These days, the Grämlins are known primarily for one thing: importing vast amounts of technology. While Seria has not been able to keep up with the pace of the most advanced nations (like Nuevo Cabazon, the most advanced nation in the world), we also import large amounts of foreign technology, as a rate of between one and two hundred units per cycle on average. The alliance's network of contacts across the world produces an almost unrivalled stream of technology that enriches us all, enhances our military capabilities and increases our productivity. Technological advancement is the prime means of the power of Grämlin nations in the modern age.

But it was not always this way. Once upon a time, in the era before the Grämlins military was seen on the world stage of GW3, the alliance was known for one thing and one thing only: large scale selling of technology. At one time the Grämlin Tech Shop was the single largest producer of technology on the planet, supplying the world largest nations with a regular supply of technology, in exchange for money to build infrastructure. Unlike the dealers of today, who are selling to a captive market and almost invariably take $1.5m for each pack of 50 tech, the Grämlins were selling into a competitive marketplace, and tech was sold for as little as $1m per 50, although the usual rate was $1.2m per 50.

Seria itself funded large amounts of growth from the technology business, first as a middleman (almost unknown today, a middleman facilitates an immediate one on one deal in exchange for a small fee) and then as a seller. Serian technology sold on the open market at $1.2m per 50 units. The money earnt from this allowed the nation to grow rapidly to around 4000 infrastructure, the point at which it began to feel the need for its own advancement. This period coincided with the largest volume of technology sales from the whole alliance, and it was not unusual for every aid slot to be in use.

A little later, the balance of nations with Grämlins moved from net exporters to net importers, and the tech shop was closed – at first temporarily, but soon it became clear that it would never reopen. For a short time, smaller Grämlins did internal technology deals with larger ones, but fairly quickly it became clear that our desire for tech was greater than our capacity to produce it. We quickly discovered other alliances that were in the position we had been in months earlier, full of small nations and wishing to sell technology in order to boost their own nations; these relationships have continued to this day, with some alliances growing out of selling range, to be replaced by new friendships with smaller sellers.

The cycle is faster in the modern age, with the higher market price for technology resulting in more profit for sellers – a lot more profit. A $1.2m for 50 deal nets around $400,000 for the seller (minus any middleman cut, which tended to be $50k or $100k) – or $800,000 for 100 tech. A modern $3m for 100 deal nets at least $1.2m, and if it is a long term deal and the money is invested wisely, that can grow to $1.5m or more. But many alliances remain as net exporters for a long time, because they continually recruit new nations – just as the Grämlins did for the first few months – and the money we provide enables them to kick start their growth, just as the large nations of the GPA, NPO, FAN and others fuelled Seria's growth in the early days of 2007.

And as an added bonus, some of the alliances that sold large volumes to us are good friends with us today!

In conclusion, technology trading provides a net benefit to both sellers and buyers. Both Seria and the rest of the Grämlins have profited from both sides of the deal, and we've helped some other alliances to do the same since.