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[Skippy]

I'm quite happy the elves no longer carry 37 bins of rope reed cloth, but it seems they've found new ways to irritate me. Elven caravan shows up with a bunch of wood, barrels, and even quite a bit of alcohol (mostly mediocre/shitty, but I wasn't particularly choosey), and in return I offer a big pile of mugs and leave the trader with a handsome ~200 dwarfbucks profit. He counteroffers a bunch more mugs and I look at what the new offer is. Just about all of my mugs and a whopping 900 db profit. I decide to rearrange and give him a little bit more pocket change profit, 300 to see if that appeases him. He counteroffers again with an obscene amount of money. He does this about five times, wanting around 1000 bucks for his own pocket, before frankly telling me to piss off and how I can't "appreciate the finer offers" and leaving.

Fucking elves.

He's actually still at the depot, so I'm tempted to just seize all his stuff.

[Pickled Tink]

Don't seize his stuff. Issue a kill order on him for your military. Pry his goods from his cold dead hands.

[Imp]

When my broker's new to his job it seems that the caravans (from any race) expect to recieve at least a 50% profit on goods I  purchase.  So if I'm buying 2000 worth of goods, I need to offer 3000 worth or more of my own for it, or I always get refused and/or counteroffered.  I've tested this enough to underoffer around 5 and always be refused, then offer an extra 10 (so I'm now about 5 over a 50% profit for them) and always be accepted (barring forbidden goods  )

I've read that it's possible to get traders to accept far, far less, but I'm easily conditioned - I always offer all caravans I trade with a 50% profit.  Besides, they 'carry word' about what they think of my fortress, so it's a form of advertising and bribery.  Not to mention any other possible game effects from doing so.

[PopeRichardCorey]

wow, 900 db profit.

I give them ~1000 as a matter of course.  10000 when I'm strapped for a use for trade goods because there are so damn many of them in my fort. 

Maybe I should redistribute the labor after a few years...

[Dorf3000]

I heard that a good intimidator skill would help with the profit margins, as well as being experienced at trading.  I only allow my broker to trade unless I've spent a lot of time hauling goods to the depot and he decides to flip me the bird and go Eat - Drink - Sleep just before the merchants decide to leave.  Most of the time it's no problem, after turning off his hauling labors.  I give maybe 1000 profit on 4-5000 trade, sometimes they'll ask for a counteroffer but I can usually go back to my original trade scheme and take off a couple hundred and it'll be accepted.

[Max White]

Its not like mugs aren't easy to pump out.
I just match the value exactly, when when they make a counter offer, make sure there is nothing I need in there and accept the offer. If they want something I need I just match the value.
My trader gets judge of intent and other skills, and they leave ecstatic.

[Dorf3000]

Its not like mugs aren't easy to pump out.
I just match the value exactly, when when they make a counter offer, make sure there is nothing I need in there and accept the offer. If they want something I need I just match the value.
My trader gets judge of intent and other skills, and they leave ecstatic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n3LL338aGA

[Kuraudo]

Don't seize his stuff. Issue a kill order on him for your military. Pry his goods from his cold dead hands.

This.

Hating elves is one of the more entertaining aspects of Dwarf Fortress.

[Rastaan]

You give a 50% profit? To ELVES?

100db max. Preferably 0, but if they try to get me trading for massive amounts of profit, the gates get locked.

I like to think that the piles of stagnant trade goods surrounding my depots are a symbol of wealth.

[BurnedToast]

Don't seize his stuff. Issue a kill order on him for your military. Pry his goods from his cold dead hands.

Unfortunately this is one of the first things I tried once I got the military figured out, and it simply does not work The dwarves just crowd around the elf and stand there doing nothing.

It's probably for the best though, considering they bring thousands upon thousands of useless garbage items now that you would have to clean up. Better to just grab what you want and let them drag all the crap off the map for you.

Personally, I wish they would just stop sending traders already - all they do is lag the place up and take up the depot for far too long. I don't even want anything they are offering, I just steal a token item to get them moving quicker. WTB war with the elves

[Cerion]

1) all that stone the miners dig out has to be disposed of somehow

2) after a couple of years there's ALWAYS a legendary stonecrafter via strange mood with nothing better to do

3) so giving the caravans all the stone goods they want is just garbage disposal as far as I'm concerned

4) I do draw the line (purely out of principle) when I'm offering a good deal already and they demand a masterpiece gold item or something...

[Altaree]

Yup, this is annoying for the first year or two.  After that I find I have some much goblite and orcite that I just want them to take the crap and go.  It is easier than atom smashing!  It doesn't help that I get good agricultural industries going and am flooded in totems, clothes, leather, and food.

[Psieye]

Well it's Elves so it's fine to piss them off, but for humans and dwarves you should go by the 50% profit margin rule-of-thumb when trading with them. To merchants, they've spent weeks/months travelling across dangerous lands after hiring mercenaries to guard them. Of course they'll want sizeable profit margins for the risk they're taking. It's up to you if you want to give them that profit margin, and after the first couple of years it gets easier to make that much wealth for trade. Remember, caravans are advertising vehicles - I usually slap them with a bunch of free gifts on top of huge profit margins once I'm in year 3 or beyond. I like to think PR is important.

[Deathworks]

Hi!

Actually, I have been able to do good bargaining with the elves, including going for 0 profit on one occasion where I was low on trade goods and wanted all those nifty animals.

I was much more tempted to kill that %$#^%$ dwarven caravan who wanted ridiculous amounts of goods - especially after leaving frustrated once already and being the only source for gypsum/plaster for me. But my trade depot is not rigged for murder, and I don't have a military, so trying something there would not have ended pretty.

Deathworks

[Calhoun]

Hi!

Actually, I have been able to do good bargaining with the elves, including going for 0 profit on one occasion where I was low on trade goods and wanted all those nifty animals.

I was much more tempted to kill that %$#^%$ dwarven caravan who wanted ridiculous amounts of goods - especially after leaving frustrated once already and being the only source for gypsum/plaster for me. But my trade depot is not rigged for murder, and I don't have a military, so trying something there would not have ended pretty.

Deathworks

You couldn't have killed them with you're millitary. Magma traps don't care, however.

OT:
This happened to me not too long ago. I slaughtered them. Though the next caravan they sent was very compliant.