Guild Trade Runs

Guild trade runs help raise funds for the guild. In order to do guild trade runs, you must first complete your trade run tutorial with Christopher in Freedom Harbor. Go HERE and HERE for help with that quest. I also found THIS to be quite good at explaining the trade run.

The basics of a trade run are:

• Transporting is restricted while on a trade run to into/out of base and the use of trade caravans.
• You get a certain amount of money to start your run.
• You get a target profit goal that the trade manager wants from you.
• You buy and sell to gain profit to, at the minimum, reach that target.
• Your goal should be to get as far over that target as possible.
• If your merchant level is high enough you can bargain and up-sell.
• You have a limited number of bargains and up-sells you can request.
• Once you reach your required target, you can no longer buy - you can still sell.
• Once you can no longer buy, and have nothing left to sell, you go back to base to settle your run.

For our guild, I have checked over some possible routes here are two simple ones:

• Buy snowflake(primary)/cyperus(secondary) in base, sell in Towerpush. Buy ochre(primary)/papyrus(secondary) and sell at base.  Snowflake gives +100-120/pc, ochre gives +60-80/pc, and cyperus and papyrus give +40-60/pc. It makes for a very quick run that is easy to max out - and you don't have to leave the SoO map to complete it. You will have to port in and out of base, however, since the trade npc outside of the base does not offer the high-profit items.
• Buy venom gum and flint, run it to Kindling Encampment via the trade caravan near the City of Oblivion trackstone. Sell it, but don't buy anything from that post. Run back to our post, either in base or the guy right outside the base entrance. Buy more and run back to the encampment to sell. Venom gum gets the higher profit so buy as much of that as you can. Buying and selling in the bases will get you a higher profit, but then you also have a longer run because transporting to and from base takes time. And until you get near your target profit, it really doesn't matter what kind of profit you are getting. You could save the in-base purchase and sale for what will be your last run.
  To make things even easier, I put the coordinates for each trade post in normal chat and just hit the one that I need to go to from there - basically creating my own autoroute for the run.
  This one, although longer, may be more appealing to those that don't want to port in and out of base since they can buy the goods from the regular trade npcs. They only must port between maps via the caravan.

Tank came up with this route which requires that you use the caravan across the river to port to Kalaries Plaines:

• woodcarving at fossiker -> ironclaw
• cheese at ironclaw -> fossiker
• back and forth until you're nearly done
• buy watercolors bring back to riverbank beach
• then turn in trade at base post.

TIP: To get the max profit from your run, watch your total carefully. As you are closing in on your required goal, sell only enough of what you have to get you just below your required goal. Then buy from that npc as much as they will allow, then sell until you are just below again, and buy again. In this process you are selling to open up slots for buying and the buying reduces the amount of gold you have on hand, which in turn allows you to continue your run. It's tricky, but more profit you get from the run, the better your reward; so it may be worth trying.

NOTE!: If you die during or abandon your very first trade run it will put you into negative mercury rep. You will not be able to get any further trade runs from FH or base until you get 20s in your bag and go talk to Christopher to get the "Regain Mercury Trust" quest which will cost you that 20s.