Insimenator.org

This area will answer questions associated with The Sims 2 Open For Business Expansion Pack, also known as EP3.
 
You'll often see it referred to as simply OFB throughout the site and elsewhere.

There is.  Find it here (http://thesims2.ea.com/update/?pid=Help_patches)

In OFB you have some new skills that come with some new concepts.

  Badges are awarded in three grades for proficiency in these areas.

  These areas are:

• sales
• flower making
• robot building
• toy making
• restocking
• cash register
• cosmetology

They each come in a bronze, silver and gold level.

When you are setting up your first business, money can be an issue.

 Home-based businesses are probably the easiest and cheapest way to get a business going.

  That said, if you are going to be setting up a business that requires a skill from one of the new crafting stations, it may be worth the wait (if you have to) to buy a community lot first.

  Time passes differently in OFB on community lots than it ever has before.

  Very simply stated, time doesn't pass at all!

  Although your sim can not acquire the regular skills (cooking, creative, mechanical, etc.), the skills for robot building, flower making, cosmetology or toy making can be developed on community lots (as well as the rest of the new OFB skills).

 True these can be developed at home too, but not without the time penalty.

  Items can be crafted on a community lot, and skills gained, and you can even begin selling them right away as your crafting sim gains the skills to get badges.

  Whichever you choose, start small.  Build up your sales skills by pricing items low enough that they sell, but high enough that you can build up your sales skills.  If they sell too fast it will take your sim more time to get the sales skill badges.  Too high and nothing will sell.

Use the For Sale Tool to price items.

See the screenshot for where that is located.

When you are setting items up for sale you need to buy them in wholesale mode first.

  The wholesale mode toggle looks like a padlock.  

  Items that can be purchased to be put up for sale will appear highlighted in yellow in the catalogue.

  The screenshot shows you where the padlock is and gives you an example of some highlighted items.

You can set custom prices for anything in OFB.

  By default, career camera pictures will only sell for 1 or 2 simoleans unless you change it by setting a custom price.

  Click on a photograph you wish to sell to set it for sale using the pricing tool.

  Now click it again and choose customize pricing.  It's over on the right side.

  In the screenshots you can see where I have changed the value from something ridiculous to something that might even bring in a little money.

You can set prices at for everything at the cash register.

  Note that if you do that, any custom prices you have set (as with the photographs I just told you about) will  go back to the default.  It's best not to use that if you have any custom prices set.

  You can set a "price of type" to set prices for all similiar items (including photographs).  Use this if you have pictures to sell and they will all now be sold for your new custom price as long as you set that.

The easiest way is simply to buy a lot big enough to include the Maxis rotating display(s) and start selling your cars.

  If you prefer a more realistic looking setting, you can drop a whole line of cars down on your lot by purchasing them and using the MoveObjects on cheat as you place them to your liking.

They will restock from where you place them, just as you would restock any item.

  An even more realistic approach might be to use both the Maxis display and the line of cars together.

   Contrary to what you might have heard elsewhere, you can use the Maxis display and custom cars.  Click on the car before you place it on the display if you have to.  It'll go right on then.

  Note that in order to buy cars you'll have to use the wholesale pricing mode (see post 6).

Consider having one sim in your neighborhood get the gold robotics badge.

  Have that sim make a community lot business.

  Now have that same sim make a servo, or two (number doesn't really matter).

  Have your sim place those servos for sale.

  Have the sim close the business before ever selling a servo.

  Send that sim home.

  Once home, stop playing that sim.  Save.

  Go to a sim family now who you want to own a servo.

  Have them visit the new lot and buy a servo or two.

  Repeat the last two steps as many times as you'd like.

  This can be done with any item... flowers, paintings (one of a kind!), photos, ... or anything.

  You can supply a whole neighborhood with only one sim having to get a badge, and using only a limited number of items.

  You might change your mind about doing this later, but it is a quick way to spread things around in a new neighborhood.

Every time non-owning sims visit the lot the stock will be replenished every time.

Note that if the sim owning the business opens the business and begins selling items, he will have to restock.

Some businesses don't rely on merchandise.

  These businesses are best run selling tickets from the ticket machine.

  A business where sims play games with one another might be good for this.

  You'll have other ideas as you play.

This can be a little confusing.
 
The Real Estate Office is nothing more than a community lot building.
 
You don't even need it to sell real estate.
 
To sell real estate all you need to do is price the deed for sale.
 
You can sell it from a community lot or even from a home business lot.
 
Look at the deed in the screenshot. It happens to be the deed for the Real Estate Office.
 
It could be any deed though.
 
To sell it, all you have to do is remove it from your sim's inventory and then price it for sale with the pricing tool. You coud have any number of deeds for sale.
 
Remember that if a sim you play buys the deed, that sim will own the property now.
 
If a townie should buy the lot, you get the money for the sale, but the lot immediately becomes available for purchase again.