~9 min
This guide explains how trading works in Path of Exile 2 for the Runes of Aldur league: the three trading systems, how to use the trade site, how to buy and sell with the Currency Exchange and the Merchant's Tab, how to price and undercut, how to flip currency, and how to avoid getting scammed. There is no auction house and no buyout button, so a little setup goes a long way.
The short version: stackable currency goes through the automated Currency Exchange, gear and other non-stackables go through asynchronous Merchant's Tab listings, and anything else can change hands in a direct player trade. The async system arrived with patch 0.3 (The Third Edict) and lets you buy and sell while offline. One hard rule up front: Solo Self-Found characters cannot trade at all, by design.
The Three Ways to Trade
Almost everything in the game is tradeable. Which system you use depends on what you are moving.
Method | What it handles | Works offline? | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Currency Exchange | Stackable currency, crafting materials, fragments, and invitations | Yes | Gold Fee |
Asynchronous trade (Merchant's Tab) | Gear, unique items, and other non-stackables | Yes | One-time Merchant's Tab, plus a gold fee when a sale completes |
Direct player trade | Everything except Gold | No, both players must be online | Free |
Before You Start: Requirements and SSF
Two of the three systems need a little groundwork. To list items asynchronously you need a hideout and the NPC Ange, the Merchant, who replaced Faustus. If you have not unlocked a hideout yet, finish the Hostile Takeover quest first, then invite Ange from Act 4 or the Hideout panel. The Currency Exchange is reached through Ange as well (or at Kingsmarch in Act 4).
Selling through the Merchant's Tab also requires the tab itself, which is not free (covered below). Buying does not require a tab. And to repeat the one rule that catches people out: Solo Self-Found blocks the Currency Exchange, the Merchant's Tab, and direct trades entirely. Leaving SSF is a one-way move to the Standard league, so do not flip it on lightly.
The Trade Site
The official trade site is the game's master index of every listed item in the league. You can open it in a browser at pathofexile.com/trade2 or use the identical in-game version by pressing / or opening the Market Panel from the hamburger icon at the bottom-left of the UI. Functionality is the same in both, so use whichever you prefer.
The filters are what make it usable. Stack them aggressively until you are looking at a real market snapshot rather than a wall of noise.
Filter | Use it for |
|---|---|
Item Type | Narrowing to weapon, armour, jewel, and so on |
Mods (Min / Max) | Hitting exact stat thresholds |
Rarity | Filtering to Normal, Magic, Rare, or Unique |
Price | Setting a maximum budget before you commit |
Online Only | Skipping sellers who are not currently logged in |
Instant buyout | Opportunity to buy desired item even with seller being offline |
Turn on Online Only unless you enjoy whispering people who logged off weeks ago, and tighten your filters until you are under about 20 results. More than 200 results means the search is too broad to price or buy from. When you are hunting for specific upgrade items, the Mods filter with minimum values is what turns a vague search into a short, buyable list.
Currency Exchange: The System That Just Works
The Currency Exchange is a fully automated order book, the closest thing the game has to a stock market. You place a buy or sell order, and the system fills it for you with no whispering and no waiting on another human. It only handles stackable items: currency, crafting materials, fragments, and boss invitations.
Speak to Ange to open it. Hovering an order shows the existing prices so you can pick a sensible ratio, and the gold cost of the trade is shown above the Place Order button. If your price can be matched right away, it completes instantly; if it is better than anything currently offered, the exchange posts it as a standing order and fills it when a willing counterparty appears. Rates are player-driven, so they shift with the meta. Early in a league, Chaos Orbs are cheap; late in a league, Divine Orbs cost a fortune. If you need a stack of premium currency without grinding for it, NextTier sells PoE 2 Divine Orbs for the new league.
Asynchronous Trade with the Merchant's Tab
Asynchronous trading is how you sell gear, uniques, and anything else the Currency Exchange will not take, and it is the part that finally respects your time. You price items in a Merchant's Tab, list them, and walk away. A buyer teleports into your hideout, takes the item, and leaves while you are offline or asleep, and you collect the proceeds later from Ange's remove-only Earnings Tab.
Listing Items (Sellers)
- Unlock a hideout (finish the Hostile Takeover quest if needed) and invite Ange.
- Get a Merchant's Tab. Buy one in the MTX shop, or convert an existing Premium Stash Tab through your account page on the official site. Only Premium Tabs bought before the 0.3 The Third Edict launch can be converted, and Quad Stash Tabs cannot be converted at all.
- Place an item in the Merchant's Tab and Ctrl + Left Click it to open the pricing window.
- Set a single currency type and amount, then confirm. The interface remembers your last price, but there is no bulk pricing for the whole tab.
- A short lock period follows each listing to prevent spam repricing.
Listing itself costs no gold; the small gold fee is charged when the sale actually goes through, so there is no downside to listing something at a fair price.
Buying Items (Buyers)
- Open the Market Panel or the trade site and filter down to what you want.
- On a Merchant's Tab listing, the usual whisper button is replaced by Secure Item. Clicking it teleports you into the seller's hideout with the price and item locked in.
- Talk to Ange and purchase from the Merchant window. A gold fee applies, and the seller does not need to be online.
- Bring the currency with you, since the trade will not wait while you run back to your stash.
One limit worth knowing: only 24 players who are not friends or party members can be in your hideout at once, which almost never matters in practice.
Direct Player Trade
This is the old-fashioned way, and the only free way to sell without a Merchant's Tab. You find an item on the trade site, click the whisper button, paste the message into chat, and wait. If the seller responds, they invite you to their party, you travel to their hideout, both of you hover the items to confirm them, and both click Accept.
Two habits keep this safe. First, the scam check: always hover the item in the trade window before you click Accept, because last-second item swaps have existed since the first game. Second, do not wait forever. If a seller does not reply, whisper once more, give it a moment, then move on, because the item has usually already sold.
Pricing Your Items
Pricing is where most currency is won or lost. Before you list anything, search the trade site for the same item and read the cheapest few genuine listings to find the going rate. Your rare with two useful mods and four filler mods is not worth a pile of Divine Orbs, so check before you dream.
- Undercut the median by roughly 10 to 15% if you want a quick sale. A sold item always beats a "valuable" one gathering dust.
- List during peak hours, in the evenings and on weekends, when the buyer pool is largest.
- If your listing is the most expensive one on the page, lower it; pride does not sell here.
If you would rather buy your upgrades than farm and flip for them, NextTier can supply Custom Build so you skip the early market entirely.
Currency Primer
A few currencies do most of the heavy lifting in trades. Knowing what each one is for keeps you from overpaying or mispricing.
Currency | Role in trading |
|---|---|
Chaos Orb | The everyday base unit of most transactions |
Divine Orb | Premium currency; re-rolls the values of an item's explicit modifiers and prices high-end gear |
Exalted Orb | Adds a random modifier to an item |
Beyond these, the Currency Exchange also moves crafting materials, fragments, splinters, and boss invitations, all priced against each other by the live order book.
Flipping Currency and Playing the Economy
Currency flipping is real and the Currency Exchange makes it cleaner than it has ever been. The idea is simple arbitrage: find a currency pair where the gap between buy and sell orders is profitable, fill it repeatedly, and reinvest. The main risk is a sudden meta shift, since one popular new build can change which orbs everyone suddenly needs.
A rough rhythm for the league: early on, farm and sell while demand and prices are high; in the mid-league, upgrade your own gear aggressively while prices are still sane; late in the league, either commit to flipping or take a break until the next one. If playing the market is not your idea of fun, a full starter package gets you geared without it.
Staying Safe and Trading Smart
- Keep Online Only enabled on the trade site so you are not whispering ghosts.
- Prefer Secure Item purchases, which lock both the price and the item before you teleport in.
- On any direct trade, hover every item in the trade window before you accept.
- Remember that Gold is not tradeable; it only pays listing and exchange fees and NPC costs, so no one can ever ask you to hand it over.
PoE 2 Trade FAQ
Do I need a Merchant's Tab to buy items?
No. Buying only needs the Market Panel or the trade site. The Merchant's Tab is required to sell asynchronously while you are offline.
Can I trade Gold with other players?
No. Gold is non-tradeable. It only funds your listings, exchange fees, and NPC interactions.
Can Solo Self-Found players trade?
No. SSF blocks the Currency Exchange, the Merchant's Tab, and direct trades by design. Switching out of SSF is a one-way move to the Standard league.
How do I unlock asynchronous trading?
Unlock a hideout, completing the Hostile Takeover quest if you have not already, then invite Ange in Act 4. You also need a Merchant's Tab to list items.
A seller is not responding. What should I do?
Whisper once more, wait a short while, then move on to the next listing. The item has usually already been sold.
How do I know if my item is priced correctly?
Search the same item on the trade site and read the cheapest few real listings. If yours is the most expensive on the page, lower it.
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