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ESO W2T: Guild Traders Explained

The guild trader system in The Elder Scrolls Online is unique among Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing (MMORPG) games.

If you are new to The Elder Scrolls Online and have played other MMORPG’s with auction houses, new player wanting to know how to buy and sell items, or a guild master interested in hiring a guild trader, this is the guide for you.

The Elder Scrolls Online’s marketplace system is controversial and many players have strong opinions in favour and against the system.

In this guide, I will explain how the marketplace system works from the perspective of buyers, sellers,and guild leaders.

Overview

Let’s look at the basics of the Guild Trader System

First, it’s integrated into the guild system.

Guilds with 50 or more members unlock a guild trader.

When the guild unlocks a trader, it is available to its members by using any NPC banker (not assistants)

Each member of the guild can list 30 items on the trader at one time. Since each guild can have 500 members, the maximum number of items on a trader is 15,000 items.

Additional steps required for public access, which we will talk about next.

In Elder Scrolls Online, there are multiple markets.

A guild provides public access to their trader by hiring a single guild trader that is situated in a city, wilderness location, or city outlaw refuge.

A guild can also provide public access by claiming resources or keeps in Cyrodiil. A Guild member with the appropriate guild permissions can talk to the resource or keep Quartermaster to claim.

Finally, the 200+ public traders have a weekly Silent Auction hiring process.  

Guilds with 50 or more members can bid on up to 10 guild traders each week.

A guild can only have one trader and additional bids are refunded after guild trader auctions have been completed.

There is a defined transition process that occurs before and after the auctions are complete.

Buying

Let’s look at the buying process. Ideally, the buyer wants to find their item(s) at the lowest price.  However with 200+ traders out there, players will compromise and settle for the lowest price without a lot of travelling.

You can access markets from three places: Banker NPC, Guild Trader, and Quartermaster of a claimed resource..

Banker

Bankers NPC, often found in main towns, will offer a Guild Store option.  Simply, select the guild store from the menu.

Any of your guilds that have more than 50+ members will have a trader. 

Guild Masters can restrict access.

Guild Traders

There are approximately 200+ guild traders. They are located in Starter Towns, Main Cities, Overland crossroads, and Alliance Capitals.

Check out the Unofficial Elder Scrolls Pages website for a complete list of guild traders.

https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Guild_Traders

Here’s how to find the banker and the traders on your in-game map.  The banker has a chest icon and the guild traders have a guild tabard icon.

Quartermaster

When a Keep or resource is claimed in Cyrodiil by a guild with 50+ members, their guild market will be available to members of the guild’s alliance from the quartermaster while control of the location is maintained.

On your guild home tab, you can find out if your guild has any active guild traders or has claimed ownership of a place in Cyrodiil.

Regardless of the method used, the items purchased will be mailed to you and will appear in the “System Messages” section.  Mail is not always immediate and you can speed the delivery process by traveling to a new zone or entering / exiting an outlaw’s refuge.

Any guild traders or Alliance War ownership will be shown on guild home tab

Tips:

Here are a few buying tips.

  1. A useful website to find items at lower prices is Tamriel Trade Center
    https://us.tamrieltradecentre.com/
  2. If you are not familiar with the price of a desired item, ask your guildies and check all the traders in the area before purchasing.
  3. Addons can provide useful functionality
    1. Additional filters like unlearned recipes or motifs
    2. Collecting Sales history to determine average prices
    3. Bargain filters (above / below average prices)
    4. Sales data usually collected from your guilds’ history.
    5. Price data can be manipulated other players (posting items at very high prices)

If you use addons, be aware of their limitations. Addons that collect sales data only collect data from the guilds you are a member of.

Beware of players manipulating prices by listing items to affect the average prices calculated by addons. 

Selling

Let’s look at how to sell items on guild traders.

For a guild’s store to be unlocked and usable, it must have a minimum of 50 members. 

Selling Basics

Players can list up to 30 items at one time.

Items can be listed for a maximum of 30 days

Expired items will be mailed to you.

Unclaimed Expired Item Mail messages will be deleted after 30 days.

Fees

There is a non-refundable 1% Transaction Listing fee when an item is listed.

A 7% Sales Tax is deducted when the item is sold. Half this tax is deposited into guild bank)

Don’t forget to price check items before listing items so that your prices can be competitive.

If you don’t have access to a trader, you are limited to player to player trades. To attract customers, you will have to spam WTS (Wants to Sell) messages in zone chat.

You can use the guild finder to filter trade guilds that are currently recruiting new members.

Hiring a Trader

If you talk to leaders of Trading Guilds, they will tell you that it is no small feat to secure a prestigious trader.  Many guild masters and officers put their lives on hold once a week to ensure a trader is secured for their guilds. 

Process

  1. Silent Auction(s)
    1. You can place bids for up to 10 traders. 4
    2. Bid costs are removed from the Guild Bank.
    3. You can increase the bid up to trader hire day. 
    4. Only guild members with View Bids permissions  can see bids.
  2. Successful Hiring Bids
    1. Your highest successful bid will be your trader for the week.  
    2. Unsuccessful bids will be returned to the guild bank. Your trader will wear your guild tabard if you have created one.
  3. Unhired Traders.
    1. In the rare event a trader is not hire, a hire option will appear on their menu and a fixed price will be shown.
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