Help System

NAME
vendor - information on the player and clan-leased shops

SYNTAX
vendor list [<'all'>]
vendor where <lease owner name or clan #>
vendor exit
vendor search <string> [<minimum level> <maximum level>]
vendor info
vendor lease
vendor clanlease
vendor stock <item> [<price>]
vendor markup <percent>
vendor hours <open hour> <close hour>
vendor levels <minimum level> <maximum level>
vendor title <shop title>
vendor hawk <message>
vendor notify
vendor history
vendor pay
vendor terminate

DESCRIPTION
Nestled between the townes of Lowangen and New Rigel on Sepharia is a
large Bazaar, filled with eccentric vendors who have chosen to make
their services available to Adventurers or Clans with items to sell.

The vendors all belong to the Bazaar Merchant's Guild, within which
they set the overall prices for the services they offer based on supply
and demand within the Bazaar.

Vendors operate based on leases owned by Adventurers or Clans. Adventurers
must be at least level 61 to lease a vendor.  These leases may be
purchased from the vendor for an initial fee. Once the lease is
established, the vendor will then stock and sell items to other
Adventurers based on prices dictated by the lease owner. The vendor will
collect a percentage of the profit on every item sold, as well as a fee
for each game hour he is open for business.

The lease owner (or shoptender, in the case of a Clan-owned shop) must visit
the vendor once a week (in real time) in order to pay the vendor and to
collect the profit made from the shop. In order to keep the books straight,
the vendor's fee will come from the lease owner/shoptender's cash on hand
or default bank account. In the case of a clan shop, the vendor's fee
will come from the clan bank account. If the vendor is not paid, the
profit cannot be collected from the vendor.

The vendor will not accept payment until a full week has passed, thus
guaranteeing a weekly visit from the lease owner. There is a three-day
grace period at the end of the week where the vendor will accept the
payment, and provide the profits to the lease owner. After the three
day grace period the vendor will stop selling items until he is paid.

If the lease owner/shoptender does not pay the vendor for 40 days, the
vendor will close the shop - destroying any items in the process, and keeping
all the profit for himself. So it is important for the lease owner/shoptender
to remember to visit the vendor weekly. Like any enterprise,
player-leased shops require some time and attention. Do not lease a
shop if you cannot attend it regularly.

For a player-run shop, the Vendor Merchant's Guild is currently asking:
     * 200,000 gp to establish a lease
     * 9% commission on gross sale per item
     * 200 gp per game hour the vendor is open for business

For a clan-run shop, the Vendor Merchant's Guild is currently asking:
     * 3,000,000 gp to establish a lease
     * 10% commission on gross sale per item
     * 400 gp per game hour the vendor is open for business

GENERAL VENDOR COMMANDS
The following commands are available to all.

VENDOR LIST [<'all'>] - provides a numbered list of all currently-leased,
     currently open vendors in the Bazaar. To view all the vendors
     available (even those that are not currently open for business),
     type VENDOR LIST ALL.

VENDOR WHERE <lease owner name or clan #> - provides a path of
     directions of the specified shop vendor from your current
     location. You must be in the Bazaar to use this command.

     If searching for a lease owner name, wildcards are permitted.
         * Matches everything (e.g., *umlau*)
         ? Matches a single character (e.g., um?a?t)

VENDOR EXIT - provides a path of directions to the Bazaar exit from
     your current location in the Bazaar.

VENDOR SEARCH <string> [<minimum level> <maximum level>] - searches all
     player and clan-leased vendor shops for a specific string. Strings
     must be from 4 to 40 characters in length, and can include wildcards:

         * Matches everything (e.g., *sword*)
         ? Matches a single character (e.g., sw?rd)
         % Matches a single word (e.g., sword of %)

     The item fields searched will be the keyword field and the
     short description field.

     You may also provide optional level restriction parameters, from
     1 - 241, to limit the search to items that fall between those levels.

VENDOR INFO - gives information about the vendor in the room with you.
     If you are the owner of the lease with that specific vendor,
     additional information will be displayed pertaining to the
     lease.

VENDOR LEASE - Establishes a lease with the vendor in the room with you.
     This can only be done in the Bazaar, at a vendor-run shop.

VENDOR CLANLEASE - Establishes a lease with the vendor in the room with
     you. This can only be done in the Bazaar, at a vendor-run shop. You
     must be in a clan and have the SHOPTENDER security flag in order to
     lease a shop for your clan.

LEASE OWNER VENDOR COMMANDS
The following commands can only be used by the lease owner/shoptender(s)
for a specific vendor. Commands must be issued in the same room as the
vendor.

VENDOR TERMINATE - terminates the lease with the vendor. You will
     forefit your initial fee as well as any profit that has not
     already been collected using the VENDOR PAY command, and
     the vendor will drop all the items in the store at your feet.

VENDOR STOCK <item name> [<price>] - Takes an item from your
     immediate inventory and gives it to the vendor to stock. If you
     do not specify a price, it will be determined automatically
     based on the vendor's markup percentage and the default value
     of the item. Once an item is stocked, it cannot be unstocked,
     so please make sure you are careful in the items you stock
     with the vendor. Items can always be bought back, but you
     will have to pay the vendor his percentage for selling the
     item.

     You may stock up to twenty-five of the same item with the vendor
     at the same time, and have a maximum of fifty total items
     stocked in the store at once.

VENDOR MARKUP <percentage> - Sets the percentage that the vendor
     will use when determining how much to charge per item. The
     vendor will apply the markup to all items sold in the shop.
     This is an easy way to increase the prices of all items if
     demand is high. Markup percentage may be from 50 to 250.
     By default the markup percentage is set to 100%, which means
     items will have their normal, full values. Anything below
     100% reduces the prices. Anything over 100% increases them.

VENDOR HOURS <open hour> <close hour> - Sets the vendor open and
     close hours. The longer the vendor is open, the more the vendor
     will cost per week. Hours must be 0 (midnight), 6 (6 am),
     12 (noon), 18 (6 pm), or 24 (midnight), and the open hour
     must be an earlier hour than the close hour.

VENDOR LEVELS <minimum level> <maximum level> - Sets the levels which
     limits who can purchase items from the vendor. Minimum level must
     be less than or equal to maximum level.

VENDOR TITLE <new title> - Changes the name of the vendor's store.

VENDOR NOTIFY - Toggles ON or OFF having the vendor notify the
     lease holder (if a player-run shop) or clan members (if a clan-run
     shop) if they are online when a purchase is made.

VENDOR HISTORY - Displays up to a 10-day history of the vendor's sales
     of what, and to whom.

VENDOR HAWK <message> - Changes the hawk message for the vendor's store.
     This message will show up in VENDOR LIST, and is useful for high-
     lighting current specials your vendor might be offering, or special
     items that your store offers, such as "Seashell Helms 50% off!" or
     "Visit us today for the lowest prices on slugwort antidotes!" Hawk
     messages must be 75 characters or less in length and abide by all
     global channel rules.

SEE ALSO
Shops