Merchant Archive

First, me:

I am a noobie artisan/scout (just got Business I) with a strong interest in the merchant class. I would like to become a commodities dealer; I want to build a customer base of other artisans who need resources and components. I would like to become a merchant and am sincerely hoping that the bugs are under control by the time I get there.

Now the question(s):

Are the vendor’s maintenance fees in fact based on the value of their inventory? (Some of this forums posts seem to say that, other seem to disagree.)

I am a casual gamer and would like to load up my vendors heavily and check in on them once every few days to a week, rather then having to baby-sit their inventory to remain profitable.

If they are in fact based on inventory value rather then (say) a commission of sales (a really logical choice), is it going to stay that way? (I don’t expect it to be a fix-now issue, rather is it something they plan to change down the road.)

Because of my play style this is probably a make or break question for me. If the vendor would cost too much to maintain with 500k worth of resources (I want my customers to have a broad selection of types and quantities) and a medium to low customer base, then I may have to change my plans for this character.

Synter (Cyt, of Haven on Sunrunner)

P.S. I just read that there seems to be an expiration date on postings to your own vendors. Is that true? Of I have to re-post my entire selection every week that would be really frustrating. (It’s not like it’s the bazaar, it’s my own vendor)