|
The Junk System, Mints and "Virtual Wealth"
How to understand and use the "virtual wealth" merchanting system
If you've spend any time trading in worlds one and two, you've probably already seen people using the "virtual wealth"
system to barter, trade, and make deals - the most high-profile item at the moment being Mint Cakes. Ever since
unbalanced trade was removed from the game, players have been using a variety of methods to continue to trade their
valuable items and commodities outside of the Grand Exchange, and the current "virtual wealth" system has now become
almost universal.
What is "virtual wealth"?
When considering any tradeable item in RuneScape, it is important to understand that it has two "values":
Trade Price, and True Value. Of these, the first is fairly straightforward - the Trade Price
of an item is simply the medium Grand Exchange price, which you can find in the Grand Exchange Database.
The second "value" of an item is the True Value. True value is the price people are willing to pay for an item.
When the "true value" of an item is OUTSIDE of the Grand Exchange price range (above or below), this item is almost exclusively traded
on the Virtual Wealth market. If an item's True Value is UNDER the Trade Price (like crashing items and useless items)
is is classified as JUNK. If the True Value of an item is ABOVE the Trade Price (like mintcakes and rares), the item is
classified as a COMMODITY.
How can I sell an item for it's "True Value"?
Let's assume you have an Easter Egg, a rare with a Trade Value of 50M in the Grand Exchange. Anyone with any knowledge
of the rares market will know that nobody will sell their egg for 50M, however - the true value of the egg is MUCH higher,
let's say it's 150M. How can you sell your egg for it's true value since the trade limit prevents unbalanced trades?
The answer is that you can get the "true value" for your item by using the Virtual Wealth system. There are two ways to do this -
if you possess junk, you can make the buyer buy an amount of your junk as well as the item - if the trade price of your egg is 50M, and the
true value of your egg is 100M, you could trade someone your egg as well as 50M worth of "junk" in order to receive the "true value" of your egg.
If, however, you do not possess junk, you can still trade with "virtual wealth" - in addition to cash, the buyer of your commodity item
must give you an acceptable amount of other commodity items to balance the "true value" of the trade. For example, you might accept 30 mintcakes
as well as cash for your easter egg to "balance" the trade.
How can I aquire items with a high "true value"?
If you posess no items with a high "true value" like mintcakes, it's very hard to aquire your first one -
since nobody will sell one for trade price! You can use several methods to aquire your first stock of
commodity items:
Buy one with junk
If you are willing to lock up some cash in junk, you may find someone willing to sell you a commodity item as long
as you buy an amount of their junk along with it.
Buy one with rising items
If you are lucky enough (or smart enough) to have a large amount of items that are rising fast in the Grand Exchange,
you can almost always find someone who will give you commodity items to sell them for trade price. This works especially
well if the item is rising because of an update. Learn more about finding good rising items in the
Investing Guide.
Acquire them yourself
While not recommended, some non-discontinued "commodity" items can be obtained ingame (although they are always hard
to get). Mintcakes, for example, can (very rarely) be obtained from the Gnome Restaurant minigame. Rising items can
also be obtained at their source if you have the right levels and equipment, although you won't be able to acquire as
many as you would have if you knew to buy them before they started rising.
Commodity Merchanting
If you are lucky (and skilled) enough to aquire a large stock of commodity items, you will find them invaluable
in helping you earn lots of money, fast. Commodity items can be traded for rising items that you missed out on,
used to sell an investment RIGHT at the top of its rise (that you would otherwise have had to hold until it
dropped in price), or bartered for rares that will earn you millions as they rise in the long run. Finally, you will find
that the "true value" of commodity items may change over time - use this to your advantage, and a skilled merchant
can easily turn a stack of ten mintcakes into a stack of 20, 30, or more through the tried and true skill of
classic merchanting.
If you have any questions or feedback, please feel free to post or PM me on the Rune-Tips Forum!
|
