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[Bluehotdog5]

So I'm fairly new to the game (as may already be obvious) and I had a few questions about the Trading Depot and Caravans. A caravan just arrived, and it said they started unloading, but it seems like it's taken forever. Either that or I've missed something. How do I know when they finish unloading? also, how do I trade exactly? I have it set to request broker, but I have no broker. Do I need to enable a skill for one of my Dwarves to be able to trade? when I go to the depot (using 'q') the 't' Trade option is greyed out. Is this because they haven't finished unloading or because I don't have a broker?

I've been following the Fortress Quickstart Guide in the Wiki and that's where I'm at so far. (I skipped over metal and Smelting section since I couldn't find any ore, I figure I can probably get some metal by trading)

[Loud Whispers]

You need a broker at the depot with the trade job, or any other Dwarf if you've set the depot to trade with any ol' dorf around who's got nothing better to do, I think with the (q) (r) option.

Or, go to the (n)obles screen, and designate your broker there. It's a good idea that your broker have no labours active, as they're notoriously lazy/annoying. Appraisal is an important skill for them, used to judge the wealth of the things you're actually trading - as well as viewing civ exports, item values and your fortress value.

[Shrimp]

with the (q) (r) option.

(q) (b)

[ledgekindred]

A good way to train your broker up very quickly in the necessary skills is for him to trade one item at a time.  Each trade seems to grant a little bit of experience.*  If at first he has no useful skills, trade out as much of the caravan as you can, one useful item at a time.  By the time the first caravan leaves, he will have gained some good experience in the necessary skills for the next caravan to come along. 

You need to assign your broker through the (n)obles screen.  I tend to make my broker the bookkeeper and manager as well, and then leave all his other skills off.  This keeps him from doing anything other than assigning jobs, keeping track of what's in the fort, and trading.

* This is what I have observed.  Someone correct me if I've got this completely wrong and there is some other way this is happening.

[Loud Whispers]

with the (q) (r) option.

(q) (b)

Oops. What this guy said :p

[Garath]

repeating some things that have been said before

as soon as traders start unloading you can go there (q) and bring (g)oods, (r)equest a trader, say broker or (b) anyone, but only when a trader arrives can you press (t)rade

you can (v)iew items you want to trade and when you are satisfied press (t)rade. There is also an option to give goods, which is basically "bribing" the merchants

[nutzy]

How do I know when they finish unloading?

You don't get a message or anything, but it doesn't take long after all of the traders have gotten to the depot.

In addition to the good advice given by everyone else, you can make a trade depot burrow and assign your broker to it if you want him to hurry to the depot.

The wiki is a good resource for this.

[Zaerosz]

Fun tip: when all the merchants have arrived at the depot to start unloading, open the (d)esignations menu and hold down the left mouse button. Lightspeed unpacking. Works in reverse too; do the same thing when you get the message "The merchants/traders from ________ have embarked on their journey."

[SixOfSpades]

For some reason (probably an oversight), you can only carry your fortress's goods to/from the depot for trading during the time between "A caravan from X has arrived" and "The merchants from X have embarked on their journey." So it's a good idea to start hauling your trade goods to the depot the moment the merchants appear--if you've got all of your stuff ready for sale sooner, that means your broker has that much more time to make it to the depot & start haggling. After you're done trading, go back to the "Bring Goods to/from Depot" screen and un-designate all the stuff you brought for sale, but didn't end up selling: If you don't, you won't be able to access those items until the next group of merchants arrives, which could be a problem if you were selling food or booze or something.

Trading does NOT use money, nor does it give you "credit." I once threw all of my trade goods at a caravan, with an estimated value of 800☼ or so, and then decided to go shopping with the 800☼ of credit I had with these guys. "Yes, these *are* fine items, aren't they? Now, what are you willing to offer for them?" Avoid this facepalm: Make sure you get your "money's" worth out of each trade.

In my experience, merchants like to make a 50% profit: If you're buying a collection of stuff with a posted value of 1000☼, set it up against 1500☼ or so of your own goods. This tends to make the merchants "pleased about the trading," and I've heard that if merchants make money from coming to you, then next time they'll bring more stuff, a better selection, and higher-end wares.

The Appraisal skill tends to level up pretty dang fast no matter what you do. I'm not even sure there's much difference between an Adequate Appraiser & High Master Appraiser anyway.

The Judge of Intent skill tells you how merchants feel about the exchange; a rank of Novice seems to be plenty. It is increased (slowly) by social interactions, and by unsuccessful trades.

If a merchant haggles you up (gives a list of your own goods that he wants in return for what he's offering), you are NOT obligated to trade that much. When they do this, it's safe to knock off about half of what they added . . . and you can always cancel out of the trading screen altogether, and then a second later start again from scratch. Note, however, that repeatedly offering unsuccessful trades will irritate merchants, and if continued will cause them to pack up and leave prematurely, refusing all further business.

When your liason comes to see you and gives a list of what next year's dwarven caravan will pay extra for, it's a good idea to write down what goods they want, but you don't need to bother recording the value inflations: That calculation is automatically done for you during next year's trading.

Different races seem to have different desires for different goods: The Elves assessed my very fancy large garnet as being worth far less than what the Humans and other Dwarves thought it should cost.

[Garath]

don't offer anything that has had anything to do with wood to elves. This includes clear glass I believe. bunch of tree huggers.
negotiator, persuader, liar - all help to make more profitable deals.
Personally I usually overpay a lot. I have the crafts and prepared meals, the troll fur socks and everything and I do NOT want them. The more I can dump on the silly traders, the more they bring the next year.

[Bluehotdog5]

Awesome, thanks guys, I traded some goods. Now when do they leave exactly?

[SixOfSpades]

All merchants hang around for roughly 1.5 to 2 months, although there are other factors that can cut into your trading time: If it takes a loooooong time for the merchants to get from the edge of the map to the Trade Depot, or if it takes a loooooong time for the merchants to get everything unloaded for sale (which can happen if you asked for everything during your previous meeting with the liason), then that's subtracted from the period during which you can make transactions. Loading time is also a factor when they leave: If you sold them a ton of cheap items as opposed to a few expensive ones (or stackable ones in bins), it's going to take forever for the merchants (the caravan guards don't help) to get everything packed away on their animals. But that delay is on the merchants' dime, not yours.

In your first year or two, you're very likely going to be scraping and wheedling the merchants for every last scrap of goods you can squeeze out of them, but as your economy gets rolling, you'll find that you're producing one hell of a surplus (in some things if not others), and you'll be all too happy to load the merchants down with quality wares at drastically slashed prices, just to free up some room in your cramped stockpiles. ("Let's see, the liason said you wanted . . . footwear, scepters, harps, leather waterskins, and thread. Hope you like these 40 large orthoclase pots full of plump helmet roasts!")

Watch your weight limits: Early merchants may bring only 1 or 2 pack animals, who won't be able to carry much extra mass. Building furniture is a great way to keep your dwarves happy, train up your Mason, get rid of excess stone, and produce trade goods all at the same time, but if the poor mule can only take another 2 chairs and a door, you're pretty much screwed. Produce some lightweight crafts as well to open up another income stream, and/or be prepared to buy things for which you have no immediate need: Cheap but heavy stuff like clay, or empty lead cages.

I have heard that as your economy improves more & more, merchants start using wagons to haul their products, instead of pack animals. (I've never seen this for myself, but my best fort is only at the end of Year 4.) While pack animals can pass doors & bridges only 1 tile wide, I hear wagons require an uninterrupted path that's never narrower than 3 tiles. You may eventually need to widen the gap in your defenses, or build a (temporary) Trade Depot that's more exposed than you might like.

[ADD:] Merchants and their entourage can traverse ramps, but not stairs.

[krenshala]

I just learned by experience that if three merchants show up, and one makes it to the depot and starts unloading while another runs for his life and a third is dragging his unconscious horse around by the reigns while a goblin spearman beats the horse's head to hamburger, that the one in your depot will suddenly pack up and leave when said brain damaged horse finally succumbs to blood loss from his injuries (the shatter skull just slowed him down  ).  This was quite annoying as my broker hadn't quite finished his break, so i didn't get to trade anything. ;(

On the bright side, the two remaining elven merchants and their pair of guards left the third merchants crap on my doorstep when they left, so I got to salvage a bunch of semi-useful stuff.  Of course, I couldn't use it, nor sell it because the broker took a break/nap for the next two merchants and by that point my dwarves were getting very pissy about the crappy conditions in the fortress.

[daggaz]

I dunno, maybe its just me, but do any of you vets dwarfs really need to trade at all?  If anything, its more of a nuisance interrupting my otherwise busy work in fort construction, and generally I just do it because, well, its there.   Why not grab a few gems or spider silk or whatnot just in case there is a wierd mood, but nothing really out of necessity.  Course, I usually dont play maps yet that are devoid of metals extra !fun!, so what do I know?

[Garath]

1 in 5 of my latest embarks have been iron-less. Me Wants ironessess!

more serious, if my embark doesnt have sand or clay I always buy some of that, and indeed the spidersilk. In the beginning and even later on I still buy much of the metal items to melt down.

True, mostly because I have too much crap and need to give those merchants some of it, not because I need it