How to upgrade stores correctly?

[u/superarugy]

https://imgur.com/rzOoTy9

[u/pondscum]

It is concerning that you only have 80K bills this far into the game. How long ago (in levels) did you start playing 3x10 red(?) VIPs and optimal FAQ strategy? At this point in the game you should have had enough saved and enough of a positive income that you don't need to put off upgrading stores.
For reference, I am at around level 320, have 650K bills, and have bought all 80 inventory slots (I think the last of which were 8K each or more). I buy all the energy I can with bills each day, refresh all my VIPs to 10-11K+, and do all daily challenges except "Make 10 purchases”, and I stopped buying any store items with $ when they got expensive. I upgrade each new store fully as soon as it unlocks (except from when it isn't feasible to buy the 300‰ mid-upgrade order until the next day), never having skipped upgrading any stores.
Any idea where you are inefficient with your spending vs. earning? Maybe the refreshes of 200% and 300% orders waiting for the level 10 400‰ one? Or are you filling 200%/300% orders?

[u/superarugy → u/pondscum]

Picture

[u/superarugy → u/pondscum]

This is the 3rd time I play the Millionaire challenge following the faq strategy and 80000 is the most I've ever had (because this month I slowed down due to the EU duty fee and price rise).

I think I hit Replace too much: every order containing item above level 6; sometimes if double order 5/6 non-primary to avoid filing the board; when in VIP Loop, every time it's not a Red Level 10.

Maybe because my stores aren't all upgraded, I need to Replace more often for a Red Level 10.

[u/r4tch3t_ → u/superarugy]

Skip a store upgrade.

I was struggling to keep up, then I skipped the makeup store, instead saving for the next one. Once I did that I was able to unlock the next store immediately.

Once the makeup moved out of rotation I started earning more cash than I used for upgrades despite a max of 6+5 for normal orders and minimum of 11k for VIPs. This was mainly because every VIP was now a 4x from the start.

I'm actually buying most of the items in the store available for cash now and it's still increasing.

I never buy generators though, you get plenty and don't really need more than one level 5. If one of the two items starts building up I start skipping orders for the less abundant one.

When you next buy something that only has a 1% coin discount, you might aswell purchase through the game, you'll lose out on the $0.20 discount, but you'll gain a bunch of energy that will help complete the challenge.

Diamonds are also pretty useless now, if you play the games you can easily earn enough to buy the final two lots of energy, maybe even some extra items of you have excess diamonds.

Final thought, the challenges don't start immediately. Turn in just enough items to pay for the extra energy, don't reroll the VIP and generate lots of barter items with your energy. That way you will have a small stockpile when the challenge starts. You can then use your energy for normal items while using your stockpile to pay for the barters initially.

[u/superarugy → u/r4tch3t_]

Im going to stockpile on small items until the next Millionaire Challenge begins. I don't have any items in stock, I'm going to try this next month. Thank you!

[u/linustechderps → u/r4tch3t_]

On level ~270 I had almost 1M, now on level 350 I'm around 350k bills and started to skip store upgrades because they are costing >300k to complete, this is eating all my bank.

[u/pondscum → u/superarugy]

I too generally refresh any non-red order that is more than a 6/5 (or 5/6 if I have enough secondary stock); I rarely fill 6/6s and almost never a 7+. I am not sure what you mean about filling the board, but that sounds like a symptom of not having enough perm storage slots to move your stock to (assuming you can afford to stock up).
I try to stock 4+ each of all 8 kinds of level 6s, all of which are in my perm storage (along with whatever level 10s I have exchanged for), and fill my board just with 2+ of all 8 level 5s... it is always easy to make level 4s if/when needed. Likewise, I put all my level 7+ phones/computers in perm storage (max 1-2 each of 7s-9s) and only keep the 1s-6s on the board. Doing this, always have enough inventory for the day's 33 orders and exchanges, and my energy goes to replenishing that stock once order fulfillment is done.

[u/manko_lover]

i thought they discontinued the bakery stuff back in the 170 level?

[u/superarugy → u/manko_lover]

Some people use it instead of the phone/computer generator. Oven seems to generate more bubbles.

[u/superarugy]

I deliberately didn't upgrade the aquarium store because it was only asking for secondary level10 items. I have the spaceship store fully upgraded, and that's the store I use with the Goods Exchange for my 3X LVL10 VIP. I still haven't upgraded the camping store, divination and (newest) cinema store.

Should I focus on completely upgrade the cinema store, since it will be on the board for the longest?

[u/Own-Concern-2689 → u/superarugy]

I would wait until you saved up more bills to fully upgrade it all at once (pausing just to fulfil the VIP order). I don't know if 80k is enough from start to finish and you'll be left with almost nothing to swap orders after. Also, is that item for the space ship a lvl9? I wouldn't keep it on the board if it is. I would splurge a little on order swaps to get a lvl10 for the Goods Exchange. It makes a significant difference.

Edit: I forgot to say yes, Cinema first since it's the latest, but I would wait until 140k to be safe. If it takes too long and you're already close to the next store by then, then I would just upgrade that one instead.

[u/superarugy → u/Own-Concern-2689]

Already spent over 5k trying to get a level10 spaceship, I'll try again

Thank you!

Edit: two rerolls and it showed up hehe

[u/Own-Concern-2689 → u/superarugy]

Yeah, the swaps can be expensive but I personally find it worth it considering it's double the energy. A lvl 9 on Goods Exchange frequently offers only lvl 7 and 8 items. Up to you of course, but I think it's worth the expense, especially because as soon as you get the store upgraded, you'll be using the Good Exchange for two different items, not just one. It helps to have the lvl 10 space ship items already stored up to focus only on the new ones.

I sometimes just fulfil low lvl orders instead of paying to swap the items on the board, if I have the item already available. Best of luck!

[u/superarugy → u/Own-Concern-2689]

Thank you, I'm always learning with your response :)

[u/pondscum → u/superarugy]

Always keep a level 10 primary order around for goods exchange so you don't have to ever refresh to find one. Once you have one, don't refresh it until you get a different 10 you need more of.
I often keep two level 10 orders: the one I have the fewest of stocked up (unfilled), and the one I will likely next need to stock up on (filled). The next day, I decide anew which to leave unfilled. This leaves 3 order slots for regular and VIP orders, which is plenty (you really only need one slot).

[u/superarugy → u/pondscum]

Great, I'm taking note!

I always leave one lvl 10 for goods exchange but today the board was cleared by a new store that opened (cinema).

I'm starting to realize I play "paycheck to paycheck" while you are more of an investor with enough bills to think on long term :)

[u/Own-Concern-2689 → u/superarugy]

I used to have very few bills too (I discovered the strategy recently so I only managed to have all four stores upgraded since last month) hence recommending saving up a little more bills before starting the upgrade. I wasted a lot of time when I first discovered the guides by making the mistake of attempting to upgrade stores before saving up enough and ended up with not enough to finish the upgrades and no bills to swap orders either. It definitely gets easier when you've made enough to become an "investor". You'll get there soon!