XenaAndGabrielle wrote:
Qanda wrote:
There is a never-ending list of inflated items and many items have asking prices which are far higher than their real value. Ultimately, it is up to you to decide if something is worth it or not.
It is ultimately up to you. All we can do is help people to make a better informed decision. Thus, this thread.
I also agree ... many things do have prices much higher than their true value. But if that item is traded "fairly," I have no problem with the price being high. These are not the things I am worried about. They just have an inflated price ... but it is not due to a group of people trying to scam it as such.
What I am worried about, is when something is buyable on the shop wizard for only a few Neopoints one day ... and then the next day it is "magically" unbuyable the next day. The jewel encrusted bowl was the best example so far, I think. Someone (or some group) buys up every buyable bowl on the shop wizard (where prices were around 10,000 Neopoints on the low end). Then they fill the trading post claiming they are worth millions. They get people to trade for them ... and they get loads of high end stuff ... and then the price slowly decreases back to the normal level. This *artifical* inflation is what I aim to combat.
I'm not saying we need to post things that are now 60k when they were only 55k yesterday. I want to post things that were 20k yesterday, but listed as being worth millions now ... and there are no buyable ones on the shop wizard. This is how we can help our community here.
Erin wrote:
I have a question. If an item has been artificially inflated to the point where it is barely buyable on the shop wiz (like XenaAndGabrielle posted about the Goldy Backscratcher), wouldn't it be profitable at that point to start marketing it, even if it's not supposed to be worth that much? How fast do these items deflate anyway?
That goes against the entire point of this thread. My greatest hope would be if someone actually had that item ... they could put it on the trading post at the "regular price" and just keep it there ... so people could see the actual price.
Alas, when someone sees that actual price, and wants to purchase the item, then they will assume that they found a great deal and will continue to inflate the item alongside everyone else. Additionally, It's unfair to say that everyone selling a particular item a "lame-o" there are bystandards here who have had their hopes inflated by someone who wanted to make a quick buck.
It's a natural occurence, inflation happens and when it is manipulated, I do agree that it is not cool, but at the same time, it's another aspect of the game. If you can find a group of people equal or greater to the number of people who are already selling the item that are willing to sell it for a lower price, then I have some land in Maraqua I'd like to sell them as well.
Not to say that venturing for the common good is such a terrible thing and only the absent minded do it, but more to say that your goal is nearly absurd, what has been done so far though is more impressive and easier to manage than finding someone who wants to sacrifice profit. Managing to inform people what not to buy, so as to cause the prices to fall(because no one will buy), in my opinion, is combat enough.