Trade in value for gems?
- Thread starter Arravis
- Start date
Buttercup
Princess of Florin
There isn't a single answer to this, IMO. For instance, if the party were in a rural area, a large gem wouldn't be worth squat--what would the local peasants use it for? In a trade town 50 miles from the mine, it would be worth a certain amount. However, in a wealthy and decadent metropolis 4000 miles away, it might go for 10 times that much. And if the gem has uses as a spell component, or even in alchemical formulae, then it might be worth a great deal more to practitioners than to a run of the mill jeweler.
random user
First Post
Sure, d6+3 x 100 gold.
Like the above post(s?), it really depends on a lot of things. There is no straight value. If you are in a hurry, just arbitrarily assign something and go with it. How do the characters know how much it's worth anyways?
Like the above post(s?), it really depends on a lot of things. There is no straight value. If you are in a hurry, just arbitrarily assign something and go with it. How do the characters know how much it's worth anyways?
Liquidsabre
Explorer
Coins and Gems trade straight across for their values in our games, saves hassle and is a great way for adventurers to put all their cash into a single easy to carry gem without lugging about several pounds of coin.
All other items sell for half as normal, though allowances are made for organizational ties, family ties (mercantile background) etc. in-game.
All other items sell for half as normal, though allowances are made for organizational ties, family ties (mercantile background) etc. in-game.
Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
I usually have a money changer charge a 5-10% fee to change a gem for its equivalent value in coin, but otherwise keep market value, unless it's an extremely unusual or rare gem. That keep gems somewhat convertable; prices are 40-60% on other goods, on average.
The reason items sell for 50% is because the assumption is that the buyer turns around and puts it right into his inventory, thus he needs the 50% to make his profit. Gems don't work that way. Either you take them somewhere else where you can sell them for more (supply and demand) or else you cut them/work them into jewerly and add value (re: raise the price) that way. But you don't typically "buy low, sell high" with gems anymore than you do with gold or other precious metals, they are a trade good and have to mantain a fairly constant value otherwise the entire economy will colapse. Therefore, barring issues of supply and demand, gems and other trade goods should exchange for their full value. Heck, gems are probably the second best form of currency right behind coin and just before a big lump of precious metal. Most games I've played in have treated them as such.
According to the DMG (p 140) a moneychanger will charge a 10% "exchange fee" for his services. A jeweler will probably also charge a 10% "comission" or "royalty" for his turnaround costs unless the PC's are good customers or have a good diplomacy check. The 10% will be based upon whatever value the PC's and NPC decide upon for the gem(s). If you want to roleplay the sale/exchange start by asking the PC's for Appraise checks (or they hire someone to appraise for them) and then give them that result. The prospective buyer will then probably try to open by lowballing them just to check and see if they bombed their appraise check. If he finds that they aren't gullible saps he will quickly default back to the gem's actual value and refuse to budge upward (absouetly no reason for him to do so, unless he himself failed an appraise check) very little haggling should be involved once the buyer discerns that the PC's are aware of the true value of the gem. I woluld not bother with any other bluff/diplomacy checks in a situation like this as it just isn't reasonable. After that charge the PC's the 10% and you're done.
If you really want to speed things up ask for an appraise check and if they succede or fail and uderestimate the true value tell them they sell for that value minus 10%. If they fail and overestimate tell them that nobody will offer more than xGP (where x is the true value) minus 10% and they can take it or leave it. That will occupy all of five minutes of game time.
Good luck.
According to the DMG (p 140) a moneychanger will charge a 10% "exchange fee" for his services. A jeweler will probably also charge a 10% "comission" or "royalty" for his turnaround costs unless the PC's are good customers or have a good diplomacy check. The 10% will be based upon whatever value the PC's and NPC decide upon for the gem(s). If you want to roleplay the sale/exchange start by asking the PC's for Appraise checks (or they hire someone to appraise for them) and then give them that result. The prospective buyer will then probably try to open by lowballing them just to check and see if they bombed their appraise check. If he finds that they aren't gullible saps he will quickly default back to the gem's actual value and refuse to budge upward (absouetly no reason for him to do so, unless he himself failed an appraise check) very little haggling should be involved once the buyer discerns that the PC's are aware of the true value of the gem. I woluld not bother with any other bluff/diplomacy checks in a situation like this as it just isn't reasonable. After that charge the PC's the 10% and you're done.
If you really want to speed things up ask for an appraise check and if they succede or fail and uderestimate the true value tell them they sell for that value minus 10%. If they fail and overestimate tell them that nobody will offer more than xGP (where x is the true value) minus 10% and they can take it or leave it. That will occupy all of five minutes of game time.
Good luck.
