As you can see in block 27407018, SmartMonsters sends 1,281.314 STEEM (at that time worth $1000) to buy 575 packs (500 regular + 75 bonus):
A couple blocks after, in block 27407022, SmartSteem gets its Merchant Bonus of 128.131 STEEM (at that time worth $100), exactly 10% of the funds sent to purchase the packs:
That means they sent $1000, got back $100, so it cost them $900 to buy 575 packs.
Dividing the cost by the amount of packs gives: 900/575 = $1.565/pack. Selling at $1.60 gives them $0.035 per pack sale.
For smaller pack purchases, their profit margins only go up of course.
Wow. You did a great job explaining. I like the work you did. Thanks for taking the time.
I do happen to think that's a smart business strategy of them. And I am inclined to hold to my original position still, but this is interesting information, and I'm willing to hold off judgment until I see what they actually do.
OK. I've modified my opinion. If you read my comment on down the page, you'll see that I may actually agree with you, at least when it comes to the commission, if not with other items as well. They are basically behaving like a wholesaler, and as a general rule, wholesalers are not allowed to undercut their distributors. These types of contracts have different terms than the public. So, yes. You are right. A merchant commission should have terms and MSRP regulation, for several reasons, including artificially monopolizing the market, and artificially deflating the product value.
So this is what I came up with. Again, not an expert. Just finding out what I can. Let me know if this is what you were getting at.
Imagine how much you could accomplish building things, instead of finding reasons why something is unfair.
And by the way - if we bought 575 packs while STEEM is at 40 cents, sell only 100 and then price spikes to 60 cents and we sell the rest of them, we've just made a huge minus. Unfair, right?
That is something to consider...