As far as I've come, no.
The stuff I buy at markets to craft higher-priced items are still more expensive than the sell value of the items I craft.
so it wouldbe burning money at fast rates if I used the markets for anything else than raids.
And even for raids I feel they are rather useless.


Interesting to read they'll become mroe useful later.
But so far I haven't met a market I have access to that seels anything I haven't already crafted/smelted for a while.

Currently level "Breaking Green", 48,31% done.

I feel like by the time you get a market for a specific item that item is already easily craftable smeltable so there’s no point in buying anything. Maybe I’m using them wrong?

Depends on how you define "easily craftable".

ARGUMENT #1: Deprivation of Resources
This means you (A) have to have the ore to be able to (B) smelt the alloy bars which will then allow you to (C) craft the item and then (D) repeat as many times as you need that item.

So when you need a low quantity <50 of an item like Cooper Wire for example, this is indeed pretty easy. Even 20-50 of Tin Cans or Screws for example is fairly easy. BUT also know that making Screws requires Iron Bars which requires Iron Ore. But making Platinum Bars also requires Iron Ore (which you can't buy) - did you just use up all your Iron Ore making Iron Bars to make Screws that you could have bought from the Market and thus have none to smelt Platinum Bars with that you need for a Tech? If so, your only option is to (A) wait for more ore to generate (you can buy mine upgrades to help, but you're still stuck waiting for it to accumulate), or (B) buy Platinum Bars from the Markets. Conversely, you could just buy Screws from the Market and save your ore.

ARGUMENT #2: Time Saving
Instead of 20-50 of Copper Wire, Tin Cans or Screws, let's say you need 1500 or each of these. That takes a long time. If you have a surplus of money and can buy them from a Market, you can get that Tech now rather than 10-20 hours from now, or in some cases (depends on how many Smelters & Crafters you have, how many Techs you have, etc) it could save days. So what's more important at this point in time, saving hours/days to get Techs quicker (and the benefits they bring) or conserving money to invest in Hospitals, Army Camps, Mine upgrades, etc? The answer may differ depending on your state within the level and your preferred play style.

ARGUMENT #3: Efficient Use of Smelters/Crafters (And More Time Saving)
Keep in mind that later levels require you to make items which are then used to build other items (like building Screws to build Resistors, Circuit Boards and LEDs which are then used to make Digital Clocks, etc). If you're using your Smelters for Copper, Iron and Tin, etc, it means you're not using them for Platinum, Titanium, Dysprosium, Unobtanium, etc. If you're using your Crafters for Tin Cans, Screws, Nails, etc, it means you're not using them for Resistors, Computers, Motors & Solar Panels. You only get so many of each, so use them for what benefits you the most - which likely isn't the cheaper items. Again, it comes down to whether you have a monetary surplus and whether you want to focus on getting Techs more quickly or not.

SUMMARY:
If you're like me, you probably end the level with either (A) a surplus of both armies and money, just waiting for the last few Techs to finish, or (B) exactly the # or armies required to clear the level and a surplus of money. Take that future Surplus of money and move it forward to spend more effectively as to optimize your level playing experience = my recommendation.

Interesting you are ending the level just waiting on techs.

Do you always just make the most expensive item you can?, and do you leave smelters Waiting for resources often?

@MightySpeck (a Koala)

Yes, quite often I disable my Smelters as soon as I'm done with all the Techs that immediately need those alloy bars (typically the first 1-2 rows of each Tech branch), because (A) by that point, the money returned for selling those bars is not enough to bother generating them ('small money'), but more importantly (B) the ore lost by making those lesser valued bars (copper, tin, iron, zinc, aluminum, silver, gold, etc) directly impacts my ability later in the game to make the higher valued bars (platinum, lanthanum, dysprosium, chromium, unobtanium, etc) b/c these require ore of the cheaper bars. So quite often getting the 'small money' in the early to mid-game for little benefit often prevents or moderately to severely delays getting 'big money' in the late mid to late game.

You can buy bars you need (actually depends on the level and what Markets are available), but you can never buy ore, so I treat it as a more valuable resource.

I haven't seen those expensive bars in Idle. How do you find them? I also don't use markets. I actually hoard everything, not sure why, but it's just an instinct, so I never spend money on anything except upgrading mines and army camps and also buying armies. I also don't use power ups unless they are full.

@Georg

What map are you on now? Certainly by Scandinavia you should be seeing lots of these.

By Reconquest 1065, you should see a bunch.

I'm redoing Europe 1066 AD and I see Titanium, Thorium, Lanthanum, Dysprosium.

I just finished Asia and now at the end of Gargantuan and both have exactly one market. I think this was a version with that bug and fixed since.

I use Markets, because I am too lazy to look what I have to craft.