Great idea, no need to apologize! I'll definitely be implementing this idea, it's exactly what I was looking for. A step in the right direction for fleshing out the quests and it adds more idle to an admittedly not super idle game. I'm trying to bridge that gap without losing the flavor of interacting with the systems.
Oh boy, this is gonna be a long thread lol!
Basic selling systems for selling/dynamic stock prices for selling items would fit perfectly in Zone Idle. Each merchant would have different prices at different times (e.g. Merchant no. 1 could buy the bolt at XX rubles while Merchant no. 2 could buy the bolt at YY rubles). Nothing fits waiting more than waiting for the most optional prices.
On top of this, merchants have variable inventories which are considerably more valuable (AND LIMITED) purchases available. Of course, this means MORE WAITING to get your desired purchase!