Apprentice shopkeepers

Lianca

The LMS is a large outlay, and a reasonable one for the profit shopkeeping offers, this I'm not disputing.

My idea is an Apprentice Shopkeeper's License.

For about 200,000 (approximately a third of the LMS cost, so not effective to just spam over time) a person would gain 2 IC years of LMS function. This would allow people to pay a decent amount to see whether shopkeeping is something they enjoy, give a chance to current shopkeepers to apprentice and train newer players with the idea of them taking over in future.

This is in response to a problem I come up against with people in organisations. We/they don't want to pay the full amount to have someone say it's not for them, and this would give them a trial period of functionality to see if they want to save or scrounge for the actual master's license.

Katzchen

I'd say make it a bit longer? 200k sounds good. They can't buy/place tuns, or place signs, only use the bins and price policy functions. Then make it so they can upgrade to a full LMS by paying the difference within the time they have their apprentice license.

Nizaris

Interesting idea is interesting, but I definitely agree with Katzchen. 200k for only a 24 RL day trial period sounds ... like a ripoff. But, the amount itself sounds right.

Also, I would support the idea to get the apprentice shopkeeper license upgraded somehow to become a full shopkeeper license for something like 400-500k. 400k is the straight difference between apprentice/master licenses, so that makes sense in a way. 500k provides incentive to purchase a MSL straight away, but still doesn't make someone pay the full 600k after their trial period ends (this is also a good thing; people should feel like they could getting some permanent benefit for their trial investment. This is a good thing; gold sinks ahoy!).

Since this is all priced in gold and not credits, I am completely in favour of it, and more, gold sinks. If anything, we'll see a bunch of people sign up if only to give it a try, burn gold, and then give up on it. If they keep up with it, then they upgrade, and burn yet more gold. Win-win-win.

Azor

I'd say a better solution would be to allow Houses, and perhaps other orgs, to purchase a master shopkeeper license that can be re-assigned by the org leader. You could limit it to one switch every three IC years, say (or have a lesser fee to switch it), and require the House to pony up a couple million sovereigns. Would this be a problem? Most people get their first experience of shopkeeping with an org-owned shop, I think, and not their own shop.

This would also eliminate the problem of gifting an LMS to somebody who's promised to maintain the shop, but who instead promptly disappears.

Lianca

That certainly helps in Houses, Cities and Orders, but what of a family owned business, where a parent might want to teach the child a trade? I'm all for not limiting teaching opportunities, and think that a slightly cheaper option should be available for all who want to trial.

In address to 200k being expensive, it is, but a well run shop can easily clear this in the two years of the trial period, which is ideally should be what a shopkeeper is wanting to teach an apprentice.

Xith

Additionally let the person make permanent their license within the trial period with the other 400,000. Sort of like Complete My Album on iTunes.

Also pssssst, when will there be player shops in that empty Delosian marketplace?  It's been under construction for like 150 years?

Katzchen

LMS are 650k, not 600k? So 450-500k extra would fit.

Xith

Katzchen said:

LMS are 650k, not 600k? So 450-500k extra would fit.

Ah, she said 1/3 in the OP. Was taking her word for it cause it's been a while since I bought mine.

Kresslack

I think someone being able to get a test run and some experience as an apprentice shopkeeper before paying that much for a license would be a good thing. There are a lot of aspects to shopkeeping, and it's not learned overnight. It's not really a worthy investment unless you Know you're going to use it, and you have to utilize that license long-term for it to pay for itself in time.