Shopping in Gosterwick and the DFRPG Arden Vul Campaign

Some of my players seem to enjoy shopping for equipment a bit too much.  "What can we buy here?" is a common question.  Here's what they've visited so far in the town of Gosterwick:

• Torunn the Smith.  Torunn, a large Wiskin woman, seems to be the best smith in town, or at least the best smith they've met.  She showed samples of good, fine, balanced, and dwarven weapons, and both good and fine armor, so it appears that she can produce high-quality items and has apprentices to do the more mundane work.  She only works with metal though; she doesn't do leather or wooden items.  In addition to selling weapons and armor, she was also willing to provide training in Armory and Connoisseur (Weapons).
• Creon's Curios and Pawnshop.  Creon, an older Archontean man, has a shop full of random stuff.  He seems willing to buy used items.  His stock seems highly variable; he actually had a magic wand for sale the last time someone checked, but the price was high.
• Jeremias the Money Changer.  Jeremias Smallleaf, a halfling, has his main shop in the walled Upper Market.  He also has a couple of smaller stalls in the Upper Market and near the Hill of the Gods, run by his daughters Marla and Cassie.  He was willing to identify old coins for free, and charges a small fee to change coins and gems.  It appears he also loans money, but the PCs have not yet discussed the terms.
• Temple of Demma.  Ioannes is a cleric of Demma and so was able to negotiate a good donation rate for a Remove Curse spell there.  The Remove Curse was cast by Vivian, the Thorcin male chief priest of the temple; it's unclear whether any of the other four priests can cast spells that powerful.  It's not yet known what the surcharge is for non-members of the congregation without a cleric to vouch for them.  Training for clerical spells and skills is also available.
• House of the Gods.  This is a shared space for shrines of all the approved religions that don't have full temples in town.  No major services are available, besides basic religious information from lay volunteers, or possibly the occasional chance to meet a visiting cleric.
• The Yellow Cloak Inn.  This is a full-service inn, with both private rooms and shared bunkrooms, and both common and upper-class common rooms with a variety of food available.  It is run by Margot the Red, a Thorcin woman.  Her husband Bricwine is a bartender.  Rates for double-occupancy private rooms and common meals are reasonable; single-occupancy private rooms and better meals would increase the cost of living.  Margot does not allow spellcasting on the premises, because You Might Accidentally Summon a Demon.
• The Arcane Practitioners' Club.  The club is not affiliated with any of the seven official Archontean colleges.  It is run by two Archontean women, Lyssandra (the senior wizard) and Pelteon (her former apprentice).  They offer magical training, identification of magic items, and spellcasting services.  Fee-paying members of their club can also use their alchemy lab, their small library, and even rent apartments.  (The apartments aren't quite as nice as the Yellow Cloak Inn, and no maid service or food is available, but there are fewer rules.)
• The Baliff's Truncheon.  This is a dive bar down the hill from the Azure Keep, near Totey Lake.  It has a bad reputation, which means it's a good place to find trainers for less savory skills -- or possibly get robbed trying.
• Livestock and Horse Market.  On the outskirts of town (but still within its theoretical future walls) is a large building that buys and sells and stables horses, and buys and sells livestock, and also butchers livestock and sells meat.  They also sell farming and mining equipment on the side.  It is said to be run by identical twin brothers, with Sakeon handling the horses and Trucleon the livestock.
• Tasha's Tailor Shop.  Tasha, a Thorcin woman, has a high-end tailor shop in the Upper Market.  She sells various clothing and is also able to alter or repair clothes, or to sew clothing to order.  She aims at the higher end of the market; there are cheaper options in worse parts of town.
• There are fishermen by the docks on Totey Lake.  One was willing to give swimming lessons, even in early spring.  Presumably you could also learn fishing or boating or knot-tying from them, and not be quite as cold.  There are also a couple of fishmongers to sell their catch.

And here are some other locations they've heard about but not actually visited:

Temples of Mitra, Lucreon, and Heschius Ban.

Astableon the Scribe and Bookseller.  This shop, located in the Upper Market, is apparently the place to go if you need to buy or sell a book, or have someone read or write a letter for you.

The Stunned Acolyte Inn.  This is where you get a very high-quality room or meal, if you don't mind paying a lot and dressing and behaving appropriately.

The Rarities Factor, the Prosperity Factor, and the Silent Factor.  Three competing Archontean merchant factors have buildings in town.  They provide financial services such as safely holding your money for a fee, letters of credit that let you access your stored money at their other locations, and organization of merchant caravans to transport goods or letters across the Empire.  They may provide other services as well.

The Azure Keep is home to the local sept of the Knights of the Azure Shield.  Lady Alexia Basileon, the Green Lady, lives in the Residence connected to the Keep.

There are at least four Archontean government buildings in town.

The Central Market is held twice a week, on Totsday morning and all Demmasday.  Some merchants and farmers who don't have full stores operate stalls at the market.

Kaelo's Bathhouse is apparently a major social center, not just a place to get clean.

There are about 7 more taverns.  Apparently getting a drink at every inn and tavern in town on the same night is a challenge among irresponsible young people with money to spend, and the hardest part is getting into the Stunned Acolyte.

There are other craftspeople such as leatherworkers, jewelers, stonecutters, potters, weavers, furriers, a bowyer, a herbalist/apothecary, and a ropemaker.

What does this all mean in game terms?

• All standard equipment from DFRPG: Adventurers (not Special Orders or magic items or Elven/Dwarven equipment) is available at list price.  (Except plate armor, which is unknown in the Archontean Empire.)  No interaction with the GM is required here; if you want a normal knife or wheelbarrow you can just buy one.
• High quality versions of standard equipment are also available, but might require some lead time for custom construction.  So if you're in a hurry, first make an availability roll to see if what you want is available off the shelf.  And if it's not, see how long it will take to make one.
• The pawnshop buys used items, so disposing of unwanted goods (at the usual fraction of their value based on Wealth) is easy.  No interaction with the GM is required to sell most used goods.  If something is very valuable ($5000 or more), the sale should be cleared with the GM to make sure the local merchants can afford it.
• Special Orders or magical equipment might be available, but not reliably.  You're either waiting for something to show up for sale somewhere, or finding someone who can make it for you.  Again, the GM will make an availability roll, and if it fails you can try again next week, or see if someone can make your item.

What about other towns or cities?

• The only bigger town in Burdock's Valley is Newmarket, about 60 miles (three days' walk) to the south.  It's about twice as big as Gosterwick, so a bit more robust of a market, but still not exactly huge.
• The only real city in this part of Irthuin is Narsileon, the capital of the Exarchate.  Narsileon is about twenty times as big as Gosterwick and ten times as big as Newmarket, and is also a seaport with access to wider trade routes, so has much more available.  Unfortunately it's about 400 miles away, which is two to three weeks each way on foot, or a bit faster if you have horses.
• The biggest city in the Empire and the known world is the capital, Archontos, on the island of Mithruin.  It's about three times the size of Narsileon.  If you can buy something at all, you can probably buy it in Archontos.  Getting there means first travelling to Narsileon, then catching a ship and sailing 1100 miles across the Winedark Sea.  The ocean voyage should take about a week if the winds are cooperative, or potentially longer if they're not.