[quote=1434neopets] Thank you for such long reply. I currently do not have the time to read it right now but I will definitely read it after my exam. You're in for a surprise. Your wish has just been granted! http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=1434sweet Do you need more shop sales? Come participate in a 4 million shop advertisement! Check my neopet's page for more details.[/quote] No problem...it will be here when you get back! If you can't be on-line to restock 3-4 times a day, definitely go with what I said above. The only way I get by with such a small shop is because I restock 3 times a day. I'm buying stock for my upgraded shop size so I know that what I have in NPs I can afford to use to upgrade because I have my SDB full of items to put in a shop that size. Right now I'm a general store so I can test different items to see what is popular and a good profit margin. ~ Mimi (Please read my Guest Book: Requesting Guide Help) _____________________________________________________ Mimi's Ménagerie: Healthy Tastes Good Here! http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=temps_bons

Whoo! I can get about 1,686,951 nps for my sword gallery. I am going to slowly start selling that and also liquidating my SDB. Far too much in my SDB. I'm going to upgrade slowly and once I hit my goal of 10 mil in the bank, then upgrade more.

Wow, that is really interesting. I was wondering myself what to do too. I know I have a couple millions of rare items in my gallery and my SDB and didn't know if I should sell or keep. I guess I'll use a little bit of everyone advices. It's really comforting to know that I'm never the only one to ask myself what to do.

[quote=1434neopets]Hello all, Perhaps you could help me here with my dilemma. I'm contemplating with these options: 1) Upgrade my shop to 400 from 274. OR 1) Participate in a 4 million advertisement. ---------------------------- 1) Sell all of my rare items half priced for quick sell amounting to only around 10 million np instead of 20 million np for my shop upgrades. OR 1) Not selling the rare items and retaining a small shop with few upgrades every month. I know my shop is measly compare to people here that has shop sizes 500-1000+ hence the topic about "Upgrades". So it got me thinking if I should upgrade my shop first before participating in any 4 million advertisement. Has anyone done this before? Did it work? Let me know what you think so I can decide. Also, the advertisements does work but some people had told me that upgrading first is better than participating in a 4 million advertisement. I tend to not think so, but again, what do you think? Since my shop size is so small and a lot of people here probably had gotten to this point, it would be great if you could tell me any of your experiences regarding this issue. Sincerely, 1434sweet[/quote] When I was that size I participated in a 4 mil ad. I was able to afford it, but after restocking and the ad payment and all that jazz, I didn't really have the nps to upgrade very quickly. Now I'm concentrating on building up my size. My till isn't as full, but I'm free to invest all those nps in my shop. I just wasn't ready for it, but it was fun!

I was thinking of doing the same thing and cleaning out my sdb I got so much in there. I joined 3 different 4mil ads hoping to increase sales and make it to main market quicker and get to work on my gallery. I will say the day that the 4mil ad was in first/second place my sales jumped pretty good. Clothing, Grooming, Wearables & Backgrounds~ http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=ladytaelorae

I really like what temps_bons said (yes - the long one!) I've heard people get all wired up to jump to Main, and then spend months afterward complaining that they're not making their investment back, and where are all the sales everyone talks about, and why bother with malling at all! The question of how much is Main worth it is really hard to answer with concrete numbers. The change in profitability is not linear! You'll have fantastic days in Island, and even in those dusty ol' tombstones, and have puke-poor days in Main. If you could see a 2% increase in sales as you jump 20 huts, the answer would be an easy calculation, but that's not the way it works. The increase is definite, but really hard to measure - so many things change that you can't control. That said, growth is still the biggest thing you can do to feel successful, and get rich! If I were you, I'd sell off whatever wasn't important to me, and make sure my shop was at peak performance at every step of the way up the Marketplace. Go for Shop wiz snags and half-price day, set your prices as high as your sales can support, plan to spend a percentage of your profit on growth weekly at first (and monthly when you get bigger), make your shop user-friendly, and get cheap/free exposure where ever you can. The NB ad may be a waste of NPs that could be put to better use on inventory and upgrades. And finally, make sure you are still having fun! If you're sacrificing a gallery or a nice fat portfolio, you're gonna regret it eventually, I think. The above is just my opinion and is based on my own experience (4 years) and style of play. Maybe something here is useful to others, or maybe not.

Started the process of cleaning out my sdb BOY is this going to be a mess :( but hopefully get me enough nps to get main market Clothing, Grooming, Wearables & Backgrounds~ http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=ladytaelorae

I was wondering how much money should I keep in my bank, like a ''in case something happens'' fund?

[quote=zariaca]I was wondering how much money should I keep in my bank, like a ''in case something happens'' fund?[/quote] I always keep 1.5 million as a just in case/whoops fund. This can cover upgrades, any surprise NBADs and if new items were to ever be released for my category ( for something other than Easter... ). Plus if I find a great snipe on the auctions or a particular shop that is having a great sale I always have wriggle room.

Great insight, EWP. I remember seeing your name on top shops on nphero all the time. And I see you a lot here. You do well. Yep, I'm in no rush to upgrade. I upgrade if I have spare neopoints and if I have a fully stocked shop and I have new items to add. Why bother upgrading if your stop is going to be empty? If I don't need five extra spaces right now, I might as well wait to spend my nps until I do. My problem right now is that I want to upgrade a few spaces as I have tons of food waiting in my SDB, I just don't have the nps right now. I try not to have less than 1 mil in my bank account for emergencies and whatnot.