Web runehq.com rhqclan.com pwnhq.com Enter your search terms Submit search form Herb Merchanting This special report was written by Nuke-Marine. Thanks to watsermetjou and Tomisme for corrections.

This special report was entered into the database on Sat, Aug 20, 2005, at 10:33:10 PM by DRAVAN and was last updated on Fri, Dec 01, 2006, at 03:17:45 AM by Chaosblade77. If you see this guide on any other site, please report it to us so we can take legal action against anyone found stealing our content. This guide is copyrighted by RuneHQ. It's use on other sites is expressly forbidden.Do Not ask if you can use our guides or images, the answer is and always will be NO! If anything is incorrect/missing from this special report or you have new information to submit about this special report, use this link: Submit record # 00575 - Herb Merchanting updates/feedback Intro

Preparing Your Bank

Buying Unids (all types)

Buying (above herb type)

Buying Unids (one type)

Selling Unids

Scams and how to stop them.

Herb prices

Conclusion

Introduction



I'm suprised the best kept secret in Runescape has not been released on RuneHQ. This is a guide for how to merchant in herblore even when you don't have an herblore skill. It'll show you how to prepare your bank, buy and sell unid herbs and how to prevent common herblore scams.



REPEAT: NO HERBLORE SKILL REQUIRED!!!!



Common terms are:



Unid - Unidentified Herb



ID'd - Identified Herbs, to id herbs



Scimm - Purposefully removing a high value herb from a sale.



Stacks - A group of unidentified herbs in notes, indicating those unid herbs are specific set. More "stacks" means you have more variety of herbs.



Herbs - Guam, Marrentil (Marren), Tarromin (Tarro), Harralander (Harra), Ranarr, Irit, Avantoe, Kuarm, Candatine, Lantadine (Lants), Dwarf. These are the 11 I refer to when I talk of "stacks"



Why people scam - Ranarr and Lantadine are the most expensive herbs while Guam and Marren are the cheapest. Scammers try to sell the cheap unid herbs at the expensive unid prices.



Other herbs - There are other herbs that are not monster drops but available via Farming, Agility Arena or Chests: Snapdragon, Toadflax, and Torstol. I've never really dealt with these herbs

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Preparing Your Bank



First, collect ALOT of random unid herbs from monster drops. You could also buy a bunch of unid herbs so long as there are 11 stacks. Put these in your bank. Try to have at least 5 unid herbs in each stack. Now, organize the herbs from largest to smallest like this







Likely, your unid herbs are already in order but this is not guarenteed. Now, one by one remove the unid herbs into your inventory as such.







These are unid herbs that now need to be id'd. The hard part is finding a high herblorist that can id these for you. You must trade him 1 herb at a time. He id's, returns it to you and you give him the next. The other method to help sort requires the use of noted unids, however the person helping you doesn't need a high herblore to tell you what herb is what. See the merchanting section and I'll give you the process of this.



When done, you'll have id'd herbs in the order of the unids in your bank.







You can't see in the photo, but the herbs are out of order that you want. You want your unid herbs in your bank in an easy order to remember. I start at Guam and organize it on up to Dwarf. That way, you can use the skill menu for herblore to recall which unid will be which.



Now VERY CAREFULLY move your unid herbs in your bank into that order. Based on the herbs I had id'd, I move my unid herbs around into this order







CONGRATULATIONS! You now have sorted unids in your bank. Now, anytime you deposit unid herbs, they go into the stack that they'll be id'd into. Plus, you can sell these unid herbs at id'd prices which is a benefit for sellers who don't wish to buy random unids.



Remember, NEVER remove your last unid from your bank in any of the unid stacks. The spot you leave will be closed once you close the bank window. For merchanting reasons, I always leave at least 5 unids in each spot.



As requested, I'll show what I also do to keep my unid arrangement easier to figure out. I also have one of each herb identified in my bank to match the order of the unidentified. Look at this photo







It shows 24 herbs, 12 unid, some spacers then 12 identified herbs. This way, I don't have to guess or look somewhere else to know what the order of the unid herbs happen to be. The herb with 239 count is in the slot as the herb with the 13 count which happens to be guam. The last unid herb (16 count) is the same as the identified 320 count which is dwarf. I know, it takes up alot of bank slots, but I made alot of money off herb merchanting so it's been very much worth it. In case you're wondering, the 6th herb is toadflax as I was able to grow some farming. All other photos deal with the 11 standard herbs. It's an option some of you may appreciate.

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Buying Unids (all types)



Now that you have an organized bank, you can start on the fun world of merchanting. First, you need alot of cash. I started merchanting herbs last November with 100 unid herbs and 250k I got from selling 500 steel bars.



Here's the rules:



1. Only buy unid notes. It's convenient and you can buy hundreds without needing to bank.



2. Pay a standard price. At time of this guide, unid herbs sold for 1k each.



3. Don't buy if the deal seems fishy, see the anti-scam portions in next section.



4. USE A CALCULATOR. Trust me, adding herb amounts in your head can get tiring. Just have a calculator handy to get a running total.



Ok, what I do is withdraw each unid herb as a note along with the cash I'm going to spend:







Now, I yell out "Buying Unid Herbs" over and over. If I'm on a crowded world, I yell out "Buying Unid Herbs. NAME" where I use my character's name. Makes it easy to trade as many turn their chat screen off to see trade requests. You can also see others saying "Selling Unid Herbs" or similar. Trade with them.



Some one trades and puts up herbs. Here's a nice trade with 11 herbs being offered







Ok, he offered the herbs, I add it up on my calculator, I offer the money. I confirm the sale ALWAYS CONFIRM!!! sorry, I confirm the sale again with my calculator.



Here's my inventory after the sale:







If you notice, I can see right off the bat what unid herb was what after the sale. No need to run back to the bank and id it.



**TIP: If you have a friend already set-up like this, he can use this unid note trick to id'd your unid herbs. Do it similar as described above, but use unid notes. Write down his reply of what your notes were then organize your unid herbs accordingly**



1. When you're buying, some people sell what ever unids they have. It could be 10, 15, 38, or 108. Either way, the larger the sale, the closer to 11 stacks you should expect. Don't quibble over small sales cause these are guys raising combat and a little cash. You get a nice thrill paying 30k for 30 herbs then immediately see 6 of them were ranarr. Larger sales however bring the risk of scams.



2. Sometimes the guy puts up id'd herbs (usually guam) which you don't notice till the confirmation screen. Just decline and tell him "Unids Only".



3. Some want to sell you id'd herbs. It's your call. Reselling herbs at a profit can be tricky. Usually the seller is charging you the going price. Your call on this one.



4. Be very wary if the one or two of the largest stacks add up to over half the herbs. Most unid herbs you buy are guam, marren and tarro; but the profit you make selling all your unids make up for this loss. However, when over half the sale is unid guams (not likely to happen randomly, but does not qualify as a scam), you may want to decline the sale. I tend to say he has to either drop the number in the largest stacks or sell those for half price. Sometimes the seller agrees.



5. I'm ashamed to say I don't know the percentage of herb drops chances. However, 40-50% of the unids you buy will be Guam and Marren. Don't try to pawn these off on someone as unid herbs 1k a pop (that's blatant scamming and very easy to stop if prepared). Just sell them at a loss. The loss isn't that much, considering people pay alot for bulk Guam and Marren.



The next sections help prevent common scams. I call it the Anti-Scam technique (not very creative, I know).



Buying Unids(above herb type)



Some sellers are raising herblore. They buy unid herbs, use what they can id and sell the herbs they can't id. These are the good guys. They tend to expect a higher price for their unids as the unids will be higher quality. Typically they'll be at the market place yelling "Selling Unids above Ranarr!!"



There are others that buy unid herbs and try to sell Guam, Tarro, Marrin and Harralander unids as being above Ranarr. These are the low-life dirty scuz bucket scammers (bad guys). They tend to expect a higher price since they don't want to do the hard work of earning their gp. Here's a simple way to avoid the bad guys.



Someone is claiming to sell above Harralander. I like their price but I never trust them (hey, even a long term FORMER seller tried to scam me, unsuccessfully). I head to the bank, deposit unid notes harralander and below (the first four unids). I withdraw "junk" which is essence in this case. This fills up all my inventory slots:







Now, when we trade, if all his herbs are above harralander then the trade succeeds as all his unid notes adds onto my unid notes. If he's a scammer, the trade declines because I don't have room to add in another set of unid notes.



If the trade declines, the "scammer" will say something clever like "make more room". I just report him, then decide if I want to continue doing haggling with him. Sometimes I get the herbs cheaper, still make a profit, and still reported the scammer.





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Buying Unids (one type)



Similar to above, but here you're buying a known unid off someone (apparently he read this guide). Simple, just withdraw the unid note he's claiming that is being sold







Same idea, only the unid note (ranarr in this case) that matches yours can be traded. Otherwise, the trade auto-declines. If it declines, inform the seller it's not the herb. He could have made a mistake.



IMPORTANT: Do not use all your cash for the buying. You have to keep at least one GP in your inventory. If you do not, you've opened up an inventory slot for a scammed herb to slip in

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Selling Unids (one type)



Using the above ideas, you can build up a nice collection of herbs. Here's some options:



1. Id what herbs you can, sell id'd normally then the other unid herbs at id'd prices.

2. Sell all at id'd prices.

3. Use the Forums to advertise your sales.



If you're selling unid herbs, sometimes the buyer knows the anti-scam technique and sometimes not.



If he knows the technique, he may ask you for TWO noted unid herbs. He'll id one to confirm then use the other to set-up the anti-scam.



If he doesn't know the technique, here's how you convince him you're not a scammer. Set up your inventory like you're buying the herb you're selling:







But you'll withdraw all the herb type he's buying. Tell him to meet you behind the bank AWAY from anyone else. You'll show him your ENTIRE inventory in trade. You'll then give him one of your herbs to confirm what your unids are. He'll goto bank but you have to stay where you are away from anyone else. This shows him you're not switching with anyone. He'll return and probably buy all of the unid herbs.



If you want, explain the anti-scam technique to him. He should appreciate the knowledge

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Scams and how to stop them



Similar to above, but here you're buying a known unid off someone (apparently he read this guide). Simple, just withdraw the unid note he's claiming that is being sold



First, follow the above techniques and you'll likely never be scammed. Here are some common efforts though: 1. Remove the offending herb - He puts up 7 herb stacks (ranarr and above sale) and before accepting trade he removes a stack. He hopes you don't notice that since that stack was probably guam. It means the other herbs are above ranarr, but not ranarr itself (ranarr is a very pricey herb is why). Just confirm the trade and decline if you notice he removed something.



2. He offers two herbs for you to confirm - if you use this guide, shouldn't matter. However, the idea is the herb he gives you is great. The unid stack he'll sell you is lousy.



3. Four stacks of 1000 herbs - it's amazing how the sellers have no idea what these herbs are. 9 times out of 10, these are guam through harralander. Same story, use your anti-scam technique.



4. Scimming - 10 stacks of 100 herbs or more. This is not very likely to happen naturally. What the scammer has done is removed the Ranarr (9 stacks mean the lants got yanked too). Personally, in response to this, I offer to buy the largest 2 stacks at half price and the rest at normal price. If the seller balks, I don't have to trade. He's the desperate one else why is he scamming? You make your own call.



5. New Herbs - Jagex is always adding new items to the game. This includes new herbs. From here on out, I can always buy unid herbs with a filled inventory. This prevents enterprising scammers from collecting uncommon unid herbs that can be picked (like Rogue's Purse). Here's a photo of what I'm using







What I may have to do is collect samples of the other herbs. Remember that Farming allows Snapdragon, Toadflax and Torstol to be grown. Now each of these herbs are worth more than 1k each. I submit an edit to this guide as information reveals itself.

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Herb Prices



Decide prices for yourself. Prices fluctuate but haven't radically changed over the months. Remember that Bulk can demand higher prices. Rich guys don't want to waste time with 100 buyers collecting all they need when they can pay you a little extra to get all they want.



Unid herbs have been 1k each for quite awhile. On the forums, people can auction large amounts of 11 stacks for more (an option for you). You can buy as unid, but sell as a known (even if it's unid).



Id'd herbs: I've noticed a decline in most herb prices. Ranarr and Lants went up when the Dragon Dungeon opened up due to demand for Prayer and Anti-fire pots.



(These are not Concrete Prices, just what I use)



Ranarr, Lant: 5k each

Dwarf, Kuarm: 4k each

Cada, Irit, Avantoe: 2k each

Hara: 1.2k each

Tarro: 800 each

Guam: 600 each

Marren: 500 each

Torstol: 8,000gp - 10,000gp

Toadflax: 2,000gp - 3,000gp

Snapdragon: 6,000gp - 7,000gp



**Torstol, Snapdragon and Toadflax do not have set prices. Torstol supposedly is 10k each, but I've never encountered it yet (can't reach Salarin the Twisted).**



These are bit above market but I sell when I have 10k herbs or more. I get plenty of spam in my sales saying the prices are too high (I only sell on the forums). My opinion is I've collected these herbs through alot of annoyances (scammers and low bulk sales), and there are those that want alot of one herb type real quick. I wait for the rich buyer. I'm more than willing to adapt my prices to slow selling herbs *cough* candatine *cough*.



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Conclusion



I've been doing herblore merchanting for quite awhile. It's not the market it used to be. There's lotsa scamming and price gouging (yes, I'm guilty of the later). Still, I've been able to raise my herblore skill by buying unids, id'ing what I can, making easy to sell potions, then selling everything. I'm now 69 herblore which means I don't have to sell unid herbs if I don't want to.



You decide for yourself how to approach the merchanting. You determine the price you will pay and you will sell. The buyer will decide if he'll do business with you. Being called a noob or a moron cause you have your own price should be irrelevant. However, be firm but reasonable. Adapt to the selling, buying and the market. Above all have fun.



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