Trading and Bartering

Trading and bartering is the system used by fairies to exchange goods and services. In place of exchanging something like "gold" or "cash", fairies would instead exchange items of varying importance, or may offer to do a service in exchange for one!   Each fairy may be looking for different things, and some may be more willing to trade than others. It's important to know what kinds of trades a shopkeep is willing to accept, or knowing just how to haggle.   Basic items used for trades would be forageables. These would be things like acorns, shells, spider silk, and more. Foragables would be easy to come by and easily gathered. That way, if one was short on acorns, they wouldn't be hard to find.   Some fairies may put more importance on one item than another. For example, a Dark Fairy shopkeeper who incorporates spider silk into their clothing would value that item more highly than an acorn. Again, it's all about knowing which forageables a specific fairy is looking for and is willing to trade for.   Moreover, items of certain rarity may grant more favors as well. Fairies highly value “lost items” – goods that have washed ashore from the nearby human* island. So, if one managed to find, let's say, a wind-up toy. This would be something not a lot of fairies would have since it's not something of the island's creation, and not a common possession among fairies. So, if they brought it to a fairy that was super interested in the machinations of a wind-up toy, they could probably trade for a bigger service or supply of goods in return.   Generally, though, most fairies across the island will accept foraged goods. You just have to make sure you get the right ones!   The goods that fairies favor can vary significantly from shop to shop and location to location. Areas with a high population of Water Fairies may primarily trade in shells and pearls, whereas a fairy from another region might carry pebbles of coal. To complete a trade, they would need to gather the appropriate amount of shells or find someone willing to exchange coal for pearls.   This means most fairies are capable of being well-off and supplied for, while business keepers are also able to sustain themselves! It's a self-sustaining ecosystem where everyone supports one another.   However, some fairies may accumulate more material goods than others. This disparity could be due to personal choice—some fairies may prefer to trade for luxurious items more frequently—or because a particular fairy has acquired more valuable items to trade. Conversely, other fairies might choose to live with fewer material possessions or find it more challenging to access certain forageables due to their location or other circumstances.   But, generally, no fairy would be without the resources they need to sustain themselves. All a fairy needs to do to have a home is carve a hole into an acorn, or ask their local carpenter fairy to help build them one in exchange for something in return. All a fairy needs to secure food is to have something to trade in exchange (again maybe just an acorn or two!) And some fairies may even be generous enough to provide these things for no cost at all.   Remember, Faetalia is a communal space where everyone aims to support one another! Even if one has less goods, or less status, there are still a plethora of fairies out there willing to make sure they're well taken care of.