[X] My Assistant

I am totally confused on how the exchange works.

High: 195 Credits Low: 191 Credits Avg: 192 Credits Vol: 6,385 kGP

How do I actually read the above information? How many kGP does it actually take to purchase credits? The amounts vary from from 50K to 2K so I really do not understand what the heck I am reading in the columns so I can't even do any trading right now. I tried to find an explanation on the Wiki but was not able to find anything there either.

Ok, so here's a quick dirty guide of the Hath exchange. The same applies to the GP exchange.

Below is a screenshot I took of the Hath exchange page.



The yellow boxed areas are statistical information. Useful to see the market trend if you plan to make credits by playing the market.

Blue box area is where you perform your trades (buy/sell).

Red box is the most important box. It shows the current live prices people have posted in the market place. What many people struggle with is how to interpret this information.

Lets start with the Bid (Buyers) column. The first (top) entry says "285 Hath @ 9,813 Credits". What this means, that someone (1 person or many people, doesn't really matter), is willing to BUY up to 285 Hath at a price of 9813 credits EACH (nine thousand, NOT nine point eight one three). Next entry we have "244 Hath @ 9,812 Credits" (1 credit cheaper), and so on... Note that the column is descending, with the highest bidding price at the top, making things easy to look at if you are SELLING hath.

Now on the Ask (Sellers) column. First entry says "57 Hath @ 9,900 Credits". This means that people have put 57 Hath available on the market, for a price of 9900 credits EACH (hence the "Asking" price). Next entry says "134 Hath @ 9,979 Credits", and so on. Here it is listed in ascending order, with the cheapest asking price at the top, makes things easier if you are BUYING hath.

Now, how does this all work? Lets assume to start with, I want to buy hath. I look at the Ask (Sellers) column.

Ask (Sellers)
57 Hath @ 9,900 Credits

I only need 50 hath, and I want the hath NOW!. So in the "Buy Hath" box (blue boxee area in screenshot) I type 50 hath for "Buy count", and 9900 credits for "Bid Price Per Hath". Notice it says "PER hath" so it's price for EACH hath. Voila! I just bagged 50 hath for 9900 each, which totals 495,000 credits (get that calculator). After the transaction is completed, the Ask column should update to "7 Hath @ 9,900", thats assuming no one else placed any bids or asks.

Now a different scenario. What if I wanted to buy 100 hath, instead of 50? Rewinding back, assuming the 50 hath trade mentioned above didn't happen. Ok lets check the Ask listing again.

Ask (Sellers)
57 Hath @ 9,900 Credits
134 Hath @ 9,979 Credits

In this case, if I typed 100 hath at 9900 credits at the buy box, this is what will happen. I will have bought 57 hath @ 9900 credits, BUT the rest of the 43 hath, will NOT be purchased, but instead a new entry will be placed at the Bid (Buyers) column.

Ask (Sellers)
57 Hath @ 9,900 Credits <--- Removed because you bought them
134 Hath @ 9,979 Credits


Bid (Buyers)
43 Hath @ 9,900 Credits <--- New entry
285 Hath @ 9,813 Credits
244 Hath @ 9,812 Credits

Why is this? Because only 57 hath was available for 9900 credits, so the system bought those 57 for you. The rest of the 43 hath costs 9979 credits, since you are only willing to pay 9900 each hath, the system has automatically placed a new bid for you for the rest of the order, hence the new entry. Now you have 2 options, you can either wait patiently for someone else to place those 43 hath at 9900 (or cheaper), the system will automatically buy the rest for you as soon as that happens so you don't have to do anything else. Or if you want the rest of the hath NOW, you can update your price to 9979 credits, and the system will buy the rest for you.

For those wondering, you can actually skip a step and buy all 100 hath straight away. You do this by typing 100 hath at 9979 credits. But won't I pay 100 x 9979 credits? Actually no. When you type 9979 credits, it doesn't mean you'll pay EXACTLY 9979 credits per hath, it actually mean you are willing to pay UP TO 9979 credits. So, in this case, they system will automatically buy you 57 x 9900, then 43 x 9979, which totals 993,397 credits, NOT 997,900 credits. Simples.

If you don't need the hath straight away, You can put a lower price than the lowest available asking price on the market. The system will place a bid listing, and automatically buy the required hath for you when someone puts the hath on sale at that price (or cheaper, the system will automatically give you the best price possible depending on whats available on the market.).

If you plan to sell instead of buying, the opposite is true. You can match the available listed bid price for an immediate sale, or enter a price higher than the available bid price and play the waiting game.

This post has been edited by Makaijin: Jan 16 2014, 01:09