recover quickly, or even at all. This is something that you should keep in mind but from my experience, it is almost always worth the risk; you could always just break-even if an item price does not fully recover.
Given that there is a 'buy time' there must also be a 'sell time'. The principle of the 'sell time' is the exact opposite of its counterpart. There are often times when particular items are at their highest value. For example, If there is a number of factions organising weekend chains, you may see that the price of items like Energy Drinks/Cans starts to rise. This is simply because members are buying up large quantities, increasing the value slightly. While this may seem like a small increase in value, it will be noticeable when it comes time to sell such items. An addition $50,000 or $100,000 definitely makes a difference, providing that you have purchased the cans prior to their value going up. This may be true for other items too so keeping an eye on how events like these affect the market will likely come in useful the more you trade.
When learning the market, you may find it better to stick to a handful of items that are known sellers. The best items I have found for this are (Big and regular) Boxes of Chocolates, Morphine, Small First Aid Kits, First Aid Kits, Beer and Energy Drinks/Cans. Knowing the prices of these items will leave you in a good place when it comes to trading with them and will net you almost always net you a profit. Of course, what you decide to trade in is completely up to you! There are some items that I don't like trading in whereas there are people that may trade solely in these items.
2. STARTING TO TRADE & TRADING: So, you have set your goals, you have decided what kind of trader you want to be, what you want to trade in and you have learned the market prices! It is now time to begin your trading adventure…. But wait. Who are you going to sell to? Why should someone trade with you and not a trader that already well established? This is where the next two sub-sections come in:
- Establishing Yourself,
- Customer Base.
II.I Establishing Yourself:So, you are ready to start trading but how are you supposed to stand out in a see of other traders? I am sorry to say that this can be quite a hard and slow process, but it is well worth the time and effort. One of the best ways to establish yourself as a trader and to attract people to you is by having a trading thread in the trading section of the forums. When creating your thread, keep it simple and small at first and list exactly what you are buying along with a price range of what you are willing to pay for each item. This makes it clear to everyone that views your thread what you are trading, allowing them to decide to trade with you or not. For the best results, try to update your trading threat as often as you can to make sure that you are staying competitive with the other traders.
You can also advertise in the ‘Trade Chat’ box that you are looking to buy. Try to keep your advertisements short and sweet. Trade Chat is often fast-moving meaning that there is not always a lot of time to read posts. You can list a few things that you are buying or even copy and paste a link to your trading thread. Trade chat is often filled with traders, both buying and selling so it would be a good idea to get to know some of the frequent traders in the chat and what it is they are buying and selling and compare it to yourself. However, there is a flip-side to advertising in the trade chat. This will be covered later in the 'Trade Protection' section of this guide.
Don’t get disheartened if this takes some time, most of the established traders have been around for years but there is always plenty of room for some new faces. As long as you are a fair and honest trader, you will be fine.
II.II Customer Base:Establishing a good and loyal customer base is one of the best tools a trader can have in their belt. Having a few people that trade with you often is a good way of meeting financial or trade goals and can keep you above water if trading with new people starts to slow down. But how do you gain a keep a good customer base? It is all about image! An image is everything. If you are known to a few as a fair and honest trader, they will tell their friends about you and will likely come back to you for future trades. Word of mouth is the best method for finding new and loyal customers, as well as people you can buy from on a regular basis. You may even ask people to comment on your trading thread too. This will likely encourage more people to trade with you if they see that you have had many happy customers over your trading career.
With this being said, it can take seconds to shatter an image of a trader. Scammers, trade muggers and buy muggers are some of the most hated players in Torn. If you wish to be successful and keep a good customer base, avoid doing anything that would drive customers and sellers away. Be willing to negotiate with people, reward loyal customers and sellers with better rates and be honest about your trades if you get asked. All of these methods are likely to make people come back to you time after time. You do not need to do any of these things if you do not want to though. From what I have seen though, some of the most successful traders are the most honest and fair ones.
3. EXPANDING YOUR TRADING AND SERVICES: Expansion is another very useful tool that you can utilise as a trader. But what is there to expand to?
There are various ways in which you can branch out. For example, are you able to revive players and get them out of the hospital after a nasty overdose on Xanax? (reviving is a passive ability gained from being promoted to Brain Surgeon in the hospital job) If you can revive, why not create another thread in the Trading section which outlines what services you can provide. Many factions look for revivers to keep their members out of the hospital. Revives often sell for $1,000,000 each (or a Xanax) so it is a great service that you can do on top of trading. Another similar and popular service is that of 'spies' which allow you to view the battle stats, and sometimes money on hand, of other players... Who does not want to see how their enemies are progressing?
What if you cannot revive or sell spy reports? No problem! There are other services that you can provide as a trader. If you have enough capital, why not collect or employ people to do flower or plushie runs from other countries? This can be a very profitable service for both you and newer players. They get a steady income from selling to you and you can earn a nice little profit from selling sets (one of all the plushies or flowers from each country). There is a multitude of different services that you can provide, granted some are riskier and need more capital available, but I have no doubt you will get to doing them soon enough.
4. SCALE: Scale is a pretty easy concept to understand. The more money that you have available to spend, the better your chances of making money, but don’t worry if you have little to start with. If you have little, to begin with, start small, as your capital grows, so will your potential for more profitable trades.
Scaling your trading operation works both ways, if you feel that you are ready to take on bigger and better things, by all means, scale up a bit and move onto items that cost a little more. However, things may not always go your way and you may need to downscale your operation. This is not the end of the world. If you are having some bad luck recently, stop buying for the time being and wait until your goods have sold, and go back down to items that are more in demand.
Changing what you are trading can be the thing that keeps you alive, it is far better to go back to basics for a while and keep making money, all be it less than to stop making it altogether.
One thing that I would keep in mind when it comes to the scale of your operation is to keep in mind how much money you will need in order to remain successful. If you scale up too fast, you may find yourself with very little capital remaining, greatly reducing the amount of trading that can be done (until your assets have sold). Just be patient and upgrade your stock when you are only absolutely confident you have to capital to do so.
V. TRADE PROTECTION: Trading does come with its risks. Not only do you stand the chance to lose money from poor trade choices and market changes; there is a far worse foe out there lurking in the shadows. We have all encountered this deadly foe... Muggers! Yes, there are people waiting to steal your hard earned cash!
The first thing to know is that 99% of the Torn population will have no problems taking your cash. Mugging people can be very profitable, especially if you know how to spot an easy target. As a trader, you will likely get mugged a lot... I mean it, A LOT. I get mugged all the time. This is because I mainly use the Trade Chat to advertise that fact that I am buying. People often sit and watch trade chat looking for an easy target. These people are often much stronger than you so you need to be smart when using Trade Chat. Thankfully, there are ways that you can protect yourself.
It may sound counterproductive, but before I start trading, I take out some cash and store it in a trade with a friend that I trust where nobody else can touch it. Then I put myself in the hospital and cancel the trade. This can give me a few hours to trade consistently, without the possibility of being attacked by other players. It also adds the additional benefit of flushing out potential buy-muggers and trade scammers; people that would buy from you or trade with you and then immediately mug you to get some of their money back. There are a few ways to self-hospitalise. One is by using an incompatible blood bag (this requires the 'Intravenous Therapy Couse' from the Biology education). Using such a bag will cause a negative reaction, resulting in a nice stay in the hospital. Another method is having a friend attack and hospitalise you giving you about 3 hours of mug free trading. Alternatively, you can 'mug protection' which will automatically be placed upon you after getting mugged. Mug protection can last for a few hours meaning that you will be immune from mugging for a nice period of time. At the very least mug protection will greatly reduce the potential yield of a mugging, depending on whether or not a person has 'Masterful Looting' upgrades and the amount of time past - Please do not quote me on this though.
To further avoid being mugged, You may wish to close your bazaar to buyers when offline. This means that nobody will be able to see the contents of your bazaar which completely removes the possibility for someone to buy your items and mug you.
The best defence though is knowing that there are people looking to take your money. As long as you are smart about the way that you trade and keep your money as safe as possible, you should be fine.
Another very important thing to do in order to protect yourself when trading is to make sure you have turned off the ability to be revived by other players. This will stop someone from being able to remove you from the hospital and then buy-mug you! There is an option to only be revived by faction members or friends also but if you want the best level of protection, set it that nobody can revive you.
VI. THE NEWSPAPER: The newspaper can also be a very useful tool for traders. Updates to the marketplace or special events are likely posted here and can result in some very profitable trading. For example, there has just been (at the time of me writing this) a bonus the museum which increased the number of points the one would earn for turning in items. This means that there was room for increased profits from some already pretty valuable items. For those who are unaware, the museum is unlocked after completing all the History education courses and allows for historical items to be traded in for points. Flower and Plushie sets can be traded in for points too, so as you could imagine, there was a great increase in demand for everything that could be traded in.
While I cannot say as to how often such things are posted in the newspaper (as I just never pay much attention to it, despite the obvious benefits to keeping an eye on it) I would advise that you check it every now and again. It is something that I am trying to do a lot more and who knows, you may be surprised one day and find some information that leads to some great trading possibilities.
This concludes my first attempt at a guide. While I understand that this may not be useful to all, if even a few find it even remotely useful, then I will be pleased. A few of my friends have asked for guides on trading so I thought I would give it a try. Editing will likely be made over time. If you have any suggestions, improvements or questions, then please do not hesitate to mail me. I would be more than willing to help!
Happy trading,
Liavara