Updated October 11, 2026 · beginner-friendly (yes, including new Switch 2 players)
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.
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, first buying smart and then selling, is the biggest quality-of-life (and wealth) upgrade a new player can make. 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. That's why cross-world shopping exists, and why every price on XIV Profitability is specific to the world you pick.
Buying needs no unlocks. Search the item, compare listings, buy. Two habits will save you a lot of gil.
Check the sale history (the second tab) before paying. Current listings show what sellers are asking. History shows what buyers actually paid. If listings are way above recent sales, wait or shop another world.
Expect a 5% service fee on top of the listed price. Fees are part of every flip calculation.
NQ (normal quality)The standard version. Cheaper, and fine for most uses.
HQ (high quality)HQ gear and food carry a premium. Don't pay HQ price for an NQ item in a hurry.
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.
Serious sellers keep those 40 slots full of items that sell steadily. It's a passive income line that works while you play.
Open a summoning bell (there's one next to every market board), pick a retainer, and add items to their sale list with your price. Two costs to understand:
The 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 are worth knowing, and they hold across servers:
Tuesday is paydayWeekly raid lockouts reset on Tuesday. Raiders restock food and potions that afternoon and evening, so consumables spike every week.
Evenings and weekendsPeak traffic: the most buyers online, and the most aggressive undercutting. Listing just before peak hours works well.
Late night is the quiet flipUndercut before bed and your listings sit at the top for night-owl shoppers while competitors sleep.
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 destroys the item's value for everyone, including you. When it's worth undercutting and when it isn't: undercutting & pricing guide.
The World Visit system lets you hop to other worlds on your data center. 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 bringing it home is a legitimate strategy, and a profitable one.
The higher profit floor makes the trip worth it. On any item's page, Load prices from other servers shows what every world is asking.
Open any tool (crafting, gathering, flips), sort by Best, and try this as a starting point:
That's the "sweet spot" preset: sells every day, pays enough to be worth a slot. More presets in the main gil guide.
Reach the level 17 MSQ "The Scions of the Seventh Dawn," then hire a retainer from a Retainer Vocate in any major city. You get two free, and each can list 20 items. 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. You can buy on any world you can visit, but you can only list items for sale on your home world.
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? The history tab answers all three.
Put this into practice with live market-board prices for your world:
Vendor & item databaseEvery merchant's stock with current market values.Open → Cross-server arbitrageBuy cheaper on another world, sell at home.Open → NPC ↔ market flipsVendor items that resell for more, and board items NPCs pay more for.Open →What sells best? → See live prices for your world →
More: how to make gil (every method) · your first million gil · flipping & arbitrage · the market board sweet spot
XIV Profitability is a free, fan-made tool. Not affiliated with Square Enix. Prices via Universalis. FINAL FANTASY XIV © SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD.