Buying/Selling price of trade goods

[Thaddeus Crow]

Hello,

We have a bit of a dispute in my group about how to cost the buying and selling of trade goods in the Mongoose Corerule book.

When finding out the price of goods, do you go by price per tonnage or is it price per batch.

For example, when you buy basic comsumables in a batch of 10tons per d6, do you buy and sell per tonnage or for each batch of 10. For example selling at 5000CR for each ton (at a price of 50,000CR), or 5000CR for 10 tons?

Thank you!

 

[Shonner]

Hello,

We have a bit of a dispute in my group about how to cost the buying and selling of trade goods in the Mongoose Corerule book.

When finding out the price of goods, do you go by price per tonnage or is it price per batch.

For example, when you buy basic comsumables in a batch of 10tons per d6, do you buy and sell per tonnage or for each batch of 10. For example selling at 5000CR for each ton (at a price of 50,000CR), or 5000CR for 10 tons?

Thank you!

It sounds like major cargo comes in 10-ton chunks. And the prices listed are for per ton. And since you can't break up a major shipment, you have to buy/sell at price per ton times 10. So if a ton is priced at 5,000CR, and you have to ship the stuff in x10 chunks, your buying/selling 50,000CR worth of stuff in one transaction.

But this is all assuming you are a UPS guy who delivers 50 of 50 DELL computers from start to end point. In your situation, you may want to part out the stuff you're carrying and sell 1 of 50 DELL computers at various locations at a higher markup instead of selling all 50 in bulk.

 

[McPerth]

Hello,

We have a bit of a dispute in my group about how to cost the buying and selling of trade goods in the Mongoose Corerule book.

When finding out the price of goods, do you go by price per tonnage or is it price per batch.

For example, when you buy basic comsumables in a batch of 10tons per d6, do you buy and sell per tonnage or for each batch of 10. For example selling at 5000CR for each ton (at a price of 50,000CR), or 5000CR for 10 tons?

Thank you!

First of all, as I see that's your first post, wellcome aboard.

About your question:

If you read the example in page 163-164 (core book, not LLB), you'll see that they buy 16 tons of petrochemicals (from 50 available, as they are found in batches of 10) at a price of 160000 Cr (so, 10000 cr per ton, the price listed, even though they come in batches od 10).

So, that means your assumption that because the availability is given in batches of 10 you must buy in those batches is wrong, you missunderstood it, I'm afraid, as you can buy any number (up to availability) you can afford to pay and carry and you're intereste on*; and that the price given is per ton, not per batch.

* Note: In CT, whose system was similar until the advent of Merchant Prince, the price and availability was always per ton unless the items were more than one ton each (e.g. vehicles), where both were per item.

In this case, seing the availability numbers and price, I'd guess that it comes also per ton, greater tonnages meaning either larer vehicles or more of them. In this case, I'll house rule the referee may force the trade to be in batches (though not necessarily 5 tones batches) to represent larger vehicles, but I don't see it clearly specified in the rules

e.g. 30 tons of vehicles could represent 6 5-ton vehicles, 3 10-ton ones or 120 0.25-ton motorcycles, depending on the referee's whim, so forcing the players to buy them on 5, 10 or even 0.25 ton batches.

 

[Greylond]

It sounds like major cargo comes in 10-ton chunks. And the prices listed are for per ton. And since you can't break up a major shipment, you have to buy/sell at price per ton times 10.

It sounds like you are confusing regular Freight with Speculative Trade Goods. Major Shipments and the restriction about not splitting them up is a rule about regular Freight Shipments. That type of Shipment is where a Broker/Shipper is hiring the crew to take a shipment to a destination for a set price. You aren't selling it at the destination, you are just delivering it. That's why you can't break up a shipment.

Speculative Trade is completely different. You purchase it by the Ton and take it wherever you want to go and sell it for whatever you can get. The prices per ton are listed on the table on page 163(bottom right). The number of Tons available differs by type, see the table on page 165.

 

[McPerth]

The prices per ton are listed on the table on page 163(bottom right). The number of Tons available differs by type, see the table on page 165.

The prices listed in page 163 ae the ones for the example given. The full list is in the same table as availabilities, in pages 165-166, as you said.

Aside from that, fully agreed in the possible confusion among freight and cargo (glosary note: since Merchant Prince, IIRC, Traveller has used to call freight the shipments you just transport from one place to another, without owning them, as you explained, and whose lots may not be broken, while cargo is used to talk about speculative cargo, that you buy, and so own, in hope to sell for a higher price. In such speculative lots, you may buy as much as you want and can afford and carry, up to the maximum available, without regard to the lots, as explained above)

 

[Shonner]

It sounds like you are confusing regular Freight with Speculative Trade Goods.

No. I'm just wording it wrong.

 

[McPerth]

No. I'm just wording it wrong.

That's why I explained the difference made in many Traveller versions among cargo and freight, as both words will be correct in english (at least to my understanding, as I guess I'm, to now at least, the only non english native speacking in this discussion ).

 

[aramis]

That's why I explained the difference made in many Traveller versions among cargo and freight, as both words will be correct in english (at least to my understanding, as I guess I'm, to now at least, the only non english native speacking in this discussion ).

It's a seldom used distinction, but freight and cargo are not synonyms in English. Freight is for pay. Cargo is anything loaded.

 

[McPerth]

It's a seldom used distinction, but freight and cargo are not synonyms in English. Freight is for pay. Cargo is anything loaded.

So, when ship's troops are refered as biofreight (IIRC in starmerc slang, MT:HT, I cannot find my copy right now), it will be more correct to call them biocargo, leaving the world biofreight for the passengers. It's that ok :devil:?

 

[Shonner]

Depends on where you stored the frozen watch on your ship, and whether you are transporting them or shipping them.

 

[aramis]

So, when ship's troops are refered as biofreight (IIRC in starmerc slang, MT:HT, I cannot find my copy right now), it will be more correct to call them biocargo, leaving the world biofreight for the passengers. It's that ok :devil:?

Only if you own them... but that's not allowed in the 3I...

 

[Thaddeus Crow]

Thank you very much guys All understand now.

Thank you for the welcome!