The practice of slave trading is not uncommon in many parts of a typical world. As there is always a good deal of manual work to be done, buying a person who can do the work makes sense to the kind of person who has money to do so and no scruples.
Typical slave duties include manual labor, farming, household services, sexual favors, submitting to be a pet or plaything and other services.
The attitude towards slavery varies from culture to culture. Some nations consider it an inherently evil practice, while others tolerate slave ownership so long as the slave’s elementary rights (such as they are) are protected. In some places, slaves are nothing more than property and one does not interfere with or damage another person’s property, but you may dispose of your own as you will, meaning that it is quite normal to work a slave to death or to beat them senseless for any infraction.
Slaves are handled differently from other ‘products’. The ‘raw material’ slave represents a captive individual who is completely unused to his state and has not been broken in. Slaves of this kind are not in the least resigned to their role and are likely to be rebellious. ‘Processed’ slaves have had their spirit broken by prior ownership or by harsh treatment prior to their sale. They are not likely to have been trained in any craft and are used as manual labor. This kind of slave is most commonly employed in building large structures or laboring in the fields.
‘Worked’ slaves are qualified to practice a craft or professional skill. They are more akin to indentured servants than slaves and are generally treated with less contempt, as they are more useful. Slaves of
this kind are habitually employed in service to large families, where they may be an additional member of the family, responsible for the menial labor of the household, such as a nursemaid for the family's children, or a valet who prepares his or her master's clothes and food while the master works. They may also cook, care for the family’s children and perform domestic duties. Competent body slaves, as they are called, can greatly ease the lives of their masters, so that many masters come to rely on them completely, bringing them into their confidence and even turning over financial matters to them.
Exotic slaves may be selected for their beauty, grace or similar distinctive feature. They are owned by people
who keep them like pets; those who have may something unusual or unique about them are sometimes kept as exotic slaves. They may also be used as concubines, private dancers, entertainers or simply as domestic ornaments, presented to emphasize the host’s wealth and taste.
Quality slaves are either especially robust examples of ordinary slave stock (such as the hardest workers from a particular village) or slaves who have been trained to a high degree of fidelity of service and quality of workmanship. Craftsmen, entertainers and scribes are all highly valued on the market, whether they were born as slaves or entered due to debt, war, or some unfortunate twist of fate. Many masters will set up their slaves in trades, or have them aid the master himself in his own shop. Slaves with trade skills often make some money off of tips, which many masters allow them to keep to purchase such luxuries as they desire. Others, when their duties are done for the day, are able to make additional money at another job, if their master allows, earning their way towards freedom. Such slaves are considered almost the equals of their owners; their status as property is not brought up in conversation, though both parties are always aware of it.
There are a great many markets for slaves in which a hard-minded slave trader can make a fortune. Unexceptional slaves can always be sold to a gladiatorial arena, where they can provide a few hours’ entertainment for the rich by being slaughtered in reconstructions of historical battles or hopelessly unequal fights with savage beasts. Stronger slaves are bought to do menial work on plantations or in mines; mine work is extremely punishing and a few years of it without let-up is enough to kill most laborers, so it makes sense to use slaves whose life is worth little anyway and who can always be replaced. Wealthy families buy those slaves whose work skills are more sophisticated. Depending on the culture, even poor families or institutions may have one or two slaves, usually to take care of the work that nobody else wants to do. Exotic slaves are most likely to be bought by tyrants, merchants, crime lords and high-level society, who are renowned for their interest in the unusual.
The prices asked for slaves vary greatly, as the health, strength, gender and aptitudes of the slave can push
the price up or down. Slaves are customarily sold on an auction block rather than having a set price
attached to them.