What’s a GBM: It stands for Galactic Buyer’s Market. The principle is very simple. If you have a need for some Resources or commodities, you can place a “contract” on the GBM for players to fill. Contracts can be filled by ANY player. They can add as many or as little towards the end contract until the contract is completed.
I need Resources:
If you find you have a need for say ‘50 Refined Ore’ (example) and simply don’t have the time or energy to go loot or refine it yourself, why not pay some else to do it for you. From almost anywhere in the game, go to the right hand pull out tab Game Info. From there, click the Buyers Market (GBM). From this screen, you can see existing contracts.
At the bottom of the screen, you can see a white drop box. Use this to select the Resource you require. (Note: The GBM only deals in Resources and Commodities that can be stored in your Ship’s Cargo Hold. IE not guns, shields etc. Use the Player Market for that.)
OK, select the item you want and hit the ‘Submit’ button. On the next screen, you will be shown the BASE price for the resource you selected. This means that’s the lowest Price Joe’s will pay for this item. Simply work out how many you want. Then how much PER UNIT you are willing to pay. So let’s stick with our example of Refined ore.
The base price (at the time of this Guide) is 220 CPU (Credits Per Unit). Now no ones going to go to all the trouble of collecting ore, refining it and then filling your contract for the base price so we need to add a % to make it seem palatable to someone out there to fill. The higher the CPU price the more quickly the order will be filled.
So let’s put 330 in the CPU box. That’s Joe’s base price X 1.5. Good enough for this example. As I say, the higher the CPU the quicker you are likely to get the Contract filled. Now we need to enter the Amount we want. So let’s enter 50.
Credit Warning: The process above is to place a Contract for 50 units of Refined ore at 330 CPU. The contractual price in total would therefore be 16,500 Credits. IF we were to place this contract (using the ‘Process Request’) the GBM would attempt to take 16,500 Credits from your account. This is the bond that the GBM holds whilst the contract is filled.
As players fill the contract, partially, or fully, they are paid directly from this bond. But as you see, this bond is taken from your account when the contract is placed. So ALWAYS CHECK your figures before posting a contract. For instance is we were to make that 1000 units, the cost would be 330,000 Credits.
Mistakes Happen: You’ve made a mistake. Placed a contract for the wrong amount, or worse, wrong resource. Panic not. Return to the GBM contract screen, and you will see your contract. Probably somewhere near the top of the page. (if not, go through the pages one at a time). On the end of the contract will be a ‘Cancel’ Button.
Simply use the cancel option. Your Contract will be cancelled, and the Bond retuned to you. Note is any part of your Contract was filled, you will only be refunded the remaining Balance of the Bond.
Notification: When a player fills part of your contract, you will be sent an in game email. This will outline which player, what contract and how much was deposited. When a contract is completed, a separate email is sent informing you of the contract’s completion and by whom it was completed. This can aid you in tracking down good resourcer’s within the game that you might like to deal directly with later.
Collecting Resources: OK so you placed a contract. You waited patiently whilst it was filled (some can be filled in minutes, others in days) Now you want your goods! Well you can add a Contract from anywhere in game, but filling contracts and picking up your resources must be done from San Gallen in Descarte. All contractual resources are deposited into the local Commercial Store on San Gallen waiting you to collect them.
Contract Limits: There are only two limits to the contracts, one is you may only place up to Five contracts at any one time, the other is you must have enough credits in your account at the time of placing the Contract.
How do I fill a Contract:
So you have spotted the GBM and the contracts posted and thought “I’ve got loads of that, or I can fill that..”. Well it’s simple. Use the CSTS to transfer the goods to the Commercial Store on from San Gallen in Descarte. Then head on over to from San Gallen. Once there, visit the GBM. (Run by Harry Wilder).
To fill or part fill a contract, simply enter the amount of the contract you want to fill next to the contract. Ensuring the figure is not more than you have (at the local Commercial Store) or the figure is larger than the Contract amount. The payment system will automatically transfer the goods from your CS to the contractor’s stores and pay you the CPU amount as agreed and displayed on the contract.
The GBM will also email directly the Contractor with the deposit amount and your name so he / she knows who’s been helping them fill a contract.
It’s worth keeping your eyes on the GBM if you are a resourcer and find yourself with 1000’s of spare resources. Descarte is a central point in the Sphere Galaxy and a handy spot to store items, and often players will pay well over the odds for items they need quickly. Alternatively, there may be a time when you yourself need any items to finish a mission or build.