Mage-smithing is a process in which forged weapons are imbued with magical attributes in order to create enchanted weapons. This process is long and hard, requiring numerous items and various rituals to create the weapon, all of which can take months or years to complete. An entie industry has formed around the making and selling of enchanted weapons to mages for use. However, due to all the preparations that go into the making of the weapon, only large guilds usually have the capital and resources to develop them, creating a virtual monopoly of the industry. This has made these items very expensive, with only rich buyers able to afford them.
However, whippersnapper company has set out to change that by taking on the bigger guilds. This company, Enchanted-Stop, forms a business plan that focuses on making these rare items accessible to the average consumer mage. The business involves buying used items that are no longer wanted from mages at various store locations, and then reselling them to customers for less than what they cost to make. This has sharply driven down the cost of these items for mages, who can simply purchase them at these locations instead of going to the guilds. This completely cuts the guilds out of the profits, cutting into their market share.
The enchanted-Stop franchise has cost the guilds significant amounts of money by stealing away valuable customers, and have refused to cut them in on the take. Outraged, They have gone to the head wizard of the nation, Tronald Dump, to put a stop to it, arguing that these unregulated sales endangers public safety and puts lives at risk. However, Enchanted-Stop have successfully lobbied the magocracy to allow the practice to continue on the basis of human rights, popularizing the catchphrase " enchanted weapons don't kill mages, people kill mages". The public, happy that they now have access to these magical items at an affordable rate, cheer the decision. Dump, the crafty politician he is, uses this outcome to make himself out to be a man of the people in order to get reelected.
With the public on the side of this ruling, the guilds will continue to lose money and market share to the bastard upstarts. As they cannot count on a ban, they need to come up with a business strategy that returns profits to them and discourage the sale of their products. How can this be possible?