Poor and Rich, no middle?!

[Iumuno]

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

Sarajo

You are forgetting it isn't just the plat that becomes worth less. More and more items enter the economy, probably at a rate faster than they are destroyed, and like the plat the abundance of these devalues them (see the trance stick example).

I suppose this leads to an interesting situation where some items are devaluing faster than plat, where as other hard to acquire items might devalue more slowly than platinum.

You're spot on. Most items are actually entering the game faster than plat is accumulating, so they devalue even faster. They will eventually hit a bottom, which isthe value of the inventory slot needed to carry it around until sold, plus the time necessary to find a buyer, and this will vary from one individual to another.

It was very rare on live to see an item actually increase in price over time, unless the item was changed or the drop rate decreased (like it happened with Fungi Tunics). I hardly see it being different on p1999.

That said, some of the observations of the OP are correct. But that's because as you go up in item quality for most slots, the desirability goes up (better item) while supply goes down (rarer drops), with both factors having an exponential effect on the final price.