What Do You Think of ESO’s Trading System?

kargen27 · December 2025

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

Artanisul wrote: »

kargen27 wrote: »

Soarora wrote: »

I wouldn’t care if we keep this system or get a centralized system, though a centralized system would suck for trade guilds… but also would drive people to join more non-trade guilds. Main thing is I wish we had a sanctioned crown:gold conversion marketplace like other MMOs.

At this point a centralized system would be a disaster. There is a lot of players sitting on 100+million gold and they could easily manipulate the market on high end items. You also have the problem of players being able to see prices and undercutting on common items.
Common items prices would drop and rare items would shoot up in price. Had the game started with a central system maybe it would have worked. The system we have has created entire guilds that are built around trading as an end game activity. Changing it now would cause some of those players to leave the game.
The downside of changing is far greater than any upside. There could be some tweaks to what we have now. I would like to see a central board in each zone that lists items for every trader in that zone. No prices would be shown and you would need to go to the trader to purchase. That way players just wanting something and not worried about price can go to the most convenient location. Players wanting a bargain are going to have to hop around from trader to trader. Flippers can still flip.

The point you make here is only possible because the system wasnt fixed a long time ago.

The malicious people (the organized crime syndicate that has it now) WOULD do that to the system. Starving them out with reposting fees is the only way the market would recover for sure. They can do this because the keys to the market were handed to them over the years.

Neutral dealers would be very helpful. Caps on prices would be helpful.
RIght now on PC NA prices are so high for things that we just play like there is no Market. The game gains nothing from the current system, just the Mafia Guilds.

I've been trading for a very long time and prices are not high now. They were high before we had the ten year anniversary events that over supplied the market but were already beginning to correct before that hit. There is over 200 trader locations in the game. No syndicate or mafia is able to control the market. At best they maybe can control a few key locations. Other MMOs I've played that have a central market have had problems with a group of individuals controlling prices on certain items. A central location makes in much easier to do than the system ESO has in place.
Switching now would make what is a problem in other games much worse here. Also still have the problem of prices bottoming out for common and semi rare items. That is where most new players start making their gold and that opportunity goes away with a central system.
We have problems sure but a few well placed tweaks could make trading much better. The economy is vibrant, strong and flows well based on supply and demand. All it needs is a bit of quality of life consideration.

Nomadic_Atmoran · December 2025

Too much running around, blind bidding, and reliance on add‑ons.

Unfortunately this forum is always going to skew in the direction of supporting the nonsense that is guild traders. Youre not going to get an insightful look into what the community thinks of the system from here. The supporters will definitely try to convince you theyre the voice of the many though.

SerafinaWaterstar · December 2025

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

So, if I say I am happy with the trading system ‘nonsense’, then apparently I am some sort of shrill that doesn’t know what I am talking about, and my opinion is not valid. Ok.

Trading is not difficult. 3 of my social guilds have small traders from donations, and they sell stuff.

If the OP was not able to work out what many others have & do weekly, then rather than start some sort of crusade, might it not have been best to ask? Could have done it here or on other platforms; or even Googled it.

To change the current system to a central one would take time & resources better used elsewhere in the game.

Gabriel_H · December 2025

Rufusstan wrote: »

What about the game is improved by not having an auction house).

A reason to visit zones.

Varana · December 2025

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

Nomadic_Atmoran wrote: »

Unfortunately

this forum is always going to skew in the direction of supporting the nonsense that is a global auction house. Youre not going to get an insightful look into what the community thinks of the system from here. The supporters will definitely try to convince you they're the voice of the many though.

SilverBride · December 2025

It’s clunky, but I’ve learned to live with it.

In real life if I am looking for something in particular I am not going to drive around town going from store to store until I find one I like. I am going to go to my favorite online shopping site, find what I want there then order it and have it delivered. It's not surprising that players would like the same convenience in game.

Vaqual · December 2025

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

SilverBride wrote: »

In real life if I am looking for something in particular I am not going to drive around town going from store to store until I find one I like. I am going to go to my favorite online shopping site, find what I want there then order it and have it delivered. It's not surprising that players would like the same convenience in game.

Yeah that is what the medieval fantasy setting needs, online shopping and Wall Street.

SilverBride · December 2025

It’s clunky, but I’ve learned to live with it.

Vaqual wrote: »

SilverBride wrote: »

In real life if I am looking for something in particular I am not going to drive around town going from store to store until I find one I like. I am going to go to my favorite online shopping site, find what I want there then order it and have it delivered. It's not surprising that players would like the same convenience in game.

Yeah that is what the medieval fantasy setting needs, online shopping and Wall Street.

It already has it. It's called the Crown Store.

JeroenB · December 2025

I don’t trade enough for it to matter.

After some consideration I voted for "I don't trade enough for it to matter", but that's not quite right for my situation. Rather, I have little desire to engage in the 'trading game', I just want to be able to feed my unneeded drops into the player economy for some change rather than vending or destroying it.

Acting as an infrequent buyer, the trading guild mechanism is of course inconvenient, but for me that is outweighed by it being interesting. To me, it feels fitting for ESO's world more than globally unified or faction unified auction house NPCs would.

What I'm missing is a way to feed my drops into the player economy without having to join a Trading Guild. Perhaps more importantly, without having to bother with the pricing-guessing and unsold-items-management-game. General inventory management is already enough a waste of playing time in this game.

I do not think ZOS will ever change anything, but speculating for the fun of it, my proposal would be:

a merchant guild NPC that all players can sell tradeable items to at a dynamic, system-determined price;
a merchant guild auction house that player trading guild representatives can bid to buy those items from;
the player trading guilds can then include those items in their stock to sell back to players via their trading NPC.

This would give non-trading guild players an optional way to feel engaged with the player economy, feed more items into the player economy, and open up a whole new optional aspect in the 'trading mini-game' for players who enjoy engaging with that part of ESO.

Northwold · December 2025

ESO needs a universal auction house like other MMOs.

JeroenB wrote: »

After some consideration I voted for "I don't trade enough for it to matter", but that's not quite right for my situation. Rather, I have little desire to engage in the 'trading game', I just want to be able to feed my unneeded drops into the player economy for some change rather than vending or destroying it.

Acting as an infrequent buyer, the trading guild mechanism is of course inconvenient, but for me that is outweighed by it being interesting. To me, it feels fitting for ESO's world more than globally unified or faction unified auction house NPCs would.

What I'm missing is a way to feed my drops into the player economy without having to join a Trading Guild. Perhaps more importantly, without having to bother with the pricing-guessing and unsold-items-management-game. General inventory management is already enough a waste of playing time in this game.

I do not think ZOS will ever change anything, but speculating for the fun of it, my proposal would be:
a merchant guild NPC that all players can sell tradeable items to at a dynamic, system-determined price;

a merchant guild auction house that player trading guild representatives can bid to buy those items from;

the player trading guilds can then include those items in their stock to sell back to players via their trading NPC.

This would give non-trading guild players an optional way to feel engaged with the player economy, feed more items into the player economy, and open up a whole new optional aspect in the 'trading mini-game' for players who enjoy engaging with that part of ESO.

I like this I think it's a good option for squaring the circle in terms of the selling gate.

frogthroat · December 2025

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

I like the scattered guild stores around Tamriel, and hunting for good bargains. The only thing that I would add to this would be a centralised in-game listing of items and their locations. I currently use TTC for that, but it would be great if it would exist in the game itself.

KalevaLaine · January 24

ESO needs a universal auction house like other MMOs.

Edit

Ingenon · January 24

It’s clunky, but I’ve learned to live with it.

I play on PS/NA. This year it is much better than last year, and every other year since I started playing. Because PS/NA now has an add-on that shows min, average, max prices for items and it is based on guild trader listings from PS/NA. Yes, I know that PC has something better and has had it for years. But I am still grateful that now I have some idea what to list stuff for, and what to pay for stuff, without having to travel to multiple guild traders and search for stuff using the not great game UI, and write prices down on a scrap of paper, and ...

Sorry. It's much better now. Still clunky, because I still have no idea where the items are available for sale that the add-on is showing me prices for. On PS/NA, the add-on only shows prices, not where the item is.

Oh, and on PS/NA there are still guilds that do not charge required dues, are accepting new members, and have a trader most weeks. At least on PS/NA, if people are not participating in the trading system, I believe that is their choice. I also believe that with the add-on that we have now, participating is not that hard.

ivaylo.krumoveb17_ESO · January 24

Too much running around, blind bidding, and reliance on add‑ons.

Roses were there for ages. Before that they were in Windhelm. They are legitimate trade guilds. Being a long time resident of Riften i'm not pleased with their assortment of goods as well, but there's nothing ZOS can do about what people sell in the stores.

SaffronCitrusflower · January 24

Ah, another attempted push for a central auction house.

The horse is dead. No reason to keep whipping it.

Varana · January 24

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

KalevaLaine wrote: »

I searched for another topic in general, maybe it was called: is ESO's trading system run by the mafia?

Couldn't find it, so I hope it is okay to share this here - today in Riften I found this Traders... Just look at the pictures, all the same kind of name, just with different seasons, all with a minimal - nothing items in stock.

...

@ZOS_Kevin Could you pls check this out?

These guilds have been around for a long time.

Unfortunately, many trading guild really struggle these days. What you're seeing are the effects of the game's diminishing population and changes that hurt trading.

Also, what's that question supposed to mean? Guilds spending millions on a group of traders without benefits... yeah, very mafioso. Because a mafia is a professional money-burning association, or what.

Also, I find tagging ZOS with baseless accusations about other players, is probably a reportable offence.

AlnilamE · January 24

The system is fine as is, I enjoy the hunt and guild dynamics.

Furyous wrote: »

Radiate77 wrote: »

Add-ons have destroyed the uniqueness of our trading system.

Why stop at every trader when you can shortcut to the best prices and ignore the rest?

Exactly, let’s make it “immersive.”
If you need a chair for your house, you should be forced to learn where all 288 traders are and stop at each one to see if the chair is being sold there. And of course, you would need to visit all 288 just to be sure you are not getting ripped off by the first one you find.

Then comes the best part: once you finally track down the cheapest price, you go back to that vendor only to discover the item has already been sold. So you get to start the entire process all over again.

For perspective, even if you could port and check each trader in just 2 minutes, that is nearly 10 hours of real time to cover all 288 kiosks. That is 10 hours you will not spend questing, running trials, or actually decorating your house, because you are too busy playing “Around Tamriel in 80 minutes” on repeat.

Or you could decide how much you are willing to pay for the chair and then buy the first one you find that is in your price range.

That's what I do with motifs and plans that I still need. Just check the traders I run across as I'm playing and buy stuff as I go. And check my four guild stores from the bank.

Kallykat · January 25

Small guilds and casual players can’t realistically participate.

I've been playing the game for almost ten years, and it was only a couple years ago that I finally attempted to sell anything at a guild trader. The system is confusing and not explained well in the game. I remember being really surprised and put off when I figured out that you were forced to join a guild if you wanted to sell anything to other players. The amount of fundraising and work guilds have to put in in order to make a profit from traders sounds exhausting. When I finally attempted to use a guild trader through a more casual guild, the results were underwhelming. My inventory is crammed with style pages I don't need which sell for 0 gold at a vendor, and I would like to just make a small amount of coin on them or other items I come across while playing. As a buyer, I will usually check the guild traders of the city I'm in first, and if I don't find what I need or the price is too high, I either have to use an out of game source (TTC) or forego purchasing the item at all. All of this has created a situation in which I have rarely interacted with the trading system in almost ten years. I don't understand why this system is so complicated and inconvenient. It's as if the developers want to push people away from it.

I understand that there are some people who make a lot of money working the system, and I know there are trade guilds that put a lot of effort into what they do. I'm not necessarily advocating for scrapping everything and starting over with one auction house (although I do think I would prefer that). I just think we're kidding ourselves if we can't admit that this system needs some work. Even most of the people who utilize it the way it is now have a list of wishes for improvement. All I'm saying is that while ZOS appears to be intent on overhauling systems at the moment, they should really put this one on their radar.

Jestir · January 25

Too much running around, blind bidding, and reliance on add‑ons.

I could see it where the current systems stays but there is also a universal trade system that can pull from all traders but with a BIG %+ as a convenience fee from using it