Trade and the exchange of goods has brought people together across societal and cultural divides throughout history. Legal documents from as early as the 1600s document the trade between the Sámi and the new mining community in Røros. The Sámi had traded with charcoal burners south of Røros, and had also visited Røros for trading purposes. One source mentions as many as 30 sleigh loads of reindeer meat, which were probably to be sold. 

We know that from the 1700s, Sámi families sold reindeer both as livestock and as slaughtered animals. Antlers, hides and hair from reindeer, sometimes mixed with grouse feathers, were also sought-after commodities. Cheese and butter made of reindeer milk was probably also available on demand. In addition, products like gloves, boots and shoes made of reindeer hide, and traditional ‘mudd’ garments were mentioned as commodities. All of which were necessities for getting by in this area. 

As a trading post, Røros was also important to Sámi families for buying household necessities like flour, salt and coffee. Other useful goods were glass beads, tin, frieze textiles, woollens, knife blades and copper kettles.

Through the ages, there was extensive trade in leather goods. After the Rørosmartnan market was established in 1854, a lot of leather goods were traded here, and the Sámi were important suppliers. 

Through the 1800s, several enterprises opened in Røros, some of which had close dealings with the Sámi. In 1800, Morten Leigh started the business that later became Engzelius & Søn. The inventories for 1859 lists as many as 28 pairs of ‘Finnsko’, i.e. shoes made from the hide from reindeer's shins. 

Handelshuset J. F. Finborud was established at Mørkstugata in 1873. The records from its first years of operation contain entries showing that reindeer hides and meat were traded. They also show that the Sámi bought provisions from shopkeeper Finborud. Through advertisements in the local press, Finborud offers goods specifically aimed at reindeer herders, like 'Bavarian line cord?' for lassos, woollens and small glass beads. Across the street from Finborud, is the Prøsch building. The trade of hides and furs was important there well into the 1900s. 

‘I can deliver about 2 tons of first class reindeerhorns’, the businessman Lars Skancke in Røros wrote to Englishman Joshua Kirkham in Sheffield in March 1895. Skancke must have received a request from Kirkham about reindeer antlers. The notebooks from Lars Skancke's business show that over the course of a few years in the 1890s, around 15 tonnes of reindeer antlers were exported via Røros to Sheffield. The demand was too great to source enough antlers locally, and Skancke had to turn to his trade contacts in Finnmark. The antlers were probably used for handles in the extensive cutlery industry in Sheffield.