hello!

[kirschteins]

I've never done this before! I had a TDN account for avatar checklist purposes with my old main years ago, but I guess never noticed the forums! I came across some old topics while looking for information about the Dark Lurker avatar (though I actually got it on my first try!) and thought I'd join =)
 

I like avatar collecting, though I'm not particularly good at playing games or making money, and I like making pet customization plans, which has gotten me into NC trading! (I said I'd never spend money on something like that, but here I am....)

I'm not quite clear on whether or not we're meant to talk about life outside neo here, so that's all I'll say for now! I'm going to go have a look around I guess =)

[jellysundae]

Hello!  :3

I like your profile pic, is that a manga character or some personal art?

We can totally talk about non-Neo stuff, there's a whole forum devoted to that, you'll have probably found that by now if you went for your look around.

I need to learn about NC trading, what I've seen mentioned so far has only confused me, lol.

[kirschteins]

Thanks! He's a minor character from Boku no Hero Academia =)

And NC trading is pretty confusing; I was really lost at first too!
The simplest explanation I can give is still gonna be pretty long, oops.

The second half of every month there's an item that is some kind of themed "Gift Box Mystery Capsule" for 200NC. GBCs are the base measure of NC value. Gift Boxes are how you send NC items, and the only ways to get them are: opening a GBC (usually you get 2 boxes, but sometimes up to 5), random from Trudy's Surprise, or by redeeming a NC card (3 boxes).

You can check to see how valuable items you already own are at http://www.neopets.com/~korolie, or the older guide http://www.neopets.com/~Ezu (which isn't current for most popular and easily available items, but has values on some old items korolie is missing)

Value mostly depends on supply and demand, but also how willing each person is to trade whichever item!
Things that are always buyable (basic wigs, clothes, etc) are usually available 2:1 for a GBC even though they're valued at 1 on the guides, so you don't want to trade something valuable for those (I made this mistake early on). You can see who has an item UFT from impress.openneo or jellyneo, and many people have different lists based on what they value their own items at.

Another example would be like. I have the item Space Station Thought Bubble, from when I started neopets ages ago and used my free 150NC to buy it. This item hasn't been buyable for years, and not a lot of people *did* buy it, so it's listed on ~ezu as being worth about 10.
However, it's still not a very popular item, so I'll probably end up trading it for much less- maybe 7, maybe 5.
I could accept those numbers of gbcs for it, or trade for an item of similar value, or trade for multiple items of lower value. I'll probably end up doing the latter, based on the tradelists of the few people seeking my item (I've looked, and no one has anything very valuable that I want).

If someone offers "custom", it means that they can buy anything you could get right now from the NC Mall to trade. If you're trading custom for an item valued at 3, you're probably going to be offering 600NC (three 200NC GBCs worth!)

It starts making sense eventually, promise! It's been a very learn-by-doing kind of thing for me, and people are pretty understanding if you need to ask questions =)

[jellysundae]

Ah! Ok, a tiny bit of comprehension's happening! lol. I now understand what @deboratibi was talking about when she mentioned prices of 1-2 and 3-4 in another thread. I've been putting off bugging Deb for an explanation since then because I strongly suspected it was something my brain was going to struggle with, lol. But I'll hopefully get there in the end! I'm a step closer now thanks to you. :3

Baby steps, but I'll get there in the end.

[kirschteins]

Glad to be at least a little bit useful!

It's a messy system, but trading for something you really want is great! I just got an Autumn Forest Clearing Background for one of my pets on a side, and it made me so happy to finally have it and to have found a good trade =)

[jellysundae]

It really IS a messy system isn't it! I don't understand why Neo doesn't have its own trading system for NC items, they've really dropped the ball there

I looked at your items and you have the Autumn Harvest Market Background that I've been coveting since I first saw it. Fancy combining some learning for me with some benefit to yourself?

[balloongal247]

Jelly, I also don't really understand the NC trading...  Do you have a list of things you are willing to trade, or are you just doing things in the mall now?  I have a decent selection of NC items, mostly from gifts...  Someone tried to trade for one of mine recently after seeing I owned it on DTI.  But, from the guides, mine was 3-4, and the only thing they had that I was like "hmm, yeah, that'd be good...." was 1-2, I might try to get that wig from someone else though... It was one of the few wigs I've found that doesn't make my ixi look like she has a deformed head.  Most either make her have a giant forehead, or a really pointy head.

[kirschteins]

@jellysundae Sure! =) Do you have anything from my WL? If not, I can look through your tradelist for something I might like anyways! (If you don't have one set up yet, DTI and JN both have the option to import a list from what you have in your closet/SDB).

@balloongal247 You have a list of things you want to trade, generally! I use DTI almost exclusively, because looking through a mile of someone's TL on jellyneo without that handy "Compare with Your Items" button DTI has... just makes me tired lol.
Trading for items in the mall can work out very well though; the 'Pumpkin Harvest Retired Mystery Capsule' is full of re-released items, some of them very valuable, so people will trade for something like that often at the same value of GBCs, even though the RR cap is 150NC and a GBC is 200NC. Same with the 'Autumn Moon Mystery Capsule'- the new fall items have been very popular, and the bonus items are pretty valuable.

You totally made the right call though; your item is worth at least two, if not four, of the other persons 1-2 item! With most 1-2 value items, you will Definitely find someone willing to trade it at the 1 value.
What item are you looking for, btw? I can try to find a good deal on it =)
Though you can also go looking on your own! If you click on the item on DTI, you'll get a preview page that also has lists of who is trading and who is seeking that item. You can click on the TLs of the people who have one, click the compare button at the top of the page, and see if any of your items are on their WL.
If you want to link me your TL, I can help you look!

Edited September 20, 2017 by kirschteins
(I am the king of exclamation points)

[balloongal247]

Oh, yes, I know people generally make a list of things they want to trade.  I was asking Jelly if she's set one up yet that I could look through.  Or if she's just doing from the mall, because if she just started trading, she might not have that many NC items that she doesn't want anymore.

I have my items on DTI as owned, but not UFT, though I guess that didn't matter to the person who contacted me last week trying to trade for a foreground.  *shrug*  I don't have a tradelist, as I've never tried to do NC trading before.  I don't even really pay that much attention to what is or has been in the mall, so I don't even really know what I might want.

The item I liked that they had was

 
Jewel Toned Wig

It's a nice shape for my pastel ixi's head, and it looks good with her coloring.  Almost natural, though that sounds counter-intuitive, because her fur is a lighter purple color.

 

I guess this is mine, I tried to find a few to start a trade list, but I'd probably just decide case by case, do I want x more than I want y?

http://impress.openneo.net/user/31571-balloongal247/closet

[kirschteins]

Ah, okay! Sorry, I was in explanation mode lol

You can always keep items you really like in a list set to private, and make a list of stuff you're willing to trade set to either trading or jusr public =)

I like making themed outfits, so that's where my WL comes from!
Like... https://impress.openneo.net/outfits/1208835 based on the show Voltron: Legendary Defender


 

Re: Jewel Toned Wig
I actually have one of those on my Biscuit Gelert! https://impress.openneo.net/outfits/1059869 (He's just based on a character from a story a friend of mine is writing)
I'm pretty sure I've seen it in a few 2:1 trades. I'll see if I can grab an extra for you =)

[balloongal247]

Thank you .  Yeah, I thought it seemed like it was probably not a highly sought after item.  I almost looked past it, but was having such trouble with wigs I thought would look nice, that I got to the point that I was just trying them all and I was like "oh, actually, that looks super good on you AnandaJo!"

[jellysundae]

2 hours ago, kirschteins said:

Do you have anything from my WL? If not, I can look through your tradelist for something I might like anyways! (If you don't have one set up yet, DTI and JN both have the option to import a list from what you have in your closet/SDB).

I don't have anything set up, no, I don't think I have anything to trade to be honest, I've got very little NC stuff and I don't want to get rid of any of it. Oh, well, that's not quite true, but the few bits I'd be happy to trade are the freebies that everyone else's got too, lol. But I'll look at your link, just to see if I'm understanding what I'm seeing. xD

So as I don't have any items to trade, getting that background from you would need me to buy a couple of mystery capsules, that's how it works? Though I don't understand the 1-2 etc. prices, not like you can cut a capsule in half, lol. And what does the 2:1 ratio mean? And what does AA and SSTB mean, lol.

I feel like such a massive noob.

[kirschteins]

1 minute ago, jellysundae said:

So as I don't have any items to trade, getting that background from you would need me to buy a couple of mystery capsules, that's how it works? Though I don't understand the 1-2 etc. prices, not like you can cut a capsule in half, lol. And what does the 2:1 ratio mean? And what does AA and SSTB mean, lol.

Yeah! I'd accept 1 GBC for it =)
The 1-2 thing is just the range that it trades for; some people will want two items or gbc for it, or you might be able to trade a 1-2 item for one valued at a solid 2! With higher values, people will sometimes be pickier and say that a 3-4 value item is worth 3 gbcs + a FQC/dye/other item worth 100NC. Trading value is super flexible though; you always wanna look for sales!

2:1 means you give someone one gbc for two of their items! Most always-buyable items can be gotten in 2:1 sales. So if you want an item like 'Bottled Faerie Background'; it's more cost efficient to look for it in 2:1 sales than to spend your own NC, because there are lots of people trading it and little to no demand!
You can find items with a ~1 value 100% of the time in someone's 2:1 sale, and ~1-2 valued items a good 60% of the time.
In my experience, backgrounds are more likely to trade for their "full" (highest) value than anything else, but some foregrounds and other things get very popular and trade for higher as well. Once you've spent some time trading/on the nc boards/looking at TLs, you'll get a better idea of what those popular items are! Seasonal things, items that are widely considered pretty, etc

AA and SSTB are just the items Abstract Art and Space Station Thought Bubble in my highlight section! They're technically my highest value items, but they're not very common, so people probably aren't familiar with the values without checking.

Sometimes people abbreviate popular items on the boards as well- like the other day I saw someone talking about "SORBW" and literally had to google it (Summer Orange Root Blonde Wig, as it turns out).

Don't feel bad!! I made soooo many mistakes when I first started trading and had to look things up constantly. 
Anyways, I'm heading out to meet some friends; I'll check back sometime tonight!

[jellysundae]

2 hours ago, kirschteins said:

Yeah! I'd accept 1 GBC for it =)

Oh cool Any one in particular?

2 hours ago, kirschteins said:

2:1 means you give someone one gbc for two of their items!

Lol, that's a whole lot less complicated than I was fearing

My brain's seizing up a bit now, but it's absorbed a bit more info, thanks for the lesson!

[kirschteins]

1 hour ago, jellysundae said:

Oh cool Any one in particular?

Pirates Chest Gift Box Mystery Capsule is the only one available right now that gives boxes; the other mystery capsules just give items and don't technically count as gbcs!
That said, if you already have old gift box mystery capsules lying around, it doesn't matter to me at all which one you send!

Where should I send the BG? You can send whichever box to me at my main, same name as here. =)

[jellysundae]

Ah right, so I need to look into this further yet then! I can't use one of the million (slight exaggeration) boxes that I've got from Trudy?

I haven't traded NC items before so...stuff to learn again!

My account name's yantato, I'm doing a bit more studying in the mall now, lol.

[kirschteins]

Ah, no, the individual Basic Gift Boxes can't be traded, unfortunately. But it's good to have lots of them, because you need them to send items in! If you start NC trading, you'll go through a lot of boxes pretty quickly!
That's why GBCs are currency- they're the only way to obtain more boxes easily! (You also get 3 boxes for redeeming a NC card)

[balloongal247]

I think there's still not a way to directly buy an item for someone else.  So you'll have to buy the GBC, and then use one of your basic gift boxes to send the GBC to him.

[jellysundae]

I'm getting confused again now xD

Ok, I know you can't trade empty boxes, I've seen too many people annoyed at them cluttering up their SDB to not know that, lol. But because I have all those boxes (74 of 'em!), can I or can't I put any one of the 3 available capsules in them?

Wait, does it even work like that? Can/do I send an unopened capsule?

I'm thinking if I can send any one of the 3 then you pick the one you'd prefer.

...

Hey I just did something sensible! I got a box and an NC item out of my SDB so I could see what happened, lol. So now I see how stuff actually gets in the box.

This is a slow and painful process, isn't it!

I guess I should explain at this point that I'm not actually a complete idiot, lol, I just have MS and my broken brain makes me behave like one. Comprehension does happen eventually (honest) it's just got to fight its way through much derp to reach its destination.

[balloongal247]

Yes, you can send any NC item that's not no trade (like the boxes themselves or the freebies, but you can do the items that come from opening the freebies) in the box.  So, you would send the unopened capsule in it.  Do you have 3 capsules in your SDB, or are you saying that the NC Mall is saying there are 3 of those GBCs left?  If it's still in the NC Mall, you would have to purchase it from the NC Mall (just like you did with the wearables you bought earlier), and then you can use the gift box to send it.  You do not get to choose which of the 3, you'd just buy one.  You can't really know what you'll get from a capsule/surprise thing until they are opened.  Though I think there are some ways when buying multiples to try to check that they seem different, but that's more advanced stuff.

 

Or were you talking about the different types of capsules for sale?  There are 8 different Mystery Capsules for sale, but only one of them is a Gift Box Mystery Capsule. It's 200nc.  The other mystery capsules are 150NC because they do not give gift boxes.

[jellysundae]

2 hours ago, balloongal247 said:

Or were you talking about the different types of capsules for sale?

Yes I was. I thought there was just 3 because that's what I could see in the new items bit. I didn't look far enough, did I!

*looks*

Oh, duh, see I did scan the the names of the links for the other areas, but because nothing said capsules I assumed that what I could see in the new section was all there was. Didn't realise there were more in the Speciality section.

So basically that empty box costs 50 NC? lol. What a rip.

So I still need to know from kirschteins if they have a box preference (yeah I know you said I could send any) if they're quite happy for me to send any one I'll pick the one I find prettiest.

[balloongal247]

I just typed capsule into the search box....

Yes, the 3+ empty boxes cost 50nc, because there are few ways to get boxes, and people who do a lot of NC trading and gifting tend to run out of boxes.

He said you could send any *gift box* capsule.  There's only one gift box capsule.  The others are not the standard currency.

[jellysundae]

3 hours ago, balloongal247 said:

I just typed capsule into the search box....

Yes, the 3+ empty boxes cost 50nc, because there are few ways to get boxes, and people who do a lot of NC trading and gifting tend to run out of boxes.

He said you could send any *gift box* capsule.  There's only one gift box capsule.  The others are not the standard currency.

That tidies it up neatly then! You tired of explaining stuff to me yet?

Doing supremely logical stuff like searching for an item is the kind of thing that my broken brain has forgotten how to do, annoyingly. My average day is made up of many "DOH, why didn't I think of that!" moments now.

[kirschteins]

Thanks @balloongal247 for helping explain when I disappeared!
For some reason, I didn't get notifications that you guys had posted? Maybe because I left the tab open or something, I don't know.

But yeah @jellysundae, I would prefer the Pirates Chest Gift Box Mystery Capsule, because I'm... chronically low on boxes lol.

Also, yes! Anything labeled 'capsule' you can send the whole box! It's only the 'superpack' items that you can't =)

[jellysundae]

7 hours ago, kirschteins said:

For some reason, I didn't get notifications that you guys had posted? Maybe because I left the tab open or something, I don't know.

The notification stuff confuses the @#$% out of me, I have to say, lol. I don't get told when people have posted in threads I created (unless I'm following that person), I think you need to follow the thread itself for that to happen? but I can never remember to do that. >_<

So the boxes Trudy gives out really are very useful then? A truly thoughtful and considerate thing that JS did? I wish I could give you my 74 boxes D:

Ok, I'm off to buy a pirate's chest! Yo ho ho! Be on the look out for a delivery!

EDIT:

Congratulations! Your gift has been delivered to kirschteins. You will receive a Neomail updating you on the status of your gift within 48 hours. Thank you.

I did it without any asploding, woohoo! Hope you get a good item out of the box, and maybe even *gasp* the very special bonus item!