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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 6424017" data-attributes="member: 2011">Sorry. I wasn't trying to be condescending, just factual. Problems like the ones you mentioned are worked around when profit is involved. <img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/laugh.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":lol:" title="Laughing    :lol:" data-shortname=":lol:" />Ferrari is the equivalent of a "Staff of Power" of the D&D world (rarity and price-wise, not functionality-wise). Lamborghini is the equivalent of a "Staff of the Magi", etc. A Ferrari dealership makes sense in NYC, but it doesn't make sense in Albany. Just like a wizard item shop (i.e. equivalent to high end car shop) makes sense in a fantasy world in Waterdeep, but might not in Berdusk (15% of the size of Waterdeep). But this shouldn't mean that wizard items cannot be found in Berdusk (just like a used Ferrari can be found in Albany). And it shouldn't mean that a scroll and potion shop doesn't make sense in Berdusk (just like there are shops in Albany for mid-range paintings, valuable, but not outrageously so).Sure in our real world, Ferrari dealers are backed by vast multinational corporations. But, the item is worth a lot of money, hence, there is a market for it. Just because some elements of marketing in the real world differ from a fantasy world, the same basic premise does not.Supply. Demand. Cost. If there is a profit to be made, someone somewhere should be trying to eek out that profit. We might be able to disagree as to how magic items get from manufacturer to buyer and how rare items might be, but there is no online purchasing (as a general assumption) in a D&D world. In order to sell, sellers have to get word of their product out and potential buyers typically have to meet up with the sellers. Since the sellers assume a lot of risk (as you said, thieves), the tendency would be for buyers and sellers to meet in a safe place in a larger urban setting (shy of black market deals).Hence, shops should be a viable option. Places where legal trade can be done safely with low risk to buyer and seller.Now, the shops might be places where one would meet a magic item broker like you mentioned earlier. A shop does not have to be a place where they have magic items behind display cases. It might just be a small safe place where purchasing is initiated, and final transaction (typically) takes place.</blockquote>

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