Distance effects on speculative trade

[Spartan159]

In some adventures I see NPCs talking about taking goods subsectors or even sectors away for a profit. Examples are Groat meat to the Vargr Extents, or Dustspice to both Aslan and Vargr. This makes sense to me in real life, but does it make sense in game economics? Should distance from a source be a bonus or multiplier on value? Else why take goods any serious distance?

 

[Timerover51]

I would figure that for each parsec beyond 1, your cargo would get a +1 bonus on the resale role, if there is a demand for the cargo. This would give a trader considerable incentive to carry a partial cargo for a while.

I also figure a bonus for cargoes such as Fish/Seafood and Organic Lumber to Desert Worlds and Asteroid Belts, or worlds with odd atmospheres. Just look at the world characteristics and think about what might not be naturally available there.

 

[Condottiere]

You'd have to acquire prior knowledge where there is demand.

 

[Spartan159]

The demand for Groat meat in the Vargr Extents seems to be an ongoing thing. Howood, on the other hand, was described as a fad, "one or two cargoes" worth apparently. Part of that knowledge is supposed to be baked into the Broker skill I think, but for long distances, there must be a pretty big ongoing demand to keep Vargr and Aslan traders to move deep into the Imperium and back. Eh, I dunno, I'm not an economics major by any stretch of the imagination.

 

[aramis]

If a Td of cargo is 10 tons or 14 KL (whichever results in the higher tonnage assessed)...

And shipping 1 Pc costs KCr1 per 1Td...
It's Cr1 per parsec per 1.4 liters or per 10kg.

So, the cost to ship (in bulk) soda, for example...
A Cr1 bottle of soda is likely to be the 2L size... ship it a parsec, it becomes a roughly Cr1.5 (by volume) or Cr 0.4 (by mass) shipping cost. So it more than doubles. Not worth shipping even 1 Pc...

A Cr100 MSRP tablet is 1L or 0.5kg... so, about Cr0.7 markup per parsec. If you can buy it for Cr50 within 20Pc, and split the shipping, you can still make Cr30 profit... if the local producer needs to charge 80 for it, Each Cr less at a remote location is 1.4 Pc further away you can buy it from... assuming the time lag of 8-14 days per Pc isn't a problem.

 

[atpollard]

I hate roe (caviar), but there are people who love the stuff. Fish roe can vary from 4 credits per kg to 2000 credits per kg on the same planet Earth! So there might be a finite market for exotic foods (or goods) at far above the price of local, common alternatives.

 

[Spartan159]

I did some googling on exotic wood costs... Eep at some of the prices. I'm sure part of that is the rarity, part is the distance sourced.

 

[Whipsnade]

This is the point where, as always, I'll gently remind everyone that sufficiently expensive goods routinely "subsidized" the freighting cost of other goods and that the scarce luxury good of today can easily become the cheap commodity of tomorrow.

Pepper, which was among the luxury goods whose demand drove Europe's Age of Exploration, was eventually shipped as ballast while other goods "paid" for the voyage. (Pepper as ballast was contraindicated for certain cargoes like tea.)

 

[flykiller]

Pepper ... was eventually shipped as ballast

had no idea pepper was that heavy.

sufficiently expensive goods routinely "subsidized" the freighting cost of other goods

seems like the only reason to ship "subsidized" goods is to avoid vacant cargo space. so the real answer would be clipper ships?

 

[Whipsnade]

had no idea pepper was that heavy.

What weighs more? A ton of feathers or a ton of lead?

seems like the only reason to ship "subsidized" goods is to avoid vacant cargo space.

Yup. If your "nut" is made by what's in a fraction of your cargo hold, anything else you carry is "gravy". That's something I could never quite get Our Absent Friend Hans to understand.

(I really miss Hans. Really, really, really miss him. )

so the real answer would be clipper ships?

Hint taken.

 

[whartung]

What weighs more? A ton of feathers or a ton of lead?

Perhaps he should have said "I didn't know Pepper was that dense."

 

[Whipsnade]

Perhaps he should have said "I didn't know Pepper was that dense."

I know what Fly meant. I was just having a little joke and, by little, I mean little!

 

[flykiller]

(I really miss Hans. Really, really, really miss him. )

life goes on ....

What weighs more? A ton of feathers or a ton of lead?

hm ... a ton of feathers, with its higher center of gravity, might leave a boat less stable ....