Given the large amount of speculation as well as direct contradiction of canon in

this thread, I assume this is not supposed to be a "your take on canon" type
thread, but rather a brainstorming type thread for fanfiction. With that in mind,
here is an excerpt from my Victoria Potter planning document:

Goods

When it comes to using magic to directly fulfil economic needs, transfiguration has
pride of place. In simple terms, Gamp�s Law of Elemental Transfiguration states
that any physical thing can be turned into any other physical thing. Clearly this
ability possesses the potential to completely eradicate the goods economy, leaving
only demand for services. However, there are six factors preserving the wizarding
goods economy:

Gamp�s Law has five principal exceptions, which describe the five classes of
physical item which transfiguration simply cannot create (either by transformation
or by conjuration).

Gamp�s Law has many subsidiary exceptions, which describe classes of physical good
which can be created with transfiguration, but only within certain limitations.

Transfiguration is widely considered the most difficult magical discipline, and

most wizards have not mastered it to the degree necessary to use it to create the
goods they demand (see below, Education).

Wizarding goods are generally not merely physical, but come with enchantments to
improve their qualities. Transfiguration can only create physical things; it cannot
imbue an object with magic it did not originally have.

While transformations are permanent, nonetheless they can be reversed by the active
intervention of a wizard. This is especially relevant for the magical construction
industry, where durability and security are of particular concern.

While highly skilled wizards could theoretically use their abilities to put some
traditional industries out of business, it is usually more profitable for the
wizard to put those skills to a different use. For example, a highly skilled wizard
might be able to perform large, perfect, animate transfigurations in an instant.
Such a wizard could likely replace many farms if they devoted their life to
transfiguring items into cows. However, that same level of skill means the wizard
in question could easily obtain even more lucrative and exciting employment
elsewhere (or would seek to enter politics).

The five principal exceptions to Gamp�s Law are: food, gold, silver, bronze, and
gems. Note that these are the things transfiguration cannot create directly.
Transfiguration can still make tin and copper, which may be turned into bronze via
alchemy. Similarly, transfiguration can still make animals, which can be turned
into food by one who knows butchery and cooking charms, and seeds, which may be
turned into food by a herbologist or farmer. Nonetheless, these goods which cannot
be created directly will generally be surprisingly costly in the wizarding economy.

The subsidiary exceptions to Gamp�s Law are too many to list. A number of
illustrative examples will suffice. There exist a complex series of subsidiary
exceptions which relate to knowledge. For example, while it is generally possible
to access new information with transfiguration (indeed, all transfigurations
contain information unknown to the caster, who cannot possibly know the true and
entire physical nature of the thing they are creating), it is not possible to use
transfiguration to gain access to secrets which are unknown to the caster.
Similarly, while it is generally possible for transfiguration to supplement
creativity (it is not necessary for the caster to visualise the end result of their
transfiguration), it is not possible for transfiguration to create artistic works
wholecloth. A third example relates to invention: while novel objects can be
created with transfiguration, this must be done �manually� by actively guiding the
magic; it is not possible to create a novel object by reference to its Platonic
form.

Many attempts have been made by scholars to reconcile these knowledge-related

subsidiary exceptions into a unified principal exception, but the field has proven
consistently too varied to bend to any generalisation. Similar situations exist for
the subsidiary exceptions related to beauty, health, and textiles. These subsidiary
exceptions mean that books, documents, and certain clothing have high economic
value in the wizarding world. They also explain the limitations on transfiguration
with regards to healing (including cosmetic healing).

To conclude, the following goods and commodities will generally achieve a

relatively high value in the magical world: gold, silver, bronze, gems, cooked food
(e.g. bread, restaurant food), edible ingredients (e.g. apples), prepared
ingredients (e.g. butchered meat), books, musical scores, visual art, scripts, and
certain types of clothing.

In addition to these, goods which are enchanted will attract additional cost. This
is because the act of enchantment is a service.

In contrast, there are many goods which may be expensive in the Muggle world but
will generally be cheap in the wizarding world. For example, the products of Muggle
craftspeople and manufacturers will be generally cheap for wizards, as they can be
easily replicated with transfiguration. This would include (unenchanted) furniture,
musical instruments, and kitchenware. Even unskilled wizards are capable of
transfiguring themselves a knife and fork; it is rare to see a wizarding shop
selling cutlery. Similarly, certain raw substances in the Muggle world may be
extremely valuable but, as there is no barrier to their magical creation, they have
little value in the magical world. This would include precious metals such as
platinum, as well as industrial products like oil and coal. Additionally,
undeveloped land is much cheaper in the magical than Muggle world, unless it
happens to be home to magical flora or fauna.