I'm not saying I'm slow, but I just spent an hour running around a POT only to realize that the POT I'm looking for is nestled within that first town. Damn you Russian Dolls!!
Feel better, when the game first went persistent, I saved up 2000 gold (before there were as many quests and gold was harder to get) to buy a crate thinking it was a container! I'm going to do horrible things to the Owls Head deco merchant if they ever make NPCs attackable. We all have stories.
It might even be teachable and I'm pretty sure someone will hook you up if you ask them. Don't ask folks who were planning on selling them. They are just as appalled that people give them away as I am that people sell them but hey I sell water so there you go.
Indeed yes! Some are merely food for facepalms, others are financially painful as well, like the time I purchased an NPC vendor's entire stock of an item (I think it was an ingot mold) instead of just one.
As of R48, you can also see nested POT's via the scene label on the overland map, inside that scene you will find either a wagon, boat or ballom to get you there, depending on the nested scenes biome. Happy Holidays!