Introduction

Hi! I'm Bailysis. I've been selling a lot of lions lately (as one does) and poking around the Price Checks forum and thought I would make a guide for how I would price a lion to sell. Basically, I go to the Trading Center and search for similar lions to gauge my prices off of.

This guide focuses on lions but I will make a section for items as well!

Before I begin, under 100 SB = fodder prices. A lion sold for less than 100 SB is likely to be used for karma fodder or the Enclave. If you want your lion to live a long and happy life, price them higher than 100 SB. Not guaranteed, but this is what I have observed.

Also, mutation = minimum 1 GB unless its Primal Fangs.

Now, onto the guide.

The Trading Center

Step One : Basic Filters
I always start by filtering for the lion's sex, age, and base color. I also exclude frozen lions, search for trades with only one lion, and exclude mutated lions.
- If you are selling a cub or adolescent, filter age from 0 to 2.
- If you are selling an adult, filter age from 2 to 0. If it is an older lion (around 8-10), you may want to raise the minimum age.
- If you are selling a mutated lion, filter for that mutation. I suggest the "Any Mutation" / "Any Primal" / "Any Piebald" filters instead of a specific mutation. If you have a lethal mutation, you're probably better off posting a thread instead of relying on the Trading Center.


Step Two : Initial Results
Look at the trades that pop up after your first filter.
- If there are less than 10 lions, or the prices vary too much, you need to broaden your search.
- If there are multiple pages of lions, you need to narrow your search.
- If you are satisfied with your results, move on to Step Five!

Step Three : Broaden Your Search
You can broaden your search by filtering for base genetics instead of base color.
All 4 (Group, Shade, Gradient, Rarity) will yield the most narrow search. Remove the Shade or Gradient filters first to continue to broaden your search, as Group and Rarity are more important. (Black Common lions will be priced more evenly than Black Countershaded lions).

Step Four : Narrow Your Search
You can narrow your search by filtering for Marking Options. I typically start with Total Markings. I don't recommend Specific Markings, as it can narrow your search too much.
- If you have a lion with 5 markings, you can search for "Total Markings : Exactly 5" or "Total Markings : Less than 6" if exactly 5 is too narrow. Always search for 1 above the # of markings your lion has.
- I don't advise filtering for lions with more than any number of markings, because that may skew results.
- If there is a specific marking you know is popular, filter for it in the "Type Group" option.

Mixing It Up
Maybe you want to see what a certain marking is selling for, but on black and red-based lions. Adjust the Base Genetics and Marking Options as you need to get the type of sales you need.

Step Five : Personal Bias
How much do you like this lion? Are you tentative on selling them? Do you care about what happens to the lion after they are sold? Is the lion's heritage clean or dirty? Questions like these may add or remove some SB from your final price. If you are eager to sell the lion, sell a little lower. If you are tentative or want the lion to go to a good home, sell a little higher.

Step Six : Final Price
After filtering and finding a good pool of lions (more than 10, less than 2 pages) with even pricing (not a huge difference between the cheapest and most expensive lion), choose a price somewhere in the middle that feels right. You may price higher or lower based on your personal bias. Ignore the most expensive lions and the super cheap ones, as you want the average and not the outliers.

Step Seven : Naming Your Trade
Finally! You know how much you should sell your lion for. Now you need to sell them!
You need to cram as much important information as you can into that one line. Trade names can get pretty long, so get cramming! Here are some factors I would include, in order of importance:
- Sex (M or F)
- Age (Cub, Adol, Adult)
- Base (Exact Base or Genetics, like BDSC)
- # of Markings (Typically expressed as 3M, 8M, etc)
- Fertility (if female) or mane genetics (if male)
- Special features, such as significant markings or special eyes.
- Stats (only if its above like 400-600)

Names like "Cub" or "Pretty Lioness" are pretty useless, unless you are selling as fodder and the appearance of the lion doesn't matter.

If you are selling a Chased or NCL lioness, that factor should replace the Sex and Age, since it is already given that it is an adult lioness. Include if she is in heat or not.