 5 Ways to Stay Entertained While Restocking
by dottie27a
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Restocking. To some people, this simple word can bring a smile to their faces and neopoints to the bank. To others, they tremble in fear and think of that r99 they let slip right through their fingers. Wherever you fall on the spectrum, whether you are a seasoned shop-sitter or you have tried it to just to see what all the fuss was about, you know that restocking takes time. And, unfortunately, most of that time is downtime. You could be spending your time getting beaten to the cheap items in a fast shop like Magic or Stamp, sitting there staring at the same rows of items waiting for anything good in one of the slower shops like Battle Magic or Neopian Petpet, or even staring at the clock waiting for 7 minutes to pass in the Almost Abandoned Attic. I have found the art of restocking is finding the perfect balance between refreshing like crazy Erick (yes this is foreshadowing for number 1) and avoiding getting, brace yourselves, shop banned. The words alone can send a shudder down the most seasoned restocker's spine. To help you perfect your balancing act, I bring you a list of the 5 best ways to spend your time between restocks!1. Get your 'quest on
I'm going to let my neo-age show for a minute. Back many, many years ago the restocking system was a little different. Every shop had the chance to restock every minute, on the minute! This made downtime very easy, as you had an entire minute to do whatever you wanted! One of the favorites was to play either NeoQuest or NeoQuest II between restocks. While the system has since changed, the idea remains the same: questing through the ancient lands of Neopia and visiting wizards, archers, and evil monsters is a surefire way to enjoy yourself while waiting for your items to appear in shops. With these quests come the chances for neopoints, great items for beating the games, and even trophies to show off on your user lookup! 2. Become a card shark
In the land of Neopia, there are a seemingly endless array of games to play and master. One of my favorite style of games is card games! Thankfully there is no shortage of interesting and challenging card games in the world. You have Pyramids, Go! Go! Go!, Tyranu Evavu, Sakhmet Solitaire, Scarab 21, or even Round Table Poker! These games are great for restocking because the rounds do not last a long time, and they are not so difficult that you will lose your place if you switch back to refresh your shops. It gets even better, because these games all have great trophies you can earn that will show up on your lookup! It is a great way to multi-task improving your account while waiting to make some more neopoints. There's really nothing bad about this way to pass your time while in the shops. 3. Snipe some deals
What is the main reason you are restocking? Maybe you find the competition exciting, maybe you are hoping to score that rare collectable you do not want to pay full price for, but most likely the real reason you are restocking is to make a profit! This makes sniping between restocks a great idea as you can continue making neopoints. What is sniping you ask? There are two main types: auction snipes or user's shop snipes. The main idea is the same, however: buy an item for a discounted price so you can sell it again for profit! Learning to snipe in auctions well can take a lot of time and skill to master, but if you do the profits are seemingly endless! The more familiar you are with a multitude of items and kinds of items the more likely you are to succeed in auctions, because you never know what will show up for sale! Sniping user's shops relies on your use of the Shop Wizard (or maybe the Super Shop Wizard if you are a Premium user!) to find popular items users put in shops for under 100,000 neopoints. Often these items are hard to sell items that users put in their shops hoping to make a quick sale, so if you are able to invest and wait a little while, the profits will easily add up! 4. Do something in real life? I guess?
To be honest, this one rarely crosses my mind when I'm restocking, but some people put this one to full use! Reading is a great way to be productive in the real world while waiting for items to stock! This is a great option if, like me, you normally use restocking to procrastinate doing homework or studying for an exam. Set up a system where after you read a full paragraph or after every math problem you refresh your shops. In no time you'll be finished your work and hopefully caught a few items as well! Note: I am not responsible for your ability to retain information studying while also focusing on restocking. This probably isn't the best study method, but it's better than not studying at all! And really, who wants to study anyway. Other options, which I often choose, are to watch your favorite television show or begin a new one (there are some great ones out there to binge watch!), or put on your favorite cd and have a dance party! Whether it is embarrassing or not, I can pretty often be found sitting in my desk chair flailing (I'm not a great dancer) to the beat of my current favorite song! 5. Make new friends
Option 5 is by far my favorite option: make some new friends and chat away the doldrums between item stocks! The restocking community is incredibly nice, helpful, and an interesting bunch of Neopians. Check around the various Neoboards and you will find a different grouping of people on each board, all working together to keep up the energy and momentum so everyone can restock effectively and hopefully get some great items. You will meet new people from all walks of Neopian life, with different interests, goals, experiences, and insight to share. After chatting for a few days, you will have a great batch of best Neofriends to share in each other's restocking triumphs and support each other through any hard times. Everybody needs some great friends, especially friends with a little healthy competition so that everyone can reach their goals together!
There we have it! My top 5 ways to not only keep yourself entertained during your long hours of restocking, but also ways to make more neopoints, improve your account through achievements, and most importantly make your experience in Neopia richer through cultivating friendships with those around you. I wish you all the luck with your restocking goals, and hope you grab that item you have been hoping for!
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