Low activity vendors removal

If a character doesn't have external activity on a vendor or internal activity on a vendor then after 30 days of inactivity the vendor and all the items are moved to that players Bank. This would ensure that the quality of vendor that is currently placed in the game is active. This will increase the ability to find stock venders that are actively updated.

 

Maybe something subtle like a posture change. A recently stocked vendor could have a head held high. After inactivity, the head slowly starts to look towards the ground. I only suggest that because I know a guy who uses his vendor as decoration. Any indication of inactivity, even removing it completely as suggested, is welcome in my eyes.

 

Just boot them, because it is very annoying when one is looking to buy from player vendors, and you need to wade through all the un-stocked ones. IMO if they have something even one thing they shouldn't be booted though, because I don't necessarily re-stock my vendor every 30 days, as Novia is so large, and I very rarely return home, as I am mainly adventuring. on the other side of the continent. Especially, lately as I am finishing all the 3 paths before they are reset.

 

For me it's not a question of whether or not the vendor is active.. but does the vendor have anything in stock and is the owner active? If the owner hasn't logged in in 30 days then ok move that vendor to the bank.. If the vendor is empty for a couple of weeks then move them to the bank..

Otherwise, they should stay put..

 

My vendor hawks "finest Regalis tea". He carries a few items like tea leaves, sugar, and lemons. He doesn't make many sales. His purpose is not to waste shoppers time or to make a lot of money, but rather to add color to the game that is consistent with my guild's character.

 

Yes, although my Vendor doesnt sell anything, i agree.
Some sort of indication or deactivation would be nice.

 

A puddle of tears? Lol?

 

I think the point is to identify vendors with no recent stock updates so you don't have to check over and over. So as long as you edited your vendor's stock weekly (or whatever the time frame would be) I would assume you wouldn't have to worry about your vendor being marked/removed.

 

Have vendors with nothing on them sit down on the ground. Vendors with stock but without activity in over a week sit on a traveling chair. Feel free to add emotes, like /readbook or something so they can entertain themselves when the customers dont come knocking.

I don't really care for moving things back to the bank without interaction (excepting full lot eviction, of course). As noted, some people use vendors for decoration or roleplaying.

Also note that the API is coming sometime soon(tm), which should provide options for players who are wanting to actually hunt for "the best" shopping. Yes, it will be 3rd party, but as a casual player, I don't think I've ever run into a situation where I was frustated not being able to find *something* to buy.

 

Eventually... Give vendors beds and schedules and don't make them go to their sales area if they don't have anything to sell The best solution!

I think putting a vendor in a bank after a long period of activity, like 30 days, makes sense, barring that-- though that won't help for short periods of activity. I don't think the suggestions for visual cues I've heard are very good, personally. Putting your head down doesn't say anything, and giving them a chair also doesn't really communicate they aren't selling, from a new user's perspective. Merchants can sell while sitting down. You'd need to make any visual cues communicate something obvious to new players, not just to people who read the forums and know the drill. It has to be intuitive...

I would rather have the devs add a system where vendors will bark out their inventories for sale, like we had for NPCs in U7. "Longswords for sale!" And even say things like "New items in stock!" if its recent. Then, players could maybe even change their vendor names to something non-spammy, because their vendors would advertise for them. But vendors that weren't carrying any inventory wouldn't have anything to advertise. Could be disabled by the vendor owner by an option.

Also, if it were possible, putting an out of stock sign up by the store sign would also work. But there's no real connection between vendors and store signs, so...

 

So I go and add or subtract a tea leaf every week. In this case, how does that improve another player's experience? What a hassle. Also, I don't think my vendor should ever be flagged. He offers tea to anyone who wants it. If someone doesn't want tea, why would they check it over and over? If I actually didn't keep it stocked with tea I would understand. Maybe back to the drawing board?

 

Your vendor seems to serve a unique need. I would say if you are willing to update your vendor within the timeframe, and people still check it (because just because you've labeled him as a tea vendor doesn't mean he doesn't have other stuff for sale unless we check it) there's still a net improvement from being able to avoid a hundred other vendors that have been marked/removed. But, maybe there is a better way that serves your unique needs and the needs of others to avoid 'dead' vendors.

 

dont know if someone mentioned it before:
give the vendor a sleeping look/emote if he isnt restocked for 3 Weeks or so.

 

If I look at a vendor and it isn't stocked I stop looking at it. Doesn't bother me. I just pass it by. Not a difficult thing to do. Will never get worked up over one. *Shrugs*

 

Heck, no! Nobody has the right to remove my vendor, whether he has something on him or not.

I'm one of those people who has a hard time keeping their vendors fully stocked, but I'm not going to be pressured into spending all of my gaming time grinding out stuff to sell. I may as well just get another job. What if I have limited time to play? I may have worked hard to buy a vendor, but I don't OWE anybody anything.

I have one specialty vendor that I work very hard to keep stocked, and one general vendor that I fill up when I can.
Sure, I wish I could keep him fully stocked all the time, but on the other hand, it means that I'm selling things that sell out quickly. That's good, not bad.

I love the other ideas to tell when the vendor is full or empty: alter his body position, give him a hat and turn it on and off, make him sit vs. stand, give him a subtle animation (would probably cause performance/load issues, though). Any of these options would be perfect.

More suggestions: Hide his nametag when he's empty. Change his nametag color when he's empty. Add a game-generated date to his nametag to show the date he was last stocked (not as good, because it won't indicate an empty vendor). Give him a hat, but hide the hat when he's empty.

 

Never thought I would see people trying to micro manage other folks vendors. This is supposed to be a game of exploration,go see who has what available and write down where you probably shouldn't go to. People have multiple uses for vendors,some to advertise services,advertise for guilds,letters that say looking to buy ore and wood here. How do people think that should somehow be regulated? I can understand frustration on finding a empty vendor,but I don't think a vendor visual being forced on a lot owner is a good idea. Besides what about the "omg. you are killing the immersion of my lot" folks. I can't see having a sleepy vendor being fair to all those folks just because they haven't had time to deal with their vendor for a given time period.