How to be good for the Economy - Guide by Chapel

Background
I, the author of this guide, am a graduate student of mathematics. Naturally my field often overlaps with economics. Now, the world of macro- and micro-economics is a busy and complicated place. (The math side of me says that it is over complicated.) However FFXI economics aren't quite as complex. In this guide it is my intention to educate you about the basics of FFXI economics and hopefully teach you ways that you can put some money in your pocket while helping the game economy as a whole.

The Basics
Let us quickly look at the basics of the economy in FFXI and note how it is similar to reality. First and foremost we can break all objects in FFXI into 5 groups: Durables, Perishables, Raws, Materials, Quests. I mention the durables first because that is what we are most used to dealing with in the game. A durable item is any item that you can resell after using. Armor, weapons and accessories are all durable items. Perishable items we are second most familiar with. Perishable items get 'used up' over time. Examples include food, spell scrolls, fishing bait, charged items, ninja tools and arrows. Next we have the Raws. Raw items are the regular everyday items that drop off of mobs or most items that we harvest. These items are useless by themselves but can often be sold to crafters or NPCs. Fourth we find Materials. Materials are anything that crafters make from the raws but do not have an express purpose beyond that. Finally we have Quest items. These are items that exist for the sole purpose of being turned into NPCs for rewards.