Execution is crucial. It's taking all of your research and planning and actually applying it to a real situation. The most important thing is to always maintain a positive demeanor, and to never get emotionally involved. The more you react, the worse it looks. Imagine yourself demonstrating a new invention to a list of investors. You want to enter the room will full confidence, and not be affected by one person's strange looks. For all you know, it might not even be relevant. Always avoid getting emotional, no matter what strange looks you get. Stay focused on the intended goal, and keep your victim focused on whatever incentives you're offering.
Secondly, do not get greedy. If the plan is to get a 200 million ISK investment for some inter-regional arbitrage, then stick to it. IF you've already told your victim that's how much you need, don't start throwing around random numbers because you now realize they have a lot more ISK to invest. Stick to the plan, do not screw it up by being greedy. Perhaps there is slight potential that you could extract more from this victim--but what if it backfires and you end up with nothing?
Gauge your victim's worth. For example, a player who only has 50 million ISK to their name might be willing to part with 10% on something that you're not fully sure about. If you're sure they're a new player or they're not very wealthy, aim low, not to scare them off. ISK is ISK, you're profiting either way. If you push the numbers too high, you're almost guaranteed to turn a victim away. You want them to perceive their action as low risk.
For example: If you have 1 billion ISK, it's a lot easier for you to rationalize spending 100% more for some ship module in the station you're already at, instead of flying 3 jumps and picking it up much cheaper. Apply this same concept to any scam. A player has a threshold for ISK they don't care about. At a certain point, a small percentage of their wallet has no perceived value to the holder. This is the ISK that often gets tossed around as donations for new players, or goes toward frivolous purchases.
This same ISK that's sitting at the bottom of everyone's wallet can also be quickly snatched up through whatever scam you happen to be pulling off at that moment. Use your best judgement to profile the player's worth, and scam them in the range that allows them to be less cautious with their hard earned ISK.
This page last updated: 2010.02.25
Secondly, do not get greedy. If the plan is to get a 200 million ISK investment for some inter-regional arbitrage, then stick to it. IF you've already told your victim that's how much you need, don't start throwing around random numbers because you now realize they have a lot more ISK to invest. Stick to the plan, do not screw it up by being greedy. Perhaps there is slight potential that you could extract more from this victim--but what if it backfires and you end up with nothing?
Gauge your victim's worth. For example, a player who only has 50 million ISK to their name might be willing to part with 10% on something that you're not fully sure about. If you're sure they're a new player or they're not very wealthy, aim low, not to scare them off. ISK is ISK, you're profiting either way. If you push the numbers too high, you're almost guaranteed to turn a victim away. You want them to perceive their action as low risk.
For example: If you have 1 billion ISK, it's a lot easier for you to rationalize spending 100% more for some ship module in the station you're already at, instead of flying 3 jumps and picking it up much cheaper. Apply this same concept to any scam. A player has a threshold for ISK they don't care about. At a certain point, a small percentage of their wallet has no perceived value to the holder. This is the ISK that often gets tossed around as donations for new players, or goes toward frivolous purchases.
This same ISK that's sitting at the bottom of everyone's wallet can also be quickly snatched up through whatever scam you happen to be pulling off at that moment. Use your best judgement to profile the player's worth, and scam them in the range that allows them to be less cautious with their hard earned ISK.
This page last updated: 2010.02.25