Vendor

Vendors in Ultima Online come in a multitude of varieties, but are generally differentiated into two distinct groups: Player-owned vendors that are based out of player houses and Non-Player Character (NPC) vendors that sell basic goods.

Player-owned vendors

Player-owned vendors are all unique and feature goods that their controlling player wishes to sell. Nearly anything that can be picked up or looted in the game can be sold on these vendors.

Prices on player-owned vendors fluctuate wildly, and generally prices are highest on vendors surrounding the Luna area. Before the introduction of Vendor Search, there was a "Luna Price Spike" effect due to the high volume of visitors each vendor received. An item listed for 50,000 gold pieces on a Luna Vendor would sell in a matter of hours, while the same item on a vendor in a less trafficked area would take days or weeks at half the price.

There are three types of vendors:

Regular vendor - Obtained through a Contract of Employment. Generates a vendor with a random race and gender. Includes a per-day fee and a percentage of the selling price.
Rental vendor - Obtained through a Vendor Rental Contract. Allows owners to rent out vendor spaces at their house.
Commission vendor - Obtained through a Commission Contract of Employment. Generates a vendor of the same race as the owner. Available only to house owners. Charges only a fixed 5.25% commission fee on sold items.

Operation

In order to place a vendor inside a house, first A Contract of Employment needs to be purchased from NPC bankers, minters, or inkeepers. The house that the vendor will be placed in should be set to public. Double-clicking on the contract will set the vendor in the same spot the character is standing. While the spot the vendor is standing cannot be changed through this menu, its name, gender, race, direction, and appearance can be customized by using the gump that appears by double-clicking on the vendor. The vendor's bag of goods can also be seen by selecting the 'See Goods' option on this gump.

Vendor Rental Contracts are available to rent a vendor spot inside a house to another player. The contract options display the contract length, the price per rental, and the names of the landlord and the renter. The option to renew the contract on expiration and, if so, the renewal price can also be set on the contract options. Note that customizable houses cannot be altered while the vendor of any other player is present in the house.

Each house can accommodate at least 10 vendors, also known as the vendor count. The size of the house can increase this number to a maximum of 42 vendors for customizable houses and 72 for castles.

Movement

Moving player-owned vendors is only possible when the house contains only vendors owned by the house's owner. The owner places the house in customization mode. Once a change to the structure is made, the vendors are placed in the moving crate. To remove a vendor from the crate, stand in the location the vendor is to be located and use the context menu on the character. A list of vendors will be presented.

Removal

To remove a vendor, use the context menu on the vendor to be removed and choose 'Terminate'. The owner of the vendor must be online and nearby. To remove a vendor of a player that is not online, use the context menu and choose Contract Options. Set the Renew on Expiration to NO. The vendor will be removed after the current contract period has expired.

A vendor that has been removed from a house will have its goods transferred to the house sign for 7 days. To reclaim them, use the context menu on the house sign. After 7 days, the items will be transferred to the moving crate for the owner's safekeeping.

Vendor fees

The vendor system charges its fees by real day, rather than an in-game day. The base fee for a vendor is 60 gold per 24 hours. Additionally, the vendor charges a percentage of the selling price of the goods. For commission vendors using a Commission Contract of Employment, the vendors take a 5.25% commission of every sale and require no daily fee.

NPC vendors

NPC Vendors include Scribes, Tailors, Blacksmiths, Tinkerers, Fletchers, Mages, Paladins, Healers, and all vendors that populate Ultima Online's various lands that are not under direct control of the players. They are usually found in towns.

Prices on these vendors fluctuate based on the demand for specific items the vendor is selling. For example, Iron Ingots may have a starting price of 8 gold pieces each, but if a player purchases thousands or tens of thousands of Iron Ingots from one specific NPC Vendor, the price per ingot will rise slowly. Ingot and other raw materials prices rise at the rate of 1 gold piece per 1000 units purchased, with no limit on the maximum price.

To access an NPC vendor, a player can click on them with the context window and either select "Sell" or "Buy". A player may also say "Vendor Buy" or "Vendor Sell" in order to access the basic buy and sell functions.

Publishes

Publish 106 (17 Sep 2019): Commission vendors added.
Publish 80 (12 Dec 2012): Vendors will now charge their fees incrementally over time, instead of once per day.
If the vendor runs out of funds, the player has a one-hour grace period before the vendor packs up.
Vending Penalty is abolished and all existing Vending Penalties are removed from all items.
Vendors will now charge fees for selling equipped items
It is now possible to drag inventory directly from one vendor's backpack to another, preserving sale price
Publish 20 (6 Oct 2003): NPC bankers, minters, and gargoyle innkeepers will now sell vendor and barkeep contracts (and the new vendor rental contracts).
Vendors now have a single account that holds money given to them by their owner as well as funds from sales. The owner may add to this account when the vendor has less than 1,000,000 gp.
Fixed a bug that allowed containers and books to exist in a vendor’s inventory without having a set price or vended description. (This does not include spellbooks or special containers like game boards.)