I wish I could vote but it simply doesn't work. 

But what about people who want to sell stuff? Can non-residents have shops in your town?

I've been hoping we have a central marketplace where all the players can put their stuff for sale or buy from someone else.
I know there are shops in most towns but you need to teleport to them and it costs money. It's $10 - $20 each time which is not much but it would be a lot if you want to check out multiple towns.
Also there are other problems with shops in a town. For instance you live in a small town and not many people even know it, which is common since there are just too many towns in this server and most of them are tiny with less than 5 residents. So your items may never get sold simply because there aren't buyers coming to your town at all!

One of the towny servers I've played on had a perfect solution (at least I think so). They have a central town owned by the staff that everyone can teleport to it for free. There are flea markets and shops in the central town. Everyone can put a chest and set up a sign shop in the flea markets, which is also free but a player can only have a certain number of sign shops in the flea market. If someone wants to do some serious business, he or she can rent a plot in the central town and build his or her own shops on it.

I like the idea of central town so much. It's also good for the economy of a server. It encourages players to trade with other players since you can simply teleport to the central town any time you want ?? it costs no money and you don't even need to think about it before you teleport. It also introduces competition and stabilizes prices. Players would be able to compare prices easily and that someone prices twice as much as all the others simply would not work.
In some sense, it helps new players get started in a server quickly and easily as well. New players can buy stuff, which is impractical for them to get, from flea markets or shops easily. (You might argue with that but a game should be fun. If the process is not fun for some players, they should have the right to simply skip it.)

I would like to know what you guys think. Let me know if you have any questions about this idea.