Read the original proposal/discussion (including discussion of refund-discouragement) here: https://www.lioden.com/topic.php?id=304429549556&page=2#304446530899

This suggestion is intended to work in partnership with other potential economy-repairing suggestions. It is not a total solution to saturation or undercutting-- it is an attempt to shape player behaviour and improve general lion pricing through establishing sitewide norms.

We already have minimum stud fees per marking. I am proposing we introduce an equivalent minimum sale fee per marking, at the same rate: 25sb per marking, with an absolute minimum of 10sb for zero-marking lions.

In the case of selling lionesses with unweaned cubs, this minimum should apply to all markings being sold-- e.g. a lioness with three markings, sold with two unweaned cubs with two markings apiece, should be selling for a minimum 175sb.

This would create a hard limit to the amount of undercutting that was possible on lions in the marketplace selling for SB-- undercutting barter trades would still be possible for those willing to take them, but would be less incentivized because they are more involved trade interactions that take more time to complete than buyouts. Refunds would likewise be disincentivized, as more complex and unsupported player-to-player transactions-- our objective is to shape player behaviour by raising the minimum price of buyouts, rather than by restructuring the entire trade system.

(That said, if sale-refunds are a major concern, limiting account-to-account gifting for an appropriate cooldown after lion trades is an option.)

New players would not be unduly penalized by this system. There are already plenty of free ways to access lions with lots of interesting markings through both the Giving Tree (if you get lucky) and the Giveaways, which in my experience have always been abundant and generous, and through diligent checking of potential (chased) NCLs in explore. These minimum price SB amounts would also be achievable through normal gameplay interactions like explore or games.

And as rising tides lift all ships, the minimum sale fees raising the value of all lions would create new and more reliable SB sources for new/poor players who are trying to sell cubs or NCLs, and incentivize raising the prices on more coveted lions-- hopefully normalizing GB sales as well.

It would also provide a useful baseline for players who are just entering the marketplace as to how to price their lions above the minimum threshold. As it stands, it's extremely difficult when you're just entering the market to figure out how you should be pricing lions to move them (especially if you're low on lair space) and most of the guides for figuring it out are years out-of-date on pricing. This makes undercutting substantially seem like the smartest and easiest move. Establishing per-marking minimums makes it easier for players who are learning the market to realize they can price up on additional features like uncommon bases or eyes, or for specific fertility types-- and for players who are simply looking to move large volumes of lions quickly, the process is simplified to accepting the minimum buyout.