There will be two general markets: legitimate, and illegitimate/black market. The black market will be PC run, and involves a who-you-know type of access rather than simply allowing an open door and having Starfleet walk in. In certain places, the black market will most likely be more accessible than others. Oblivion Point's black market center will be easier to access than say... Deep Space Nine's. Since we already have an element of black marketeering on the game, adapting won't be difficult. We move black market commodities (babies, organs) under codenames, and failure to fulfill those contracts might result in limbs being torn off. Role-play centric for sure, because you need to role-play to get involved with this group of people and to be awarded certain contracts. The more you interact, the more your reputation goes up or down. This will not affect your 'legitimate' reputation, so long as you remain under the radar of Starfleet or other authorities.
Under these two general markets, we will have one level of subdivision, not unlike what we have right now:
Raw Materials
* - ores, gems.
Refined Materials
* - alloys, metals.
Finished Products
* - computers, padds, tricorders, chips.
Luxuries
* - high-priced non-essentials: jewelry, art, alcohol.
Public Goods
* - Publicly consumed items: food, clothes, essentials.
There will also be a notation: Perishable: for items that will have an expiration point.
Okay, so let's go back to the open markets for a bit. As I mentioned before, each planet and space station will have markets. Planets will produce certain commodities, while consuming others. Some of those commodities will be produced on that planet, while others won't be. I'd like to use Bajor as an example, since it was used in the brainstorming session: Bajor has a heavy agricultural base, and has luxury items like Jumja or wine. It consumes quite a bit, such as computers, padds... which it also produces on its own. Imports from other areas may include Klingon perishables, such as raktajino, or perhaps even Rihannsu products like ale (We can presume that Rihannsu ale is a valued commodity everywhere. No one kills off brain cells like the Rihannsu). So, Bajor's advantage lies in its production of perishable public goods, as well as perishable luxury items. It procudes more than enough, and sells Jumja on the open market, as well as Wine, and Food.
Reputation plays a role in this: On a scale of -50 to +50, a player's reputation can lie anywhere. However, certain players who've succeeded in carrying out their contracts to a point where their reputation is around 35-40 may have the opportunity to expand their influence on the market by purchasing a license to operate in the open market on Bajor. Thereby allowing him or her the ability to act as a purchaser of anything the planet produces. This is likened to getting a resellers permit or something. Then they can go to Risa and sell their purchases to Risian merchants, who in turn sell Jumja to tourists.
Base cost per commodity is determine on a planetary basis. The comparative advantage on Bajor to produce Jumja is absolute when compared to Betazed or Qo'noS. Since neither produce Jumja, Bajor has a market monopoly based on circumstance.
