Retainers and Wards

[waruine]

Does it even matter in which ward you put your retainer?There are about twenty wards out there,but does it matter?I assume most players will just use the search bar to find the item they want.

[Catapult]

Placing your retainer in a certain ward reduces the tax on items within that catergory. For example, selling clothing with an optimal rank of 21-40 is best done in the Middle Tailor's Ward.

Normally, you lose 10% of your sale price to the tax/gil sink.
But, sell it in any market ward and it becomes a 5% tax.
And sell it in the correct ward and it becomes (I think) a 2% tax.

The reality though is that people just sell it where they can, since actually getting a retainer summoned in the wards is hard enough as it is with them almost always being 100% full.

[waruine]

Thanks,that was helpful.And one last question.Does every city have a set amount of slots or there are set amount of slots in every citys ward(or are they global?)?If my question was confusing,what determines when the market slots of a given city are full.Sorry,I'm still new here.

[Catapult]

How many retainers an individual ward can hold is determined by whatever load the server (computer tower at Square Enix headquarters) can tolerate without crashing and removing everyone's retainer. They have had quite a bit of testing done on this and appear to have gotten it to a stable maximum. Insofar as I am aware, each ward in each city should have the same retainer capacity that is independent from every other city and ward.

That being said, the Ul'dah wards are the most frequented and people rarely browse what is on sale in Gridania or Limsa Lominsa. This is because earlier in the game before many tools and features were implemented, players unilaterally selected Ul'dah as a central hub for the game's economy due to it's location, city layout and quest selections.

Putting up a retainer in Limsa or Gridania is not likely to achieve a sale.

[waruine]

Thanks,you have answered all my questions in detail.Really sorry,last one.
Yesterday I tried to put one of my retainers in ul'dah and I got a message that the place is full and the retainer will return,but when I tried to summon her again,I got a warning message that she will pull out her bazaar.After I continued with the summon I saw her Icon to be red instead of green and it was written that she was in Ul'dah.
Does that mean that she still isn't selling anything?
Edit:sorry for the bother,I just remembered that I can check that by simply searching for my items in Ul'dah.
Will do it after work.

[Catapult]

I'm... not sure. If you are dispatching your retainer from the bell, it may be that some sort of server processes is bugging up (the system appears to have been designed expecting the wards to almost never be full) - I don't know for sure since I don't use the bell like that. Mine just sit in the Chirurgeon's and Ironmonger's wards permanently and I go to them.

If you summon your retainer with the bell, the game transports them away from the market wards and to your location for item management. Thus, their items are no longer available for purchase until they set shop back up. This is done either by going to the desired ward and summoning them there, or by dispatching them with the bell-menu. It is generally not advised to use the bell to summon your retainer if they're selling in Ul'dah since you could lose your spot. Go to the ward instead.

In your circumstances, I'd suggest using the retainer list to check your retainer's location and going to that ward to see if they are actually there.

[BlaiseLallaise]

Thanks,you have answered all my questions in detail.Really sorry,last one.
Yesterday I tried to put one of my retainers in ul'dah and I got a message that the place is full and the retainer will return,but when I tried to summon her again,I got a warning message that she will pull out her bazaar.After I continued with the summon I saw her Icon to be red instead of green and it was written that she was in Ul'dah.
Does that mean that she still isn't selling anything?
Edit:sorry for the bother,I just remembered that I can check that by simply searching for my items in Ul'dah.
Will do it after work.

It is true that sending the retainer to the wards from the bell will warn you, as you noticed, that they will return if the ward is full. Afterwards, and this is the confusing part, if it is not full, you don't get any more messages saying they were successfully placed. In the instance it is full, you will get a follow-up message saying they returned.

In your case, I believe your retainer was selling, but when you recalled them to the bell, they ceased to be selling in the wards. I will agree, if they have a spot in Ul'dah, go to them so they don't lose their spot.