Mall Rivals price helper

The in-game selling-price panel already shows base cost, a dollar field, and presets. This helper exists for the moment you are in wholesale with a calculator brain and no overlay. It will not scrape 1.0’s daily demand. Recheck market in the mall every morning, as the pricing guide says.

The three numbers

Write them from the overlay:

• C — base cost (what you paid).
• M — market (what the mall thinks today).
• P — your tag (what you confirm).

Trailer soccer ball: C = $22. Ike sports example: C = 41, M = 99, P = 95. Your SKU will not match those; the method will.

Presets that match the UI

The overlay buttons are 0%, +10%, +25%, plus custom.

Button	Tag if cost is C	When to use
0%	P = C	Dump, end of day, selling the unit
+10%	P = C × 1.10	Safe default when you have not seen M yet
+25%	P = C × 1.25	Only if queues still form and M is higher
Custom	You type it	Undercut a rival by a few dollars

If M is $99 and C is $41, +25% of cost is only $51.25 — still far under market. Do not confuse “+25% of cost” with “+25% of market.” The panel is cost-relative in the footage we have. Always glance at M before you brag about a 25% button.

Undercut math without ego

If a rival’s tag is R:

• P = R − 1 or R − 2 on round dollars is enough to steal wanderers.
• P = M is the lazy fair price.
• P > M needs attractiveness, variety, or a shortage event. Comeback banners will tell you if the mall is desperate.
• P < C is a fire sale. Fine before a store sell at 50%, bad as a lifestyle.

Bulk round-to-dollar is for after a vendor dump. Round, then re-check hero SKUs by hand so you do not round a $2 undercut into a tie.

Worked examples

Sports ball. C = 22, M unknown. Set +10% (24.20, round 24). After the first peak, if they still buy, walk toward M. If nobody touches it, you are not “premium,” you are ignored. Drop toward M, not toward 0%, until you know it is a dead SKU.

Fashion SKU. C = 41, M = 99. P = 95 as a small undercut. If a rival goes 89, answer 87 or walk away and sell a different line. A race to 41 is how two Sports shops die in FFA. The planner exists so you are not in that race.

Shortage event. M spikes. Raise P toward the new M. This is the one time greed is correct. When the banner dies, cut again or you will own a museum.

Fees that eat margin

A corridor fine of $224 on a $22 ball means you just donated ten sales. Bribes cost more. Wages are a daily leak — employees. If P − C cannot cover wage share, the SKU is decoration. 1.0 store stats will tell you if people even came for it.

What this helper refuses to do

• Predict tomorrow’s demand graph.
• Auto-price your whole store. The bulk button is in the game; use it there.
• Tell you to open Electronics. That is the tier list.

Write C, M, P on paper or a second screen. Confirm in the overlay. Esc if you are still on the register PIN pad. Then go haul the next box. Math that never becomes a tag is fanfic.