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Its been awhile...

Like many of you, The 1600 Index has noticed that the economic model of eRepublik no longer works. Prices has depressed to the point where selling good to buy gold in order to improve one's station in the game is nearly impossible past the Q3 level. A popular chart has been the Self-supply chart, a quick reference for the value gained by working as a manager in your own companies.

The Self-Supply chart for today:


Weapon manufacturing does not pay until Q5. A player with a Q3 weapon factory takes 420 weapon raw materials (WRM) worth $25.20 in the market and turns them into 14 Q3 weapons worth $14.42. Worse still they then have to pay $0.72 in VAT meaning the player nets $13.70 after they are sold. That player would be better served selling the WRM for $25.20, buying 14 weapons on the market for 14.42 and pocketing the $10.78.

Its not until Q5 does the weapon-producing player scratch out a meager profit. And forget about hiring at market wages if one is a weapon producer. At current wages of $26, the only items that clear that are Q6 & Q7 food producers (netting $32 and $49.92 respectively). All producers of anything other than Q6 and Q7 food are better off selling the raw materials and buying the items in the market.

What about some other countries? The 1600 Index has info on eCanada, a country with higher taxes and similar production, and eBrazil, with both higher taxes and higher bonuses. eCanada first -



Very similar profit structure on weapons. The losses are a bit worse and the profits a bit more, but still a struggle. With eCanada's wage at 21 CAD, Q6 & Q7 weapon producers can squeeze out a profit even with wages. Food producers at Q5 and up make enough profit to potentially support employees. How active a market is it, though when Q7 weapons sell for 13% more than those in the eUSA and Q7 food sells for 40% more?

eBrazil next:



Same story as eCanada: losses hurt more through Q4, then more profits leading to cover the market wage of 22 BRL at both the Q6 & Q7 levels. Food producers do quite well at Q5 - Q7, easily covering the market wage.

And there you, dear reader, have it. A model that is very nearly completely broken. The 5-day moving average for Q6 weapons shows that clearly:


Leaving aside the period where the 1600 Index was without electricity due to Hurricane Sandy, the price of Q6 weapons have fallen steadily since Day 1600 (April 07) interrupted only by rocket sales that temporarily spike the market price.

On Day 1600, a Q1 weapon sold for $5.54. Today, 260 days later, a Q6 sells for $5.19

On Day 1600 wages were $295, gold was $1600, WRM were $0.25. The economic part of the game compelled me to play each day, compelled me to track market prices, compelled me to take an inetrest in the game beyond 2-clicking. Now its pennies-on-the-dollar, political bickering, and (as always) endless wars. I think the Example Admins know its busted.

Will / can they fix it?



Note:

Methodology on prices: prices are taken at 3:00 eRep time. The price is the average price of buying 1,000 Raw materials, 500 Food, 100 weapons (at each quality level), and 8 gold, plus the market wage less any fraction of cc (so 240, rather than 240.1)

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