Why isn't selling food back allowed?

[Jinsyn]

Situation
My non-Trader Duchess bought 25 bushels of food from her city. Some time later, her city has run out of food. However, game mechanics will not allow her to 'unload' the previously purchased food back into the city's warehouse through a newly posted buy order.

Error
The traders look at you funny as you try to sell them some of their own Food. It doesn't look as if they took it to be especially funny.

Why?

[Chenier]

Situation
My non-Trader Duchess bought 25 bushels of food from her city. Some time later, her city has run out of food. However, game mechanics will not allow her to 'unload' the previously purchased food back into the city's warehouse through a newly posted buy order.

Error
The traders look at you funny as you try to sell them some of their own Food. It doesn't look as if they took it to be especially funny.

Why?

To prevent abuse where you would sell food to yourself for 1 gold, and then buy food from yourself (from the region warehouse) for 999 gold or such.

However, I think this is a bit of a relic of the old system, back when wealth was at the realm level. I wouldn't see it as being as much of an issue now.

However, a good solution could be the "donate food" feature I requested a week or two back.

[Jinsyn]

To prevent abuse where you would sell food to yourself for 1 gold, and then buy food from yourself (from the region warehouse) for 999 gold or such.

Ah, so the gold would've been treated as a negative trade balance, taking out tax gold from the region before it got distributed at the next tax day?

However, I think this is a bit of a relic of the old system, back when wealth was at the realm level. I wouldn't see it as being as much of an issue now.

However, a good solution could be the "donate food" feature I requested a week or two back.

It makes sense to not allow 'selling back' for an automatic trade offer (from Warehouse.php), if that affects trade balance as outlined above. However, for an explicit caravan offer (from CaravanOffers.php), posting a buy order immediately takes gold from the region lord. Thus, selling food back this way would end up with the lord simply getting his own gold back, without affecting region tax/trade balance, no?

I'm guessing the coding is less complicated if both methods are simply disallowed.

[Chenier]

Ah, so the gold would've been treated as a negative trade balance, taking out tax gold from the region before it got distributed at the next tax day?

It makes sense to not allow 'selling back' for an automatic trade offer (from Warehouse.php), if that affects trade balance as outlined above. However, for an explicit caravan offer (from CaravanOffers.php), posting a buy order immediately takes gold from the region lord. Thus, selling food back this way would end up with the lord simply getting his own gold back, without affecting region tax/trade balance, no?

I'm guessing the coding is less complicated if both methods are simply disallowed.

Yes.

And yes again. I think the thought just never came up to anyone. It would sound like a perfectly reasonable idea.

I still want the ability to donate food to lordless regions, though.

[fodder]

trade balance didn't exist back when... it's that old. i think it probably more to stop mobile warehouses.

[Chenier]

trade balance didn't exist back when... it's that old. i think it probably more to stop mobile warehouses.

Are you sure?

'cause I seem to vagely recall some trader/bankers doing some serious harm somewhat like this a long, long time ago.

[Indirik]

It also prevents you from using it as a tax shelter.

[Jens Namtrah]

It also prevents you from going into your Ruler's city, buying up all his food on the black market at 12 gold per 100, then selling it back to him for the agreed 45.  Repeatedly.

which used to be a lot of fun.