Might have to try that difficulty toggle. I realized later that it's easier to get them to classes than it is to train them myself at first, but you miss out on leveling your own skills that way.
Huh. I figured it was a charm issue, but for some reason I just couldn't sell them no matter what outfit I put them on.
Pretty sure it's not a matter of despair. Especially on easy. Good to know about about the indication of how many points each punishment/reward gives out, though. (Although reading back I didn't realize punishment more than once a day could cause despair, either.)
I tried my hand both at Guild contracts and trying to sell them to businesses and/or random people in the different districts. Contracts are way more straightforward, though you do get a bit of crunch thanks to the time evaluation. Selling slaves to repeat customers (like the real estate office) requires rank C- slaves, which I can train, but it does take a while (and again, I do so at a loss). As for the random peeps, I seem to be having issues mostly with meeting charm requirements.There's definitely a lot to the game but once you get used to how things work it becomes very manageable. It's just a learning curve to get there.
So normal (and especially easy) makes things simple by giving you a large sum of upfront cash to play with which means you can take your time learning. Even if your first few slaves are sold at a loss, it's not the end of the world. What's important is you start to feel more comfortable with the training process first and foremost.
To start with, unless you're using drugs, alchemy, magic, or a slaver with very high starting skills, then nearly any girl you start off with is going to have a fair bit of rebelliousness to her in the beginning. That begins to improve as she develops habit, taming, and awareness which basically means you need to have a little bit of patience in the beginning. You set your rules, try to find things she's willing to do, and punish her for the things she's not. Trying to do too much too soon such as multiple repeated or particularly brutal punishments can create issues with depression and risk mental breaks, suicide attempts, or attempts to kill you in your sleep so again, it's better to do things gradually... At least while you're still learning. Don't expect her to become obedient or willing to do sexual things with you in the first few days.
When it comes to making them presentable, honestly I think you're overthinking it. Buying them certain clothing can help with their mood, or with training specific skills, but for most low level slaves you won't need to do much more than give them a full treatment at the spa which will raise their charm high enough for you to satisfy the requirements for most sales. If you're trying to sell exceptionally high quality slaves in the A or S ranks then finding ways to increase your style and charm become more important.
Which begs the question, what quality slaves are you attempting to train for at this point? And how are you planning to sell them? To a specific buyer? At auction? Guild contracts or subpurchaser? It'll be easier to give you more specific advice when I know what you're trying to accomplish.What rules have you been setting for them? What techniques have you been trying that haven't been working out for you?