I have MPs and PBs to stock as well as the maps, so me I'm thinking its best to upgrade and have the space to have all the pieces. It'll be something I start doing again later on when I have the time to have the full sets in there - and to have it to where I can have all 3 maps. http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=evilbluemunkeyz

I do Neggs and Scratchcards, and how you get your sales up is 5 or so of 10,000NP or less Neggs and 10-20 of under 10,000NP scratchcards. Hope it helps :)

Couple things to those posting on topics...any time you need to see a person's user name on neopets just click on their use name from neomallers. Their lookup will come up. If they have entered their user name it will be here:) Well hello there o0firewings0o:) My category I have is maps, neggs, morphing potions and paint brushes. I have had this category for over a year now. It was not a category that I expected to be in for long. I changed over from petpets a category I absolutely loved. This is a category that does not get a lot of exposure but if done correctly can be very profitable. This category is slow going at first. Do not be afraid to carry all of your stock for your items. I think people that only touch this category don't do well. Meaning look to stock your shop fully with your category and not dabble. For example, your maps are going to be a huge part of your inventory. When I stocked my shop for WC maps, being that there are 20 pieces for each set, it cost about 200K to put WC 1.? in there. The WC 2.? was somewhere around 400K for each set. Then the WC 3.? can be as much as 1 million. I did slowly add in each full set. If I could not add the entire set at once I waited until I could. There are 12 different worlds, with 3 sets each, 20 piece for each set. So you are going to be slowly stocking your shop for some time unless you have a lot of neopoints squared away. Don't be afraid to carry a piece because they are expensive. From time to time WC map pieces go UB. So far they have always gone back down in price. If they go UB keep an eye on them, you may be able to get a few great snipes. Ok lets talk stock, there are a good handful of great map shops out there. There are several that carry 3 or more of each WC map piece. This is a preference and is based on how much time you want to be stocking. I carry 1 of each WC map piece. This is just my preference as I work on my shop all the time and I enjoy doing so. Later on you, once fully stocked with your new category, you may wish to carry 3 or more. For just getting started, I would recommend just 1 of each until fully stocked. Pricing...I disagree that your prices at a MM shop need to be shop wiz priced. For pricing on WC map pieces you can easily add a minimum of 10K to each piece. They sell without any problems. I also disagree with spending loads of time on the shop ad boards. For the shop ad boards I feel there is minimal purchasing done from this board. This is just my personal preference. Of course, shop hits are always increase by visiting the boards, however I feel a shop hit is wasted if a purchase is not actually made. Something that can be gained from shop ad boards is exposure. By posting and chatting it up a bit, people will get your name in mind, and if they are in need of maps, guess where they go;) Ok moving on to regular maps, these maps will show up on your first page with the exception of petpet lab maps. For starting out I recommend 3 to 5 pieces each. For petpet maps pieces I have moved my quantity up to 10 now. As you see how they are selling you may want to increase your stock. With these, being that they are on the first page I price them a little different. Some pieces can be pushed for maximum profits with these. For example, the secret lab map pieces. These are not searchable on the SSW and when shop wiz searched unless they go into the shop, people do not know which piece is being priced at that price. This creates a wide range of pricing for these pieces. Don't be afraid to price for profits;) Your shop size and your hut placing allow for you to not have to be lowest pricing. Sales...ok most of the time, your sales on map piece are one or two pieces here and there. However once in a while, when your shop is all stocked up, you will get a crazy shopper in there buying up several map sets. These are the most awesome shop days! I do recommend a map guide of some sort. As you get to increasing your stock for the map pieces, you get to having quite a few pages of stock. A map guide is there for easy navigation. More than likely if a person is coming to your shop for a map piece they know exactly which one they are looking for. This guide or directory is a time saver for them! Neggs, with just getting started, I put in 3 each of the lower priced neggs (under 10K). For the neggs up to 20K I put in 2. Than anything over that I put just 1. As my neopoints built up I gradually added in so there are 2 to 3 of each negg. I feel that when there is just one certain items it sort of deters buyers. When you increase to 2 or 3 on some items they seems to fly off the shelf. Just an observation;) For your luck category there are many fun things you can do with this. Luck can include the crackers, gift bags, goodie bags, broken bag of neopoints, scratch cards, just to name a few. Luck can be interpreted anything that you can open that has a prize inside. Anything that has a surprise or mystery feature. When you repair the bag of neopoints, it's a surprise how much you will get. Ok yeah yeah corny but it fits:) Don't forget your advertising! You have NB ads which are very important. This gets your shop more exposure. I would recommend going not only mall ads but also post a few ads for just your shop. Lesser amount ads are fine for individual ads. Some people actually look to post the lowest amount for these ads and take up a page or two. Trades, I always have trades up for my category. There are people who do nothing but surf the trading post. Throwing out a few auctions now and then can't hurt either. Shop specials, put as many up as your coding characters will allow. All of these things work together to bring in the shoppers:) Well I hope all of that is helpful to you. I can never seem to post anything short so apologizes for the long windedness. You are part of an awesome guild don't be afraid to post there too for more ideas:) It's all just a trial and error to see what works and what doesn't! There isn't any perfect method just experience as to what works in your shop and how much you are working it.

Nice. Very well said Jean. :) . *clap* _______________________________________________ Bugsy's GUIDE to Effective SHOPKEEPING and MALLING: Version 3: Learn More About Hut Positioning http://www.neopets.com/~bugsy_lenny

[quote=bsmith97] I also disagree with spending loads of time on the shop ad boards. [/quote] I must disagree with this. But of course, you are entitled to your own opinion. I also must say that you have an amazing well-stocked shop. =) However, I see great improvements on my map pieces, especially secret laboratory maps, getting sold when I make a topic about my shop AND post a reply on people's threads. Just yesterday from posting to a few secret laboratory map buyers' thread in the shop board, I have sold 2 sets of all of my buyable secret laboratory map pieces in my shop. Which profited me greatly since I have a mark-up of at least 10k-60k each of its original price. Just a little quickie information as well, I've been in the shop boards since the beginning of my malling time (10 months ago) and it does help on my profits. Its not just for hits as many people assume it is for. To tell you the truth, I can't imagine selling many buyable maps in my shop without it. I was only shop 200 or less 10 months ago and I did not draw in as much customers as I did at that time but I still sold at least 2 sets of secret laboratory maps per week (around 150k-200k+ profit?). And since I advertise in the shop boards greatly, I often gets neomail about how my shop is fantastic, cute, etc. This does not just help you to profit but it also gives you the confidence that you are doing something right for your shop. Last but not least, why would you not spend as little as 10 minutes of your time posting to threads and creating your own shop thread around rush hour (4PM-6PM NST) in the shop boards to get some profit? And bump your thread once in awhile? Ask yourself, is this process really that difficult? EDIT: I must also add that I just sold 2 unbuyble map pieces in my trades by posting in the shop boards 10 minutes ago. 100k+ profit. [url=http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=1434sweet#p][img]http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/1889/1434sweet.jpg[/img][/url]

Using the shop ad boards is a preference. It can be used as a marketing tool. Everyone who is in malling, as a dedicated maller, will try out many different things for their shop. Many will change categories frequently. Some will pick one category and stay with it til the end of time. It is each individual's preference. There have been many map shops in the past that have used the shop ad boards and have made quite a bit selling off map sets. It is a tool that can be utilized if one chooses. I would recommend to anyone who is malling, that at some point in time, they try all methods of gaining exposure. This way that individual will get a feel for what they enjoy or what they don't. They will also get a feel for what works for their shop and their category. There are a million and one ways to run a shop big or small. This is no 100% absolute sure fire way to do it and it works for everyone. It's all trial and error. You listen to what others tell you and you apply it. Then you gain your own experiences from this. For me, to be honest, since changing over to maps, neggs, MP and PB, I have not hit the shop ad boards once. I did frequent it as a petpet shop and saw a minimal return. Petpets are a difference category all together being they don't disappear like map pieces do when converted. So the response could be totally different. If anyone doesn't have experience with the shop ad boards or they are unhappy with their sales or shop exposure, I would strongly recommend giving the shop ad boards a whirl. Could someone's shop do better, of course, always! If at any time I feel that I need a boost, whether it be for exposure or for sales or for hits, you betcha that I will be hitting the shop ad boards and putting up individual ads for my shop. The only thing that separates someone with a small shop and someone with a large shop is knowledge and experience. Learn everything you can by talking to different people and reading any guides you can find. Then apply it to gain your own experiences. We all started neopets the same way, with a newbie pack and 2000 nps. What each of us did with that has brought us here today!

[center] BsSmith, you're absolutely right. Running a good shop comes from a lot of trial and error. What works for one person may work great for another, while for a third person it might do nothing at all. The only thing I disagree with is your comment about the newbie packs. :P Back in the day, they didn't exist. When I started I got maybe a few hundred np to start off (don't really remember)... But it certainly wasn't 2k, and I definitely didn't get any items. :O And no starter paint brushes or origami petpets. Which makes me very jealous, because I kind of like some of the origami ones that I received on a side account.... But can't get them for my main account pets. :O ------------------------------------------------------------------- [url=http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=raine_storme&misc]~~ Come visit my map shop ~~[/url] [/center]

There is another luck idea but you will have to run it past your manager and possibly they will have to run it past the Toy shop. Crackers... I personally carry them but I had a shopkeeper that did not care at one point and was willing to let the luck shop to carry them. Hugs Suz --------------------- Best Priced Malls Toys, Plushies, Usuki's, Paintbrush's, Job Coupons, & Morphing Potions http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=suzierainbow

[center] Our version of the luck shop stocks bottled faeries, pbs, codestones, crackers, scratchcards, job coupons, tombola coins, dubloons, stockings, goodie bags, neocola tokens, and charms. :O Its more of a luck/training/painting position. ------------------------------------------------------------------- [url=http://www.neopets.com/browseshop.phtml?owner=raine_storme&misc]~~ Come visit my map shop ~~[/url] [/center]