Years ago, it seems an API was considered: https://support.lastepoch.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260805256609-The-Game-Data-API-Is-Not-Yet-Available. I don’t know what happened to that, but is there any chance we can get an API just for the Merchant’s Guild trade searches?
The current in-game UI leaves a lot to be desired in terms of being able to sort and filter results by stats (no need to reiterate here, many threads on that).
Having an API would allow the creation of third-party sites that offer more functionality, similar to the powerful PoE trade site. It would also be neat to be able to monitor item prices over time to see how hyperinflation is affecting them, etc.
My argument is that better filtering would help the in-game economy because it would allow more regular players to find the middle-tier items they need. The top-end (BiS, LP4 items) are going to be hyperinflated regardless, because, well, RMT, and plus there are only ever a few of them and they are easy to find and sort by price for. And on the low end, there are always going to be pages of 0-cost items that people are just trying to get rid of for faction reputation.
But in the middle, the sweet spot where most regular players live in, this would make the day-to-day of finding an appropriate item for their particular needs much easier, and encourage the trade of items that is just right for one character but not another.
I know EHG is a smallish team with a lot on your plates, so maybe the trade filters aren’t the highest priority right now. But providing a read-only API (i.e., searching/listing items, but not executing transactions) could offload some of that burden and allow third-party volunteers to make a better system, maybe…?