Split the market

gingerjae

In the market, there are obviously items that are for sale from other players at the top and items for sale from the game (for lack of a better term) at the bottom. I think it could be split into a "farmers' market" and a "store". In the Farmers' Market you would have the items for sale from other players, maybe sorted by the ingredients or by quantity (or maybe let people choose how to sort it), and in the store you would have the ingredients for sale from the game, and you could keep the price locked at the highest level, but let people choose the quantity. That way if you can't get lucky and find a good deal from what the players are selling, you don't have to refresh over and over waiting for someone to be selling the item you need in the quantity you need it, you can just go to the store and get it, it's just going to cost more. Stalking the market takes way too much time away from playing.
You could also set up a swap market where people can trade items, post what they need and what they're willing to trade for it, or what they have and what they're willing to accept in trade for it.