How to Trade in Path of Exile
Introduction
Trading in Path of Exile is one of a kind, though it can be difficult or tedious for players to find the items they need. The website https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/ has been the primary means of locating items for trade for some time and is now the realistically only option. I will attempt to guide both those of you new to both sites and those familiar with the old site, on how to make use of the official site and its features.
Learning to effectively locate the items that you need can catapult your character to new heights and make your game experience significantly smoother. There are a variety of options that allow you to easily locate the items that can make or break your build, sort them for easy comparisons, price check items you intend to sell, and much more.
Please remember that players on Solo Self-Found leagues cannot trade, so this aspect does not apply to them.
Performing Basic Searches
The easiest items to locate are items with fixed names, such as Gems or Uniques. The current challenge league should be ticked by default, but still, check to make sure you are looking for items in your actual league and not in Standard.
Simply enter the name of the item you are searching for, and hit ENTER or click the SEARCH button.
Editing Your Search
To edit a search without returning to the home page, simply click the Show Filters button at the top right of the page.
This can be done for any type of search, including Live Searches. If you are searching for an entirely different type of item, be sure to clear any fields that do not apply to your new search (for example, Item Type).
Searching for Gems
Since all gems are available at Level 1 from Lily Roth in-game, it is probable that you are searching for gems with quality or experience when using “the trade site. In order to properly specify what you are searching for, scroll down and fill in the “Quality” and “Level/Tier” fields under “Misc”.
In the current state of the game, you could also be looking for specific alternate qualities of gems. In that case, make use of the longer box Gem Quality Type and select the alternate quality you desire.
If you are searching for Level 20 gems with 20% Quality, bear in mind that Corrupted gems are often significantly cheaper. The reason for this is that players will attempt to corrupt these gems in the hopes of obtaining a Level 21 gem, and therefore these “bricked” versions are worth considerably less. If you do not want to purchase already corrupted gems, ensure you set the “Corrupted” field to “No”.
Searching for Uniques
Unique items are also relatively easy to locate, as their names are fixed, and their stats roll within a specified range. Simply enter the name of your desired item in the search field to see the results. Uniques that have a higher amount of rolled affixes typically have a noticeable difference in price between the lowest and highest rolls. The 
Loreweave chest, for example, has so many different possible stat rolls that the difference between a low roll and a high roll can often exceed several 
Divine Orbs. For expensive items, it was previously often prudent to purchase a low roll, then use Divine Orbs until the desired roll is achieved. Check the prices of the high and low rolls before committing to a purchase to ensure you get the best item for the best value. This method is significantly worse now that Divine Orbs have taken the top spot as the big currency item and is not advisable unless you are rolling an item with a very wide range with a very high potential payout such as 
Ashes of the Stars. I am leaving this in so people are aware of the option, but I highly advise new players to stay away from this kind of gambling, as it can be hard to access what risk is justified and one can easily lose large sums of currency on getting this wrong.
In the case of unique items with multiple stats that can have different rolls, it is important to identify which one(s) are important for your build so that you do not end up paying a lot of currency for an item that is rolled poorly for your needs. Likewise, checking the ranges of these rolls (by looking the item up on an item database, for example) is important so that you can see how good a particular item actually is.
Narrowing Down Results
Due to the vast amount of items, and the relatively specific needs of most players, the only feasible way to search for desirable items with any consistency is to apply filters of your own to your searches.
One of the simplest ways to do this is to add “Filters” to search for. Click Add Stat Filter, then on the drop down bar that appears to query for different options. Type in the stat you are searching for, and specify a minimum or maximum roll on the right of the bar.
Ensure that you select the stats you are looking for on the item, being sure to choose the correct affix tag (explicit, enchantment, etc.). The website https://poedb.tw/us can be helpful for identifying possible ranges for affixes, as well as displaying what mods are possible on certain item types.
You can switch between several different search types beneath the “Filters” bars — by default, searches are set to “AND”, which specifies that all designated mods must exist within the parameters assigned if any. There are several other options to explore here; for example, the “COUNT” feature can be useful if you cast a wider net for stat combinations.
Spend a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the general search interface. Many of the options are rather self-explanatory, allowing you to narrow down an item as much as necessary. Looking for a Rare helmet with enchantment, but getting flooded with results for 
Starkonja's Head? Set the “Rarity” box to “Non-Unique”. Working within a budget? Set a maximum listing price to truncate any results that are out of your price range.
Unless you are searching for top quality “once in a league” items, you will want to keep the ONLINE ONLY option enabled, preventing any items from players who are currently offline from being displayed.
Always remember that any Crafted affixes on items can be easily and cheaply removed for using the Crafting Bench in your hideout, and replaced with a new craft of your choosing. Keep this in mind when looking at the results, and focus on the mods on the item that cannot be changed.
Also, unless you are specifically looking to purchase a 5 or 6-linked item, do not worry about trivial things such as sockets, colours, etc., as this can be adjusted after purchase, provided that the item you are buying is not Corrupted.
Sorting Search Results
By default, searches are sorted by price, in ascending order. Clicking on a stat for one of the listings will re-order the results, displaying all items with that affix in descending order.
This works for any type of item that has variable rolls and can be particularly useful if you are looking for a Unique that has one especially important roll.
Searching for Resistances
Since Resistances are necessary for virtually every build in Path of Exile, you will often find yourself looking for gear with multiple types of resistance. In order to effectively narrow down the results, there are a few filters that can be applied under the Mods section that are extraordinarily useful.
The Pseudo mods are a great place to start. As the Greek prefix “pseudo” implies, these are not actual mods in-game, but instead, allow you to perform searches that would otherwise require far more complex filters.
The main Pseudo mod that you will be selecting is +#% Total Elemental Resistance.
- +#% Total Elemental Resistance allows you to specify the combined total of Elemental Resistances on the item.
You can also opt to use # Resistances and +#% Total Resistances, however, this will cause Chaos Resistance to be included in the results, which is not always the desired outcome.
The Pseudo filters are great for buying items when you are not constrained by very specific values. If you are looking for exact values or types of Resistances, you will have to create a more specific search. Either add the mods directly to your search, accompanied by “Min” and “Max” values if necessary, and perform the search.
This is where a common mistake is made by many newer players unfamiliar with the trades site, rather than searching for 120% pseudo elemental res, they will search for 35% cold, 35% fire and 35% lightning. This removes options such as 44/34/40 boots from your search, as the fire resistance in this example does not meet the benchmark.
Running Live Searches
The LIVE SEARCH function can be extremely helpful for a variety of applications. After performing your basic search, you will have the option to perform a Live Search by clicking the new Yellow box in the top left called Live Search
Set your notification settings to your preference. The browser tab containing the search must remain open in order for the search to stay active. Here are some examples of reasons to run a live search:
- Looking for build-making items early a league when supply is limited
- Searching for items with uncommon mod combinations that might not be available on the market currently
- Scouting for items that are cheaply priced with the aim of either flipping them or saving currency
- Finding the best deals before other players have a chance to compete with you for them
There are unique strategies involved with running Live Searches to flip items, particularly early in a league’s life cycle when the price is constantly in a state of flux. Similar to flipping in other games and real-world investing, the best items and currencies to flip constantly change. A Unique that is relatively cheap during one league may be featured in a popular build in the next, and thus skyrocket in demand.
Trading on the Currency Market
The currency market can be accessed at the top right of the site, or by navigating to https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search. A wide variety of items can be purchased from this portal in a much more convenient fashion than searching for them on the regular site.
Buying bulk currency often results in an upcharge the larger the seller’s bulk is, as you are paying for convenience.
Other objects, most notably things like Maps, Fragments, Divination Cards, and much more can be tracked down from the currency market. You can, of course, specify a minimum quantity, which makes bulk purchases easier and cuts down trade time.
Selling Items in PoE
The easiest way to sell items in PoE, through https://www.pathofexile.com/trade/search/ is to place them in a Premium stash tab that has been set to “Public”. Items can be priced individually or en masse from within the stash using the Premium tabs. If you are unwilling to buy Premium tabs, you can also create a thread or “shop” on the official Path of Exile forums in the appropriate trading sections. Linking your items in your thread will also allow them to be indexed automatically and listed for other players to browse.
Do note that this method is largely a relic of the past and essentially nobody uses the forums to trade anymore, except for mirror items. It is highly advised to get at least 1 premium stash tab for trading so that you can make use of the regular trade site like everyone else.
