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<blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5332658" data-attributes="member: 82106">That's what I was going to say. I mean &quot;Common&quot; is a term that describes the item's rarity in relation to OTHER such items. It doesn't especially mean the item is common in actual terms. Most importantly it doesn't mean the item is very FUNGIBLE. This is where the simple economic arguments break down. The &quot;common is cheap, has low markup&quot; concept is TRUE for items that are commodities. Not all items ARE however commodities. Consider wedding rings. They are dime-a-dozen in the sense that you can get one in 100 different places, usually inside an hour. The resale value is still close to zilch. They just aren't all that fungible.That's the situation I think with magic items. Even the common ones are expensive luxury goods. At best they're specialist tools that are mostly purchased and retained for a long time. The turnover isn't large, so they aren't easy to move quickly.The REALLY hard to find items are equally difficult to move and just as expensive, but they are also unique enough that if someone DOES want it, they'll pay a premium because it is unusual or one-of-a-kind.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="AbdulAlhazred, post: 5332658, member: 82106"] That's what I was going to say. I mean "Common" is a term that describes the item's rarity in relation to OTHER such items. It doesn't especially mean the item is common in actual terms. Most importantly it doesn't mean the item is very FUNGIBLE. This is where the simple economic arguments break down. The "common is cheap, has low markup" concept is TRUE for items that are commodities. Not all items ARE however commodities. Consider wedding rings. They are dime-a-dozen in the sense that you can get one in 100 different places, usually inside an hour. The resale value is still close to zilch. They just aren't all that fungible. That's the situation I think with magic items. Even the common ones are expensive luxury goods. At best they're specialist tools that are mostly purchased and retained for a long time. The turnover isn't large, so they aren't easy to move quickly. The REALLY hard to find items are equally difficult to move and just as expensive, but they are also unique enough that if someone DOES want it, they'll pay a premium because it is unusual or one-of-a-kind. [/QUOTE]

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