Anywhere from $10 per merit upwards
Please tell me you dropped an extra number there by mistake, do you mean $1 per merit? if it's really anywhere near $10 per merit then why
Vlad2Vlad sent 271 merits to hornetsnest
I highly doubt that hornetsnest would pay $2710 to get that 271 merit, so if this is anything, he is probably farming accounts and not actually selling merit, or he is not aware of how much they go for.

Flag time? I'll watch until more evidence is presented and some consensus is formed.
Since trading merit is against the forum rules, shouldn't the accused member/s be reported rather than tagged? I mean what stops them from trading merit even with an active flag and a dozen negative feedback?