Twin Skies at PAX08: Will there be an advanced economy?
Yes, there will be a very unique in-game economy that mixes NPC vendors with the auction house transactions from players. If you're the type of player who doesn't want to mess with an auction house or participate in a complex economy, you can have that choice. You can visit a normal NPC weapon vendor, sell him your item and be done with it. From there, he or she will actually place that item on the auction hall with a markup to make money for himself and ultimately, the economy. This all goes on behind the scenes, but helps to develop a complete economy actually based on supply and demand with scarcity and rarity a real element..
However, if you choose to participate in a more complex system, you can do that also. There is actually a Merchant trade where you can get more involved with the entire process through buy orders and things like that. This lets you concentrate your skills on economic ventures more than other aspects of the game, if that's your thing.