Trading: founding an Exchange

[Mastersan]

Hi All,

In this topic I've got an idea about founding an exchange, which I thought may be a good theme for a thread of its own:
https://testsquadron.com/threads/trading-and-fleet-management-from-your-ship-bridge.12667/

Given that there are multiple trading facilities (and will be much more), and numerous players doing trading, and lack of centralised trading and price formation, maybe it is possible to found an exchange (or several for various products and instruments).

Ideally this should be in-game, where TEST can offer centralised trading, settlement, clearing and delivery.

We could begin with something plain, which can grow if successful. Later we may add derivatives, like commodity futures, etc. :)

The exchange names may be something like:
TSX - TEST Stock Exchange
TSE - TEST Stock Exchange
TME - TEST Mercantile Exchange
TBOT - TEST Board of Trade


This could be done outside until the game does not have the mechanics. For example this site offers price and trading support: https://starcitizen.danielaburke.com/



Maybe, we would also need a bank for all funds related activities, like funding developments, investing into large scale projects (maybe buy out a planet?..) but this may be a theme for a new thread. :)

 

[NaffNaffBobFace]

Some accronyms

Stock and Trade Utility Finding Function- STUFF

Centralised Record Administration Program - CRAP

Commodities and Utilities Network (Test Squardon) - (Can't write that one.)

 

[DarthMatter]

Some accronyms

Stock and Trade Utility Finding Function- STUFF

Centralised Record Administration Program - CRAP

Commodities and Utilities Network (Test Squardon) - (Can't write that one.)

I really like STUFF as an acronym :)

 

[Duhb]

Some accronyms

Stock and Trade Utility Finding Function- STUFF

Centralised Record Administration Program - CRAP

Commodities and Utilities Network (Test Squardon) - (Can't write that one.)

Oh I like these, the last one by far

 

[maynard]

Given that there [is a] lack of centralised trading and price formation, maybe it is possible to found an exchange (or several for various products and instruments)...

It is inconceivable that CIG won't give us a robust trading platform. They just haven't delivered it yet. Economic activity will be the very heart of the game. We need to know prices in real-time for all the systems we can reach. No one will participate in trading if they have to pay to fill their cargo bays without knowing if there is a profit to be made.

The interesting question is whether they will publish the application programming interfaces to allow us to build apps that let us trade with our cell phones from anywhere. Eve Online made real-time pricing info available via API years ago. I haven't played recently, so I don't know if they have added the ability to trade without being logged into the client. It's certainly doable.

 

[Printimus]

I would wait for more mechanics in game.

 

[maynard]

...TEST can offer centralised trading, settlement, clearing and delivery...

I've said it elsewhere - this is a game, not a fucking job. People who do this IRL make six- and seven-figure salaries. It won't work if casual players are doing it an hour or two at a time, a couple of times a week. Let's get real here.

Later we may add...commodity futures, etc...

Can't happen. IRL on the date a commodities contract comes due there is an obligation to deliver (or receive) tangible goods. There is no way to enforce such a contract in the PU.

Maybe, we would also need a bank for all funds related activities, like funding developments, investing into large scale projects...

I predict this will happen. One time. And when the bankers abscond with all the depositors' Credits the spacelanes will be flooded with tears. All the gamer sites will give it a big write-up and the thieves will be Internet Famous. But CIG isn't going to give anyone their Credits back. Welcome to the sandbox.

 

[Takeiteasy]

I like it, I hope we can buy those trade control panels when the trading and professions get fleshed out, we could all use the same exchange and literally become a hub for trading.

Imagine being the biggest and best source of the rarest most valuable resources and 15,000+ of us all maintaining this stranglehold.. I mean position on the trading profession.

 

[Michael]

I'm not sure about the stock exchange thing but i think developing a trading platform, would be something i would appreciate.
At the current state a simple spreadsheet is doing it for me ( https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VWWsl8RO8ZHobHHS6RAktZxeL9xwU6F53QzlCjd5wok/edit?usp=drivesdk )

Once the verse is getting more complex we will need something more complex to find good trade routes . Whenever i say that and do a little research CR has already something like this planned so it might be obsolete.

 

[maynard]

Imagine being the biggest and best source of the rarest most valuable resources and 15,000+ of us all maintaining this stranglehold.. I mean position on the trading profession.

dream on

the whole idea behind populating the PU with 90% NPCs is so nobody will be able to corner the markets

I'm not saying I think that's a good idea

I believe we need the scarcities that cornering the market can create, to drive conflict

otherwise it's gonna be all Kumbaya in Space, all the time

 

[Takeiteasy]

dream on

the whole idea behind populating the PU with 90% NPCs is so nobody will be able to corner the markets

I'm not saying I think that's a good idea

I believe we need the scarcities that cornering the market can create, to drive conflict

otherwise it's gonna be all Kumbaya in Space, all the time

I forgot about that 90% NPC thing lol plus there will be limitations I imagine for how big we can get in the game, there must always be a bigger UEE or NPC controlled exchange, looking at the city planet that must contain a hundred trillion NPCs or something, there will always be someone bigger.

I can't wait for this sort of thing to get imemented, you grow and grow and have an armada of Orion's and think you're the biggest, then you see the platform from the SQ42 Slice that is bigger than all your ships combined. You are just small fry.

 

[Bambooza]

They did say that it would be possible to influence the regional market by either continued trading (improve the region) or create a blockade and cause a scarcity.

Commodities future's can be enforced with bounties, but like rl futures there is a risk of no product being made by the due date and so a way to track someones trade history would also need to be created. Something like ebays star system. But still what issue is the concept of futures attempting to address? Even loans and stocks seem pointless in a system that will have a natural high inflation rate.