Using the market
Last updated
Last updated
Apart from the initial seeding during launch to kickstart the game, there are no "NPC" market orders in Influence. The entire economy is player driven, and all the goods exchanged on the market have been produced by players with the expectation that they will end up in another player's hands. In this guide, I will explain how to access markets and read the information-heavy interface, and cover the basics of market orders.
Whether you are looking to buy or sell, you first need to find the right marketplace. In the right-side menu, select Marketplace.
A window opens, showing a grid of all products listed for trade in the different markeplaces of the current asteroid. Using the Buy/Sell toggle on the top right corner, you can easily switch the prices that are being displayed between the lowest seller and the highest buyer, respectively, along with the total purchasable or sellable quantity. Select the product that you want to trade to proceed to the next window.
A list appears, with all markets where the selected product can be traded. On each row you will find additional information that you can use in order to select the best market for your needs:
the trading price and available quantity, useful to find the best price and make sure there is enough to cover your order
the distance to your crew and - to be added soon- to the selected lot, influencing the travel time for the transfer and your crew's busy time (in case of limit orders)
Based on this information, you should be able to choose the best marketplace for your needs. Select the corresponding row, and click on Go to Markeptlace.
If this is your first time using an automated market maker (AMM), you may be lost in the amount of information displayed on your screen. In a nutshell, an AMM allows traders to list goods for sale or purchase at the price of their choice, and allows other traders to transact instantly at listed prices - more on orders in the next section. On this page, there is a lot of information available to help you understand the market situation:
The most obvious thing is the chart; in the top half are goods offered for sale (available) and in the bottom half is the demand (sellable). The horizontal axis of the graph represents the cumulative quantity (also call market depth) and the vertical axis is the price.
On the center line is the center price. Ths is the lowest price of all sell offers, and the price that someone willing to buy immediately will pay.
Above and below the center price are listings of the current offers with the price, listed quantity, and total value.
In the top left, next to the product name, is a summary of the total available and sellable quantities (which are the sum of quantities at prices above and bellow the center price)
There are two ways of trading goods on the market. You can either transact immediately at the currently available price, or decide to fix the price you want and wait for someone to agree on that price. The first option, called a market order, is good when you do not want to wait or monitor the market fluctuations. It is what most consumers will use. The second option, the limit order, is used when you want to control the price at which you buy or sell. It can be good way to get the best price, but may require additional time to be fulfilled. It is mostly used by manufacturers and traders to maximise their profits.
On top of this, in Influence, limit orders require the crew to travel to the marketplace to list the order (inducing busy time if you are not close enough), while market orders are submitted remotely. It is important to note that the busy time of limit orders also includes the products travel time based on the distance between the market and the inventory! If you want truly instant limit orders, both your crew and your warehouse need to be within instant travel range from the market. Although they do not force crew busy time, market orders still require product transport time.
To sum up:
Market buy: instant at the lowest available price (requires enough available quantity); no crew busy time
Market sell: instant at the highest sellable price (requires enough sellable quantity); no crew busy time
Limit buy: set your purchase price, wait for someone to "market sell" into it; busy time depending on crew and inventory distance from marketplace
Limit sell: set your sell price, wait for someone to "market buy" from it; busy time depending on crew and inventory distance from marketplace
Limit orders reserve space in the configured inventory. In case of a sell order, the products stay locked in the warehouse until sold. For a buy order, the space is allocated and reserved to mare sure that the delivery can be made when the order is fulfilled.
To place an order, use the controls of the right panel to select your order type (buy/sell and market/limit). Enter the quantity to trade, and the listing price in case of a limit order. Click on the Create Market Order icon. In the set up window, select your source (or delivery) inventory. Under Order Details, double-check the quantity and change it if needed. In case of a limit order, some useful information regarding the position of your order in the market is available, you can use it to adjust your price. Finally, click on Create Order.
