SOME BASIC TIPS ABOUT TRADING

1. Traders are NOT Shopkeepers!

   The main difference between a Shopkeeper and a Trader mob is that Traders don't buy and sell things for gold coins. Instead you give the merchandise to the trader, and get Tradepoints and/or some other item in return.

2. Never give a mob an item that it didn't ask for.

   If the mob is a Trader, they will most likely give it back, drop it on the floor, or even refuse to take it. But if it's an ordinary mob, it will just keep the item, and you'll have to kill or steal to get it back. And if it is a shopkeeper you'll be in trouble, since most Shopkeepers are unkillable. The easiest way to determine if a mob is a shopkeeper is to type LIST. If you get the response 'You cannot do that here', there is no shop in the room.

3. Always talk to the mob before giving out any items.

   This is the easiest way to determine what it wants. Most traders will react to the word 'Greetings', or any of the dimensional greet phrases. Some of them will also react to phrases like 'What is wrong?' or 'Do you need help?'
   In many cases the mob will react to the approach by giving you a list of requirements, or even a business card. Otherwise you need to pay attention to what the mob says. Keeping notes is a good idea.

4. The Trader may not always want the same item.

   Just because you have traded with a mob before, don't assume that it will necessarily want the same thing the next time, or give the same amount of Tradepoints for it. Some of the Traders, for instance the Innkeepers and the Carpathos Traders, will always pay a fixed price for the same product. But quite often the reward from a Trader for a specific item will drop drastically after the first delivery.

5. The price may not always be the same.

   Trading is defined by supply and demand, and many mobs will ask for new things after each delivery. They might accept the first product you gave them again, but if they do, it's usually to a much lower price. Usually they will ask for a new product instead. Also you might get a different price for the same product from different Traders.

6. Don't try to cheat the Traders.

   Don't try to get advantages by using charmies to do the delivery. The Traders react very badly to this. Not only will they slay your minion - (and in some cases you to) - on the spot, but attempts like this will keep you out of some very profitable trading opportunities.

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MORE ABOUT TRADING

Some people seem to have a natural knack for trading. There is nothing supernatural about this, it has just got to do with collecting information and keeping meticulous notes.

Normally success in Trading is decided by three factors;
the value of the merchandise,
the supply and
the demand.

Value

The value of a product can be increased by upgrading.
To take a simple example: Any kind of grain can be ground to flour in a mill.
Grapes and olives can also be pressed into wine and oil.
Even though you can trade the basic products in a few places, naturally the flour, wine and oil will fetch a better price than the grain, grapes and olives.
Flour, wine and oil, together with various other things, can also be the ingredients of things like potions, pastries or snacks, which in turn will fetch a price that is substantially higher than the separate products combined - IF you find the right buyer.

Supply

Usually there is a limited supply of all natural assets, both in time and place. You may have to wait a long time for some of them to respawn, people may be hoarding others, keeping the supply down. The more people hunting for the same things, the harder it will get, naturally.

Generally you cannot trade any kind of 'organic' material (like food or drink) from one Dimension in another. The Timewarp will destroy these products, rendering them useless. There are a few exceptions to this, but those should be self explanatory. Items like logs and minerals can be traded in all Dimensions.

Some products, like grain, grapes, olives or goat milk, could be found on almost any island.
Others, like seafood and eggs, are easy to collect, but have to be used before they decay.

Certain products or raw materials, for instance some of the potion ingredients, could also be hidden, hard to find, or only be obtained in rather remote or dangerous locations.

The harder an object is to get, the higher the value of it, generally.

Demand

The normal price on a product is of course set by what the buyer is willing to pay.
Quite often the price decreases by repeated deliveries. In some case, but not all, the original higher price will reset after the game reboots. In other cases, there may be a repeatable chain of trades, that must be done in the right order for the prices to stay high.

Different buyers might also offer a better or worse price for the same product. There is usually just one way to figure out where you get the best price - by trial and error. And, in addition, players could be willing to pay more for certain products than the Trader mobs.

The best example of this mechanism is the Cos potions. These are rather special potions, which are either more effective than similar potions available, or do things that potions not normally do (like for instance a full mana or move restore).
Each potion/pill has 6 ingredients. If you collect those and give them to the right Healer on Cos, they will reward you with 8 Tradepoints plus one potion, which you in turn can use yourself - or trade to someone else. There are lots of people in need on the islands, who all will pay well for these potions.
There is also a travelling salesman, from which you can buy the potions. Like most travelling salesmen, he'll rip you off, however. His potions cost you 20-30 TP each, while the current 'normal' price for most of those potions among the Trader mobs lies around 8-10 TP.
However, since the potions are rather attractive to players too, you might be able to find a player who, rather than collecting the ingredients himself, will pay you a bit more than you can get from the Trader mobs, perhaps 15 TP.
So would this be a good deal? Maybe, but trading is not always as simple as that.
Trading a potion to a certain mob might be only the first step in a chain. Once a confidence has been established, they might ask you to provide other products - things that potentially will yield a much higher profit. This doesn't always happen, however, so again a bit of experimenting is necessary.

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