Come on, what's up with that counter? It gave up and switched to a simple plus sign at this point. So ninety-nine is the max it can display? That's more than I can handle too, the place is to the brim with people, no wonder it was on my avoid list all this time.

It triggers my flight or fight response, even if it doesn't look that dangerous. Is it me, or the character is shaking? Some players have red names but their expensive gears tell me they aren't gankers. PVPers wouldn't risk their stuff inside a blessed settlement like Origin, right?

They would lose it all when the Guardian Angels come to intervene. No, those thugs only wear swords and no armor, so they are easy to spot in the crowd. None of them are here, although the village center is close, so it's enough to place a few neutral scouts here.

Well, fuck crowds anyway. Looking at the map itself, most dots around here are grey so NPCs run the market. That's unexpected since it's supposed to be a player-based economy, so how does it work? Ugh, too many people make my head hurt.

Even when they rushed the Guild earlier, only half as many characters were there. That's an indoor place so it felt even more packed, but the counter showed sixty at most. It feels more vulnerable in the open, and at least twice as many characters are here.

Most are newbies like me, sporting the default equipment and no weapons. In that sense, they aren't like me anymore. The green cloak and the rusty sword are still with me, not to mention that plus-two mail. Tank gifted it after the tutorial, and it's getting worn out too.

It saved my life countless times in a single day, and I wasn't exactly gentle with it either. Is it possible to fix it, or the only option is to buy a new one? It doesn't make sense to get attached to such a low-level starting gear, but it would be a shame to throw it out.

Let's see what weapons and gear these folks have for sale, it doesn't mean I have to buy something, right? So how do you trade here? Ah, the window opens once the intent takes shape in my head. Of course, like everything else in the game.

I can't get used to it.

It's nothing like the regular inventory or trade UI with NPCs though. It also didn't need me to walk up to any of the stalls, and it's huge. It's weird how it doesn't list items or their prices, so how are you supposed to navigate this?

My inventory opens from the right, and concentrating on the items brings them to the main window. It lists their sell prices in this market on the top, and buy orders at the bottom. For the skeleton bows it's quite the difference.

They sell from one silver to fifty coppers with the cheapest on top, while the highest buy is only three copper. That's a no-brainer, you have to post them on a sell order and wait for someone to buy them, right? So how does one do that?

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Looking at the buy orders, the system lets me start the exchange, yet the sell orders only allow me to buy even more bows. Okay, what does the FAQ have to say about this? It's high time I check it out, instead of Boogling everything.

[How to use the player market?]

That's the first match before typing in anything if you can even call thinking about it typing. Yeah, the headset reads my mind with insane efficiency, when it wants to. Okay, so how? Let's hope it's not another bloated, AI-written article that goes on forever.

No luck, it's one of those. At least they use highlighting so you can skip all the bullshit and read only the important parts. It's still a lot to go through and standing in the middle of the crowd makes me anxious.

[When you enter the market and begin trading, you have two options. Either buy from the available sell orders or sell your items to the buy orders. So how do you make your own? To become a seller you must rent a stall in the marketplace first.]

Oh, that does make sense. And it's not even Premium only this time, so it's a good start. The article goes on with an example that curbs my enthusiasm though. These things are pricey! You need a lot of money to make money on the market.

[As of writing this article, the most expensive weekly rental is on the Taji Market, coming in at twelve golds. You must also carry the tax burden and manage the stall if you want to set up your buy and sell orders.]

Ugh, right. The average market-goers don't have to deal with taxes and fees, they can grab whatever they want and pay for it. The orders come with some upkeep though, not to mention this managing thing. They expect me to stand behind the stall all day?

[You have two options to manage your market orders. If it's a personal stall, have your character run it, for clan-owned ones anyone with the right access can do it for you. Your other option is to hire a broker NPC, pay him up-front, and give him a broker fee after each sale.]

Oh God, this is a capitalism simulator. There is no way I can afford all that, not for shitty plus-two bows and the weakest arrows. It wouldn't be worth setting up a stall, even if it's cheaper than in Taji. And then get stuck behind the stall or pay even more for an NPC to do it?

They can't be serious. Who in their right mind would keep playing from the marketplace, and wait for his stuff to sell? What if the stall is empty? The article claims you can't make sales if that happens, yet the rental time is ticking down, so it's wasted money.

[Don't worry, you don't need to waste your precious time running the business. If your character is in the market before logging off, he will remain in the stall to look after it for you. Your other characters can do whatever they want in the meantime.]

Well, that's great if you have more than one character. It's too bad that the feds don't allow it for me. How much would hiring a broker cost, and what is their share from each sale? An entire page lower, the article answers that too, but it's nothing great.

[NPC brokers negotiate their fees on a personal basis. Their pay and broker fee depend on factors, such as standings, character skill, and fame level. Premium users can also set them to adjust the prices on the go within your parameters.]

This is more than I can chew right now. Let's see how much they are willing to pay for all this crap and get moving. The price gaps are so huge, no wonder Wrodditors said that the Origin market is a rip-off.

It might be better to check on the real NPC trader outside the market. Forget about ten-fold price, some of the items have way larger gaps between buy and sell orders. Annelise, was it? And another dude on the other end of the street.

Yeah, let's check in with them first. At least the crowd shouldn't be that huge on their end.