Allow paying with same item you're trading for (different quality)

[udAL]

I've always found frustrating the fact that you can't pay with the same item that you're trading for in different quality.

Typical scenario is:
- Going to a village to see what they have
- Find a better quality item X that the one I'm carrying
- Want to exchange it with the one I have and pay the difference with something else
- Villager says "It's you that want X, not me" (or similar)

This forces me to make two trades, one to acquire better quality item, and one to dispose of lesser quality item.
This causes:
- Nuisance
- Overhead, you lose a bit on any transaction
- Needing the full trading price of better quality item excluding lesser quality item

I think this was set up when there was no quality to items, but right now I don't think it makes much sense

[PALU]

As far as I understand it's because this is a time when merchants didn't exist (except for the foreign traders, who have a restricted set of items they buy in the first place), so trade was bartering away things you didn't have a use for in exchange for ones you could use.

If you had a spare bike and was willing to trade it away, you wouldn't take a spare bike of lower quality and a case of beer in exchange for it, as you'd still have to get rid of an unwanted bike. The NPC is willing to trade away the item, e.g. a knife, because he has another one of at least the same quality.

Of course, you could continue the logic so you'd have to find a person who wants your X, another one who'd take your Y, etc. but I believe that was considered to drive it too far.

This has been suggested before.

[Ara D.]

It's a chore, but I like Palu's logic. What do is trade away the lesser quality item first so I have it's trade in value to use for the better quality item.

[Kyo]

Very Late but here am I to agree with you so MUCH!
I don't see why you could not trade same items as long as they're different qualities, actually, in really life that would be a great deal, you don't get to lose your item, you just change it for a lower quality one, but you keep it! And in addition you get some other stuff! Completely acceptable offer! I don't see what's wrong with it, please do add it devs

[JP_Finn]

I agree with OP: if selling buying cars is any modern day analogy… we’ve all done it. Got an old car, go to dealership: offer old car, wad of cash to get better car.

As for villager not needing X, most of the time: unless redeeming quest x squirrel hide payouts), most villagers have no personal items to trade. Yet craftsmen and housewives can be bartered for their personal small knives with quest prize.
And lot of the time there are villagers carrying various knives, yet they have fine or masterwork laying on a floor in some shed or a barn.

Village offering any item for trade is their excess. It’s not needed for the villages wellbeing. Or it would not be offered for trade at all. Hence limiting trade on lower / higher quality items makes very little logical sense. At least to me, that is.