Are bolts rare or?

I'm resurrecting this older thread, hopefully as a place to continue the discussion of barn expansion item economics that erupted in the trading thread. It's interesting, but drifting off topic for the trade thread.

I think Confucius is correct. The total number of bolts, planks, and tapes has to be equal throughout the game, or they would totally clog up people's barns. You need equal numbers of each item to expand, and there is nowhere else for any excess to go. No way to get rid of them. Trucks and boats don't ask for BEM. Any that appear in the game have to stay there. Which means they have to be equal in number, or the game would grind to a halt.

Confucius thinks that bolts seem rarer because people hoard them. Me, I don't think bolts seem rare at all. If you Google the topic, you see people complaining about shortages since the game began...but the "rare" items are always different. Sometimes it's panels, sometimes it's planks, sometimes it's tape or nails or screws.

So, do bolts trade at a premium here at this forum? Hard to say. People can ask for whatever they want, but it doesn't mean they get it. I'm sure some people get 2 planks per bolt...but some probably get 2 bolts per plank.

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Originally Posted by Janilee

I'm resurrecting this older thread, hopefully as a place to continue the discussion of barn expansion item economics that erupted in the trading thread. It's interesting, but drifting off topic for the trade thread.

I think Confucius is correct. The total number of bolts, planks, and tapes has to be equal throughout the game, or they would totally clog up people's barns. You need equal numbers of each item to expand, and there is nowhere else for any excess to go. No way to get rid of them. Trucks and boats don't ask for BEM. Any that appear in the game have to stay there. Which means they have to be equal in number, or the game would grind to a halt.

Confucius thinks that bolts seem rarer because people hoard them. Me, I don't think bolts seem rare at all. If you Google the topic, you see people complaining about shortages since the game began...but the "rare" items are always different. Sometimes it's panels, sometimes it's planks, sometimes it's tape or nails or screws.

So, do bolts trade at a premium here at this forum? Hard to say. People can ask for whatever they want, but it doesn't mean they get it. I'm sure some people get 2 planks per bolt...but some probably get 2 bolts per plank.

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God i feel like a jerk for starting the controversy there... I was just trying to help but now i look like a jerk

Don't feel bad. You're not a jerk. It's a really interesting subject, and I'm glad you brought it up.

It's actually this topic that brought me here. It's planks that are the scarce item on my farm, and I wondered if I was just unlucky, or if planks were rare throughout the game.

I stumbled on a thread where people were complaining that planks were so common they were sick of them, but panels couldn't be found anywhere! :D

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Originally Posted by Ranger3399

God i feel like a jerk for starting the controversy there... I was just trying to help but now i look like a jerk

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I don't think you look like a jerk at all. You were being honest. Bolts generally trade at a higher ratio in the marketplace here. Everyone is free to trade how they wish, but I've been trading a while & that's the trend I, and many others, have observed. I've had conversations with other traders here about it. The trends fluctuate, but generally bolts trade at 1:2, sometimes as high as 1:3. And I don't think that anyone is being a jerk by posting their ratios. If you don't like it, move along. Trade with someone else.

It's rude for new people to come & jump on other people for their ratios, claiming hoarding & conspiracy theories. But that is what I've observed happening. It's just ridiculous. Simple supply & demand economics drive trading. No one is intentionally hoarding bolts to create demand. If the supply or demand changes, then the marketplace will change.

Perhaps bolts really are scarcer here. That is a possibility. Could be a small sample size fluke. Could be that the people at this site are not typical of all players. For example, most people here speak English, and I would guess that Americans are over-represented here. Maybe bolts are scarce for Americans, but common in Russia or Japan. That would probably work, because the RSS system allows people to buy and sell all over the world, even if you speak a different language.

But the number of bolts, planks, and tapes has to be the same throughout the game. If it wasn't, we'd seen the more common items sitting in stands until Greg bought them, or people paying a diamond to get rid of them and free up a slot. They'd be worse than bacon and eggs.

I think the evidence suggests that what's reflected in the other posts in this thread is correct. Every farm has some items that are common and some that are rare, and it's different for everyone. I get about 10 bolts for every plank. For some, it's the reverse.

My guess is it depends on what server you connect through. I started a second farm on a new tablet, basically to see if I'd get more planks there. Nope. The ratios are the same. Tons of bolts, hardly any planks.

However, judging from the various threads out there on the net, it changes. People who have tons of bolts today may have tons of planks in a few months.

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Originally Posted by Janilee

Perhaps bolts really are scarcer here. That is a possibility. Could be a small sample size fluke. Could be that the people at this site are not typical of all players. For example, most people here speak English, and I would guess that Americans are over-represented here. Maybe bolts are scarce for Americans, but common in Russia or Japan. That would probably work, because the RSS system allows people to buy and sell all over the world, even if you speak a different language.

But the number of bolts, planks, and tapes has to be the same throughout the game. If it wasn't, we'd seen the more common items sitting in stands until Greg bought them, or people paying a diamond to get rid of them and free up a slot. They'd be worse than bacon and eggs.

I think the evidence suggests that what's reflected in the other posts in this thread is correct. Every farm has some items that are common and some that are rare, and it's different for everyone. I get about 10 bolts for every plank. For some, it's the reverse.

My guess is it depends on what server you connect through. I started a second farm on a new tablet, basically to see if I'd get more planks there. Nope. The ratios are the same. Tons of bolts, hardly any planks.

However, judging from the various threads out there on the net, it changes. People who have tons of bolts today may have tons of planks in a few months.

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I don't think it depends on where you live. I think it's pretty random. Materials that farms receive fluctuate occasionally. There's an old thread on it somewhere. Everything depends on the person's farm. Players have no way to control it. But the best way to determine if your farm gives out one thing more is through wheating. Most players I've talked to say their farms are heavy on a couple items.

The forum actually has members from around the world that post here. I've talked to people in other parts of the world here that I would have never conversed with otherwise. I love it! :)

The powers that be (Supercell) that created the board decided that the forum would be in English, not the posters. They could have made it any language they desired, I'm sure.

I get as many bolts as I do tapes from my farm drops. I seem to get about double the amount of planks than I get tape and bolts though. To the question 'are bolts rare' I say - no. Have you considered that it is just the majority of the people that trade on this forum have bolts as their 'weaker resource' ? Yesterday I found a roadside shop selling 40 bolts, maybe we should ask him if bolts are rare?

Along with Confucious, I shop a lot looking for bem and sem etc. I see a very equal quantity of bolt - tape - plank, same for silo items. I agree with him that they are not rare and should not be traded 2:1. I think the rate has to be equal amongst all the players as a whole, otherwise the game would not function and people would be trading 10:1 for bolts. I think that people have a right to trade 2:1 if they really want, but I choose not to accept these conditions usually. I believe that 1:1 for all barn items is 'fair'. I offer 2:1 silo > barn because your barn needs more attention in later levels.

Deeds. I know we are discussing bolts here, but people discuss deeds like they are rocking horse sh*t. I get about 30 of them from harvesting my wheat per day, along with 20 mallets, and 10 stakes. Just sayin'.

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Originally Posted by AceSe7en

I get as many bolts as I do tapes from my farm drops. I seem to get about double the amount of planks that I get tape and bolts though. To the question 'are bolts rare' I say - no. Have you considered that it is just the majority of the people that trade on this forum have bolts as their 'weaker resource' ? Yesterday I found a roadside shop selling 40 bolts, maybe we should ask him if bolts are rare?

Along with Confucious, I shop a lot looking for bem and sem etc. I see a very equal quantity of bolt - tape - plank, same for silo items. I agree with him that they are not rare and should not be traded 2:1. I think the rate has to be equal amongst all the players as a whole, otherwise the game would not function and people would be trading 10:1 for bolts. I think that people have a right to trade 2:1 if they really want, but I choose not to accept these conditions usually. I believe that 1:1 for all barn items is 'fair'. I offer 2:1 silo > barn because your barn needs more attention in later levels.

Deeds. I know we are discussing bolts here, but people discuss deeds like they are rocking horse sh*t. I get about 30 of them from harvesting my wheat per day, along with 20 mallets, and 10 stakes. Just sayin'.

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Haha well if you have so many LEMs feel free to share;)

Probably which items you value most depends at least partly on what level you're on. I've noticed lower level players frequently assume LEM are the rarest and most valuable. They are often very surprised that not everyone agrees.

I could see the same thing happening with SEM. I'm at around 1000 each now for barn and silo, and it's been a long time since I've had a full silo. The barn is another story.

Really, the main reason I want to expand my silo is to get the SEM used out of my barn. I should probably just sell the SEM. I can't bring myself to do it, but I bet some players do.

And I am definitely the proud owner a bolt farm. Did some wheating just now, and got an axe, some dynamite, and 3 bolts. Planks are an endangered species.

The idea that globally all items are distributed equally makes sense. and further, the idea that trading 2:1 reinforces hoarding or artificial scarcity is valid, to a point. But in the end, the practical outcome is I have extra tape and I need more bolts.

For me, at least, I don't mind trading 2:1 for what I need. If I have 60 extra tapes and I can trade them for the 20 bolts I need... I don't really mind. I get the items I need, and I don't really care what happens to those tapes, you know? I didn't need them, and I'm better off by the end of the trade because all the extra tapes in the world don't help me until I get the bolts too.


Sure, I might be able to find someone willing to trade with me 1:1. But it's a matter of deciding how long I want wait for the next upgrade, or how long I want to spend farting around in the trade thread, getting KIK reply after KIK reply saying "Sorry, trade was already completed!". If paying extra virtual tapes saves me real life hours, then I'm gonna do that.