Common Markets: Just a losing proposition? (Golden Rainbow)

I'm looking over some recent purchases made for supplies by some of my corporations and I see things being bought at very high quality levels which obviously increases the price of each unit:
Price Paid: 1,665 SC$ Contract 562 SC$

I've got the auto settings set to buy at 100% quality level for my corporations however it must not be factored into common market contracts, or the products are all higher than that and so Im paying more for that which lowers the corporation profits each month.

While Im okay at local market contracts since it's just passing around my own corporations money between corporations and eventually coming into my country as excess, it seems to me that being part of a common market and even with a low 20% being required, that at this point it's just a losing proposition to be in a common market.

I'd like to hear other peoples opinions on the matter before I go and leave my common market.

Thanks

Common markets are losers for supplies. You overpay for quality you don't need.

They have some redeeming qualities. Money making is -not- one of them. I use them primarily to keep a steady supply of military goods coming into my countries during the months that I'm not there to manually put in buy orders for gear. The equipment costs more but it beats getting nothing because I wasn't at the keyboard.

I'm pretty sure you get a small common market score added to your country score, too.

Eh, screw CM. I have my economy completely CEO controlled, with the exception of a few strategic and plutonium corps. Contracting the plutonium to those strategic corps alone is enough to send my CM score through the roof, even when I import stuff.



Review the trade statistics of this country.
Common Market Score
Traded Amount Total Amount Traded % Earned Score
Local Market
Import 6.60B SC$ 192.67B SC$ 3.43 % 17
Export 6.60B SC$ 6.60B SC$ 100.00 % 500

Common Market
Import 0.00B SC$ 192.67B SC$ 0.00 % 0
Export 0.00B SC$ 6.60B SC$ 0.00 % 0

International Market
Import 186.07B SC $192.67B SC$ 96.57 % -97
Export 0.00B SC$ 6.60B SC$ 0.00 % 0
------------ +
420.56 <--My total CM score, without being in a CM

CMs are useless. Just privatize your economy with the exception of maybe a couple of corps, and just contract the corps to each other. You'll get a nice score boost with a fraction of the economic burden of a CM, because CEO corps apparently aren't counted in the calculations.

Also, you can join a very large CM, which will inevitably have an approximate percentage in trading with the CM through world market trading. Not to mention it helps with communication! :D

>420.56 <--My total CM score, without being in a CM

yes i did this, it is sweet. brings your country score up a lot.

however, joining a common market gave me another 200 points, and lowered my negative for the international market.

The thing with the Common Market is that you must NEVER offer or accept contracts in the CM. Just remember that when you join one.

I think being part of the CM you have to offer at least 25% of your production to the CM.

CMs can work. If quality actually did something they could be better then the world market.