sugarvalves [1963573] —
Original article
Find out why Energy Drinks are rising early, when to sell your CT loot, why people are buying up Vicodin, and why certain plushies and flowers are behaving strangely in this month's Market Report.
The list of items given out in Christmas Town is as long as Stretch Armstrong's arms, and it's common knowledge that this event causes a huge depression on the price of certain items that typically lasts well into the new year. But could 2022 be different? Will we see demand skyrocket for candies and cans early in the new year? What's going on with those Advanced Weapons and Armors? And how did Chedburn cause a rise in the price of drugs? Let's find out in this month's Market Report.
ENERGY DRINKS FIZZING?
Energy drinks are one of CT's headline items, and at this time of the year, cans are usually in free-fall until late January or mid-Feb, at which point they begin rising again. This didn't happen in Spring 2021, with most cans beginning their resurgence in early January, and peaking as usual around October / November time.
Pictured: Rockstar Rudolph three-year price graph
Most cans fell to their typical post-Christmas values towards the end of the year, however, as their increase in circulation began to take effect. But since the new year began we've noticed that, once again, can prices seem to be creeping up earlier than usual. 15-30e cans have all gained between $30-40k since the 1st of January, with Damp Valley adding $10k and Goose Juice the only can to see no gains.
Pictured: X-MASS one-month price graph
The reason for cans rising early is twofold. First, we have a heightened period of attacking activity coming up, with many factions now ready to dive balls deep into Ranked Warring, and the Valentine's Day event rapidly approaching in mid-February. Players will gobble up every last scrap of available energy during events like these, and we often see over 10,000 X-MASS used during Valentine's Day alone.
The second reason cans are rising earlier is that fewer were spawned during CT this year. X-MASS saw 265,000 given out in 2020, whereas only 250,000 were provided this year. Similar numbers were posted by the other cans, with most seeing 250k-255k spawn in 2021, compared to 280k-290k in 2020. Right now, Torn has more active players than ever before, so why did we see fewer cans being spawned?
Pictured: Santa Shooters three-year circulation graph
These reduced numbers are a direct result of the changes made to Christmas Town item spawns. Maps with snowglobes now provide 50% more loot than those which have not, meaning it is no longer profitable to spend hours and hours doing laps on a loot run. But based on the numbers we've seen, it seems that not everyone got the message, hence why more cans haven't entered the market.
So what does this mean for their recovery? I think we'll see energy drinks continue to rise over the next few weeks, with this trend mostly driven by demand rather than a slight decrease in spawns. If truth be told, the numbers aren't too different from last year, and we anticipate greater demand this time around, so we'll likely see a sharper rise than in spring 2021. This trend could begin very soon, so if you're hoping to buy cans cheaply in bulk to make a profit later in the year, you'll have to be quick.
"Purchasing bulk cans of X-MASS during the seasonal January crash {3.2m - 3.3m} and holding a large surplus of cans until the seasonal high in October {4.4m-4.7m} returns a very nice margin of profit of about 20-25%. In a game where the Rich get Richer, dropping a few billion into cans at their all-time low can be an easy way to start a 'soft second bank investment'." - 4n4rchist
"When you can find a six pack of energy drinks under 14m, 9/10 times you will end up profiting if you open it although CT will impair this." - Koneko
CONSTANT CANDIES
Another item type whose typical yearly price graphs may change soon is candy. Most years, players are advised to buy up candies now during their post-CT price lull, in anticipation of selling or using them later in the year when demand is higher. But just like cans, candies saw a lower than usual circulation increase in 2021 - and their drop was far more severe.
Pictured: Jawbreaker three-year circulation graph
Jawbreakers' 2020 circulation increase of 40,000 has been slashed to just 10,000. The result of this is that many candies are priced similarly to what they were before Christmas Town opened. Humbugs are a notable exception, but that's because these items were vastly overpriced at nearly $350k - Duke's dumping of 10,000 put an end to that! You'll pay $240-250k for 150 happy candies at the moment, and this is about $20k lower than this time last year.
Pictured: Pixie Sticks one-year price graph
You'll notice that the price of 150 happy candies doesn't do much until summer when players start to buy them up ahead of Diabetes Day. I wonder if that might change going forward, as now that their circulation levels aren't doubling year-on-year, their value may start to increase sooner and more significantly.
This won't happen to the lower happy candies though. When you look at the circulation graphs for 50-100 happy candies, the number provided by CT this year is only slightly lower than it was the year before. The value of these items has therefore fallen as expected, with Candy Kisses dropping by $5k, and Truffles by almost $20k. This may have a knock-on effect on the potential price increase we expect in top-tier candies, and it could be that come Diabetes Day, it is mid-level candies that provide better value for money.
BUY BOOZE NOW!
Much like cans, the aforementioned changes to loot spawn rates mean that fewer alcohol items were provided by CT this year. Drops of Mistletoe Madness, Christmas Cocktail, Minty Mayhem, and Kandy Kane were down by around 50k each compared to 2020. Once more, we're seeing an early rise in the price of 2-4 nerve alcohols, with $20k added to Mistletoe Madness since the 29th of December.
Pictured: Mistletoe Madness one-month price graph
As you can see, that graph is almost identical to the one for X-MASS, with the other 2-4 nerve alcohols also enjoying a small but noticeable period of growth since the year began. However, it must be noted that most mid-range alcohols are priced lower than they were when 2021 began, and we don't expect them to do anything interesting for at least another month yet.
"After Christmas Town the market becomes flooded with fresh batches of bottled booze and all of those treats you picked up see a dip in Market price due to increased supply. Make sure you manage to stock up on some whilst the price is nice and low before the major demand picks up before the St. Paddy's day event in March when all alcohol effects are doubled. There's usually a rise in the closing weeks of February.. and sometimes in my pants if I've drank too much." - Daedalus
This advice is sound in relation to the 2-4 nerve alcohols, but 5 nerve booze is a different kettle of inebriated fish. Top-shelf alcohol isn't given out via Christmas Town, with Bottles of Green Stout provided on St Patrick's Day, Moonshine supplied by rackets, and Christmas Spirit distributed by Duke. Their prices, therefore, behave very differently to the other alcohols, with CS down $140k, GS up $65k, and Moonshine up by $120k on the month.
Pictured: Christmas Spirit one-month price graph.
It'll be around mid-February that 5 nerve alcohol rises ahead of St Patrick's Day, and last year we saw them top out at around $1.5 million as the event approached. Anyone with a stack of top-shelf booze might be able to make a decent profit if you hold onto it for another month, but if it's sake and beer you're holding, you might want to get rid of that soon.
"There is a whatsapp group keeping alcohol prices high." - anon
Last year we saw beer prices being manipulated heavily to great effect, and many feel the price of a single tallboy is still much higher than it should be given its abundance and low nerve effects. Regarding the other booze items, I very much doubt that this secret group has enough influence to affect premium alcohols, but there is growing suspicion regarding the value of Sake at the moment, which is currently going for $14k a bottle despite providing only one nerve.
"Possibly market manipulation since all the 1 nerve alcohol has stabilised near 4k, could be someone trying again to bring them all up to a new high?
Also means beer is gonna be sold out slower at bits and bobs in favour of sake, as new players will look to maximise what they can make and jump in on the price increase." - CornHub
I can't say I've noticed beer selling out more slowly at Bits and Bobs, but I could be wrong. Either way, anyone who pays more than $4.5k for a bottle of Sake is a grade-A chump, so why not take advantage of these morons by flying off to Japan to stock up on these items for $39 a pop while you can.
DRUGS DROOP
The value of Xanax rose heavily over Christmas, reaching a whopping $850k per pill having begun the month priced at $838k. The price of xans hasn't been this consistently high since 2016, and with attacking activity slowing down over Christmas, the most likely explanation we can give for this trend is that players were busy stocking up in anticipation of sweet, delicious violence in the new year.
Pictured: Xanax one-month price graph
This rise may also have been caused by a slight dip in circulation, a trend which itself was the result of fewer players flying over the Christmas period as they instead turned their attentions to Christmas Town. The value of Xanax has now dropped back to its pre-Christmas price, and with circulation now increasing, you may expect its value to fall even further. However, a quick look at the city's Drugs Usage graph shows that since the new year began people have been popping xans like they're cocktail sausages.
Pictured: Drugs usage three-month graph
If these trends continue, we may see Xanax rise again pretty soon, especially as the drug tends to enjoy a price surge just before Valentine's Day anyway. And speaking of V-day, it seems that this event is at the forefront of many people's minds right now, as Love Juice is up by nearly $1.5 million since this time in December.
Pictured: Love Juice one-month price graph
LJ's current value is slightly down on its 2021 price at the moment, and its price has dipped ever so slightly in the past 24 hours. But with many factions eyeing mid-February as the optimal time for a 50k chain, expect Love Juice to surge massively in the coming weeks - potentially topping last year's max of $19.1m.
Another interesting development on the drugs scene is an increase in the sale - if not the price - of drugs such as Vicodin and Shrooms. A forum post by Chedburn may have caused this, with Torn's benevolent leader causing widespread speculation throughout the market by hinting at a new drug system that may be released in future.
"Since Chedburn announced that perhaps drugs 2.0 are coming out some people have bought drugs. I suggest that people already have suggested that trend. I suggest there is a trend of people suggesting there is trend of rising drug prices. /laughs quietly/ " - ArttiIsGod
I can confirm that a new drugs system is not scheduled for a release imminently, so anyone buying up thousands of Vicodin in anticipation of this forthcoming feature had better get comfy because you'll be sitting on them for some time yet. In the meantime, here's a Xanax pricing tip you may find useful courtesy of Terronia.
"The time I can spend in Torn is limited and I don't have the tech skills to run scripts, so I found a way to know quickly and easily if the prices for Xanax are high. I put African violets in my market stall for a higher than normal price. When they sell, I know that the price for Xanax has likely risen. This works because when prices for Xanax are low, it is more profitable to fly flowers; but when the prices for Xanax go up, people stop running flowers and switch back to Xanax. People who need flowers are willing to pay more for the African flowers. If you don't think this makes any sense, try it and see if it works for you." - Terronia
WEAPONS AND ARMORS
It's still a little too early to know how much we'll be paying for the newly released Advanced Weapons and Armors, as hardly any have been earned yet, and even fewer have made their way to the item market. Our records show that just over 500 caches have been opened so far, with a further 150 or so left unopened.
One unused Melee cache was going for $1.9 billion when last we checked, with Small Arms caches offered for $1.4 billion, and a Medium for $2.8 billion. As for their contents, VitaGreta was selling a yellow Negev NG-5 for $11 billion, and Vasto-Lorde was asking for $12 billion in exchange for a yellow Stoner 96. We've seen a few yellow Dune, Assault, and Riot armors put up for sale too, with these going for between $2-3.6 billion at the time of writing.
With regard to the regular armor items, Lightor pointed out that roughly $20 million has been added to the value of the Motorcycle Helmet since late November, nearly doubling the value of this sand and pepper-resistant item. Medieval Helmets are also several million above their early December value, as are Flexible Body Armors.
It's a different story for temporary weapons, some of which seem to be falling in price rapidly. Concussion Grenades and Nail Bombs lost $1m last month, with many other impairment temps either falling or plateauing too.
"Pepper spray used to sell for around $2,000 ... unfortunately it is down 300 bucks, not sure why. As a buyer of 100 per day from big Al's and then reselling them, it's a concerning trend." - Davidrk
The bad news for Davidrk is that pepper spray has continued to fall and is now valued closer to $1.5k. The value of temps like these will be interesting over the coming months, as while many still find them an invaluable part of their attack strategy, the release of Advanced Armors may make some temporary weapons less desirable.
Of course, the only way to get these new armors and weapons is by completing ranked wars. And if you want to win those, you're going to need a buttload of temps, so don't expect these items to become devalued overnight.
"While running Xanax from SA is still ever so slightly more profitable at the moment, if you can snag smokes you can make basically the same profit with a much lower financial risk. That being said, the supply in SA goes quickly." - randomember
"With CT over and more and more factions participating in ranked warring, I'm expecting a fairly large increase in price in Flash, Tear, and Smoke grenades between now and this time next year as the liquid supply slowly starts to decline. It will be interesting to see if items like Serotonin and Epinephrine behave similarly despite traditionally having very stable and consistent pricing from year to year." - Lex_Steel
One final note from the weapons market comes courtesy of our community manager, who spotted the following anomaly in the pricing for a set of Dual Hammers.
Pictured: Dual Hammers one-month price graph
"I was investigating a strange dip in the pricing in Dual Hammers and found why... someone got VERY lucky on the auction house, it appears everyone missed this chance!" - bogie
10:13:54 - 03/01/22 Dark97 placed a maximum bid of $316,904,240 on THE_DOG's auction of some Dual Hammers
10:17:04 - 03/01/22 Dark97 won THE_DOG's auction of some Dual Hammers for a final price of $314,864,821
DUKES ITEMS
Duke's 2021 Christmas giveaway was the biggest yet, and I have it on good authority that Shirley Prima Dante Calabrese is broke af right now, having spent well into 11 figures on prizes - and that's not including donations he received from The_Hamster or items that were made for him, such as the two new masks.
Regarding said masks, it seems the Krampus 21' is the more popular of the two, with this item valued at around $384 million. Prince Philip is slightly less valuable, with his dead face going for roughly $250 million at the time of writing. These prices may change in the coming weeks, as we still have around 40 Krampus and Philip masks yet to be released to winners of our Community Events and various other contests.
Duke's other new item was the Party Popper, an entirely useless temporary weapon that does nothing but cover your opponent's attacking screen in confetti. We foresaw these items being used in a way similar to teabagging a downed rival in an online shooter, because nothing could be more humiliating than someone wasting a temp loadout slot just to annoy you. Party Poppers are currently valued at $500k, slightly more than Melatonin, and less than Tyrosine.
PLUSHIES AND FLOWERS
The prospect of free Christmas Town loot always leads to a drop in the number of players flying during December, and this causes the price of some plushies and flowers to rise as fewer enter Torn circulation. Last month, Rises of $1,000 or more were seen in Torn's three most valuable flowers, the Cherry Blossom, Peony, and Tribulus Omanense, as well as several other less-valuable varieties.
Pictured: Tribulus Omanense one-month price graph
The exact same trend befell the plushie market too, with Lions, Pandas, and Camels all enjoying a rise, alongside the Red Fox, Nessie, and Stingray. History suggests that some of the more expensive foreign flowers and plushies may continue to rise until late January, before slumping once more ahead of their traditional Museum Day price surge. However, some players suspect that manipulation may also be a factor in these recent rises.
"There appears to be a rotation where one after another the price of one plushie is driven unusually high for a period of time then drops back down and it switches. It could be natural, but I hadn't seen anything to this extent in the year prior. There is always some fluctuation, but these are outside of the normal range i've seen in the past." - OsRavan
OsRavan cites Pandas as an example of this potential manipulation, as he noticed they recently rose higher than lions, and are now more than 10% above their usual value. He also noticed the same thing happening to Chamois a few months earlier, with these priced close to $48k in October, before falling away just as Pandas began to rise in their place.
"Could all be in my head, but interesting and suspicious! The same thing happened before chamois with other plushies." - OsRavan
MISCELLANEOUS TIPS AND OBSERVATIONS
Neumune is down by $450k, but we did hear that Hopslam was trying to buy a dirty bomb for $30bn recently, so if you're coming up against Destructive Anomaly sometime soon, make sure you stock up.
"I was paying 250k for medical boxes last week. I've noticed they're going up, over 260k last check a few hours ago." - Orthalyx
Wannabe Tony Hawks rejoice as Skateboards fell by $20 million this month.
"Book of carols might be a good investment, still dropping but will go back up during this month. And LBC is definitely a good buy at this right moment under 500k." - Guismox
Talk about a Christmas splurge! Erotic DVDs rose to a three-month high of $2.4 million on Christmas Day.
"The booster item 'Book of Carols' is at an all-time historic low, and the low-cost boosters have yet to be vacuumed up. The 2-year trend has shown that December is usually the low for these items, with their value increasing steadily until an apex in September / November, prior to the market being flooded with new stock from Christmas Town. Buy, Buy, Buy!" - 4n4rchist
FHC circulation is rising, so expect them to stay flat in price unless something changes with their stock.
"I've noticed some flower/plushie buyers list single items while they watch the market. The reason they list single cheap items is in hope that a new seller list several of the same items at the same or cheaper price. Then they buy these newly listed cheap/cheaper items. As a seller your better off to buy the cheap single item/s and then list your stuff for sale." - Anon
The Christmas glow has worn off as Cesium prices are down by $50 million since the turn of the year.
"I have seen Sumo Dolls reach a 3 year high in the past month. A new collector seems to be on the block." - Zephyr
A new player who appears to be a restart is purchasing up huge quantities of Strippograms. Ovoxo, who at four days old already has a Private Island and $10 billion networth, has been seen buying Strippogram vouchers in bulk at $15.5 million per item. Their efforts have helped the price of said item rise from $11 million on December 7th to to $22.7 million today.
"Christmas Crackers. Buy em up wait a few months and auction off all the party hats." - -Lord-Sizzle-
A patch note posted on the 21st revealed that Small Explosive Devices no longer stack hospital time. SEDs prices rose from $2.4m to $3.4m in early December and fell slowly after this to end the year on $2.6m, with the nerf seemingly having little effect on their value.
"As a frequent item market seller (using my property broker perk), I noticed one strange (maybe) on last month. Duke will surely buy from item market whenever he restock items for DUKE DAILY GIVEAWAY." - Slay
That last one is true. Duke often supplements the items he's been assigned with extra ones bought from the market, so if you're looking to bulk sell DPs, BCTs, or other items valued at $10-30 million next Christmas, set yourself a reminder to do so during Duke's Dump Giveaway.
"Because of CT the price of a BCT decreased significantly, cheapest time of the year to get them at the moment." - Lightor
"This is more for the new player rather than the savvy veterans. But often people will put the cars from the GTA crimes up in the market for less than what it sells back to the system (docks) for. If you're looking for a quick flip that isn't beer from Bits n Bobs, it's a good place to start." - 0rganicMechanic
Donator Packs are up by more than $300k since early December, despite there being no change in the pawn price.
"Some re**rd bought all of the Volvo 850's from the item market and now instead of like 50k they cost 500k.That re**rd will be me sir, idk why I did it, I just woke up and found a few hundred Volvo's in my inventory! On a side note I'm also giving them away for free to newbies who just started racing." - Fotismeni
ENERGY DRINKS FIZZING?
Energy drinks are one of CT's headline items, and at this time of the year, cans are usually in free-fall until late January or mid-Feb, at which point they begin rising again. This didn't happen in Spring 2021, with most cans beginning their resurgence in early January, and peaking as usual around October / November time.
Pictured: Rockstar Rudolph three-year price graph
Most cans fell to their typical post-Christmas values towards the end of the year, however, as their increase in circulation began to take effect. But since the new year began we've noticed that, once again, can prices seem to be creeping up earlier than usual. 15-30e cans have all gained between $30-40k since the 1st of January, with Damp Valley adding $10k and Goose Juice the only can to see no gains.
Pictured: X-MASS one-month price graph
The reason for cans rising early is twofold. First, we have a heightened period of attacking activity coming up, with many factions now ready to dive balls deep into Ranked Warring, and the Valentine's Day event rapidly approaching in mid-February. Players will gobble up every last scrap of available energy during events like these, and we often see over 10,000 X-MASS used during Valentine's Day alone.
The second reason cans are rising earlier is that fewer were spawned during CT this year. X-MASS saw 265,000 given out in 2020, whereas only 250,000 were provided this year. Similar numbers were posted by the other cans, with most seeing 250k-255k spawn in 2021, compared to 280k-290k in 2020. Right now, Torn has more active players than ever before, so why did we see fewer cans being spawned?
Pictured: Santa Shooters three-year circulation graph
These reduced numbers are a direct result of the changes made to Christmas Town item spawns. Maps with snowglobes now provide 50% more loot than those which have not, meaning it is no longer profitable to spend hours and hours doing laps on a loot run. But based on the numbers we've seen, it seems that not everyone got the message, hence why more cans haven't entered the market.
So what does this mean for their recovery? I think we'll see energy drinks continue to rise over the next few weeks, with this trend mostly driven by demand rather than a slight decrease in spawns. If truth be told, the numbers aren't too different from last year, and we anticipate greater demand this time around, so we'll likely see a sharper rise than in spring 2021. This trend could begin very soon, so if you're hoping to buy cans cheaply in bulk to make a profit later in the year, you'll have to be quick.
"Purchasing bulk cans of X-MASS during the seasonal January crash {3.2m - 3.3m} and holding a large surplus of cans until the seasonal high in October {4.4m-4.7m} returns a very nice margin of profit of about 20-25%. In a game where the Rich get Richer, dropping a few billion into cans at their all-time low can be an easy way to start a 'soft second bank investment'." - 4n4rchist
"When you can find a six pack of energy drinks under 14m, 9/10 times you will end up profiting if you open it although CT will impair this." - Koneko
CONSTANT CANDIES
Another item type whose typical yearly price graphs may change soon is candy. Most years, players are advised to buy up candies now during their post-CT price lull, in anticipation of selling or using them later in the year when demand is higher. But just like cans, candies saw a lower than usual circulation increase in 2021 - and their drop was far more severe.
Pictured: Jawbreaker three-year circulation graph
Jawbreakers' 2020 circulation increase of 40,000 has been slashed to just 10,000. The result of this is that many candies are priced similarly to what they were before Christmas Town opened. Humbugs are a notable exception, but that's because these items were vastly overpriced at nearly $350k - Duke's dumping of 10,000 put an end to that! You'll pay $240-250k for 150 happy candies at the moment, and this is about $20k lower than this time last year.
Pictured: Pixie Sticks one-year price graph
You'll notice that the price of 150 happy candies doesn't do much until summer when players start to buy them up ahead of Diabetes Day. I wonder if that might change going forward, as now that their circulation levels aren't doubling year-on-year, their value may start to increase sooner and more significantly.
This won't happen to the lower happy candies though. When you look at the circulation graphs for 50-100 happy candies, the number provided by CT this year is only slightly lower than it was the year before. The value of these items has therefore fallen as expected, with Candy Kisses dropping by $5k, and Truffles by almost $20k. This may have a knock-on effect on the potential price increase we expect in top-tier candies, and it could be that come Diabetes Day, it is mid-level candies that provide better value for money.
BUY BOOZE NOW!
Much like cans, the aforementioned changes to loot spawn rates mean that fewer alcohol items were provided by CT this year. Drops of Mistletoe Madness, Christmas Cocktail, Minty Mayhem, and Kandy Kane were down by around 50k each compared to 2020. Once more, we're seeing an early rise in the price of 2-4 nerve alcohols, with $20k added to Mistletoe Madness since the 29th of December.
Pictured: Mistletoe Madness one-month price graph
As you can see, that graph is almost identical to the one for X-MASS, with the other 2-4 nerve alcohols also enjoying a small but noticeable period of growth since the year began. However, it must be noted that most mid-range alcohols are priced lower than they were when 2021 began, and we don't expect them to do anything interesting for at least another month yet.
"After Christmas Town the market becomes flooded with fresh batches of bottled booze and all of those treats you picked up see a dip in Market price due to increased supply. Make sure you manage to stock up on some whilst the price is nice and low before the major demand picks up before the St. Paddy's day event in March when all alcohol effects are doubled. There's usually a rise in the closing weeks of February.. and sometimes in my pants if I've drank too much." - Daedalus
This advice is sound in relation to the 2-4 nerve alcohols, but 5 nerve booze is a different kettle of inebriated fish. Top-shelf alcohol isn't given out via Christmas Town, with Bottles of Green Stout provided on St Patrick's Day, Moonshine supplied by rackets, and Christmas Spirit distributed by Duke. Their prices, therefore, behave very differently to the other alcohols, with CS down $140k, GS up $65k, and Moonshine up by $120k on the month.
Pictured: Christmas Spirit one-month price graph.
It'll be around mid-February that 5 nerve alcohol rises ahead of St Patrick's Day, and last year we saw them top out at around $1.5 million as the event approached. Anyone with a stack of top-shelf booze might be able to make a decent profit if you hold onto it for another month, but if it's sake and beer you're holding, you might want to get rid of that soon.
"There is a whatsapp group keeping alcohol prices high." - anon
Last year we saw beer prices being manipulated heavily to great effect, and many feel the price of a single tallboy is still much higher than it should be given its abundance and low nerve effects. Regarding the other booze items, I very much doubt that this secret group has enough influence to affect premium alcohols, but there is growing suspicion regarding the value of Sake at the moment, which is currently going for $14k a bottle despite providing only one nerve.
"Possibly market manipulation since all the 1 nerve alcohol has stabilised near 4k, could be someone trying again to bring them all up to a new high?
Also means beer is gonna be sold out slower at bits and bobs in favour of sake, as new players will look to maximise what they can make and jump in on the price increase." - CornHub
I can't say I've noticed beer selling out more slowly at Bits and Bobs, but I could be wrong. Either way, anyone who pays more than $4.5k for a bottle of Sake is a grade-A chump, so why not take advantage of these morons by flying off to Japan to stock up on these items for $39 a pop while you can.
DRUGS DROOP
The value of Xanax rose heavily over Christmas, reaching a whopping $850k per pill having begun the month priced at $838k. The price of xans hasn't been this consistently high since 2016, and with attacking activity slowing down over Christmas, the most likely explanation we can give for this trend is that players were busy stocking up in anticipation of sweet, delicious violence in the new year.
Pictured: Xanax one-month price graph
This rise may also have been caused by a slight dip in circulation, a trend which itself was the result of fewer players flying over the Christmas period as they instead turned their attentions to Christmas Town. The value of Xanax has now dropped back to its pre-Christmas price, and with circulation now increasing, you may expect its value to fall even further. However, a quick look at the city's Drugs Usage graph shows that since the new year began people have been popping xans like they're cocktail sausages.
Pictured: Drugs usage three-month graph
If these trends continue, we may see Xanax rise again pretty soon, especially as the drug tends to enjoy a price surge just before Valentine's Day anyway. And speaking of V-day, it seems that this event is at the forefront of many people's minds right now, as Love Juice is up by nearly $1.5 million since this time in December.
Pictured: Love Juice one-month price graph
LJ's current value is slightly down on its 2021 price at the moment, and its price has dipped ever so slightly in the past 24 hours. But with many factions eyeing mid-February as the optimal time for a 50k chain, expect Love Juice to surge massively in the coming weeks - potentially topping last year's max of $19.1m.
Another interesting development on the drugs scene is an increase in the sale - if not the price - of drugs such as Vicodin and Shrooms. A forum post by Chedburn may have caused this, with Torn's benevolent leader causing widespread speculation throughout the market by hinting at a new drug system that may be released in future.
"Since Chedburn announced that perhaps drugs 2.0 are coming out some people have bought drugs. I suggest that people already have suggested that trend. I suggest there is a trend of people suggesting there is trend of rising drug prices. /laughs quietly/ " - ArttiIsGod
I can confirm that a new drugs system is not scheduled for a release imminently, so anyone buying up thousands of Vicodin in anticipation of this forthcoming feature had better get comfy because you'll be sitting on them for some time yet. In the meantime, here's a Xanax pricing tip you may find useful courtesy of Terronia.
"The time I can spend in Torn is limited and I don't have the tech skills to run scripts, so I found a way to know quickly and easily if the prices for Xanax are high. I put African violets in my market stall for a higher than normal price. When they sell, I know that the price for Xanax has likely risen. This works because when prices for Xanax are low, it is more profitable to fly flowers; but when the prices for Xanax go up, people stop running flowers and switch back to Xanax. People who need flowers are willing to pay more for the African flowers. If you don't think this makes any sense, try it and see if it works for you." - Terronia
WEAPONS AND ARMORS
It's still a little too early to know how much we'll be paying for the newly released Advanced Weapons and Armors, as hardly any have been earned yet, and even fewer have made their way to the item market. Our records show that just over 500 caches have been opened so far, with a further 150 or so left unopened.
One unused Melee cache was going for $1.9 billion when last we checked, with Small Arms caches offered for $1.4 billion, and a Medium for $2.8 billion. As for their contents, VitaGreta was selling a yellow Negev NG-5 for $11 billion, and Vasto-Lorde was asking for $12 billion in exchange for a yellow Stoner 96. We've seen a few yellow Dune, Assault, and Riot armors put up for sale too, with these going for between $2-3.6 billion at the time of writing.
With regard to the regular armor items, Lightor pointed out that roughly $20 million has been added to the value of the Motorcycle Helmet since late November, nearly doubling the value of this sand and pepper-resistant item. Medieval Helmets are also several million above their early December value, as are Flexible Body Armors.
It's a different story for temporary weapons, some of which seem to be falling in price rapidly. Concussion Grenades and Nail Bombs lost $1m last month, with many other impairment temps either falling or plateauing too.
"Pepper spray used to sell for around $2,000 ... unfortunately it is down 300 bucks, not sure why. As a buyer of 100 per day from big Al's and then reselling them, it's a concerning trend." - Davidrk
The bad news for Davidrk is that pepper spray has continued to fall and is now valued closer to $1.5k. The value of temps like these will be interesting over the coming months, as while many still find them an invaluable part of their attack strategy, the release of Advanced Armors may make some temporary weapons less desirable.
Of course, the only way to get these new armors and weapons is by completing ranked wars. And if you want to win those, you're going to need a buttload of temps, so don't expect these items to become devalued overnight.
"While running Xanax from SA is still ever so slightly more profitable at the moment, if you can snag smokes you can make basically the same profit with a much lower financial risk. That being said, the supply in SA goes quickly." - randomember
"With CT over and more and more factions participating in ranked warring, I'm expecting a fairly large increase in price in Flash, Tear, and Smoke grenades between now and this time next year as the liquid supply slowly starts to decline. It will be interesting to see if items like Serotonin and Epinephrine behave similarly despite traditionally having very stable and consistent pricing from year to year." - Lex_Steel
One final note from the weapons market comes courtesy of our community manager, who spotted the following anomaly in the pricing for a set of Dual Hammers.
Pictured: Dual Hammers one-month price graph
"I was investigating a strange dip in the pricing in Dual Hammers and found why... someone got VERY lucky on the auction house, it appears everyone missed this chance!" - bogie
10:13:54 - 03/01/22 Dark97 placed a maximum bid of $316,904,240 on THE_DOG's auction of some Dual Hammers
10:17:04 - 03/01/22 Dark97 won THE_DOG's auction of some Dual Hammers for a final price of $314,864,821
DUKES ITEMS
Duke's 2021 Christmas giveaway was the biggest yet, and I have it on good authority that Shirley Prima Dante Calabrese is broke af right now, having spent well into 11 figures on prizes - and that's not including donations he received from The_Hamster or items that were made for him, such as the two new masks.
Regarding said masks, it seems the Krampus 21' is the more popular of the two, with this item valued at around $384 million. Prince Philip is slightly less valuable, with his dead face going for roughly $250 million at the time of writing. These prices may change in the coming weeks, as we still have around 40 Krampus and Philip masks yet to be released to winners of our Community Events and various other contests.
Duke's other new item was the Party Popper, an entirely useless temporary weapon that does nothing but cover your opponent's attacking screen in confetti. We foresaw these items being used in a way similar to teabagging a downed rival in an online shooter, because nothing could be more humiliating than someone wasting a temp loadout slot just to annoy you. Party Poppers are currently valued at $500k, slightly more than Melatonin, and less than Tyrosine.
PLUSHIES AND FLOWERS
The prospect of free Christmas Town loot always leads to a drop in the number of players flying during December, and this causes the price of some plushies and flowers to rise as fewer enter Torn circulation. Last month, Rises of $1,000 or more were seen in Torn's three most valuable flowers, the Cherry Blossom, Peony, and Tribulus Omanense, as well as several other less-valuable varieties.
Pictured: Tribulus Omanense one-month price graph
The exact same trend befell the plushie market too, with Lions, Pandas, and Camels all enjoying a rise, alongside the Red Fox, Nessie, and Stingray. History suggests that some of the more expensive foreign flowers and plushies may continue to rise until late January, before slumping once more ahead of their traditional Museum Day price surge. However, some players suspect that manipulation may also be a factor in these recent rises.
"There appears to be a rotation where one after another the price of one plushie is driven unusually high for a period of time then drops back down and it switches. It could be natural, but I hadn't seen anything to this extent in the year prior. There is always some fluctuation, but these are outside of the normal range i've seen in the past." - OsRavan
OsRavan cites Pandas as an example of this potential manipulation, as he noticed they recently rose higher than lions, and are now more than 10% above their usual value. He also noticed the same thing happening to Chamois a few months earlier, with these priced close to $48k in October, before falling away just as Pandas began to rise in their place.
"Could all be in my head, but interesting and suspicious! The same thing happened before chamois with other plushies." - OsRavan
MISCELLANEOUS TIPS AND OBSERVATIONS
Neumune is down by $450k, but we did hear that Hopslam was trying to buy a dirty bomb for $30bn recently, so if you're coming up against Destructive Anomaly sometime soon, make sure you stock up.
"I was paying 250k for medical boxes last week. I've noticed they're going up, over 260k last check a few hours ago." - Orthalyx
Wannabe Tony Hawks rejoice as Skateboards fell by $20 million this month.
"Book of carols might be a good investment, still dropping but will go back up during this month. And LBC is definitely a good buy at this right moment under 500k." - Guismox
Talk about a Christmas splurge! Erotic DVDs rose to a three-month high of $2.4 million on Christmas Day.
"The booster item 'Book of Carols' is at an all-time historic low, and the low-cost boosters have yet to be vacuumed up. The 2-year trend has shown that December is usually the low for these items, with their value increasing steadily until an apex in September / November, prior to the market being flooded with new stock from Christmas Town. Buy, Buy, Buy!" - 4n4rchist
FHC circulation is rising, so expect them to stay flat in price unless something changes with their stock.
"I've noticed some flower/plushie buyers list single items while they watch the market. The reason they list single cheap items is in hope that a new seller list several of the same items at the same or cheaper price. Then they buy these newly listed cheap/cheaper items. As a seller your better off to buy the cheap single item/s and then list your stuff for sale." - Anon
The Christmas glow has worn off as Cesium prices are down by $50 million since the turn of the year.
"I have seen Sumo Dolls reach a 3 year high in the past month. A new collector seems to be on the block." - Zephyr
A new player who appears to be a restart is purchasing up huge quantities of Strippograms. Ovoxo, who at four days old already has a Private Island and $10 billion networth, has been seen buying Strippogram vouchers in bulk at $15.5 million per item. Their efforts have helped the price of said item rise from $11 million on December 7th to to $22.7 million today.
"Christmas Crackers. Buy em up wait a few months and auction off all the party hats." - -Lord-Sizzle-
A patch note posted on the 21st revealed that Small Explosive Devices no longer stack hospital time. SEDs prices rose from $2.4m to $3.4m in early December and fell slowly after this to end the year on $2.6m, with the nerf seemingly having little effect on their value.
"As a frequent item market seller (using my property broker perk), I noticed one strange (maybe) on last month. Duke will surely buy from item market whenever he restock items for DUKE DAILY GIVEAWAY." - Slay
That last one is true. Duke often supplements the items he's been assigned with extra ones bought from the market, so if you're looking to bulk sell DPs, BCTs, or other items valued at $10-30 million next Christmas, set yourself a reminder to do so during Duke's Dump Giveaway.
"Because of CT the price of a BCT decreased significantly, cheapest time of the year to get them at the moment." - Lightor
"This is more for the new player rather than the savvy veterans. But often people will put the cars from the GTA crimes up in the market for less than what it sells back to the system (docks) for. If you're looking for a quick flip that isn't beer from Bits n Bobs, it's a good place to start." - 0rganicMechanic
Donator Packs are up by more than $300k since early December, despite there being no change in the pawn price.
"Some re**rd bought all of the Volvo 850's from the item market and now instead of like 50k they cost 500k.That re**rd will be me sir, idk why I did it, I just woke up and found a few hundred Volvo's in my inventory! On a side note I'm also giving them away for free to newbies who just started racing." - Fotismeni
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