Here I go again...
First, yes, Gems is out of date. The ratio has changed, and the trades that the "trader" will accept have changed.. try 1 steel for 1k marble, for e.g.
It used to be 1:16 - it has dropped but it is still nowhere near the "real" value.. make a date with a fellow to swap goods and see where you get.
Cross tier trading.
Again, there is nothing wrong with it per se.. it's just that cross tier trading is all BACK cross tier trading.. that is, Tier III for II and I, and that seems to apply to sentient goods as well. It suggests that a fair trade, say gems for scrolls, that is two star by the trader is "fair".. and most players, looking at produce and input etc, would accept it as such.. - and it's not. I'd love to see cross tier trading the other way. The day it happens, I'll call it fair.
The math is beyond me, and maybe pop, squares, input to build manufactories at Tier III level, high produce is accounted for.. but it's "easier" than producing Tier I and Tier II...
And there is a point. Unless players are basically altruistic and charitable when trading, and give discounts to newbies, and play fair/ their own rules within FS on trades.. we push away many players because they cannot get and cannot see how to get those quantaties of goods they need for progress and upgrades and development - and they give up.
I am currently sitting on 10k plus of Tier I, II, and III - and what it can buy me, I cannot use it, nor give it away.. all my manufactories are producing sentient goods, some of which are in the same situation. I really feel for the guy who needs 100 steel, wish I could give it him, where is he? Not in my neighbourhood, and how to explain after a few weeks of 8:1 exchanges to the newb, when there is one, that he is bleeding me dry, that I too, have limits.. and no, he can't join my Fellowship yet..
Finally, I am here because I denied that Winyandor trades were weird a few months back. I thought you were seeing things - but - yes, I have experienced the same. The Winyandor trader is "off" - not related to tournaments, or temporary shortages. I cannot quite say there is a cabal, but previously decent players are placing 0 star trades, and asking an 8:1 or above for their goods. They do seem to dominate the trader pages. The good news - don't buy, any two star, or fair star trade is accepted fast, and if it's a good in short supply a 10% discount will secure it. Please, appeal to FS and friends neighbours first if desperate. Leave those 0 stars to languish and it will get better.