by Lucy E. Zahnle

Created on: September 23, 2009

An Editorial Discourse on Merchanting

At a recent event, I was attending feast with my lord when the gentleman sitting next to me, whom I had just met, asked how I had spent the event. I replied that I had been merchanting all day and he asked if I had ever considered buying an SCA membership or joining a group. I answered that I had been a dues paying member for about thirty-one years and was currently a member of my local shire. He then suggested that I should be serving the shire instead of merely merchanting. I told him that both my lord and I were local officers and the conversation ended...except for me. I was irritated by his implications and only civility kept my lips shut.

What made me so angry was the implication that those who merchant are merely using the SCA for their own gain and that artisans who sell their work for profit are somehow less worthy than those who choose to complete projects only for competitions.

Merchants, whether they be artisans or retailers, work very hard to fulfill the needs and desires of the Known World's populace, often offering goods at prices most gentles would be hard-pressed to find beyond the SCA. I've never met an SCA merchant who has gained great wealth from merchanting alone and those who try to make it their sole source of income usually lead a very precarious, hand-to-mouth financial life.

In addition to weekends spent working at events, merchants spend their weekdays (or more often, their weeknights, since they usually have regular jobs) creating or seeking new wares for their tables, updating account records and inventories, arranging attendance at future events, and paying sales or income taxes. They also travel more weekends and for longer distances to attend events than most gentles; pack, unpack and set up a great deal more gear; and constantly gamble the investment they've made in their wares. Their businesses are at the mercy of the weather, the uncertain economy, and unthinking event stewards who like to put merchants upstairs in the back hall in the corner in the dark well out of the populace's way, so they won't annoy any potential customers.

So why do merchants bother?

Like anything else that requires skill, knowledge, and dedication, merchanting can bring satisfaction. When a merchant can supply or create just that item for which someone has been searching for ages; when a shopper gazes at an artisan's wares, says "Wow!", and whips out his money (the ultimate compliment!); when someone who is an

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