Final Fantasy XI Merchants of Vana'diel Guide

Merchants in Final Fantasy XI comprise many of the NPCs found within the cities across Vana'diel. They offer a variety of goods for sale and buy excess items that adventurers no longer need. There are five different types of merchants within FFXI, as outlined in the chart below. The merchant lists provided above provide information on three of these types of merchants: Standard Merchants, Guild Merchants, and Tenshodo Merchants. The Regional Merchants are detailed in the Regional Merchants Guide. Outpost Merchants, and the items they sell, are found in the chart below.


When looking to purchase large quantities of items, it can pay to shop around at the various merchants who stock it to find the best price. An overview of the prices that each type of merchant gives is mentioned below, but there are some merchants who will have an unusually low price for specific items. It can also be profitable to find items that are only sold in one location, and sell them throughout Auction Houses to players in other cities. The world of FFXI has a vibrant economy that the merchants listed here help provide, along with profit for players who pay attention to the availability of items and the needs of their fellow adventurers.

Standard Merchants

• Overview - Most merchants within FFXI are Standard Merchants. These merchants are found in shops and tents around the cities of Vana'diel. They sell many goods: ingredients for crafting, a variety of armor and weapons for low level adventurers plus a few at higher levels for very high prices, an assortment of basic medicines, and the occasional oddity.
  
• Price Range - The prices at Standard Merchants, both for buying and selling items, vary based on the fame level of the adventurer involved in the sale. The higher the fame of an adventurer in the city where the merchant resides, the better the price they'll receive. This is true for merchants everywhere except for Jeuno. Merchants in Jeuno sell their goods for a fixed price, regardless of an adventurer's fame. The best price for items is usually from a merchant in a city other than Jeuno, if the adventurer involved has high fame within that other city.
  
• Item Availability - Standard Merchants sell an unlimited amount of whatever items they have in stock. They are usually open all the time, day or night. Merchants in cities such as Jeuno, Kazham, Mhaura, Rabao and Selbina always stock the same items. Merchants in the three starting nations have a wide variety of items that they stock, based on the National Conquest ranking of that nation, which is itself determined by the Conquest Points obtained by that nation's adventurers. At these starting city merchants, a small number of items are always available for sale to anyone. A handful of more items are put in stock for anyone to purchase when the nation is at second place. When a nation reaches first place, there are extra items for sale which can only be purchased by a citizen of the nation.
  
• Merchant Purchases - All Standard Merchants will buy any item that can be sold, including some Exclusive items that cannot be given or sold to other players. As with the the price of items that they sell, the price they pay usually varies, based on the fame level of the adventurer in their city.

Regional Merchants

• Overview - Regional Merchants are only found in the three starting nations: Bastok, San d'Oria, and Windurst. They sell goods when their home nation controls the region they represent. This is explained in detail in the Regional Merchants Guide.
  
• Price Range - The price of items at a Regional Merchant is based on the fame level of the adventurer within the starting nation where that particular Regional Merchant is located.
  
• Item Availability - Items are only sold by a Regional Merchant if the merchant's home nation controls the region of Vana'diel that he represents. This control is shown on the Regional Map in FFXI.
  
• Merchant Purchases - When they have items to sell, Regional Merchants will also purchase any item that can be sold, much like Standard Merchants. If they do not have any items for sale, Regional Merchants won't buy anything either.

Guild Merchants

• Overview - Guild Merchants represent one of the nine guilds, buying and selling goods that relate to their guild. They stock raw materials used by the guildsmen, as well as final goods made by the guild. There are two Guild Merchants at each of the main guilds, except for the fishing guild, which has only one. There are also salesrooms with Guild Merchants for a number of the guilds in Mhaura and Selbina.
  
• Price Range - The prices at Guild Merchants are vastly different than the prices at other merchants, and are partially based on demand. The more that a given item sells, the higher it's price rises each game day until it reaches the maximum, which is usually around twice the minimum price. The price is reset after a guild's holiday, which is one the day a week that the Guild Merchants are closed for that particular guild. The prices at Guild Merchants are substantially higher, as a rule, than prices at any other merchant; these prices are also not modified by the fame of the purchasing adventurer. Because these prices vary so dramatically and are not in line with other merchants in FFXI, the prices of items at Guild Merchants are not listed on this site.
  
• Item Availability - Guild Merchants have a limited quantity of all the items in their stock. This is at most a few stacks of each item, and the inventory is refilled when the Guild Merchant opens each game day. Guild Merchants do stock some raw materials that aren't sold by any other merchants, so they can sell out on these items very quickly after they open for business, from many players buying up their stock. The availability of items is also based on items that are sold to the guild; items that are sold to a guild will be added to the next day's stock, temporarily increasing the availability of that particular item. All Guild Merchants close for a number of hours each game day, and one day a week for their guild holiday.
  
• Merchant Purchases - Guild Merchants only purchase items related to their guild, up to 20 copies of a particular item per game day. The items they will purchase includes all the items they sell, plus a handful more items. The price paid for items varies based on how many items have been sold previously, like the selling price of items. For the items they buy, Guild Merchants do pay more than any other merchant. Crafters and fishermen often sell crafted items or fish to Guild Merchants when trying to get rid of items that aren't in demand by other players.

Tenshodo Merchants

• Overview - Tenshodo Merchants represent a shadowy organization that operates in gray markets within the world of Vana'diel. Most Tenshodo Merchants only sell to adventurers that are members of their organization. The Tenshodo have a headquarters in Lower Jeuno that can only be entered by members, as well as a large presence in the city of Norg. There are also merchants or other NPCs related to the Tenshodo in each of the three starting nations.
  
• Price Range - The price of goods at Tenshodo Merchants is based on the level of Norg fame that an adventurer has. For the items that are stocked by multiple Tenshodo Merchants, the price can vary widely based on which Tenshodo Merchant one shops at. As a rule, items sold by the Tenshodo will be cheaper at one of their merchants than at a Standard Merchant.
  
• Item Availability - The items sold by Tenshodo Merchants consists primarily of weapons for Ninjas and Samurais, as well as the armor shared by Ninjas, Samurais and Monks. Special tools and crafting ingredients are only be found at Tenshodo Merchants. Tenshodo Merchants have many of the same restrictions as Guild Merchants: they are closed for a number of hours each game day, and for one day out of the game week. Their stock rarely runs out, although it is possible for it to do so. They also have a few items that show up only sporatically for sale in their inventory.
  
• Merchant Purchases - Like Guild Merchants, Tenshodo Merchants only purchase specific items: the ones they stock, plus a handful of extra ones.

Outpost Merchants

• Overview - Outpost Merchants are found at the outposts that are in most regions outside of cities. They can be found next to the National Conquest Foreign Guard who mans outposts when a region is controlled by a nation, and not the beastmen. Outpost Merchants sell the following items, at a base price:
  
  
  
  
  • Antidote 316 gil
    
  • Echo Drops 800 gil
    
  • Ether 4832 gil
    
  • Eye Drops 2595 gil
    
  • Potion 910 gil
  
  
  
  Outpost Merchants can also be given items, which increases the Conquest Ranking that an adventurer's home nation has in that region. There is one merchant that operates like an Outpost Merchant but has a very different set of goods for sale: Bartabaq in Oldton Movalpolos. He operates in the Movalpolos region in place of a standard outpost.
  
• Price Range - Outpost Merchants seem to have the same price regardless of fame or anything else. They sell their items near the high end of what the item goes for at a Standard Merchant; apparently the convenience of being able to purchase an item while out adventuring comes at a distinct price.
  
• Item Availability - The items that an Outpost Merchant has are available are sold to any and all adventurers that are from the nation which controls the region. The control of regions at any particular time can be seen on the Regional Map within the game. These items are always available, and do not sell out. When the region changes hands at the Earth weekly National Conquest tally, the Outpost Merchant changes who he sells to, as well.
  
• Merchant Purchases - Outpost Merchants will buy items from any adventurer who they can sell their goods to.