Auction House vs Wards

[Alhanelem]

I don't get the point of retainers in wards anymore anyway. Does anyone actually go to the physical retainers to shop anymore?

Yes. I do, to save the search fee. I'm not rich and I don't like being wasteful, so unless I'm in a hurry, I'll take the time to go to the retainer to avoid the search fee. And on one or two occasions, I've actually bought other stuff sold by the same retainer. Funny how that happens sometimes. The retainers offer oppertunities for secondary sales.

I also really like the anonymity the retainers provide, as their name appears in the history, not the player's name.

[Mujen]

I also really like the anonymity the retainers provide, as their name appears in the history, not the player's name.

This is about the only good thing I can think of for retainers, I think the anonymitty is awesome, or just being able to name what you like. However, easily handled by the mail system + 1 mule, which however will cost a extra character slot. Mules for storage are not uncommon at all however, the extra fee is about the only disadvantage. Making the retainer a mule like Pooky said could be an option /shrug.

Majority of people do not browse retainer wards, you cant see all retainers, there's so many, takes so much time to find what you like.

Bid & B/O (buyout) system works well for those w/o lot of gil. I personally prefer b/o of course, but sometimes bidding nets you an item @ much lower price, it's just a suggestion tho. But seriously this ward/retainer issue is so much extra time spent that could be spent fixing other areas of game.