Understanding Cross-City Trade

Cross-city trading is one of the most reliable ways to earn silver in Albion Online. The core principle is simple: buy low in one city, sell high in another. However, profitable trading requires understanding market dynamics, transportation costs, and risk management.

The Six Royal Cities

Each royal city specializes in different resources, which creates natural price differences:

  • Martlock — Best for hides and leather. Buy raw hides here.
  • Lymhurst — Best for fiber and cloth. Raw fiber is cheapest here.
  • Bridgewatch — Best for ore and stone. Mining goods are abundant.
  • Fort Sterling — Best for wood and planks. Timber is plentiful.
  • Thetford — Best for all resource types due to central location.
  • Caerleon — Black Market hub. Highest buy prices but highest risk.

How to Find Profitable Routes

Use the Trade Route tool on this site to automatically find the best routes. The tool compares real-time prices across all cities and calculates net profit after fees. Here is what to look for:

  • Spread above 15% — The price difference between buy and sell city should be at least 15% to cover fees and taxes.
  • High trade volume — Items with many buy/sell orders are easier to flip. Look for items with 10+ orders.
  • Low weight — Lighter items mean more profit per trip. Resources like runes are extremely weight-efficient.

Top 3 Trade Route Categories

1. Raw Resources (T4-T6)

Buying raw resources from their specialty city and selling in Caerleon or another royal city. For example, buy T5 hide in Martlock for ~120 silver and sell in Caerleon for ~180 silver. Profit margin: ~30% after fees.

2. Runes and Relics

Runes (T4-T8) are extremely lightweight and have high profit margins. Buy from cities where players dump them after dungeons, sell in Caerleon. A stack of 100 T6 runes can yield 50,000+ silver profit per trip.

3. Refined Materials

Buy refined materials (leather, cloth, metal bars, planks) from crafting cities and sell in Caerleon. Refined goods have higher value density than raw resources.

Fee Calculation

Every trade involves fees that eat into your profit:

  • Setup fee — 2.5% of item value when placing a sell order (1.5% with Premium).
  • Sales tax — 4% on completed sales (2% with Premium).
  • Total cost — Approximately 6.5% without Premium, 3.5% with Premium.

Always factor in these fees when calculating profit. A route that looks like 10% profit may only be 3.5% after fees.

Risk Management

Trading to Caerleon requires traveling through red zones where you can be killed and lose everything. Tips to minimize risk:

  • Travel light — Don't carry more than you can afford to lose.
  • Use a fast mount — Riding Horse or Transport Ox for short trips.
  • Check zone population — Avoid routes through populated red zones.
  • Trade in off-peak hours — Fewer gankers at 3-6 AM server time.

Using Real-Time Data

The key to profitable trading is acting on current prices, not yesterday's. This site's Market tool shows real-time prices from the Albion Online Data Project. Prices update continuously as players list and buy orders.

Check prices right before you buy and again before you sell. Market conditions change quickly, especially for high-volume items.

Conclusion

Cross-city trading is a steady income source that scales with your capital. Start with small trades on safe routes between royal cities, then expand to Caerleon routes as your confidence and silver grow. Use the tools on this site to find the best opportunities in real-time.