Most of East Zabrial's trade is all very modern and open market, but there are still a few leftovers from pre-Confederacy days. The most notable are the 'Redband' arrangements, which have existed since at least the 600's. Basically, the authorities (nowadays the Council's Trade & Industry department) will buy cargoes at knock-down prices from merchants and sell it on at a rather higher price. The fee offered is non-negotiable and usually the Council sets the minimum amount of goods it will buy. The system is favoured by merchants wanting to make quick, guaranteed sales, and sometimes by those wanting to con the authorities' less-than observant agents. Merchants contact the Council at their offices, which are strategically placed along the docks and around the main gates. Council agents – nowadays this service is contracted out – examine the goods, hand over the money and haul it back themselves. The cargo is always wrapped with a piece of red ribbon after it's bought, hence the name. Most of the goods are sold by the Council at one of its three indoor market halls; the Gryano close to the Psiani Pier, the Melzdark near the south-west gate and the Callardan Hall by the north-west. Each hall is divided into two, one half an auction pit (where most of the customers are other merchants) and the other hosting stalls where private traders sell the goods to the public for a commission.
Provisional authorities have tried on various occasions to phase out the redband system but the Council guards it fiercely. The most obvious criticism levelled at it is that it's a blatant source of corruption. When a local writer claimed "one Councillor a decade for the last seven centuries" has been brought down by scandals connected with the redband system, he was only exaggerating slightly. The most direct method is for an official to falsify purchase documents, overstating the amount paid for the goods and keeping the difference. This was at the heart of the last scandal in 1321. Other ways, however, have been varied and impressive. Consequently the trade is tightly regulated, with an agent of the Baron of Zabrial overseeing all deals and records audited by a Guards inspector. Absolutely nobody believes these measures have made any difference.
The contracting out of the purchasing and transportation of redband goods was also an attempt to reduce graft, as well as free up Council resources, but has caused more controversy. The firm holding the contract since 1328, Farnlyte & Son, are owned by a non-Zabric family. Popular gossip claims they are Dorlafans, that this is one more example of Dorlafan tyranny in the city etc. The family are actually from the province of Gesund, but at the moment anybody from outside East Zabrial is viewed with suspicion. Overall, though, the redband system works. It gives flexibility to merchants and a lot more revenue to the Council than the standard tax revenues would.