Trade Times

I do agree with Julian, I used the market to trade for 200 stone not knowing how it worked.   After i executed the trade I found out it would take 10 hours for the resources to get to me.  In 10 hours I produced 500 stone.  There was also a quarry maybe 30 minutes away from my town that I could have sent my caravan too and had the resources in 2 hours, and not costed me anything.  I don't know what could be changed, but I can't see myself using the market again in the near future.

I'd like to throw something out to players and GM regards Caravan times.

I think a hugely restrictive feature which retards trade and an active market place is Caravan times. As I write there are 185 players online but the offers in the marketplace amount to under 10 (of which I am 3). The basis for this, I believe, is the Caravan times. Entering into a trade with someone which takes 10+ hours to complete is a pointless exercise as the travel time is such that any requirements you have (hence, the purpose for the trade) could be produced at home hence rendering trading basically pointless. This is true regardless of player level as the larger players larger requirements would be negated by his/her larger production capacity.

The only other option apart from increasing Caravan times would be to have a points/bonus system for trading otherwise the justification is simply not there. Especially for creating offers as you are unable to determine who accepts them and their distance from you.

Another point is policing the marketplace, there has been ridiculous postings by users who ask for several things and offer nothing in return, this is not just annoying but if one were to accidentally accept the offer there is no recourse.

I look forward to your feedback.
Julian