Good afternoon. I would like to propose a change to the market board system that I believe would improve its overall user experience and long-term stability. Most of us have felt the impact of constant undercutting. While the existing sales tax helps manage inflation, it does little to address the repetitive cycle of cancelling and relisting items simply to stay competitive. This repeated micromanagement creates a system that feels more like a chore than gameplay.
In considering why this issue is so persistent, I found myself comparing it to Final Fantasy XI’s auction house. XI had two important characteristics that limited this kind of volatility: prices were not publicly visible, and listing fees discouraged constant relisting. As a result, selling in XI rarely felt like a maintenance loop. You listed an item, walked away, and often didn’t think about it again until it sold or returned. There was no pressure to check the market every few minutes, and players were far less likely to make accidental impulse purchases at drastically inflated prices. The system also functioned without relying on external tools or market-tracking addons to make informed decisions.
With this in mind, I would like to propose shifting XIV’s tax system from a sales-time deduction to a meaningful listing fee applied at the time of posting. Introducing a real cost to each relist would make undercutting a deliberate choice rather than a reflex, and would reduce the constant volatility that leads players to monitor their retainers so frequently. Buyers would continue to benefit from full price transparency, while sellers would have a system that better respects their time.
I recognize that this would be a significant change to a system that has existed since ARR, but I believe it would lead to a more stable, less labor-intensive market board experience for the community as a whole.
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In considering why this issue is so persistent, I found myself comparing it to Final Fantasy XI’s auction house. XI had two important characteristics that limited this kind of volatility: prices were not publicly visible, and listing fees discouraged constant relisting. As a result, selling in XI rarely felt like a maintenance loop. You listed an item, walked away, and often didn’t think about it again until it sold or returned. There was no pressure to check the market every few minutes, and players were far less likely to make accidental impulse purchases at drastically inflated prices. The system also functioned without relying on external tools or market-tracking addons to make informed decisions.
With this in mind, I would like to propose shifting XIV’s tax system from a sales-time deduction to a meaningful listing fee applied at the time of posting. Introducing a real cost to each relist would make undercutting a deliberate choice rather than a reflex, and would reduce the constant volatility that leads players to monitor their retainers so frequently. Buyers would continue to benefit from full price transparency, while sellers would have a system that better respects their time.
I recognize that this would be a significant change to a system that has existed since ARR, but I believe it would lead to a more stable, less labor-intensive market board experience for the community as a whole.
Continue reading...