There is also the fact that people do not want competitors for their wares. So unless you're a particularly goodly character, odds on are you're not going to want to teach people.
Oh but I am goodly
and actually competition is good. That means you can busy yourself with economic battles that can actually better your product and marketing strategies. Without competition, merchants do whatever the hell they want. Get super greedy, then irritate the hell out of people. If only one guy sold a certain type of product on the server and the only way to get it was that one guy he could make something like say for example...
Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds - 1000 Gold Pieces.
Just as an example, don't worry yourselves with technicalities, or skeletal knuckles or whatever just look at the big picture and the point I'm trying to make.
If you wanted to buy Product X and it's hardly worth one thousand coin and Merchant X is the only guy who makes Product X. You are kinda forced to purchase from him if you need it.
Eventually Consumed Y is going to get pissed off with Merchant X and work towards his own craft and run Merchant X out of business by doing all the things Merchant X did wrong to piss people off. The Consumer Y who is now Merchant Y is going to do what Merchant X did and you have a rather strange sort of economy, or on the other hand nobody tries to oppose Merchant X and Merchant X just keeps making money and nobody else has that opportunity.
History tells us on quite a few occasions that Monopolies are BAD. Now if you have competition... that means you have to work from a sales or marketing perspective you have to figure out "What the hell am I gonna do to sell my product?"
Coke'a'Potion Company decides to sell Cure Moderate Wounds Potions at 500 fang, while Pepsi Potion company sells at 300 fang a bottle. Now in this straight up price comparison, Pepsi is going to win because people will just buy cheaper.
Thing is for (whatever circumstance) Coke'a'potion can't afford to sell moderates at that price or lower (again all of this is just an example... and it would be ridiculous to sell that potion at that price just look at the point i'm trying to show you).
For whatever reason Coke'a'Potion company can't afford to sell them that low. Maybe they don't have enough of the right herb stock piled, whatever. But Coke'a'potion has to do something... so they come along and they do something like say: "Buy Cure Moderate, get A potion of Barkskin for free". So now they create a choice, an interesting choice, a brand, and a way for them to market and make money.
So now you have to ask yourself "Coke or Pepsi?".
Competition creates a more interesting market you see. Did I mention I love this kind of stuff?
I actually wanted to run a table top game based around being a Merchant Lord and players having personal armies, land etc.
