Guide:Creating a Shop

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In Planet SMP, the introduction of integrated Economy and Currency has provided the server with an interactive and useful mechanic for obtaining rare items. However, the setup to fully utilize these mechanics may be a bit confusing or daunting to players. This guide will go over how to set up and use a shop, the utility of running one, and tips for creating and managing your shops.

## Creating A Shop

### Materials

To create a shop, the player will need 4 materials; any sign, Redstone Dust, a chest or container, and the item you will be selling. The chest or container will store the items you are selling, the sign will be where the customer buys from, and the Redstone Dust will link the container to the sign. Additionally, a Golden Axe is required to destroy or move the shop.

### Setup

To begin, place the chest that will contain your shop's stock in a secure location. This location can be anywhere, no matter how far away from the sign. Ideal locations for the chest would be near the source of your materials, such as next to a farm, or in a secure location, like hidden within your main base.

#### Setting Up Stock

To set up the stock of the shop, it is important to note that the amount of items you sell are dependent on the items within your chest at the point of linking the shop. As a demonstration, lets say the player is trying to sell 32 Emeralds and 16 Diamonds, and the player has three stacks of both. To successfully sell this amount, they must ONLY place 32 Emeralds and 16 Diamonds in the chest. If the player places all six stacks and links the sign, customers will be given all six stacks upon buying. Because of this, the rule of thumb is to **make sure you remember to place the correct amounts before linking**. After you have linked and set up the shop, you may fill up the chest with the same item to stock the shop.

#### Setting Up The Sign

Once your chest with the appropriate amount of stock is set up, the next step is to create and link the sign. **The sign is where all the important formatting happens** - you do not need any commands to set up the shop, its all dependent on the sign. The first dependency is the shop type, which will **always need to be on the top line of the sign in square brackets.** If a player was setting up a shop to sell your Emeralds and Diamonds, the player writing the sign would need to put "[Buy]" on the top line of the sign for it to register as a shop. The only other line you need to worry about is the very bottom fourth line, which will usually display the price. The way the player formats the price is pretty lenient - as long as you include a number (and a decimal if you are pricing with Comets), the sign will correctly identify the price. Going back to our example, if the player wanted to sell the minerals for 5 Planemo and 60 Comets, they could put "5.60" on the bottom of the sign for a simple formatting method. You can put additional text, if you can fit it - "5.60 Planemo" would work here as well. The middle two lines can display anything.

### Linking

After you have set up your chest with the items you want to sell, as well as your sign with the correct shop type and formatting (see below for a list of shop types), it is time to link the two. Using Redstone Dust, left-click your chest or container. You should get a message that your container's location was "stored". Then, left-click your sign using the Redstone Dust. On successful linking, the shop type displayed on the first line of the sign will turn blue. If the text on the sign turns red, it means your shop is out of stock.

### Shop Types

It is important to remember that the shop types and their names are from the perspective of the customer. This means that the [Buy] shop means the customer is buying **from** the owner, not that the owner is buying the customers items.

#### Buy

Sells the owners items, for the customer to buy. Formatted on the first line of the sign as "[Buy]".

#### Slot

Sells a random item and its quantity from the owner's stock chest to the customer. This is useful for selling items in random colors, selling varying types of specific items, or for a gambling-like mechanic. You can not sell more than one type of item in one purchase with the Slot shop. Formatted on the first line of the sign as "[Slot]".

#### Sell

Buys specified items from the customers - taking money from the shop owner. Useful as a way of commissioning specific or rare items, or for an easy way to transport items from a sign to a chest at a cost. Be careful when using this shop, as people can sell items to you (and take your money) without you being on the server. You must destroy the sign with a Golden Axe in order to close the shop. Formatted on the first line of the sign as "[Sell]".

#### Trade

The Trade shop is unique, and as a result, a bit more difficult to set up. The shop trades your items for the customers, and requires two chests: one with the items you would like to receive, and one with the items you will be trading. When linking, you must first use Redstone Dust and left-click the chest containing the items you, the owner, would like to receive - then, you must use Redstone Dust to left-click the second chest containing the items you would like to give away. There is no price set for Trade shops, so the fourth line of the sign can say anything. Formatted on the first line of the sign as "[Trade]".

#### Donate

The Donate shop essentially works as a Sell shop - but there is no price, so the customer gives the owner the item(s) for no profit. It is set up the same, place the items you wish to receive for donation in a chest, then link it to a sign. There is no price set for Donate shops, so the fourth line of the sign can say anything. Formatted on the first line of the sign as "[Donate]".

#### Donate Hand

Similar to the Donate shop but a bit different. The customer who right-clicks the sign will donate whatever item is in their main hand to the owner. To set up, link an empty chest to the sign using Redstone Dust. There is no price set for Donate shops, so the fourth line of the sign can say anything. Formatted on the first line of the sign as "[DonateHand]".

### Tips

• The best items to sell are typically rare items, high quantities of nonrenewable resources, or bulk items that are inconvenient to gather. An example of all three in order would be; a shop that sells Nether Stars, a shop that sells 32 Diamonds, and a shop that sells a stack of Steak.

• If you punch another player's shop sign, it will display the exact transaction you are making. It is good to get into the habit of doing this, as players could hypothetically lie about what their shop is selling on the sign.

• Sell shops are the riskiest shop to place, so price them carefully. If you are looking to receive mass amounts of common materials or blocks, buy them at large quantities and at an extremely low price - as most players would likely give you the items for free if you asked.

• For the Donate shop, it is advised to only place one of the item you would like to receive in your stock chest - as too many of one item at a time could deter or prevent players from making the donation.

• Donate shops are an excellent way to transport items long distances instantly, especially as a shop owner can use their own shop.