Are scraps profitable?

Right now I’m saving up scraps for all the super expensive items that have no purpose and can only be obtained with scraps. But if you instead traded scraps for the lower tier items each relicker can grant, is scrap collection actually a profitable use of actions? As opposed to just directly grinding for the items you want.

Generally, the answer is on a sliding scale of no-ness. The basic rule of thumb, born from the assumption you’re going for the top-teir, is a certifiable scrap is worth just under 50 pence- since its value in the highest cash-in is 1562.5/3200, or 48.8 pence, less the value of the action spent.

So, lets look at the others. I’m assuming they’re all built about the same, so feel free to check my work with other relickers. maybe one of them has some amazing option that the others don’t.
Capering relicker:
Souls: 5 scraps for either 25 or 100 souls, at even odds. (unprofitable, even without the cash in action in the equation. 2.5 echoes for 10 scrap, on average).
Amita Sherry: 15 scraps for either 80 or 20 sherry, at even odds (10 echoes for 30 scraps on average)
Brilliant Souls: 30 scraps for either 42 or 10, at even odds. also has a rare success for an extra 2.5 echoes, but i’m assuming it’s so rare you can call it irrelevant. (26 echoes for 60 scraps, on average. closest you’ll get to good profit for a while)
Muscaria brandy: 100 scraps for either 20 or 5, at even odds. (62.5 echoes for 200 scraps, on average. a downward spike in scrap value.)
Brass Rings: 120 scraps for 3 rings. (37.5 echoes for 120 scraps. exactly as bad as its predecessor, assuming you don’t need the rings for some specific purpose- like feeding to players through knife-and-candle.)
Brass Skull: 160 scraps for 1 skull (62.5 echoes for 160 scraps. actually not terrible. still worse than souls, but if you need a night whisper or parabola linen, it’s a card based grind. When done with 3 or 4 card lodgings, it is 54 actions per whisper or fabric.)
Coruscating soul: 680 scraps for 1 soul (312.5 for 680 scraps. other good profit option. 45.XX pence per action.)
Fancy 3200 scrap option.

So… Yes, if you want parabola linen- it doesn’t exactly have a lot of sources- and yes, if you want night-whispers specifically, and don’t have a truckload of expedition supplies with bold watchful or better, or the patience/utter zen required for fidgeting writer. Otherwise, it’s just a way to dispose of scraps you aren’t using, if you’re planning on ignoring scrap cards in future. If you aren’t? Go for the fancy item.
edited by Grenem on 6/16/2016

There’s also to keep in mind The Lofty Tower card. Should you succeed, you receive 4 scrap and 2 echoes. So yes, scraps will almost always be the last place you’d want to look for a profit and is mainly used as a way to gain rare items and various supplies. However, should you ONLY used the Lofty Tower card and succeed the Persuasive check most of the time, you’re basically earning a fair sum of money while also grinding for scraps to trade in for free items to sell later. Not a good or stable way to get money, but it does end with a profit nonetheless.

Yes, well, that one’s kinda obvious. I assumed that anyone who considered dropping the others based on the relative uselessness of scraps would keep doing that one for the 2 EpA, and I wouldn’t need to mention it. The ones i’m mentioning are the ones that might be worth doing, or might not.

Besides The Lofty Tower, the only other scrap option I consider unambiguously profitable (ie will continue doing after getting all relicker items) is the option unlocked by one Blemmigan Affair ending on the Constables card. It gives 2.5? scraps on average as well as a load of Proscribed Material scaling with watchful. I’m not sure what the average there is but it seems incredibly good in my experience.

If you do this, remember to sell off the Proscribed Materials as you go (assuming you’re not trying to save them for Connected:Masters.) When you have at least 100 Proscribed Materials, an Opportunity Card will be added to your deck, which dilutes your deck and reduces the chance of drawing the Lofty Tower card.

I’ve already unfortunately purchased all the cheaper lodgings, good and bad. Is it worth collecting all the 4 card lodgings? I already have the bazaar shop and brass embassy suite, and was going for the Royal Bethlehem next.

They give more scraps for your action, so I would say they’re worth it.

They are also more frequent

which is a good thing if you’re a dedicated scrap collector, and a bit of a nuisance if you’re a semi-dedicated one, and a terrible thing to inflict upon yourself if you have no interest in scraps. Choose accordingly.

which is a good thing if you’re a dedicated scrap collector, and a bit of a nuisance if you’re a semi-dedicated one, and a terrible thing to inflict upon yourself if you have no interest in scraps. Choose accordingly.[/quote]
It’s a really good thing if you’re playing Knife & Candle (when it’s not on hiatus, of course)