Price Modifiers in Traveller

[MasterGwydion]

Does anyone else use "price modifiers" representing the increase in prices of goods on worlds that are not reachable by Jump-1?

For example, reflecting the increased cost to transport goods that cannot produce their own. (Non-Industrial or Non-Agricultural worlds)

Adding 600Cr per ton to all goods on a planet only reachable by J-2 or higher
Adding 1,600Cr per ton to all goods on a planet only reachable by J-3 or higher
Adding 3,400Cr per ton to all goods on a planet only reachable by J-4 or higher.
etc.

 

[Anstett]

Would be interesting as an ancillary to the main trade routes.
Speculating on how that adds to the Merchant Prince theme/book concept.

 

[Condottiere]

It's a science fiction trope.

Though, at some point, someone down there will want technology transfer to build jump drives.

Then, subsidize starships to maintain trade routes.

 

[MasterGwydion]

Would be interesting as an ancillary to the main trade routes.
Speculating on how that adds to the Merchant Prince theme/book concept.

Just something that occurred to me while I was using GURPS Far Trader to figure out the BTNs of all planets within Jump-6 of Tobia. It does not seem to take into account minimum jump capability into it's BTN calculation. Then I realized that nowhere I had ever seen in Traveller took that into account. I know that someday they may do Merchant Prince, so this gives a forum to throw some ideas around that they may or may not use.

btw... Does anyone else think the shipping volumes listed by BTN on page 18 of GURPS Far Trader are a bit out of whack? Specially when compared to how many ships it says are supposed to be working those routes?

 

[NOLATrav]

It's been a quite a while since I've looked at GT:Far Trader. Love the GURPS stuff but it's way too fiddly for me.

Likewise the T5 Extensions are interesting but really quite opaque and regarding the Economic Extension in particular, too random.

But to your original question regarding price modifiers, I use the ECON Extension. What is that, you ask? Why, that's my home-brew IMTU rules I've been fiddling with for a while. See the 4 page attachment below.

Would love some feedback. Haven't double checked the calcs on the example page but you'll get the drift.

Now really digging in to your question, if you use my little home-brew stuff here, you see how worlds compare to one another in a very broad economic sense. Which will show you the average associated traffic levels. Which can give you a good baseline for how much to charge when the stuff is regular freight with no deadline vs a special trip that has to be there ASAP.

Still very much a WIP and again, feedback appreciated.

 

[MasterGwydion]

It's been a quite a while since I've looked at GT:Far Trader. Love the GURPS stuff but it's way too fiddly for me.

Likewise the T5 Extensions are interesting but really quite opaque and regarding the Economic Extension in particular, too random.

But to your original question regarding price modifiers, I use the ECON Extension. What is that, you ask? Why, that's my home-brew IMTU rules I've been fiddling with for a while. See the 4 page attachment below.

Would love some feedback. Haven't double checked the calcs on the example page but you'll get the drift.

Now really digging in to your question, if you use my little home-brew stuff here, you see how worlds compare to one another in a very broad economic sense. Which will show you the average associated traffic levels. Which can give you a good baseline for how much to charge when the stuff is regular freight with no deadline vs a special trip that has to be there ASAP.

Still very much a WIP and again, feedback appreciated.

It is complicated, but I think I like it. It is fairly easy to understand as well. Nice writing.

 

[rinku]

I mean, it does make sense, but IMHO it's only really going to apply to goods that are both unable to be made in any form locally and which are also critical tech. Otherwise there's probably not much market.

In real life, you can end up with a warehouse full of junk that the locals can't make, if they also don't actually want it.

 

[Arkathan]

But freight implies that someone is paying for those materials to be transported. So SOMEONE wants those goods. They don't necessarily have to come from that planet either. They could have been dropped off by another trader as a hub or spur of their route.
Now for spec trade, you have to absolutely examine the wants and needs (+/- DMs to trade) prior to committing to a purchase.

 

[rinku]

Yeah, all I'm saying is that you work out the demand first, then factor in shipping costs. Although if it's desirable off world goods worth freighting to somewhere, the per ton markup on the base goods due to TL is likely to overshadow any freight charge.

As well, often the freight cost is such a small percentage of the sale price that it won't really matter. At the extreme end, software technically has no shipping cost, or such a tiny one that it's microcredit territory. But most high tech goods fall into that... as a concrete example, the trade table base price for advanced electronics is Cr100,000 a ton. Shipping costs are measured in fractions of a percent of that.

And I will say that often it's similar tech to similar tech if there's a manufacturing advantage. Other TL15 worlds might be capable of making the same stuff as Mora, but unless they're also high population industrial worlds, it's probably cheaper to bulk ship from there. To the extent that you may as well assume anything sold within a subsector of Mora was made on Mora except quaint local junk.

 

[Condottiere]

First to market.

 

[MasterGwydion]

I figure that anywhere that isn't Non-Industrial or Non-Agricultural makes sufficient goods for their local population and not much else.

 

[rinku]

I'd agree there. There's always trade goods for various reasons, though. Entertainment and novelty can buck the trend.

 

[MasterGwydion]

I'd agree there. There's always trade goods for various reasons, though. Entertainment and novelty can buck the trend.

There's always Trade Goods for the Tramp Traders. The big boys probably don't haul stuff that isn't produced in quantity.

 

[rinku]

Now I'm a little curious.

I might mark out all of the manufacturing centres in the Marches and see what their areas of direct influence would be. Clearly Mora is the big gorilla, but Glisten is a local powerhouse and a fair few jumps away. That sort of top level economic map would probably inform things better for the big players than comparing mere planets.

 

[Terry Mixon]

Now I'm a little curious.

I might mark out all of the manufacturing centres in the Marches and see what their areas of direct influence would be. Clearly Mora is the big gorilla, but Glisten is a local powerhouse and a fair few jumps away. That sort of top level economic map would probably inform things better for the big players than comparing mere planets.

And TL16 Vincennes is just over the border with the Deneb sector. It's only a dozen parsecs from Mora, so it will have an impact both with its tech level and trade size.