For those that have Alchemy 75+, and enjoy making money without leaving the comfort of their Jeuno Mog House here is my advice.
Take the sum of stacks of slime oil, water crystals, and two beeswax and call it T.
If the cost of silent oil after AH fees, call it S, is T/5, then go ahead and craft.
If S is approximately, T/6 leave it to the RMT. They don't have the option to go farm because they're level 1, but you do so go out and farm. You'll get a better rate of return. It's good for your character's health too.
If S approaches T/4 you should resist the temptation to try to reap in the big profits. This will only bring in a flood of new RMT and novice alchemists who have no business competing with you. Undercut the prices until they stabilize closer to T/5.
Always keep in mind that RMT are undercutting. If the price is ranging from 6,600-7,000, RMT are selling for 6,501 and you should too.
Using a series of simple income statements (Sales- cost of materials= gross profit- estimated transaction fee= aproximate net income), I put Claquesous's theory to the test.
In conclusion:
1.) Assuming a level 75+ alchemist buys all of their materials from the AH and crafts them at a 50% HQ rate, they would only make aproximately 2,200 gil profit after selling all 6 stacks of silent oils at 5,500g. Anything else would generate in a loss.
2.) If farming all of your materials (6 stacks of beehive chips + 18 slime oil)and crafting beewax at 50% HQ rate and then silent oils at 50% HQ rate, you will only make aproximately 6,900g extra then just selling the raw materials.
IN REPLY: to Nattie
Skilling up is not competing! Claquesous is only saying Novice's Should not compete in this market for the simple reason that they will lose way more gil than its worth. If you choose to skill up on silent oils so be'it but there is a much better synth to skill up on near this level.
I suggest you make a high level alchemist with iatrochemistry you friend and try plasma oil + polyflan paper and make some automation oils. The material's stack to 99 and they are so rediculously cheap you can start them 10 levels prior to their 28 cap and still lose next to nothing just npc'ing these bad boys.
"If S approaches T/4....This will bring a flood of RMT or novice alchemists who have no business competing with you".
Now sure, RMT's I agree with but my friend you were a novice alchemist once too, and saying novices(yes I am a novice) have no business competing with you is pretty low.
Novices have to skill too and your comment is typical of what makes this game bad.
Just because you're a higher level and synthing them comes easier to you doesn't mean that others don't have the right to try to make a little gil off them as well. You were there once too.
"Everything is worth what its purchaser will pay for it." - Publius Syrius
Prices aren't set. Any talk of "undercutting" is uninformed nonsense. If someone can make the product at a lower cost, then they'll have the market-share. It's basic economics.
***guys, have you all ever thought that the constantly lowering price til almost all oils have sold was because of um... more supply then demand? Instead of undercutting one another to the point it's stupid to craft these, why not sell something else til supply lowers and demand rises again... You'd see faster and more profit that way.