Much of the extant material from the Celys’ papers in 1480 concerns the routine business of buying and selling wool and fell. The widespread ‘death’ in 1479 had perhaps interfered with trade that year, and although Richard Cely senior had braved infection and bought 27 sarplers of wool in the Cotswolds in April 1479, he kept them in store in England until they were finally shipped to Calais on 23 March 1480. Part of the consignment, which old Richard had described as carefully classed or ‘good packing’, was quickly sold, but when George attended the Antwerp mart in June he received bitter complaints from the buyer, who said that a large proportion of the wool was wrongly designated. By that time Richard had shipped 17 sarplers of new stock, which George endeavoured to keep back until he had sold more of the defective shipment. This was still unsold by November, however, and the wool in the remaining 20 sarplers had to be reclassed and repacked, at the same time as 11 more sarplers had reached Calais with the autumn fleet.

For both Cely brothers 1480 was a year of travel. George had a full round of seasonal marts to visit. Richard was assigned to the buying and packing of wool in the Cotswolds in the earlier part of the year, and then accompanied Sir John Weston's party on a number of official occasions, including an embassy to France.