TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.2
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** TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST: Cargo, freight, and passenger issues. **
** **
** All followups on this topic should be sent to **
** [email removed]. They will be edited for clarity **
** and resent to the Traveller Mailing List in a following digest. **
** For my benefit, if you would include the word TRADE or COMMERCE in **
** your SUBJECT: this will help me track these articles for inclusion to **
** this digest. Thanks, Greg Givler **
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EDITOR'S NOTE:
This is my first submission as editor of the TRADE & COMMERCE DIGEST.
Please send all replies on the subject of TRADE AND COMMERCE to:
[email removed]
I plan to send issues out about every three days or if the volume is large
when the files reach about 45K. Below you will find Ed's reply to Mark's
first article. What I would like to see is more on the same lines, then
we can work together to get a workable system that most, if not all, can
use. I myself, have serious problems with the Mega-Traveller version
of speculative trade. Below are some good Ideas, though they may require
more detail than some of us would wish, or conversely not enough detail,
I think they are a good place to start. Again I ask that those who may be
using a different version, than the book versions, let us know. I would
like to see lots of different approaches so that we can all pick and choose
what may work in our campaigns.
Greg [email removed]
[email removed]
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Contents of the TRAVELLER MAILING LIST TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.2
1. Ideas for Speculative Trade - Edwin Wiles
2. Passages - Fred Schiff
3. Passages - Rob Vetter
As you can see pretty sparce at this time, as Johnny 5 says "I need input!"
Enjoy, and let's hear some feedback!
- ---------------------
From: [email removed] (Edwin Wiles)
To: [email removed]
Subject: Re: Ideas for Speculative Trade
> From: "MARK A. POWER" [email removed]
> Subject: Ideas for Speculative Trade
>
> PURCHASING
> - ----------
> 1) Determine number of available cargos. Dependent on starport and
> population?
At least partially, however dependent on how realistic you wish
to make it -- the KISS principle may apply here [Keep It Simple,
Stupid!] -- you might want to include a *very* slim chance of
something like either a newly discovered, or very hostile, world
with an incredibly valuable resource. Thus the population would
be low, the starport might not be the greatest, but the cargos would
still be quite good.
> 2) Determine specific cargos....[edited]
> ....It might also be necessary to institure Tech Level
> limitations at this point.
Yep. Good idea.
> 3) Determine base asking price. Roll on table to determine price, say
> range of 50% to 150% of base....[edited]
> ...Note that I'd like to make all modifiers
> percentages, not die modifiers. A table that runs from 40% to 400%
> is a bit much, and fixed amounts are simply ridiculous.
Agreed. Percentage modifiers are a good idea. I also think they'll be
necessary, though as you say, could be cumbersom.
> 4) Contact owner (or agent) and haggle over price.
I don't know. I've never been one to enjoy haggling over price, unless
I think the price is outrageous. With this system, you should come out
with a reasonable price. If you still don't want it, that's your choice.
Perhaps there are other ships around that would be willing to bid? (NOTE:
these should be other PLAYER ships! Not NPCS! Either that, or the GM
must be carefully honest, and keep the NPCS as though they were characters.
i.e. record how much money they have, how well they do selling, etc....)
> 5) Determine whether or not to buy.
Yep, you can't decide to buy until you know how much it's going to cost.
At least, not if you want to stay in buisness.....
> 6) Determine delivery date. Allow rush delivery at, say, 10% per day.
> At this time, determine any special handling characteristics. I'd
> allow them to look it up earlier, or ask during negotiations, but
> this is where they find out if they don't think to ask.
Rush delivery? Does that mean that we pay more if we force the owner/agent
to deliver to us sooner? Do we get to impose penalties for failure to meet
the agreed delivery date?
About delivery dates:
- Roll for the 'expected delivery date'.
- If that is too long for the ship to wait, allow the captain/owner
of the ship to adjust the 'expected delivery date' by specifing 'Rush
Delivery', and paying the percentage penalty. If the adjustment is
outrageous (more than 5 days?), allow a percentage chance that the
owner/agent for the cargo will refuse.
- If the original 'expected delivery date' was too soon (ship servicing,
etc..), allow the captain/owner to ask for 'Delayed Delivery' by any
number of days. (No penalty to either side.) Roll to see if the
owner/agent of the cargo is willing to go along. If the cargo is
perishable, then degrade it's *resell* value by a percentage per day that
it is delayed (1%?). (Not the owner/agent's fault that the ship couldn't
leave!)
- Roll for the 'actual delivery date' which should be a "bell curve"
centered on the 'expected' date. actual = expected + (2D6 - 7)?
The above formula would allow for -5 to +5 adjustment to the expected
date. Negative 'actual' dates are really zero. (The cargo is on-hand.)
Penalties (10% per day?) apply to the owner/agent for failure to deliver
on or before the specified time. For perishable cargos, the owner/agent
is penalized for early delivery, if the ship cannot leave early, at the
same rate that the cargo is degraded. (Not the captain/owner's fault that
the owner/agent was over-eager!)
> SALE
> - ----------
> 1) Find a buyer. Again, he's unlikely to come up and knock on the
> airlock. How long it takes (and how many you find) is based on
> starport and population.
Depends! On some worlds, particularly medium class worlds where cargo ships
are not common, but not unusual either, I would expect there to be 'factors'
who would darn near meet each ship as it hit the ground. (Consider
Renaissance(sp?) Italy, particularly Venice, were the trading was sharp and
quick. Knowing when the next ship was going to come in and being there to
greet it first could make the difference between living and starving.)
On worlds with first class ports, and lots of traffic, the likelyhood of being
met is somewhat less, but not by much. Only on worlds with low class ports,
and little traffic, are you likely to have to go looking real hard for a buyer.
Of course, the buyers who DO show up may not be interested in what you have
to sell! I suppose that the KISS principle would cause this situation to
be combined into one roll, that would determine whether there's a buyer for
your cargo immediately, or wether you have to go looking. The nature of your
cargo, and the world you're on makes a difference. "Coal to NewCastle!"
> 2) Determine base offering price. Take base resale value from master
> table, apply appropriate modifiers from master table, roll on
> random value table (same table as in 3 above.)
I should think that the captain/owner would have a great deal to say about
how much he'd sell his cargo for! He just might opt to hold it over till
the next planet fall, if the price is lousy enough!
> 3) Select buyer and negotiate price. See step 4 above.
If buyers are immediately present, and the roll was good enough, perhaps there
are multiple buyers present and willing to bid?
> 4) Decide to sell or not.
If you go the 'bid' route, you've little choice. Though the captain/owner
can set a 'minimum' bid that he'll accept. To run an 'auction', the
captain/owner must agree to pay the auctioneer a percentage based on the
final sale price. If a 'minumum' bid was posted, and the auction fails to
sell the cargo, the captain/owner must still pay the auctioneer the sale
percentage, but base it on the 'minumum' posted bid. (This is real life!)
Attempting to run an auction on your own, on a mid to high population world,
is virtually guaranteed to get a captain/owner in trouble....
> 5) Deliver as appropriate. (In step 3, you agreed to deliver, and he
> just didn't mention he's in a war zone. Or the Teamsters are on
> strike.)
Include a 'hazard' clause in the agreement (if the captain/owner thinks
to ask for it) which lets him duck if the delivery would be 'too hazardous
for a proper captain to accept'. Include penalties for the owner/agent
for failure to inform the captain, and for the captain/owner for 'unreasonable
application of the hazard clause'. Maybe settled by arbitration? Allow the
owner/agent to ask for a waiver of the 'hazard' clause?
- --------------------------
From: [email removed]
From: Fred Schiff
Subject: Passages
The idea of high, middle and low passages has bothered me for a while. If the
passages are not based upon the distance travelled, but instead a single jump,
the question is where do you get these tickets? The Traveller's Aid Society
gives them out as dividends to their members and it is doubtful whether every
tramp steamer spaceship sells them. I thought that they might be sold by
financial institutions and the T.A.S. in the same manner in which banks sell
Traveller's checks. This would explain the lesser amount you get on a discount
and the reason why passages are accepted everywhere throughout space; they
are backed by the various banks throughout space.
[email removed]
==================================
From: Rob Vetter (Controlled, Calm, Concerned) [email removed]
Subject: Passages
Passage tickets probably work similar to airline tickets
today. Most carriers will honor the tickets of another carrier
(with the possible exception of Eastern Airlines) as a
courtesy, and as a way to increase their own business. It is
assumed that the line which honors the ticket bills the
issuer.
This offers the possibility a couple of interesting angles to
the game. What if a major line goes T.U. after a tramp has
accepted several passage tickets? There may also be the
possibility of major lines leveraging the small business owner
into purchasing a special franchise or going out of business
all together.
A smart tramp operator may work in a high competition area with
many major competing lines that cannot allow a bad reputation.
Other possibilities are special contracts with certain lines,
or accepting cash only. I suppose you have to be on the
look-out for Fly-By-Night Starlines tickets, too.
-------------
I always assumed that the Traveller's Aid Society was kind of
like Social Security or the Veterans Administration. Probably
closer to AARP - as a private organization. One thing you have
to remember is that it is HUGE. Suppose 1 person out of 10,000
in the Imperium pays (or has paid for them) the 1Mcr admission
fee. Assume resonable investment, assume also hotel, bar, and
other revenues. The society is probably LARGER than most
(ALL?) Mega-corporations. They maintain important economic and
political contacts, possibly have their own fleet for internal
travel and communication services, and DEFINITELY print their
own scrip which is legal in most of the Imperial worlds.
In the Shattered Imperium of Mega-Traveller, a good TAS
director (likewise good Mega-corporation directors) will
instruct the people to remain neutral. This allows the
opportunity for increasing power.
["Mr. Director, the Emporer is here, will you see him?"
"Let him wait another day."]
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**TRAVELLER MAILING LIST - TRADE AND COMMERCE DIGEST VOL.2 **
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