So is there any specific reason that vendors never pay what they offer anymore? I have 45 cha and I got offered 377,304 gold for an item. I sell it and only get 82,824 gold. Something obviously is broken or the vendors of Tempus have become crooks.

Yeah, I am encountering this too. I get more gold from vendors selling from my characters with lower CHA. I suspect that in the code somewhere, the calculations are switched.

I see the issue, should be an easy fix.

Also, I understand thief mobs stealing, but I watched a vendor steal eq from a newbie's inventory and wear it, and you cant kill the vendor to get it back. So yeah, that's not cool.

Which shopkeeper? Details people!

Shopkeepers should be killable mobs and when they die you get their entire inventory.