Guild Wars 2

Earlier today in the Instigator zerg someone dropped a merchant. The merchant did not respond to me or my guildmate. Just now I was running to the LA TP to pick something up; there was a Black Lion trader standing out in the plaza, so I stopped at him to save some time. He likewise did not respond.

Has there been a change to where these only work for the summoner, like the CE Bank Golem? Yesterday the merchants were fine and it was very helpful of people to drop them for the zerg.

I have not yet tested this by dropping one for people to try, I will have to organize some people to see if we can reproduce the issue.

There are two diff types one which can be used by others(rarity:basic – single use) and one which can only be used by you alone (exotic- reusable).

See wiki for more info:
Permanent Black Lion Merchant:
Double-click to bind this item to your account. Will summon a personal Black Lion Merchant for 5 minutes anywhere. Allows you to access basic supplies and sell loot. Reusable.

Merchant Express
Double-click to summon a Black Lion Merchant for 5 minutes, allowing you and your allies to access basic supplies and sell loot. Single-use.
— In-game descriptions