I've got a few more questions regarding the new warehouse stuff if anyone can help...
Thanks in advance.
1, if I buy a warehouse can I use it in a solo lobby to grind money? --------------No
2, I'm sitting on 2.5 million at the moment, is it worth spending it on a warehouse and will I be able to earn it back quickly? ------- Maybe. To cover the cost a large warehouse you're going to have to turn it over 3+ times. After several hours I was *nearly* ready to turn it once, but then the value of whatever remaining cargo you have is reduced. (The more crates in the warehouse, the higher the per-crate sale price is).
3, in public lobbies do you lose money if other randoms destroy your cargo? ------Yes, but you can often spawn into your 'own' public lobby.
4, Basically is it more hassle than it's worth? ------- Probably. Doing a Sightseer/Mission alternating grind is still more profitable. Details below.
Here's the basics.
The more crates you have in your warehouse the more each sells for(they all sell as lot, though). - A little odd with regards to 'buying in bulk' principles.
The more crates you purchase at a time the more they cost, and correspondingly; the less profit you make.
For example, 1 crate costs $2k, 2 crates costs $4k, and 3 crates cost $18k. Keep in mind the more crates you have the more they sell for, so if you're in it to turn your warehouses over quickly this is the way to
go, although profits will be lower per crate.
You can lose crates to other players, blowing them up yourself, etc. I've yet to have any 'get away' but I suppose it's possible. I've blown one up and lost my $18k, though.
Your warehouse can be raided by NPCs, which most reports are that 3 crates are stolen if they succeed. You are notified, and apparently if you reach the warehouse being raided in time it's like a gangfight.
As for profitability, it depends. Doing the fastest method buying 3 crates at a time; filling a large warehouse will cost you $666k and take an estimated 6-7 hours to fill. You *might* be able to do it in 5 hours, but your efficiency is at the mercy of R* as certain pickups are more complicated/time consuming than others. I've yet to completely fill one, but if rumours and extrapolation are to be trusted it is looking like ~2.1-2.2mil in gross sales. Call it 1.5mil profit for 7 hours, without considering ammunition/Pegasis/Lester and all the other nickel and dime stuff. Figure maybe 200k net profit per hour if you filling large warehouses. This is all assuming you are quite efficient and have other players to speed up buying 3 crates at a time. If you do it alone 1 at a time, you will make more profit but take a LOT longer. Are you a day trader or looking to play long?
As well, throughout this process you make nothing as CEO, and in fact only spend money to fill your warehouses between buying crates, Pegasis, Lester, Dying, etc. You also assume some risk in being raided and/or having the crates you 'bought' stolen or destroyed. I use quotes on the 'bought' portion, as I think the implication is that you are buying leads(which explains the higher price for the bigger catch) as to where the merchandise will be to *steal*. Much like Simeone's repossessions, if you were 'buying' stuff from the Lost or similar they wouldn't be attacking you for stuff you paid for.
IMO and IME, the old Sightseer/mission alternating grind is better for immediate cash. I will have to turn over my warehouses about 9 times before I break even on the warehouse and office costs alone. I haven't upgraded my delivery vehicles, so that number could potentially increase. I expect that it will be WEEKS before I make a profit, but I have a cool lounge to hang out in that is now filled with furs, pills, coke, gold, counterfeit cash, cash, guns, champagne, cartons of cigarettes, etc. Lastly, the 'associates' only get their periodic salary like VIP(although it's $10k once you complete 10 buying missions) whereas with sightseer everyone gets paid at the time of completion. As such, I will gather 3 packs of crates when others are around, but I expect that primarily I will slowly fill my warehouses picking up one at a time going forward when I'm alone. FWIW, I bought my 'Lounge' without much anticipation of doing CEO activities but rather as another place to relax in style. However, after trying some of the stuff it's not terrible and it is something new to play with. Like most of R* updates, in short term the update is designed to be a net loser for players' accounts unless you grind the snot out of it. Like the VIP and previous they released it such that you can easily spend $20mil and you'll be playing for months to recoup it. I've spent somewhere around $17mil on this one and haven't bought a single one of the new cars yet.