Commerce

The economy of Dragon Saga is a complex entity. Players have multiple ways of looking for and trading for items they desire. The following is a compendium of the various means that can be used to seek out items in the game. Marketplaces outside the game also exist on the official Dragon Saga forums.

Trade System
Trading allows players to exchange items or gold with other players within the game. Players are who in need of a specific item or wish to sell an item can notify other players either through the use of Megaphone items, or utilizing the Trade chat (default 'F9' key). Once two players have come to a deal agreement, the trade is ready to be facilitated.

Perform a basic trade

 * 1) Click on the player you wish to trade with in order to open a menu of options to select from (see right image)
 * 2) Select "Trade" (the other player will have 10 seconds to accept the deal or the trade will automatically be cancelled)
 * 3) Once the trade request is accepted, the Trade Window will display. Your items/gold will be displayed on the left, the other player's items/gold will be displayed on the right
 * 4) Drag or right-click the items desired to be traded and/or enter the amount of gold requested to be traded
 * 5) When either you or the other player has finished entering their portion of the trade, the "OK" button is selected and your/their part of the window will darken, indicating that what is currently in their window is what will be traded
 * 6) Verify all items on both windows to ensure the original trade agreement has been fulfilled
 * 7) If all is done, press "Confirm" to accept the deal and the items will be traded among the two players

Avoiding scams
Note that while this system can be used in any number of ways, it is independent of the Market System and therefore is more vulnerable to scams. To avoid trade scams, always verify what is traded before confirming the deal, and be cautious when a player is asking for items/gold upfront. If the trade sparks any suspicious behavior or red flags, screenshot the trade window and player's name before the trade is confirmed in the instance an ill-mannered report will need to be filed against the player.

Also, never accept a deal from any player claiming to be a GM. GMs will never contact a player in-game to ask for items or personal information. Screenshot any interactions with a player impersonating a GM and file an ill-mannered report.

Market System
This in-game system assists in the selling and purchasing of items in exchange for gold. The system can only be accessed in-game by pressing the Market icon at the bottom right of the UI screen. Players can use the search field to look for a specific item, or use the provided filters to narrow down the list of items available. The Market can only be accessed in Town maps.

Market Interface

 * 1) Search Parameters: The Search Parameters allows you to search the market for a specific item if the item is available. The parameters can be set by Job, Grade, and Level. It also allows searching by Item or Seller name. Once the parameters are set, press 'Search' to begin.
 * 2) Default: The default Button will change the parameters back to its default settings.
 * 3) Item Filter: The Item Filter allows you to compare available items based on the categories as follows: Equip, Consumable, Medals, and Item Mall. The Equip category has several sub categories. As with the Search Parameters, press the 'Search' button once the filter has been set to begin.
 * 4) Shop Window: The Shop Window displays all the available shops currently in the market.
 * 5) Cash Bar: The Cash Bar displays the amount of Gold, Silver, and Copper the player has
 * 6) My Shop: To set up a shop, press the 'My Shop' icon. The Sold Item button allows the player to recover currency from a sale. Retrieve allows the player to retrieve items from their My Shop.
 * 7) Command Buttons: To view the contents of a shop, select the shop and select the Enter button. Pressing the 'Close' icon will close the Market Interface.

My Shop Interface

 * 1) Name of Shop: A maximum of 10 characters can be used to name the shop. The name of player's character will be displayed by default when the shop is open.
 * 2) Type of Shop: This allows the player to choose which type of shop that they wish to open
 * 3) Shop Duration: The Duration and Offline Duration applies Specialty Shops and Premium Shops. A maximum of 3 days or 72 hours is set once you have applied for one of the Shop Licenses. The clock begins at the moment the shop is opened and will continually run whether the player is online or offline. The Offline duration will only be used when the shop is open and the player is offline. (this timer will still countdown even during Maintenance hours)
 * 4) Shop Modifiers: The 'Edit Shop' icon will apply any changes made prior to the shop's opening. Pressing the 'Extend Time' icon will increase the Specialty/Premium Shop Duration. The icon may be pressed more than once. If the player wishes to change from one shop type to another, place the shop on hold, and then select the shop type and click Edit Shop to confirm. If the shop is currently in selected as a Specialty or Premium setting, changing the shop to the Normal type will reset the Shop Duration counter.
 * 5) Shop Point: Shop Points grants a higher ranking in the General Shop List. Players with higher Shop Points are closer to the top of the list, thus increasing visibility of the shop to the general public. In order to increase Shop Points, a Grand Merchant Certificate item is required.
 * 6) My Shop Managing Icons: The My Shop Managing Icons consists of the 'Register', 'Open Shop', and 'Close Shop' icons. The Register icon is used to register an item that the player wishes to sell. After items have been registered, press the 'Open Shop' icon to officially list the items for sale. After a shop has been opened, editing will be permitted only if the 'Abort Shop' icon is pressed. This will place the shop in a state of inactivity to allow for any type of shop edits. To stop vending and retrieve all items left in the shop, select the Close Shop icon. By closing the Shop, the Shop Duration counter and Shop Points will reset to zero.
 * 7) Item Window: The Item Window displays all the items registered to your shop.
 * 8)  Market Manager To set up a Shop, select the 'My Shop' icon. The Sold Item will only appear after an item was purchased from the player's shop.
 * 9) Retrieve Button: If there is an unsold item that the player does not wish to sell anymore, select the item from the Item Window and then select the 'Retrieve' icon. This will pull the item from the shop.

Shop Types
There are three shop types available in the game: Basic, Specialty, and Premium. All players have the fundamental ability to create and maintain a Basic shop, which allows the selling of up to 5 items. Specialty and Premium shops can be obtained by the use of special market license scrolls available for purchase in the Item Mall.

The added benefit of having a shop license gives the player a larger shop capacity as well as the ability to keep their shop open even after the player has disconnected from the game. Also, since all shops are systematically organized from Premium, Specialty, and Basic (top to bottom), those with higher level licenses will appear closer to the top of the list, increasing visibility of their shop to the general public. These shop licenses have a limited duration period and will automatically close the player's shop once the license has expired. The shop will no longer be able to open again unless another license is used, or if the player modifies their shop to meet the requirements of a lower level shop type.

Taxes
There is a 2-5% fee for selling any item through the Market system. The amount of tax deducted from the total price of the sold item is dependent on whether the player is using a premium/specialty license versus a Basic shop (no license). To circumvent the tax penalty, players may utilize the Trade System or use the Mail System and Charge Payment. This is commonly referred to in game as COD (Charge on Delivery).

Street Vending
While the Market UI can be accessed on Town maps only, the player can choose to allow their shop to be accessible on any map of their choice using the Street Vendor item (available from most Item NPC vendors for 1 gold). This one-time-use item will create a chat window above the player that other players can click to view and purchase the items in their shop. The shop is a mere extension of the same shop that is viewed in the normal Market UI and is subject to the same taxes depending on the license of shop the player has.

Since the street vending shop needs to be physically clicked on in order to be accessed, the shop will only be accessible to players who are in view of the vender's screen. Otherwise, the shop can be accessed through the normal Market UI in any Town map.

Online Marketplace
The is also a good area for advertising what the player is buying/selling, or for players who cannot vend often. Some players may use other social websites such as Facebook to advertise what they are buying/selling.