Read buy orders, sell orders, and market averages

Choose a price source for the action you will take

Before comparing cities, decide whether you need to buy immediately, sell immediately, or leave an order on the market. These are different actions. A table that contains several price types is useful only if you select the right side of each transaction.

A sell order is an offer from a seller: buying from it is an immediate purchase if the listing is still available. A buy order is an offer from a buyer: filling it is an immediate sale if demand remains. A historical average describes reported trading during a period; it is not an order that you can execute.

Keep the server, item, tier, enchantment, and quality consistent. A price for another server or another quality is not an alternative quote for the same trade. AU’s server setting and item-quality selections matter before any comparison of cities.

Test a transport idea against the correct order sides

Consider the invented observations below for one identical item. These are teaching values for two unnamed markets, not live Albion prices or a recommended route. Assume a 4% tax on the sale and initially ignore transport and listing charges.

1. An immediate purchase in A costs 2,400 silver. An immediate sale in B receives 2,300 before tax, not the 2,800 sell-order price.
2. After the assumed tax, B pays 2,300 × 0.96 = 2,208 silver. The immediate round trip loses 192 silver per item before transport.
3. Listing in B at 2,800 is a different scenario. If it sells, net revenue before setup or relisting charges is 2,688, leaving 288 above the purchase price.
4. That 288 is conditional on a future buyer. Competing listings, price changes, selling time, transport costs, and losses still belong in the decision.

Do not multiply the cheapest observation by an unlimited quantity

Suppose you want 20 items but only five are available at A’s 2,400 price. If the next 15 cost 2,600 each, the actual purchase is 5 × 2,400 + 15 × 2,600 = 51,000 silver, or 2,550 per item. The lowest observed price understated the batch cost by 3,000 silver.

If all 20 could sell immediately at B’s assumed buy order, net revenue would be 20 × 2,208 = 44,160 silver. The batch would lose 6,840 before transport. Buyer demand also has depth, so even that sale assumption must be checked.

AU’s public price observations are not a reservation of inventory. Confirm available quantities inside the game for both sides of a trade. Increasing a calculator’s batch count does not create extra market liquidity.

Use averages for context, not as executable offers

The 24-hour, seven-day, and four-week views answer questions over different windows. A short window is more responsive to a recent change; a longer window gives more history but may describe conditions that no longer exist. There is no universally best window for every item.

If the four-week average is 2,650 but the current observed buy order is 2,300, selling immediately at 2,650 is not an available operation merely because that average appears in a table. Use the difference as a reason to investigate the market, not as guaranteed profit.

Thin trading and incomplete observations can make an average look unusually high or low. Comparing multiple windows helps identify disagreement, but it cannot prove that an item will return to a previous price.

Treat missing and stale observations differently from cheap items

Market data comes from the Albion Online Data Project, which collects observations reported by players using compatible clients. Coverage depends on activity in the relevant market. AU cannot guarantee that every item and city have equally recent observations.

Check update times and whether both sides of a comparison have usable values. A recent destination price compared with an old source price is not a synchronized trade snapshot. Missing observations mean the input is unknown; they do not mean the item is free or impossible to sell.

There is no single safe maximum age for every trade. For a narrow margin or large batch, verify in game immediately before committing silver. For broad research, older observations may still provide context if their age is kept visible.

A repeatable price-checking workflow

A saved preset can reduce repeated typing, but the decision still depends on fresh observations. Public searches work without signing in; saving presets uses your account.

1. Select the intended server, search for the exact item, and choose its quality. Add the source and destination cities to the comparison.
2. Read sell orders for immediate purchase costs and buy orders for immediate sale proceeds. Apply the relevant selling tax and other charges.
3. Compare historical windows to understand context. Do not mix an average purchase estimate with an immediate sale as if both were guaranteed.
4. Inspect timestamps, then check in-game quantities. Include transport time and the possibility of losing cargo where relevant.
5. Use manual calculator price overrides for verified inputs, and repeat the check when the market or your batch size changes.