I've found that helpful information on appraising, buying, and selling items in this game is severely lacking, so I hope that this guide can help direct new players through some of the more confusing aspects of working at Darcy's. Note that this guide is not intended to provide hints or instructions on the story or lore-relevant characters. In addition, the information here is almost entirely based on personal experience. Please comment with any other tips or strategies that I have missed.

NOTE: Much of the strategy around pricing and selling involves taking percentages of an item's value. As such, you will find it extremely helpful to have a calculator on-hand while playing.

Appraising an item is mostly the simple matter of correcting the information given in the value cards. In my experience, much of the difficulty in this part of the game comes from ambiguity in the manual or in the explanations given by characters. I'll run through some of the more confusing aspects of this mechanic.

• My rule for judging condition is that if the dial is overlapping the yellow face more than a little, the item is in Fairly Damaged condition. On the other hand, the item is Valueless whenever the dial is to the right of the line in the center of the gauge. See the image below.
  
  
  The manual says that there is some ambiguity in the condition; what this means in practice is that you can mark some items as Slightly Damaged even if they are slightly into the Fairly Damaged area. You can go about as far as the upper image in the Fairly Damaged category in the image. In fact, if you mark the doll in that picture as Slightly Damaged, the purchaser will remark that he doesn't think the item is only Slightly Damaged, but he'll still buy it.
  
  You can do this with any item that is just barely in the Fairly Damaged category. This is worth it since you make a higher profit on Slightly Damaged items.
  
  (The reason I don't just include things as damaged as the doll in Slightly Damaged is that there's a particular Everbrown wooden clock that is in that grey area between Slightly and Fairly Damaged. Annoyingly, the game is suddenly very strict about the distinction - that clock is Fairly Damaged.)
  
  
• Some brands mention an item's poor durability and direct you to use the Potential Garbage card. This card should be used only if the item is in Perfect or Slightly Damaged condition. If the item is in Fairly Damaged condition, do not use the Potential Garbage card, even if the manual directs you to.
  
  
• Sometimes, an item may have multiple qualities that direct you to use different Popularity cards. For example, a hoverboard may have a page saying that it is Popular (+20% value), but it is also signed by a person who is Narrowly Popular (+10% value). In this case, use the card that is related to the signature.
  
  
• Some items have been used by real-world famous people and thus have a great deal of additional value. These items come with a description certifying that it was used by that person. In this case, the Signature Detector will show you a signature that doesn't match anything on the list, but *do not* use the Unidentifiable / Fake Signature card. Just use the Great Figure in World's History card.
  
  
• An item's slogan can be incorrect due to a word replacement or a typo. For example, SAS watches have the slogan "SAS, proudly from Mindlesia". Fake SAS watches may have slogans "SAS, lovely from Mindlesia" or "SAS, proudly from Mindlessia". Remember that every branded item needs a slogan (except for Everbrown products, as noted in the manual). If a branded item has no slogan when moused over, it is fake. In addition, note that capitalization does not seem to count for the purposes of determining whether a slogan is fake.
  
  
• Aside from Incorrect Slogan, there are four other cards for identifying fake branded items. "Incorrect Year" should be used on RealBird and Vertivo hoverboards that are dated from years that those brands did not produce a new hoverboard model. "Incorrect / Missing Verified Signature" should be used on Emeralds of Oz and Queen of Hearts jewelry that have missing or forged signatures from their respective jeweler as mentioned in the guidebook. "Incorrect Gem" should be used on Emeralds of Oz that do not have emeralds, Queen of Hearts that do not have rubies, or Gretel's made of Cubic Zirconium. "Incorrect Material" should be used on any branded item that is not made of a material specified on that brand's guidebook page. Be cautious - a watch made of an material not mentioned on its page may actually be a collab with another brand (Casual Catastrophe for SAS and Ben Brown for ChirpLight). In this case, use the appropriate collab card instead.
  
  
• The Brand Eraser card should only be used on genuine branded items that have some quality that cannot be expressed through the given cards. Jewelry that has one or more missing gems must get this card. You must sometimes manually look at the item to determine this. Missing gem sockets are typically the only way to tell that this has happened.
  
  In addition, the Brand Eraser card should be used on items that the brand in question does not normally make, UNLESS the manual specifically states that the brand makes limited editions of such items. For example, gloves made by Async Await or a badge made by SAS should get the Brand Eraser card, since there is nothing on the brand pages about these products. However, a tie made by bag brand Easy Enough should NOT get the Brand Eraser card, because its manual page states that such an item is just a limited edition. As such, this item should just get the Limited Edition card.
  
  If you use the Brand Eraser card, do NOT use any cards that the item's brand page directs you to.
  
  NOTE: When appraising items that deserve the Brand Eraser card, there is a very frustrating occurrence that I'm fairly certain is a bug. If you're dealing with a standard customer (see below), when you present the Brand Eraser card, they will react by saying something like, "I knew you'd say this, but it's not a fake." When this happens, instead of adding the Brand Eraser card, the item's brand will be replaced by the Not a Knock-Off card. This is what you want to happen.
  
  However, if the customer is not a standard customer, they won't apply the Not a Knock-Off card. Depending on their type, they'll just accept or reject the Brand Eraser card. Even if you put the Brand Eraser card in your private slot, the Not a Knock-Off card won't be applied, thus making the item deemed as incorrectly appraised.
  
  My solution: if this happens, either reject the item entirely or restart the day.

When you begin a new game, you'll be told that you should offer customers 70% of an item's appraisal value. In general, though, you'll be able to make purchases for less - sometimes significantly less. The key is to identify what sort of customer you're dealing with, which can be determined by their reactions to the appraisal. I've made up the following names to help you in this process.

Standard Customers

The majority of customers you'll deal with fall into this category. They will react positively when you use cards that raise the item's price and negatively when you use cards that lower it, but they'll always accept any (correct) information. Once you're done with the appraisal, begin by offering 60% of the appraisal value. Sometimes the customer will just accept this value, especially if your appraisal raised the price of the item. On the other hand, a customer whose item was worth much less than expected may ask for the exact appraisal value.

If the customer does not accept the appraisal value, they may either simply ask for a better price or give an exact counter-offer. If they ask for a better price, try raising to 65%. I've found that rarely, a standard customer will repeatedly ask for a better price than your offer, doing so between three and five times. They will stop somewhere between 70-80% (this seems to vary). If you give enough offers that they dislike, they may either unhappily accept your latest price or walk away with their item. In this case, there's not much to do but raise the price in steady increments.

If the customer counter-offers, offer exactly the midpoint between your previous offer and their counter. For example, let's take the woman who sells you the Mona Lisa on day 8. After appraisal, we find that the value of the item is 798V (though this may differ depending on your Attractiveness reputation). I offer 480V, and she counters with 70% of the appraisal value, or 558V.


At this point, the best move is to offer the value exactly between these two prices - in this case, 519V. As far as I can tell, customers who make counter-offers will always accept this midpoint value. (Round up if this process would result in a decimal value.)


Poor Listeners

These customers can usually be identified by how they offer a price the moment they enter the shop. From there, they will react like Standard Customers until you point out a card that will lower the item's price. At this point, they will angrily reject the card and say something like, "What? I can't hear you. Just give me (some amount of money)." They will still happily accept cards that raise the item's price. If you wish to make the purchase, you have no choice but to place negative cards in the private slot. Unless there is a serious issue with the item, however, you will still probably be able to make a profit from selling the item. On the bright side, I've found that these customers are willing to accept a fairly low price for the item as long as you haven't angered them too much. Offer 60% of the appraisal price (the one that doesn't factor in negative cards). They should accept the offer and say "Bye" or "Make it better next time".

Fearless Customers

These customers appear beginning on day 11. They will always be wearing a Pre-Avarice Criminal Badge, and will usually comment on it, stating that they now have nothing to fear, or that you look so pitiful locked behind your desk. During appraisal, when you use any positive or negative cards, they will respond with something like "Whatever" or "You're the judge". The reason that you'll love these customers is simple: they'll accept any offer that's at least *20%* of the appraisal value. Even if you offer less than 20%, they'll just counter with the 20% value. Cherish these customers - they'll give you enormous profit margins on their items.

Frightened Customers

Like above, these customers begin appearing on day 11 and always wear a Badge. They'll usually say something paranoid when they walk in about anyone being outside the shop windows. You can identify these customers by their reaction when you use a positive card on their item. They will state that they do not want their item to be worth any more than necessary. Do not use more than one positive card - this will cause the customer to leave the store. Instead, just keep these cards in your private slot. They will accept any negative cards you use, so feel free to present those.

Sentimental Customers

When these customers walk into the store, they'll state that they don't want to sell the item but were forced to by a family member. The appraisal will be uneventful, but they become very annoying once it's time to offer a price. If you offer two prices that they deem too low, they will immediately leave the store. The percentage that they'll accept seems to vary, as I've had offers of as much as 90% of the appraisal value rejected. You don't have many chances, so I like to offer 85% and then 95% if that doesn't work. You won't make much profit off of these customers, but it's still worth it to buy the item.

Fixies

These customers begin appearing on day 21. They'll usually just state directly that they are Fixies, but they can be identified otherwise by their lack of reaction. When appraising their item, they will refuse to accept any subjective information, meaning that they reject any cards with a blue corner. All correct green-cornered cards will be accepted, but blue-cornered cards must be put in the private slot. If there are more than two blue-cornered cards, you'll have to either refuse the sale or accept that you'll lose some Expertness reputation when selling the item. After you make an offer, they'll counter with around 70% of the appraisal price. It's no use arguing with them, so just accept this offer.

Thieves

These customers begin appearing on day 26. They will always say that the item they offer is not theirs, or that its owner no longer needs it, or something along those lines that indicates that they stole the item. If you purchase the item, its owner will always enter the store several days later demanding it back. If you do not comply, you'll invariably get reported. As a rule, just reject these customers as soon as they're finished talking. If you're going to do business with any of them, make it the customer on day 26 who brings the Lonely BESCH Watch, since that thing is worth a fortune and may very well be worth a report.

Once you've purchased an item, you should consider whether it would be best to immediately put it on the showcase or save it in your inventory. There are several reasons for holding onto an item:

• Items in Fairly Damaged or Valueless condition can be repaired beginning on day 9. The cost of a repair varies depending on the value of the item, but is always at least 50V. Items in Valueless condition will take an extra day to repair, but this doesn't raise the repair price. A good rule to keep in mind is that repairing a Fairly Damaged item will double its price, meaning that repair is worth it as long as the item is worth at least 50V in the Fairly Damaged state.
  
  NOTE: After you repair an item, it will receive a "Repaired Item" card that says "Not appropriate for repair, auction, or recommend." It's true that you cannot repair the item again or offer it in the auction house, but you can totally recommend repaired items. For everyone except club members, the Repaired card is meaningless. See the Recommendations section below.
  
  
• Signatures that lower the value of an item can be erased by Bohko beginning on day 8. His service always costs 15V per signature erased. This is almost always worth it unless the item is especially cheap. NOTE: items cannot be individually selected to be erased, meaning that Bohko will offer to erase every item in your inventory with a bad signature. This includes items of Great Figure in World's History value, even though erasing these signatures is pointless. To force Bohko to erase only the signatures you want him to, just press the lock icon that appears when you mouse over an item. Bohko will ignore any locked items.
  
  
• Certain items should be saved to be sold to club members. See Recommendations for more information.
  
  For items that are ready to be sold the usual way, it is possible to sell them for slightly more than the appraisal price. I like to start with 110% of the appraisal value, rounding down if necessary (so an item worth 28V will be offered for 30V, and an item worth 880V will be offered for 968V).
  
  Some customers will not accept this price and will give a counter-offer. Taking this counter-offer may be worth it if you need money immediately, if it only lowers your price by a couple of Vanas, or if the item in question is time-sensitive and needs to go as quickly as possible. Usually, though, I deny these offers, because eventually a customer will show up who is happy to accept the 110% price.

Items that occupy the large "Recommended" slot in your showcase will affect and be affected by your Wittiness skill. It is in your interest to build your Wittiness skill as quickly as possible.

There are certain qualities that cause you to gain or lose Wittiness after selling an item in the recommended slot. Fake branded items and other cheap items with no interesting qualities should not be placed in this slot. On the other hand, high-quality branded items, items with signatures of popular people, items with Archaeological or National Historical value, and items made of expensive materials or gems are great candidates for the recommended slot. As your Wittiness skill grows, you will have to become more picky about the items you display in this slot. For example, a Fxxx Fxxx bag will raise your Wittiness skill if you have 3%, but will lower your Wittiness skill if you have 23%.

You can build your skill quickly by placing nothing on your showcase except for one item in the recommended slot. This will cause any buying customers to only ask for this item, and when you sell an appropriate item in this slot you'll gain 1% Wittiness skill. Selling an inappropriate item in this slot will cause you to lose 1%. You can sometimes sell a mediocre item in this slot without losing or gaining any Wittiness, but this seems to get harder as your Wittiness increases.

Once your Wittiness skill gets high enough, members of Mindlesian clubs will begin to ask for items with specific qualities. There are four clubs in total.

• The first, the Graphology Club, will come on the 6th day and then every Monday from then on. This club member will ask for an item if your Wittiness is at 5% or greater; otherwise, they will leave and try again next week. (I'm fairly certain that the game prevents you from getting 5% Wittiness this early; if this is true, the first day you can actually sell to them is the 11th.) You can sell them any item with a non-fake signature.
  
• The second, the Mindlesian History Club, will come on Friday the same week as your first sale to the Graphology Club. (So if you sell to the Graphology Club on the 11th, the Mindlesian History Club will appear on the 15th.) If your Wittiness is 10% or greater, you can sell them any item with National Historical value.
  
• The third, the Art Club, will come on Thursday the week after your first sale to the Mindlesian History Club. If your Wittiness is 15% or greater, you can sell them any piece of art that is a Fine piece or better.
  
• The fourth, the Archaeology Club, will come on Tuesday the week after your first sale to the Art Club. If your Wittiness is 20% or greater, you can sell them any item with Archaeological Value.

These club members are willing to pay significantly more than the appraisal price for these items. Generally, you can offer around 150% of the appraisal value. The club members usually say that this price is high, but they will accept it. They will accept repaired items, but they will accept a fairly lower price of about 125% of the appraisal value. As long as the item gains enough value from being repaired, though, this will still be worth it.

As such, it's in your best interest to offer club members very expensive items to get the greatest profit. In the early game, it's a good idea to hold on to one or two expensive pieces of art (worth ~3000V) for this purpose. Also hold onto any National Historical items you can, since these are fairly rare and you'll have nothing to offer the club member otherwise. After meeting with a club member, Darcy may come in and offer to bring you some items that they'd accept for a fee. This is never worth it - the items Darcy brings are terrible. Just save expensive items with signatures, National Historical value, and Archaeological value.

Besides club members, certain special customers have specific limits for how much you can offer when recommending them an item. The women who ask for a "Not a Knockoff" item (which happens three times) will pay 125% of the appraisal value. The man who wants to be fixed and asks for anything worth 1500V or more (which happens twice) will pay 200% of the appraisal value.

Thank you very much for reading this far. I plan to update this guide once I have performed more testing or if I realize that I forgot to add something. Please leave thoughts or your own tips below.