Chapter Eight

Buying Used: The Secondary Market

Everything we’ve discussed so far revolves around a literal market—shops where people, including (but not limited to) the PCs, can buy magic items from spellcasters who have made such items for the purpose of selling them. Of course, if people want to buy new items, they’ll want to sell old ones as well, usually for less than the shops want for an identical or similar piece of equipment.

If someone’s selling an old item, the price they ask for it could be anywhere on a wide spectrum. A man selling his deceased wife’s old shield because he can’t bear to have it in the house anymore may ask for quite a bit less than a church looking to part with a relic shield in order to fund a new temple, especially if they’re only willing to sell it for the right price. You can justify almost any asking price if the seller has suitable motivations. 

• A young man who needs to clear gambling debts (20% market price)

• Items of shady origins (40% market price, possibly less if the authorities are closing in on the buyer)

• The widower who wants the item gone, but not at a price that insults his wife’s memory (50% market price)

• The widower who wants to sell the item to fund his daughter’s schooling (60% market price)

• Tired of having it around, wants the money for other opportunities, but won’t sell it at a bad price (75% market price minimum)

• An auction (often full market price or higher)

• A shady auction (well over market price for items of, at best, questionable legality)

One thing to keep in mind is that if markets exist for these items, people are more likely to have some concept of what they sell for when newly made. This is why secondary sales are based on the market price.

————

Regarding sellers: You can have PCs come into contact with somebody who might be willing to sell a magic item any way you see fit. A mutual friend could introduce them to a seller; a merchant who recognizes the famed adventurers might connect them with a friend; perhaps there are even central communication hubs for people looking to deal in magic items. Potential sellers could have what the PCs are looking for, or attempt to sell them on some item or items they want to be rid of.

However, if the PCs are looking to buy a particular item and you’re willing to leave it to fate, you could use a flipped version of the table used for PCs trying to sell an item in the DMG (p. 130), using this book’s market prices instead of the DMG’s base prices. As with the DMG chart, PCs roll a DC 20 Investigation check for each item to see if they can find somebody trying to sell one. The search for an item takes ten days if it fails. 

Because there’s no guarantee of a given item being available on the secondary market—in fact, finding a particular item for sale at any given moment is quite unlikely—a column has been added showing the chances that the item the PCs seek is for sale. If a PC passes their Investigation check and the percentage roll shows the item is not available, the PC understands they’re not going to find it in this location and will have to try again somewhere else. If the item the PCs are looking for isn’t available, you can have them find out something else they weren’t specifically looking for is on offer, in case they’re interested (DM’s discretion).

Here’s a table designed for a moderately-sized city. Tables adjusted for larger or smaller areas are in the appendix.

Rarity

Market Price

% Chance Item is Available

Days to Find Seller

d100 Roll Modifier

Common

500 gp

10%

1d4

+10

Uncommon

2,500 gp

5%

1d6

0

Rare

40,000 gp

2%

1d8

-10

Very Rare

550,000 gp

1%

1d10

-20

Likewise, if the PCs find a seller, you can flip the buyer chart to see what kind of price is being offered. The PC who finds the seller still rolls a Persuasion check and adds it to the d100 roll.

d100 + Mod.

You Find...

20 or lower

A seller offering the item at 1.5x the market price.

21-40

A seller offering the item at the market price, and a shady seller offering it at 75% of the market price.

41-80

A seller offering the item at 75% of the market price, or a shady seller offering it at 50% of the market price.

81-90

A seller offering the item at 50% of the market price.

91 or higher

A shady seller offering the item at 25% of the market price, no questions asked.

————

Broken and Malfunctioning Items

Magic items rarely break, but it’s not impossible. The game, as designed, tends to treat magic items as 100% functional or not functional at all, but you can introduce a spectrum of malfunctions. As with anything that isn’t working properly, this reduces their value, depending on how badly they’re malfunctioning. It also means there’s a chance someone is trying to get rid of the item because it’s not working correctly… and they may or may not be forthcoming about that fact.

If you use this idea, you have a lot of creative opportunity as the DM. For simplicity, we’ll categorize the types of malfunctions and how that would affect the sale price.

Malfunction Level

Description

Price Adjustment

Slight

Item works normally with cosmetic drawbacks (discolored, small noises, could occasionally inflict disadvantage when using a skill related to the item)

90% market value

Moderate

Item works normally with functional drawbacks (routinely gives disadvantage, or gives enemies advantage, when used in combat or in conjunction with a skill)

70% market value

Serious

Item only partially works, possibly with other drawbacks (Gauntlets of Ogre Strength that still require attunement but max STR is 14)

50% market value

Extreme

Item barely works (Wand of Magic Missiles that fires one missile per day)

20% market value

Broken

Item does not work, would need full repair

5% market value (essentially only good for what parts might be salvaged, ie. the emerald atop a Rod of Rulership)

The easiest way to use this list is to assume the seller is honest, or at least unable to mask the problems with the item. If they can hide how broken it is, they may ask for more than it’s worth. It’s up to the PCs to figure out the con… and if they fall for it, what to do once they find out they were scammed.

Finally, although broken items are most likely to be sold second-hand, you could also set up a discount magic item shop where everything has problems but is available at the above discounted rates.

Auctions

Because magic items offer fairly unique benefits and rarely break down, they’re good choices for items to be sold at auction. In fact, since auctions often bring in a price higher than the value of the item itself, it might be an even better place to sell malfunctioning magic items. That way, interested buyers can pick something up for a reduced cost, while whoever’s holding the auction is likely to get more than they would in a one-to-one private sale.

From a DM’s perspective, the occasional auction can be a great way to let the party get an item they really need or want, soak some of their cash if their money pouches are getting a little heavy, or both. Because auctions are so variable—what an item sells for is entirely dependent on who’s interested and present—you have the freedom to have the price PCs need to commit to win an item be whatever you want. Generally speaking, as long as the item sells for close to or more than its base value, the auction should make sense.

You can also create a quest-type scenario for the PCs. Word could be out that a shady auction is being held for something powerful, but four major buyers are traveling in from out of town and expected to drive the price through the roof. The party could decide whether they want to sabotage the travelers or otherwise… convince these buyers not to make it to the auction, so the item winds up being more affordable.

Hey, not every party is heroic.

————

Finally, if you decide a certain item is available secondhand and you just want a simple price guide, here’s a chart. It’s based on the lower end of the theoretical prices described above (e.g. pricing an uncommon item as if it were based on 2nd level casts rather than 3rd), which gives prices a little above half the base market price.

Rarity

Price

Common

275 gp

Uncommon

1,300 gp

Rare

23,000 gp

Very Rare

200,000/400,000 gp*

*- Because very rare items are so rarely created for purchase, most of these will be owned by an adventurer who didn’t have to pay for it. 200,000 gp is an incredible sum, and it’s reasonable that such a person would part with very rare items for that amount. 400,000 gp is more in line with someone who actually commissioned such an item and now wants to part with it. Remember that sellers will almost certainly want more, likely more than they paid initially, for obviously mighty items like a Belt of Fire Giant Strength, the stat-boost manuals, or a Staff of Power.