[Art of Exchange]

[Empress of Neon]

[The Fundamentals]

Dear Reader,

I am Isabella Fitzgerald.

When I first came to Ephia's Well, I was a lowly scavenger from the dunes with little more than the shirt on her back and a handful of dinars. Within a week, I was a self-made voiced. How?

It wasn't through mercenary contracts.

It wasn't through begging or politics.

It was through trade.

Trade is the gentler of roads for those seeking prosperity and wealth. Done right, you may continue to enjoy the safety and comfort of the Citadel's walls and enjoy an affluent lifestyle lawfully and harmoniously. Although the most successful merchants will recognize the value of traveling to foreign markets, this simple beginner's guide should help you get started; be you a new refugee or simply a well-to-do aspirant coming of age.

The fundamentals are as follows:

1. Research: You will not succeed as a trader if you do not get a feel for the market. What's in demand, what other merchants are charging for their goods and how scarce the supply thereof actually is. Knowing the market is critical to your success as a trader. If you're being out-priced or sitting on goods that will never sell because the demand for them went with the season, you'll find yourself worse off than you began. Be thorough and don't be afraid to 'browse' at your competition's stalls.

2. Value: Understanding the value of something is not simply guessing how much you think it's worth. It's understanding your customer. A vial that might boon one's muscles will always be more valued to a warrior than, say, a mage. Just as a scroll you might find in your inventory is worthless to said warrior, but might hold significant value to that wizard you were ready to wave off. Be ready to haggle with people based on what you garner from them. Read them, their bearings, their professions. If you can, read their purse to. Someone with little to their name will be much more apprehensive to spending any significant sum than someone with more dinars than what they know to do. Knowing the economy, your customer's purse and the true value of your goods will help you find that sweet spot in getting the best deal.

3. Encouragement: Simply put? Encourage your buyers. List your prices, instead of them assuming the worst, especially if you're trying to undersell your competition.  Someone who knows you're selling cheap is much more likely to buy than someone who thinks you're going off a standard market value. You might think you're losing out, and you are, if you're selling rare and exotic goods. But if it's a commonplace market item, then the best option for you is to beat your competition to the needs of your customers. Remember, volume of sales is nothing to scoff at when engaged in trade. 10 brooches sold at 30 dinars will always yield more than the one or two sold at double that price. Be sure you're the one to get the business, rather than going without any at all. It also helps build a good relationship with your customers, who know they can rely on you to supply their needs. You will find reputation is a value in itself when it comes to the bargaining table. Especially when a promise is kept.

4. Buy Low, Sell High: It's the most basic aspect of commerce. If someone is trying to sell you something, make sure to incorporate research and value into the bartering. Haggle if you must, but never let the prospect of losing out on a deal in stock cloud your judgement. The 'buy it now or lose out forever' approach is a trick many other traders will employ to create a sense of urgency. Whatever you buy, however much thereof, make sure you are able to make a profit (however meager) in your calculations. Remember also that some goods, even when they're priced lower, may not necessarily be worth their weight or effort in reselling. 50 dinars spent on an item you can only sell at 60 in any feasible rate may not be worth the time or effort, if you do not already have a buyer lined up. Negotiating bulk deals is a wonderful offset to this rule, if you can afford it.

5. Patience: Be patient. You may feel as if you're losing on the trade for a time when you buy new stock to keep your business going, but that's simply the investment you need to put into the trade to keep it growing. You must buy in order to sell, and it's in these moments you may find yourself discouraged to keep going when you see how few dinars you had actually made after sales and cost to upkeep the business make themselves known. Don't give up; and remember that as new opportunities emerge that are low risk, financially sound and following the rule of buying low for a higher sales margin, you always have a chance to expand your business insofar as you use good judgement and common sense.

6. Beware Cons: One thing I've seen far too many times in Ephia's Well (and beyond) are well-to-do tradesmen getting swept up in 'opportunities of a lifetime' and being financially ruined for it.  Someone who comes to you with a business opportunity that seems too good to be true is likely trying to take advantage of you. This is not so easily defined or identified as, say, a raw deal, but I will give you a case example just to help you get a sense of alarm if something comes your way (and it always does, eventually).

A man is offering to sell you his entire stock of goods that he insists are selling at exceptional rates. Indeed, the man is wealthy and the price of his goods reflect as such. However, he wishes to retire to the Palm Heights and get out of the trade business for good. He makes you an offer, to buy all of his stock on this unusual market good you probably don't quite have an appraisal on yet. He insists he has other buyers lined up, but is willing to sell it to you now so that he might see to other more urgent matters. You accept the deal, buy his stock, buy his business, only to find out a few days later that no one is buying the goods at the prices he himself had on display not a few days prior.

If it hasn't become obvious yet, the man who sold his 'business' in this scenario is a con. One who artificially inflated a sense of worth in both his trade and his business to ease an unfortunate victim into buying something well and below its actual value. He used a sense of urgency with the mention of other buyers, exploited the novelty of the situation you couldn't have been prepared for and generated the illusion of success when there was only the specter of ill-gotten wealth.

Always beware cons and remember these aspects as you begin your life as a trader.

~Knowledge.

~Patience.

~Reputation.

I've been a refugee three times in my life. I know how hard it is to get back on one's feet from nothing. I hope if you look to the markets for your own future that you are able to benefit from these fundamentals to the art of exchange.

Good luck.