.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

Introduction:

The golden rule for this guide is that it takes NP to make NP. While other guides deal with working to make NP, this guide deals with using your NP to make you more NP. Even if you're only starting small, this guide will be of great help.

Firstly some concepts that will help you in Neopets (and also relate to real world saving). If you could put aside 500 neopoints now, and have that NP consistently make you NP over time, would you do it? It may not make you much, it may only generate an average of 1 - 2 neopoints a day... but here's the thing:

That time will pass whether you have put that NP aside or not. Now answer whether you would put aside some NP rather than spending it on some frivolous thing; and have that NP continually bring in NP over time.

You may be thinking "pfft.. bank interest isn't worth it", and I'll agree. 12.5% a year... not good enough. But what about 50%, 100% or even 200% each year? Some of your investments will make that much in weeks.

The key here is time will pass whether you have made an investment or not. The more you put aside, the more you'll generate, and the quicker your NP will increase. Understand that it takes NP to make NP. It's easier to double your NP than it is to remake that amount of NP from scratch. If you could continue to double your NP over time...

Interested? Then read on:

.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

.....Stock Market Home
.....Bargain Stocks
.....Portfolio

The Stock Market:

This is a game within Neopets that is loosely related to a real stock market. Stocks are 'companies' that operate within Neopia, and the concept is that you can buy shares within those companies. If the company does well, the shares go up; and vice versa. In reality, the market is pretty much random (for our purposes).

This is the easiest method of making NP. It requires no thought, and only a few minutes each day to eventually produce more than 1 million NP each month. This figure can be greatly improved upon, but you'll figure that out for yourself in due time. The stock market is a two step process. You buy and you sell. But when to do them? Read on;

The first rule is to buy ANYTHING at 15; buy 1000 shares each day. Don't think about what you're buying, just buy it. The less you strain yourself mentally about the process the better. Don't ask me which stocks to buy, I'll tell you the same thing that's written in here, buy at 15.

When you sell is up to you. If you have a limited budget, a sell point of 30 is nice. If you have a good 300k set aside to invest, you can get away with a sellpoint of 60. If you're patient and have lots of NP spare; a sell point of 75 to 100 may do nicely.

Each day when you make a purchase, you'll be shown your portfolio. Check it over and see which stocks are doing well (ignore those doing poorly). If anyone has reached your sell point, sell some or all of those shares (as you see fit). Those stocks that are doing poorly; you just wait it out. Eventually they'll go up in price. Remember that you have not lost anything if they go down. You still have the same amount of shares. You only loose NP if you sell at a loss.

The links the left will show you the stock market home page, a list of stocks at bargain prices (what you use to find stocks at 15), and a link to your portfolio.

You are limited to 1000 shares each day. This equates to 15,000 NP each day if you buy the limit. The stock values will change every half hour (*.00 and *.30) although some will remain the same. So be wary of buying anything at the 'turning point' as your stock may go up any number of points and cost you additional NP.

Once you've made a purchase you will be presented with a portfolio which gives you a total list of shares owned. At the very bottom with be a total value which will look something similar to this:

Totals: 1,043,000 15,754,000 19,929,000 +26.50%

This is total shares, amount paid, current worth, and percentage change. Many people use this as a basis of how well their stocks are doing, but in reality, it doesn't really matter. You only sell at a profit, so you only really need to pay attention to the individual stocks that are doing well.

The image below outlines what each section within your port represents.

All you need to do now is decide what type of selling strategy you want to use. You'll see some common strategies below which you can use to get an idea of how the system works, and use to choose a style that will suit you. Don't worry too much about adhering strictly to a selling style. Just sell when you are happy with the profits.

Common Questions:
I'm buying the wrong stocks... What should I do?
Nothing is reaching 60, how long will it take?
Why sell at 60, why not more?
How much have you made?

.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

This is the simplest stragety. You simply choose a sell point that you are happy with, and you sell any shares that reach this number or higher. With all the shares sold, it's no longer in easy sight (in your portfolio), so you don't have to worry about whether it's gone up or down since you made your sale.

Problems: It is hard to monitor what stocks are doing after you have made a sale. If you sell all your shares, you will not know that the stock recently sky-rocketed. This lack of information can cause you to have a lower expectation of what the stock market can make you.

Progressive Sell Point Strategy

This method is a little more complicated and takes that extra effort and time to properly manage your portfolio. You pick a sell point, a 'progression number', and an amount to sell.

This way, when a stock reaches your sell point (eg 60), you sell a set amount of shares (eg, 1k), and then you wait until it has gone up in price to match your progression number (eg 10) and then you sell another 1k shares. So you would sell 1k at 60, 1k at 70, 1k at 80, and so on until you ran out of shares.

Problems: Stocks fluctuate greatly over the weeks. So it's hard to find a definate limit on when to sell each lot. You will also need to 'reset the system' once the stock lowers, so you are able to sell at your initial limit again. This progressive system can result in you selling more stocks are a lower price than you could be getting. But it does allow you to keep a better track of the market in the long run.

Market Value Strategy

This method is a little easier than the progressive strategy. You simple decide on a 'market value limit' (eg 1 million NP, see your portfolio for this column). Each time a stock reaches that limit (in total volume) you sell (eg) 2k shares.

This way, if the stock continues to rise, you will eventually sell another 2k shares when the Market Value again reaches 1 million. If it goes down, you simply buy some more.

This is a good system for those that are interested in building their portfolio (assuming you set a high limit). Also, the limit of 1 million may be a little extreme for new players as this assumes you have invested roughly 300k into each stock (and there are a lot of stocks).

Personal Strategy

This is your own strategy that may be based on any one (or all) of the above strategies. You will get a feel for which stocks are doing well, and which aren't. From this you will be able to determine for yourself, which price is a good one to sell specific stocks.

Eg: It may be profitable selling PEOP at 30 because it hasn't moved higher than this in about a year [edit: it now has, so take this as an example]. Although if you have EEEEE, a sell point of 80 could be expected, as it's moving well at the moment. (note: These values may not be accurate at the time of reading)

I'm buying the wrong stocks.. what should I do?

You cannot buy the wrong stocks... The market fluctuates over time. Some go down, some go up. If your stocks go down, then remember that it's the natural behaviour of stocks to go back up sometime later. As long as you don't sell at a loss (less than 15), then you'll not have lost anything. Remember that you still have 1000 shares (or more) in that stock, that value wont change. You've not lost anything. Just be patient, keep buying shares at 15 each day, and eventually one of your stocks will go up in price.

Why sell at 60, wouldn't having a higher sell point be better?"

There is some debate over this. I believe that having a sell point of 500 would be best for profit. Although this would mean that you'd have made three sale in all of Neopian History. JCK was one of these reaching over 700, and POWR hovered over 800 for while. Having a sell point of 60 means that you'll usually get at least one sale each month, sometimes as many as three or four. It's a middle ground for actually getting NP back, and making a decent profit while doing it. Once you have NP spare and don't desperately need to make a sale, you can increase your sell point to 75, 85, 100, 150, or even higher. Just remember that the higher it is, the more profit, but the less often you'll make a sale.

If you did manage to keep a sell point of 500, you would expect to make sales of 100k shares (not np) which would make you 50 million NP. It sure sounds nice, but I wouldn't recommend it. The wait would be extravagent.. and as you'll see below, there are other ways you can make NP with what you generate from regular income.

How much have you made? And how long did it take?"

I've made well over 100 million NP using all the strategies within this petpage. While it has taken me roughly 5 years, it is getting easier to do (for you as well). Millionaires are not as uncommon as they used to be, and I've even heard of people with billions of NP. I expect to make over 1 million from the stock market each month now (thou I do have over 15 million invested). Remember that I am still building my portfolio, so I am not selling nearly as many shares each month as I am buying.

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Other Guides:
Stepchild
SilverCyanide
Count De Monet
DoGooderNeoNeo
Stock Tycoon

Overview

This stock market guide covers the basics, without actually telling you how they work. If you have these interests, visit the stock board and join in the debate. Most people only have educated guesses on the systems involved, so don't take anyones comments as fact.
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.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

.....Inventory
.....Safety Deposit Box
.....Shop

Generic Item List

Shopkeeping 101

.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

Retired Items

This is a fairly simple method of making loads of NP and is easily my favourite. You will find that this method is the best for very long term investment, and will eventually make you a LOT of NP (limited only by the amount of NP you have to invest). You just need to find a retired item, and buy hundreds of them. It doesn't really matter what price they are (within reason), but remember that the prices fluctuate over time. People that bought 500 of the item at 10np each may be happy selling at 100np each. While others will see 100np as a perfect time to buy 200 of them. Because of this mass 'buying/selling' between users, the price will vary fairly considerably over time. The same system works for items valued at 10,000 or 1 million NP each.

People are keen to get retired items because they are in increasingly limited supply. 'Retired' means 'no longer sold in Neopian shops' (not player shops). There will be a select few items that are still given away as random events, plot prizes, and game prizes. But on the whole, retired items are not being introduced into the neo-economy anymore.

These items get used up over time: ie reading books and eating foods (using one use items), lost via the pant devil and sloth, as well as players discarding them, them being left in unused accounts, lost in frozen accounts, and similar. This attrition will slowly reduce the number of items available for purchase. As supply drops the price that people are willing to pay for them increases.

A side note; a couple of years ago, TNT changed the advent calendar item category from 'retired' to 'special'. An editorial soon afterwards clarified that the change was simply because the items couldn't be retired as they weren't in the economy to retire before being introduced. These items (except for selected isolated cases), are also technically 'retired' but do not contain the label.

Worth noting is that advent calender items rise in price far slower than other retired items as there are litterally millions of them left in Neopia. Lots of people store away hundreds of them, some people thousands, making the number that are used/lost very little in comparison. I've noticed that these items seem to double in price in a year on average. Also note that items from years past advent calendars are less in supply, and while they cost more, they can still be good investment items.

Other retired items will double in price within a few weeks. Food and book items are in fairly high demand as they can be asked for in quests as well as to increase a players intelligence or to feed a pet. Storing away hundreds of each item can produce profits as high as 1000% in a year. Although you should be aware that selling anything at 50k or higher will take time. Having 100 Golden Carrots in your shop at 50k (even if they are 20k less than other shops) will not sell overly fast, and you risk someone else pricing at less than you: someone who doesn't know any better, thus creating a new standard price for the items.

There is also the benefit of, by chance, collecting an item that becomes an Avatar item. This happened with the Starry Hair Brush (an advent calendar item) which went up 10x the price in a day. Luckily I had three hundred of them. Keep an eye out for events like this, and be sure to notice whether the item can be reused after the avatar is gained. If the item stays, then you're best off selling as many as you can as quickly as possible. If the item is lost, you may want to hold out for a time to see how high the price will get. Although be aware that the longer you wait, the less people will have a need for the item, and fewer will be able to afford them.

In all, the profits generated from retired items is great. Do not leave NP in your bank for interest; it's a pittance compared to what you can make with retired items.

The process

Choose a retired item (there's a list below) that you can easily afford lots of. Buy a good amount of these items. Stick one or two in your shop at about 20% more than the most you paid for the items. Put the rest in your safety deposit box. As you get more NP, choose a different retired items and repeat the process.

As the price of those items goes up, you will slowly start to makes sales in your shop. When something sells, you use that NP to buy other cheaper retired items, but you also replace the sold item in your shop and increase the price. You've had a turnover in NP, reinvested, and now have set a new 'alert' for when that item goes up in price again.

You rinse and repeat this process until you have a fairly steady income. You can choose to put the prices up by any amount you want, but know that doubling the price each time will produce a good year long wait between sales. Choose a ratio that suits your neo-life.

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.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

Neopian Inflation

The big issue here is that there is lots of NP coming into Neopia via the stock market, games, gambling, daily and random events, and very little leaving via the Money Tree (ghosts stealing it), gambling, shop upgrades, and frozen accounts. All this excess NP means that it's value goes down. In simpler terms; because there is so much NP, the price of items will increase (because people are willing to part with more NP to have the item); thus the value of one NP is less than it used to be.

Imagine how valuable 65k NP was back when you could use it to buy a decent paint brush. In real terms 65k NP was worth about 2.5 million NP now (given that a decent paintbrush costs about this much these days). This also means that if you were to hold onto your NP, it would essentially decrease in value at a faster rate than the bank would provide in interest. - Yes! You would be loosing value...

But we can use this inflation to our advantage. Already we've said that the value of NP is decreasing, while the value of items is increasing. Having NP in the bank will provide you with 12.5% in interest each year. Some people might be happy with that. But just suppose you could buy a heap of normal items and store them away for a year, and have them double in price. You'd be making 100% (rather than 12.5%) profit. When I first started, I bought near 100 Snowager Posters for 500np each. Now they are worth about 6k each. I bought 50 Ooga Books for 10k each, and sold them for roughtly 50k. That's a lot of profit; and these are not special items - others have produced greater amounts.

Be careful when buying like this, it is a true gamble. Assess how popular the item is, whether it's a seasonal item, and how much use people have for it. If it's highly useful and popular, then you've likely got something that will work.

Side note: Be careful if you're devious enough to collaborate with friends when bulk buying items. You could be accused of price fixing, which is definately against the rules. Be sure you check it out to make sure that you're not doing anything wrong. This is also why I will not tell people what items I am targetting. I will tell people which items are worth investing in, but this will not relate directly to items I am purchasing.

TNT are fine with you mass buying lots of items (thousands even), as long as it's not an effort to price fix, nor an effort to force the item into unbuyable status (and then trade it for millions).

What to watch out for:

Some people buy out their section of the shop wiz. Say your username starts with D, so you find that section of the wiz (results) and buy heaps of the items in there so the price appears to be much higher. You then sell at a little less than those that are left. You can avoid buying from these people by being wary of shops that are the cheapest in the list, but are selling 20+ of the item. Just re-search the wiz and see what else comes up.

Collaboration is against the rules. While you may well speak to people about what items to buy for investing. But to work as a team to push the prices up is against the rules. You will find that this sort of activity doesn't work so well anyhow. The unnatural price increase just means that other people will start selling more (those that have hoarded them smell a demand and sell at the inflated price knowing that it will shortly drop back much of the way and they can rebuy at a cheaper price). And, because there are so many of you who have similar expectation, you'll be competing with each other to make sales. Anyone who sells before you will be blocking the price from increasing to your desires.

It's best if you just play properly. The natural increase in price of items is the best way, as then there will not be thousands of the items waiting to flood the market later. Again, it's for this reason that you should try to buy one-use items (that leave Neopets once being used). Failing this, you can still buy a large variety of advent calendar items that are reusable for bargain prices, but don't expect any jumps in price to happen overly quickly.

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.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top
.

Summary

All these methods can be used to your advantage. The stock market will be a consistent NP earner for you. And it also assists in causing the Neopian Inflation, so that your other investments will raise in value too.

There are other ways to make NP by monitoring special events and activities; eg, christmas items are fairly cheap in June/July, although they will rise in price closer to Christmas. Use your initiative and look for items that hold an amount of appearance value.

Best Of Luck!! :) Feel free to neomail me if you have questions. I am more than happy to help with advice.

If you wanted to link to this page, please use this banner. Here is the link for the image: http://www.stocksnchat.com/stock/sto/guide.jpg

.....Introduction
.....Stock Market
.....Shops (Malls)
.....Retired Items
.....Inflation
.....Summary
.....Link to this guide
.....Retired Item List

.....Return to Top

Retired Item List