Buying a Parcel

Every parcel on merca.earth is always for sale. See a name you disagree with? A location you want to own? Pay the current price and it's yours — instantly. No listings, no negotiations, no way for the owner to refuse. The price rises after each sale, so the map naturally settles on whoever values each place the most.

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Every parcel stays contestable — the current controller cannot refuse a buyout. There is no way to lock or delist a parcel. If someone pays the on-chain price, control transfers automatically.

How Buyout Works

The protocol enforces forced buyout through the buy_full smart contract function. Any parcel can be purchased by anyone, at any time, for its current on-chain price. The current controller cannot refuse.

When a buyout executes, three things happen atomically:

1. The buyer's payment is split and distributed.
2. The parcel's premium multiplier escalates, raising the next buyout price.
3. Control transfers from seller to buyer.

Finding a Parcel to Buy

Browse the map at merca.earth. Click any parcel you do not own to open its detail panel:

• Current price — exact SUI required to buy right now.
• Area — size in square meters or square kilometers.
• Price per km squared — effective rate after the premium multiplier.
• Owner — shortened wallet address linked to the block explorer.
• Polygon ID — on-chain object identifier.

If the parcel belongs to someone else, a BUY CLAIM button appears at the bottom.

The Buyout Price

The buyout price equals area × rate × premium. Registration itself is charged at 1.0x, but a newly registered parcel's next buyout already uses the first resale rung at 2.95x. Each later sale escalates the premium further, so parcels that have changed hands many times cost far more than lightly traded ones of the same area.

Price Calculation

The buyout price is computed on-chain from two components:

$$P_{\text{base}} = \frac{A \times R}{10^6} \qquad P_{\text{buyout}} = \frac{P_{\text{base}} \times M}{10^6}$$

Where $A$ is the parcel area in m², $R$ is the level's fixed rate (price per km² in MIST), and $M$ is the parcel's premium multiplier in parts per million. Registration is quoted at $M = 10^6$ (1.0x), but after register the stored buyout premium immediately becomes $2.95 \times 10^6$. Each later sale escalates the premium again.

The escalation follows a resale ladder of 64 predefined multipliers $m_1, m_2, \ldots, m_{64}$ applied sequentially on each sale:

$$M_{n+1} = M_n \times m_{n+1} \qquad m_1 = 2.95,\; m_2 \approx 2.18,\; \ldots,\; m_{\geq 65} = 1.15$$

Executing a Purchase

1. Connect your wallet. If not connected, clicking BUY CLAIM prompts you. The purchase resumes after connection.

2. Review the price. The displayed buyout price is the total SUI you pay. Gas fees are estimated separately by your wallet.

3. Click BUY CLAIM. The app constructs a trading::buy_full transaction (in the mercatr_market package) with the polygon ID and a payment coin matching the current price.

4. Approve in your wallet. Review the amount and confirm.

5. Wait for confirmation. Once on-chain, you see a success message. You now control the parcel.

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The entire process is a single atomic transaction. If anything fails (insufficient funds, price changed, network error), nothing happens and your funds stay untouched.

What Happens to the Previous Owner

The payment splits three ways: 85% to the seller, 7% to the protocol treasury, and 8% to the hierarchy pool (tax revenue for parent-level parcel owners). The seller receives their share as a direct SUI transfer in the same transaction — no separate claim needed.

Recipient	Share	Purpose
Seller (previous controller)	85%	Compensation for losing control of the parcel
Protocol treasury	7%	Protocol development and operations
Hierarchy pool	8%	Tax revenue for owners of parent-level parcels covering this area

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Tax revenue accumulated on a parcel is not collected automatically during a sale. If you want your tax revenue before selling, call Collect Tax first. The buyer does not inherit your uncollected tax balance.

After Purchase

You control the parcel immediately. You can:

• Name it and make it yours. Open the parcel panel, click "Edit" — add a name, description, draw on it, or upload artwork.
• Expand it. Use "Add Slice" to claim adjacent unclaimed territory.
• Collect tax. If your parcel covers child-level parcels at a higher hierarchy level, collect cascading tax revenue from them. See Collect Tax → Claiming Tax Revenue.

The premium multiplier escalated with your purchase. If someone buys the parcel from you, they pay a higher price and you receive 85% of that amount. The escalated premium also raises your effective holding cost (price per km squared).

Strategic Considerations

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Check the resale rung. Parcels near the first rung carry less accumulated premium than heavily traded parcels. Once a parcel has traded a few times, the ladder compounds quickly.

• Look at the premium. A parcel near the first rung (2.95x) is cheap relative to heavily traded land. One that has changed hands many times carries a much steeper premium. Consider whether the location justifies it.
• Evaluate hierarchy position. Higher-level parcels collect tax from smaller parcels beneath them. A well-positioned parent parcel generates ongoing income from child-level registrations, buyouts, and expansions.
• Consider total cost. The buyout price is one-time, but the escalated premium means the next buyer pays more. If nobody buys from you, you keep the parcel indefinitely. High area activity means more tax revenue flowing through the hierarchy.
• Check area and location. Larger parcels cost more at the same premium (price is proportional to area), but cover more territory — meaning more potential tax collection from child parcels.

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See also: Pricing → Buyout Price · Buyout & Premium → The Resale Ladder · Territory Operations · Collect Tax → Claiming Tax Revenue · Cash Flows → Resale Proceeds