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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Spatzimaus" data-source="post: 458625" data-attributes="member: 3051">I have no problem with turning XP into GP.  I have a problem with turning GP into XP, but thankfully there isn't an easy way to do that.  XP is far more of a limited resource, in my experience.If it was impossible to make a profit on a magical item, why would the Feats exist?  Adventurers, those few people who use dozens of magical items on a daily basis and complain when the bad guy with potions "drinks their loot" should be a minority.  Not every caster spends all his XP making items only for his own group of 4-6.  SOMEONE had to equip the King's Guards, and no one is altruistic enough to do that for free.Basic economics: a person who makes an item should be able to sell it for more than the raw material cost, simply to pay for his time (and his XP, in the case of magic).How much more?  Well, let's see.  It costs me 50% (plus time and XP) to make, and sells for 100% by the book.  Assuming you get someone to sell the item for you, I should be able to at LEAST split the profit with the merchant (i.e., I get 75% of the value, he gets 25%).  Probably more, see below.Now, what if it was a loot item?  It's all profit then, so assuming he'll be re-selling at 100%, we could still go 50-50 (giving the percentage listed in the book, the "pawn shop" price), but unless your campaign is incredibly glutted with magic items, you can do far better by "shopping around" for someone with a lower commission.  Someone who only asks for a 10% commission will get all the business, and 10% of a +5 sword is still enough to send your kids to college.The market stabilizes at the point where the item's creator makes just enough profit to be worth it, and the seller makes enough profit to live comfortably.  The standard commission rate stabilizes at a level where no merchants can afford to go lower while still covering costs.So, try this.  You have three basic options when trying to sell items.> If you go to Ye Olde Pawn Shop and say "how much will you give me for this sword?" he'll say 50%.  After all, it might be years before he can unload the sword, and in the meantime it could be stolen.  If it's a really specialized item he might decrease the percentage even more.  On the bright side, it's an immediate payoff.> If you go to your contact at the Mercantile Guild, he'll charge you 10% up front (whether he sells it or not) as a storage fee and 10% of the final value (which could be anywhere from 75% to 125% of the market value depending on demand) when he sells it.  If he sells it, you get the other 90% (which, after the initial fee could be from 60-100% of market value, average 80%).This option includes dedicated guilds with setups like njrpg's, "old friend" merchants who are willing to sell for you, etc.  Since the person is spending all their time looking for buyers and adjusting the price to move it quickly, it won't take as long as the next option.> If you want to sell it yourself, dealing with market fluctuations, advertising, theft, storage space, etc., you can get full value.  You could hire a storekeeper, decreasing your margin slightly, but you'd still make out better in the long run.  This makes up for the fact that you're taking all the risk on the item; if it doesn't sell, you get nothing, and if your store is robbed while you're away, you get nothing.Three options, increasing payoff for increasing effort/risk/delay.  Which one is best depends heavily on supply and demand, crime rate, etc., all things determined by the DM.</blockquote>

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