Trading

Trading on Prosperity SMP happens through several mechanisms. Player-to-player commerce drives the economy, with the Admin shop serving as a guaranteed fallback.

Trading methods

ChestShop signs

The primary trading method. Place a chest with a ChestShop sign to sell items to other players while online or offline. Shops in the market district get the most traffic. Best for high-volume, commonly traded commodities.

Direct trading

Run /trade <player> to open a secure two-player trade window. Both players place items and cash, both confirm, and the exchange happens atomically — neither side can take the goods without giving up their own. Best for one-to-one deals, gifts, and high-value handoffs.

Auction house

Run /ah to open the Auction house, a server-wide board of fixed-price listings. Sellers set a price and any player can buy; the item and cash change hands instantly. Best for one-off, high-value, or hard-to-display items such as enchanted gear and rare drops.

Admin shop

Run /shop to access the Admin shop. It offers guaranteed floor prices for common materials. Use it when no player shops are buying what you have.

Direct payment

Use /pay <player> <amount> to send money directly. Useful for service payments or deals negotiated in chat. For trades involving items, prefer direct trading, which protects both sides.

Price discovery

/market command: Run /market <item> to see the median unit price based on recent player-to-player transactions across ChestShop and the auction house. This is the best indicator of what an item is actually worth.

/find command: Run /find <item> to locate player shops currently selling or buying a specific item. Shows the shop owner, price, location, and current stock.

Admin shop prices: The Admin shop sets a floor. If /market shows a higher price than the admin shop, you can earn more by selling to players.

Setting good prices

Check /market <item> before setting your ChestShop price or auction listing.
Undercut existing sellers by a small margin to move inventory faster.
For items with no market data, check the Admin shop price and mark up 20-50%.
High-demand items (diamonds, iron, food) sell fastest in the market district.
Niche items (decorative blocks, rare drops) sell slower but at higher margins, and often do best on the auction house.

Supply and demand

Prices change based on player activity:

When many players mine (supply up), ore prices tend to drop.
When a new building project starts (demand up), building material prices rise.
Civic contracts create artificial demand for specific materials at fixed prices.
The server's economic dashboard monitors these trends automatically.

Trade safety

All ChestShop transactions are logged by CoreProtect.
Scamming is prohibited under Server rules. Staff can verify transactions and issue refunds.
BOLT protects your chest contents — only the shop interface is exposed to buyers.
For secure item-and-cash swaps with another player, use Direct trading. It holds both offers and exchanges them atomically, so neither side can take the goods without paying.
For fixed-price public sales, list items on the Auction house, where the buyer's payment and your item change hands in a single instant transaction.