Quick answer: The market board is FFXIV's player auction house, at any city aetheryte. You buy instantly at the listed price and sell through retainers (unlocked around level 17). Sellers pay a 5% tax, and prices differ by world, so always price from recent sales rather than the single lowest listing.
Updated August 9, 2026 · beginner-friendly (yes, including new Switch 2 players)
The market board is FFXIV's player-run economy: almost every tradeable item in the game is bought and sold there, at prices set entirely by players. Learning to use it — buying smart, then selling — is the single biggest quality-of-life (and wealth) upgrade for a new player. Here's the whole system.
Market boards are physical objects in the world — you'll find them in every major city's market area (Limsa Lominsa, Gridania, Ul'dah, and each expansion's capital) and in the residential districts. Interacting with one opens the full market for your world: search any item, see every current listing, and check its recent sale history.
One thing that surprises new players: the market is per world (server), not global. The same item can cost triple on your world what it costs one world over — which is why every price on XIV Profitability is specific to the world you pick, and why cross-world shopping (below) exists.
Buying needs no unlocks: search the item, compare listings, buy. Two habits will save you a lot of gil:
You don't list items yourself — your retainers do. Retainers are personal NPC assistants who hold your items, run ventures, and staff your market stall. To unlock them:
Each retainer has 20 market sell slots — so two free retainers means 40 items listed at once. Serious sellers treat keeping those 40 slots full of steadily-selling items as the core habit; it's a passive income line that works while you play.
Open a summoning bell (next to every market board), pick a retainer, and add items to their sale list with your price. Two costs to understand:
Cheapest listing sells first — that's most of what you need to know. Sellers "undercut" by listing 1 gil below the current cheapest. Three timing patterns (consistent across servers) are worth knowing:
And re-check your prices before peak windows — a listing that's been undercut sells nothing. But don't chase every undercut minute-to-minute; race-to-the-bottom pricing just destroys the item's value for everyone, including you.
The World Visit system lets you hop to other worlds on your data center — and while visiting, you can buy from their market board at their prices. You can only sell on your home world, but buying where it's cheap and hauling it home is a legitimate strategy (and a profitable one — see the cross-server arbitrage tool, which scans every world on your data center for exactly these spreads).
Reach the level 17 MSQ "The Scions of the Seventh Dawn," then hire a retainer from a Retainer Vocate in any major city. Selling happens through your retainers at a summoning bell.
Buyers pay +5% on top of the listing. Sellers lose up to 5% of the sale depending on their retainer's city (starting cities are always 5%). Plan around 5% and you'll never be surprised.
No — buy anywhere you can visit, sell only at home.
Check three things: were you undercut, does the item actually move (sales per day), and was your price based on a real sale or a fantasy listing? History tab answers all three.
Put this into practice with live market-board prices for your world:
What sells best? → See live prices for your world →
More: how to make gil (every method) · your first million gil · flipping & arbitrage
XIV Profitability is a free, fan-made tool. Not affiliated with Square Enix. Prices via Universalis. FINAL FANTASY XIV © SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.