Why doesn't this trade work for me?

[DeletedUser2479]

Can someone explain why this doesn't work?

I wanted to offer steel for marble, so I typed in to offer steel & demand marble. One trade came up. When I click it, it says I don't have enough material to make the trade. What am I missing?

I usually get my planks/marble from the wholesaler, but that is so expensive at 20 planks for 800 supplies, so I thought I'd try to trade materials. What am I doing wrong?

Also, why is it the trader doesn't allow trades that are unreasonable? The wholesaler asks 100 steel for 20 planks. But, the trader ranks 100 steel for 150 planks as expensive!

 

[DeletedUser]

I'm not sure I understand exactly what you're asking. You need to make sure you have enough quantity in your inventory to cover what you offer in the offer box (say you want to trade 1000 steel for 1000 marble, but only have 800 steel). Trading and the wholesaler are two very different things. You use the wholesaler best when you have too much coin or supplies and need to make room to collect more, or when you absolutely can't get what you need any other way. The wholesaler doesn't lose or gain anything by your purchase, while a trade will also affect another player and their progress. Trading is the best way to convert your boosted goods into non-boosted, since it also benefits the other person who has different boosts than you. When trading, you want to offer (for the most part) things of equal value... so 100 planks for 100 steel is fair. Both cost the same amount of coin & supplies to make. If you ask for more than you offer, then your neighbors and fellowship mates probably won't want to take your deal - they don't want to lose goods helping you, unless they're really nice people with lots of extra to spare. Below I'll post the trading guidelines I give to new trading players in my fellowship:


Hey, allorah! Glad you’ve joined up with our fellowship and are starting to trade with us. Since you’re new, I thought I’d give you a little heads up on how trading works – forgive me if you already know this stuff. A fair trade is a two-star trade where the goods are of equal value – 100 tier 1 (steel, planks, marble) for 100 tier one, 100 tier 2 for 100 tier 2. Tier 2 goods (silk, crystals, scrolls) cost 4 times as much to make as tier one, so a fair trade would be 400 tier 1 for 100 tier 2. Tier 3 goods (elixir, gems, magic dust) cost 4 times as much to make as tier 2, so a fair trade would be 400 tier 2 for 100 tier 3, or 1600 tier 1 for 100 tier 3. The trader will automatically set up a two-star trade when you enter an amount in the offer box and choose a good for the demand box. If you want to post a trade that is less than even, you can – especially when you’re in a bind. The rest of us will help out if we can, but it’s best if you post fair trades as much as possible. It’s also possible to encourage people to trade with you by offering a better than even trade – say 110 steel for 100 marble - if you really need the marble and have the steel to spare. If you’ve got any questions, feel free to ask. You can also check out the Elvenar wiki for lots of great information on how the game works: en.wiki.elvenar.com. Welcome to the Pirates, and join in the jolly madness!

 

[DeletedUser594]

There are multiple tabs in the trader window. You were on the first tab (it sounds like) which is the Accept offers tab. When you click the Offers button on that tab it shows you what offers are on the market.
To put an offer up you need to open the "Place offers" tab.

to see market offers

to make an offer: