Purpose:
The Crystal Exchange (CX) was established to make the swapping of Octec crystals easier by providing a central repository of crystals of all types with a free (no fee, few limits) swapping policy. A single point of contact reduces the difficulty of locating the types of crystal you need. The founders were Jia and HachiRoku (as far as I know), though custodianship has now passed on to others.
Policy:
The CX will swap one-for-one any open crystal or IOU scrip. When stock in a crystal reaches 5, the crystal is closed until stock recovers to 7. The current closed crystals are listed on the guild info text (/info Crystal Exchange).
The CX only does swaps and will not accept resources for crystals. There is no reservation system - swaps are made on a first come (ie. contacted an elder and started running, not first to the branch), first served basis.
Crystals may be deposited at the CX and an IOU-1 scrip will be issued, which may be redeemed for any open crystal. The number of IOUs issued is balanced against the number of crystals so it is always possible to redeem an IOU for a crystal in the event of a collapse. If there is a collapse in the system, all IOUs will be redeemed for crystals, notwithstanding the 5 crystal limit. The crystal chest is viewable so that the contents can be checked against the mint.
Locations and contacts:
The main CX is located at
Liberty bridge, RP (1358,3929) and mainly run by
FaceAnkh and homegrown (appointments required for HG since she lives 40mins run away - currently away due to RL). There is also a branch in CCR, run by Tamutnefret. The nearest megaloppy is Keyhole Lake, about 10mins run away.
Active Elders in the CX: FaceAnkh (RP), Tamutnefret (CCR), Hirokache (VoK).
General comments:
To improve everyone's chances of getting the crystals they need, it helps enormously if people deposit their crystals. Otherwise there tends to be a shortage in a couple of crystals for a week or two, then a shortage in a different couple.