asg/Noxxy, Have you guys noticed a change in the price of masters since the research assistants went in?

Also, I tried the shard thing a couple of weeks ago and it didn't work. I had the person put in less shards than what was required and it wouldn't work. if they had enough in their inventory it would take whatever else it needed out of it, but if they didn't it just wouldn't work. Have you tried this recently and had it work? If so, what's the trick?