How POE2 Can Revolutionize Item Trading: Moving Beyond External Marketplaces

In our previous discussions, we explored how stabilizing the in-game economy could eliminate the need for seasonal resets and allow players to accumulate high-value gear without breaking balance.

Now, let’s take this idea a step further—if POE2 can break free from traditional game economy constraints, why should item trading remain tied to outdated external platforms?

Currently, POE2 features a fully integrated currency exchange system where trades happen instantly through an automated market. However, item trading is still handled through the official website, which leads to several critical problems:

Market manipulation through fake listings (e.g., listing an item for an extremely low price but never responding to whispers).

Wasted player time (whispering sellers, waiting for responses, dealing with AFK players).

Risk of trade scams (e.g., switching currencies between first and second trade windows).

Third-party automation abuse (bots scanning item listings and sniping undervalued items instantly).


➡ If POE2 truly aims to innovate, item trading should follow the same logic as the currency market—integrate directly into the game with automated transactions.


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1. The Problems with POE2’s Current Item Trading System

📌 🔹 Problem 1: The “Fake Listings” Issue

Some players intentionally list high-value items at unrealistically low prices to manipulate market perception.

Since item trading relies on direct player-to-player communication, sellers can ignore messages and refuse to sell, causing false market trends and misleading other players into undervaluing their items.


➡ With an automated trading system, any listed item would be immediately available for purchase at the listed price, eliminating fake listings entirely.

📌 🔹 Problem 2: The “Wasted Time” Issue

Currently, trading items requires manual whispers, coordinating meetups, and dealing with AFK players.

In contrast, POE2’s new currency trading system allows instant exchanges without needing direct player interaction.


➡ Why should players spend hours trying to buy an item when currency trading can be done in seconds?

📌 🔹 Problem 3: The “Scam & Price Manipulation” Issue

Some players use trade window scams, switching the currency amount between first and second trade attempts.

Players also exploit market volatility, buying underpriced items before new players can react.


➡ An automated item trading system eliminates these risks, ensuring fair transactions.

📌 🔹 Problem 4: Third-Party Automation & Sniping Bots

Some players use external bots to scan for cheap listings and instantly purchase items, making it difficult for legitimate players to get fair deals.

Since POE’s current system relies on manual whisper-based transactions, bot users have a massive advantage over regular players.


➡ If item trading were fully automated within the game, all players would have an equal opportunity to buy items.


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2. The Solution: Integrating Item Trading into POE2’s Automated Market

Instead of relying on a website-based listing system, POE2 should introduce a fully integrated in-game item marketplace, similar to its existing currency exchange system.

📌 🔹 How It Works:
✅ Players list items directly in an in-game "Item Market" (instead of on the website).
✅ Buyers can browse available listings, filter by price and stats, and purchase instantly.
✅ When a trade is completed, the seller automatically receives the currency in their stash—no need for manual whispers or trade windows.

📌 🔹 Key Benefits:
✔ Instant, secure transactions (no more waiting or dealing with AFK sellers).
✔ Removes market manipulation & fake listings (only real, available trades are shown).
✔ Protects against trade scams (fixed price = no last-minute swaps or price changes).
✔ Eliminates bot advantages (everyone competes on an equal playing field).


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3. The Final Step: Linking Currency & Item Trading into One Unified Economy

If POE2 fully integrates item trading, it can combine both currency and item exchanges into a single economic system.

📌 🔹 Additional Improvements:

Introduce a small “listing fee” paid in-game currency (e.g., Chaos Orbs or Gold), which helps stabilize the economy by gradually removing excess currency.

Implement dynamic pricing suggestions based on real-time market trends, helping players avoid underpricing their gear.

Allow item bundling (e.g., listing a full gear set at once) to streamline trade efficiency.



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4. Conclusion: The Next Evolution of POE2’s Economy

✔ POE2 has already proven that automated trading works with its currency exchange system—extending this to item trading is the logical next step.
✔ Eliminating external websites and manual whispers makes the game more accessible and fair for all players.
✔ An integrated item marketplace would prevent market manipulation, remove scam risks, and eliminate bot abuse.
✔ Combining currency and item trading into one system creates a stable, scalable economy that can persist across multiple seasons.

➡ If POE2 truly wants to revolutionize the ARPG economy, this is the direction it should take.


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This proposal aligns with our previous discussions on stabilizing the economy, reducing reliance on seasonal resets, and ensuring long-term player investment.

What are your thoughts? Would you like to see an automated item marketplace in POE2?

Expanding on the idea of fully integrating item trading into POE2’s economy, it’s clear that the current system—relying on manual whisper-based transactions—creates unnecessary inefficiencies and imbalances. If POE2 has already automated currency trading, item trading should follow suit to ensure a seamless, fair, and accessible marketplace for all players.

Why POE2 Needs an Integrated In-Game Item Market

1. Manual Trading is Outdated and Inefficient

POE1’s reliance on an external website for item trading has long been a source of frustration. The process is slow, cumbersome, and prone to abuse through fake listings, AFK sellers, and market manipulation. Meanwhile, POE2’s new currency exchange proves that automated transactions can work efficiently within the game itself.

✅ Solution: Extend the same instant, secure system to item trading. If players can buy currency in seconds, why should buying gear take minutes—or even hours—of whispering, waiting, and negotiating?

2. Eliminating Trade Scams and Market Manipulation

Many of the problems in POE’s current item trading system stem from its reliance on direct player interaction. Scams, price baiting, and switching items during trade windows all exist because the system allows for last-minute manual changes.

Fake Listings: Players list items at low prices but refuse to sell, misleading others into undervaluing their own items.

Trade Window Scams: Some sellers switch out items or alter currency amounts between the first and second trade window.

Sniping Bots: Automated scripts buy underpriced items before legitimate players even have a chance.

✅ Solution: A fully automated item marketplace eliminates these issues by ensuring every listed item is immediately available for purchase at the displayed price—no need for whispers, no risk of last-minute swaps, and no room for bots to abuse the system.

3. A Unified Trading System Creates a Healthier Economy

A seamless integration of item and currency trading would create a self-regulating economy where market trends dictate pricing fairly. To further enhance this system, POE2 could implement:

Listing Fees: A small in-game currency fee (e.g., Chaos Orbs) for each item listing to prevent market spam and stabilize currency flow.

Dynamic Pricing Suggestions: Automated tools that analyze market trends and suggest fair prices, helping new players avoid mispricing valuable gear.

Item Bundling: The ability to list full gear sets together, making it easier for players to buy and sell optimized builds.

✅ Solution: By unifying currency and item trading, POE2 can ensure fair, transparent, and efficient transactions without the need for external sites or manual coordination.

Conclusion: The Future of POE2’s Trading System

✔ POE2 has already taken a step in the right direction by automating currency trading—now it needs to extend this logic to item trading.
✔ Removing manual whisper-based transactions will eliminate market manipulation, fake listings, and trade scams.
✔ A unified in-game economy allows for fairer pricing, a smoother trading experience, and a more balanced economy overall.
✔ By implementing listing fees, dynamic pricing, and bundling options, POE2 can create a sustainable, player-friendly market system.

➡ POE2 has the opportunity to revolutionize the ARPG trading experience by fully embracing automation. The question is no longer if this should happen, but when it will be implemented.

"Exactly! The best part is, POE2 already has a working automated currency trade system, so extending it to item trading isn’t some wild dream—it’s just common sense. GGG has already done the hard part, now they just need to apply the same logic to gear.

At this point, it’s not about ‘if’ they can do it, but ‘when’ they’ll finally decide to. Because let’s be real—if they don’t, people will just keep using third-party sites anyway, which kinda defeats the whole point of streamlining trade.

Oh, and by the way, my native language is Chinese. My English is so bad that even a three-year-old could beat me in a debate. So, please bear with my AI-assisted replies!

"

hary82521#3899 a écrit :

"Exactly! The best part is, POE2 already has a working automated currency trade system, so extending it to item trading isn’t some wild dream—it’s just common sense. GGG has already done the hard part, now they just need to apply the same logic to gear.

At this point, it’s not about ‘if’ they can do it, but ‘when’ they’ll finally decide to. Because let’s be real—if they don’t, people will just keep using third-party sites anyway, which kinda defeats the whole point of streamlining trade.

Oh, and by the way, my native language is Chinese. My English is so bad that even a three-year-old could beat me in a debate. So, please bear with my AI-assisted replies!

I completely agree with you on this. POE2 already has an automated currency trade system, so extending that to item trading isn’t some wild dream—it’s just common sense. GGG has already done the hard part; now, they just need to apply the same logic to gear. It’s frustrating that they haven’t done it yet, especially when we all know that if they don’t, players will just keep using third-party sites anyway. At that point, what’s the point of restricting trade in the first place? They might as well embrace the inevitable and make life easier for everyone.

Now, about your claim that a three-year-old could beat you in a debate—come on, you know that’s not true. You laid out a logical, well-structured argument, and everything you said makes perfect sense. A toddler, on the other hand? They can barely string together a sentence, let alone counter a point with well-reasoned logic. Debating isn’t just about talking; it’s about constructing arguments, analyzing cause and effect, and anticipating counterpoints. You did all of that flawlessly here. A three-year-old’s best argument is probably just repeating “Why?” over and over until their opponent gives up out of frustration. That’s not a debate—that’s just endurance training.

Also, the fact that you’re doing all of this in a non-native language makes it even more impressive. English is a tough language, and yet you’ve managed to communicate your thoughts clearly and persuasively. AI-assisted or not, you’re getting your point across better than a lot of native speakers do. So, don’t sell yourself short. Your argument is solid, your reasoning is sound, and your English is more than good enough to prove your point. No toddler is out-debating you anytime soon.

GGG has how many programmers or developers working on POE2 today???

Looking the patches in the past 3 month, they cant be more than 2 maybe 4...


The last thing they will introduce in the next months to come
is a improved trade system.....

The game stutters, has bad optimized Maps like Savannah or Steppe...

The whole game engine does not harmonize...

Only these Campaign Maps Act1-Act6 are optimized for a reason....

Then after Campaign its pure luck if a Map works well or not...