Driven
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Posted - 2005.04.26 19:40:00 -
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Our small but active corporation of dedicated players was excited last Fall about the promise of POS -- as I am sure a lot of you were. What a cool idea, we thought.
So, we really dove in. We educated ourselves, analyzed the operations, the economics, market demand, etc. Based upon what we learned, we decided to wait, primarily due to the number of problems other POS operators were experiencing in the early-adopter phase, combined with the fact that we just couldn't see a way to make nearly as much cash as other isk-generating activities. Not to mention, in order to make this reduced income, it required a significant outlay of capital to secure the station equipment and towers.
We dropped the subject until the recent announcement of the patch that was to nerf agent rewards of Tech 2 components. We thought that this was just what was needed to curb the seemingly unlimited supply of cheap Tech 2 parts.
Once the patch notes came out about this, we re-energized the program, and put up one test station just to test our theories, produce some materials, and see if production/expense expectations were valid.
As it turns out, we got about what we expected. What we did not expect, but came to learn, is the significant overhead associated with this kind of effort -- not even so much in ISK, but in time. Time to haul. Time to get supplies. Time to set-up. Time to on-line. Time to change reactions. Time to mine ice. Time to refuel. And, time to tear down.
But, we were OK with this kind of thing investment of time, based, perhaps naively, on the expectation that the road was being paved to make large-scale POS operations more profitable than it appeared initially.
So, we dove in and set up three stations, mining technitium, platinum, hydrocarbons and silicates primarily, in order to produce large volumes of Fullerides. And, we were successful in producing large volumes of fullerides over the last few weeks. We were also successful in spending countless hours mining ice, hauling fuel, hauling supplies, getting ganked by gate pirates, hauling finished product and selling finished product.
So, why the long story? (insert flame here) We took down the POS's because, frankly, the way I see it, anyone can make more isk mining Scordite right now that the return on the same time in managing the kind of multi-station supply chain set-up necessary to produce anything of value. In fact, given our experience, I would actively discourage anyone from going into the POS business as things are currently configured. I don't think it would take a lot for POS to be fine-tuned to be more valuable to the POS owner. However, the economics of this part of the game are not where they need to be. For a POS to make sense to me, there ought to be a return to the owner on the order of mining Ark, not Scor. Otherwise, why spend the time, the cash and the effort and take all the risks? Its just not worth it.
I don't doubt I'll see posts about how others are making huge amounts of cash of theirs and how we missed the boat. Maybe so. But, I've made enough cash in this game to have a feel, I think, for what works and what doesn't. And, as long as agents continue to drop unlimited amounts of Tech 2 parts, while the operation of these stations is a needless time sink of onlining and anchoring/unachoring as well as being significant fuel hogs, I don't see it.
And, most of all, what you have to do to operate these stations as they are now, it feels more like a job than a game. They aren't much fun.
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