Before another item gets synthetically inflated (Narandi's Lance)

[Kika Maslyaka]

Originally Posted by Toodles [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Your use of the free market comment is incorrect, because the market in a game is not free nor organic.

A free market requires certain variables though most simplistically it needs competing entities and products.

Virtual markets such as these skew that because the entities(players) and the products( items) are unique in that they are not material or tangible and they are not competing. They're all selling at the same fake price because one person assigned it an arbitrary value literally over night. And nor where they a professional collector or was an appraisal done weighing all relevant factors( and trying to clone from some 'remembered' value of an item across all servers equally[?] from the original servers, is not only wildly inaccurate but also foreign as this is not the same market place).


The items have no real value and ownership, possession, maintenance or storage isn't factor. They also carry no overhead costs to try and sell. Profit and margin isn't a thing, as you have not outgoing costs.
And if you're going to quantify time spent playing as an overhead, then that's false because no one is playing only to acquire items and only to sell them to only make coin - unless you RMT.

It's also synthetic because sellers are trying to confuse and mislead buyers by using terms such as 'pre nerf' to try and explain the increase. You only do that when the asking price is not justified.



The only thing that's going to fail is your attempt to plat roll people.



What also is bothersome about this is guilds/events who do ring war and get the lance can often roll on it. 15k isn't a massive deal. Now, they'll forego that, and claim it as a guild bank item for 'guild funding' or some other excuse to line the pockets of the guild council.

Yes and No.

While there is no materials or labor or overhead costs required to "create" an item, there is TIME involved in obtaining it. And TIME is a COST.
Also, in RL world there are things called "antiques". They not produced and their supply is limited, but they occasionally digged up.
And just as well as in RL world, cost of the item can be inflated by aggressive advertisement/hype.
Just like in RL world is majority of people refuse to buy, the price will fall.

So - don't like it - don't buy it. If enough people will keep buying (even if you consider them fools), price will stay. Perfectly realistic to me.