The commodities markets exist to serve the merchant community. Trade between worlds becomes possible when goods can be produced on one world and shipped to a second more cheaply than they can be produced on the second world.

Most interstellar trade takes place under pre-existing arrangements between the companies that produce the goods and the companies that distribute the goods, carried by the large interstellar shipping lines. However, excess production capacity on many worlds leaves a small volume of goods available for speculative buying. A new class of merchants has arisen to take advantage of this opportunity, served by the commodities markets.

The commodities market provides a daily listing of goods available for sale. Listed goods may be purchased by paying the specified fee or if they are offered for auction by placing the highest bid. Some listings may only be purchased as lots while others may be split into smaller units, for those listings the buyer is also offered the opportunity to specify the quantity to be purchased or bid upon.

Bidding is by sealed bid. A bidder may change a bid at any point prior to the close of the auction, but does not learn whether the bid is the winning bid until after the close of the auction, and never learns the offer tendered by other bidders. An auction may have a mandatory minimum bid; no bid below this value will be considered.