The Caerleon Black Market is one of the most unique economic systems in any MMORPG. Located in the heart of the Outlaw City of Caerleon, the Black Market acts as the engine driving the drop tables of mobs and chests all over Albion. When you kill a mob and it drops a piece of gear, that gear was actually sold by a player to the Black Market!
How the Black Market Works
The Black Market operates on a supply-and-demand automated bidding system:
- Bidding Phase: When mobs and chests across Albion Online require loot, they create a buy order on the Black Market.
- Price Escalation: If a buy order is not filled, the system automatically increases the price it is willing to pay. This price escalates until a player sells the item.
- Arbitrage Opportunity: Because the prices of items fluctuate heavily based on player activity, you can buy items cheap in the Royal Cities (Lymhurst, Bridgewatch, Martlock, Fort Sterling, Thetford) and transport them to Caerleon to sell to the Black Market for a high profit.
Cross-Quality Matching: The Secret to High Profit
One of the most important secrets of Black Market trading is quality matching. The Black Market accepts items of a higher quality to satisfy buy orders of a lower quality if the profit is greater.
For example, if the Black Market has a buy order for a Normal (Q1) Tier 8 Bag for 800,000 silver, and you have an Outstanding (Q3) Tier 8 Bag that you bought for 600,000 silver, you can sell the Outstanding bag to satisfy the Normal buy order.
ScanAlbion's scanner handles this calculation automatically, ensuring you never miss a flip due to quality mismatches!
Calculating Net Profit Accurately
Flipping to the Black Market is not without risk. You must account for taxes and fees. The formula for net profit is:
Net Profit = BM Price - Buy Price - Sales Tax - Listing Fee
- Sales Tax: If you have an active Premium account, the sales tax is 4%. If Premium is inactive, the tax is 8%.
- Listing Fee: There is a 2.5% listing fee in Royal Cities when buying items via buy orders, but selling directly to the Black Market via active buy orders has a 0% listing fee.
Using our real-time ScanAlbion Dashboard, you can select whether you have active Premium, and the tool will compute the exact net profit automatically.
Flipping Safely
Because Caerleon is surrounded by red zones (full loot PvP areas), transport runs carry a risk of being ganked. Always use appropriate mounts (like an armored horse, stag, or transport mammoth) and run with friends or scouts.