Making a living from Virtual Items

[Viriiguy]

$1000 in 3 weeks is no good. I bought and sold MMORPG items on Ebay for years. And let me tell you he needs more practice. I have sold a single lance for Diablo 2 Closed Battlenet on USEast I think fo 1200 USD. I have sold numerous Castles in UO for 2000-3000 each.

And back when I was really into selling Game items I used to make 8 mil gold on Napa Valley a day and sell it on Ebay for 24 a mil. All this while holding down a full time job in The Computer IT industry.

Yes there is money to be made by buying and selling game items. And yes you can make a really nice living. But you have to be on the ball, and make wise purchases.

When I decided to get out of it, I had gone from makeing 4000 - 7000 a month down to making about 2500 a month. At that point it was no longer worth my time.


(hint for all those of you who want to pick up an easy 2 grand a month or so)
There is always some form of making free gold in UO. Do a little research and see what the latest flaw is, Then write a script that will do it over and over. One I used to use was buying and selling Gems to vendors. You could buy them for one price in one town, and sell for almost double the gold in another. Ok so that may be good for 100k old an hour. But that is not enough for any real money. Here is where you really start making the money.........

Get 20 pc's each PC running 8 instances of UO and each PC houseing 8 UO acounts. Run the script on Each account and there you have about a mil an hour Free gold an hour..... or 14-20 bucks an hour 24 hours a day 7 days a week. All with minimal work on your part.

ViriiGuy

 

[Sol Invictus]

The reason I hate public servers on the MMORPGs of any game is because of people like you making money off of in-game exploits and using macros/botting. It really ruins the experience for the rest of us who don't do this sort of thing, though the real blame I think is to be laid on those morons who actually buy the stuff. Can't blame you for exploiting their greed, there.

All in all I think it's just an argument to play these games on private servers, where the community is small and close-knit and nobody can get away with botting or the purchasing of items through the real life advantage of having a loose credit card.

 

[xemous]

i'v got about $ 4,000.00 usd worth of isk, and i think the account is worth a good $ 500.00 - 1,000.00 usd as well, hav'nt bothered selling it even though im not playing.

/edit

actually greece is pritty expensive depending were you live, and $1000.00/ three weeks; is actually piss fuck all.

 

[DarkSign]

Does anyone still play UO? I played on Pacific in the pre-ren days...but now...the populations have to be super low, right?

not worth making money on that game

 

[Rosh]

Get 20 pc's each PC running 8 instances of UO and each PC houseing 8 UO acounts. Run the script on Each account and there you have about a mil an hour Free gold an hour..... or 14-20 bucks an hour 24 hours a day 7 days a week. All with minimal work on your part.

Which tends to turn the gameplay into ass, thanks to ignorant shitheads like yourself using the game to do nothing other than make money, versus having some real presence in the game, which results in the economy balacing attempts by the developers to form into even more ludicrous and anal prices. Yes, a lot of older vets remember when tailoring was decent to make a bit of side money from when you started (until people like this asswipe abused it to the point where it had to be taken away).

There are Chinese with even less brains than you, who go to games they can skullfuck in order to make (for them) a fortune off of some dumb moron who doesn't care if the result of buying 1 mil adena for $40 comes at the price of the game abusers spoiling entire zones or resulting in the bans of innocent people like in SWG.

Try and validate your actions if you will, but morons like you add nothing to the game whatsoever but problems.

 

[Fez]

I still think it is the gameplay itself which is to blame for it. If the game didn't feel like boring work then no one (or at least far fewer) would be shelling out real money to get past the grind. Make the game entertaining all the way through and you won't have bots and exploiters everywhere.

 

[Snuffles]

I wonder about stealing in game items though, both in a game that allows you to pick pocket / steal an item as part of the game or in a game that doesn't have built in stealing methods but you can still pull off a good scam on someone.

 

[xemous]

i make money from mmog

thats excellent \

 

[Rosh]

Fez, the problem with that lies in the fact that no matter how much you dumb down the game, some twit can't be bothered to play be the rules and get to where everyone else is by the same playing field. Or they are itching to burn some credit and make a bit of easy in-game cash. This even applies to the more Monty Haulish MUDs around there. Hell, it happened on a few campuses, with billboards.

In all things, there is a point where it might be acceptable. Handing down a character that you no longer wish to play, or to sell some extra money to raise a bit of cash, or in-game items, that is one thing. Doing nothing but exploiting the system en masse serves no purpose other than to ruin the game balance or economy, and sometimes leaves the real players of the game with bare areas of assholes farming for money.

When it comes to exploiting the in-game mechanics and economy to that amount and expect it to remain, as well as the other players to be receptive of such munchkin playing, these are not welcome things by any means to an experience Imm. I am in no way impressed with to the point some people go. There is a difference between a merchant and an exploiter.

 

[Sol Invictus]

There should be real laws prohibiting players from exploiting the game to make profits in real life but until that happens, these games are gonna get fucked by exploiters and ebayers unless they're limited to private servers or private play, like in Diablo 2 and the upcoming Guild Wars. It doesn't matter that some dick head might be selling a Zod rune in D2, because chances are you're not gonna meet with the dick head who buys the item anyhow.

 

[fnordcircle]

There should be real laws prohibiting players from exploiting the game to make profits in real life

Yeah, because governments in general are such well-run bodies that it helps to involve them with everything in life, and what more important thing could we get regulated than MMOs?

 

[Sol Invictus]

So? I'm sure someone brought up that very same argument about internet monetary transactions - about how hard it was for police to even do their jobs blah blah so why should there be laws prohibiting identity theft over the internet and so on and so forth. You could say the same thing about pickpocketting or prostitution.

 

[fnordcircle]

So? I'm sure someone brought up that very same argument about internet monetary transactions - about how hard it was for police to even do their jobs blah blah so why should there be laws prohibiting identity theft over the internet and so on and so forth. You could say the same thing about pickpocketting or prostitution.

On what moon planet is exploiting a video game the same as identity theft? And don't even bother trying to draw some weak ass parallel with people that exploit to get items and sell, nobody is forcing the people who buy to do so.

I do like your general sentiment about making things crimes where there are no victims. Very Orwellian of you.

 

[Human Shield]

I don't see any problem with it. The game design for MMORPGs is crap to begin with, the "exploiters" are doing a demanded service for other people, great job.

There is unlimited inflation in MMORPGs. PvE against unlimited respawning monsters is stupid to begain with and so is the level based system most MMORPGs have.

You can't exploit in a game where to get money you have to trade with other players (including services) and bandits can kill you if you aren't careful.

 

[Rosh]

I do like your general sentiment about making things crimes where there are no victims. Very Orwellian of you.

I do like your general ignorance despite the victims being plainly pointed out no more than five posts before your own.

How very moronic of you to base your assumption upon that ignorance.

Human Shield, no offense, but maybe you need to look at it in some other way than a disinterested person who really doesn't know the extent of the problem. When it comes to the point where the Imms have to clear out areas of people who are doing nothing but farming entire zones, which also prevents others from playing the game anywhere near normal, offering none of the social aspects, then there should be an obvious problem. These are but one of the problems that the Lineage Imms are far too retarded to deal with. They say it's something akin to "realism" of a gang holding a territory. That is fine when it is an actual in-game guild. When it is a group that is doing nothing than having a load of high-level characters farming an area non-stop, killing anyone and anything in a certain zone for nothing but eBay profit for a company, then there is a definite problem that needs to be addressed.

Again, trading is one thing. Using exploits and doing little more than wasting bandwidth and game space at the experience of others is a whole different ballpark.

 

[Avé]

It's amazing how many people in this thread failed to read the article correctly.

To see if it was worthwhile getting into the "business", he set himself a goal of $1000 in 3 weeks.

This was as a complete novice to buying, selling & trading for real cash in UO.

Now, where, WHERE does it say he makes $1000 per 3 weeks on average?


@xemous - how much ISK exactly do you have in Eve?

 

[xemous]

It's amazing how many people in this thread failed to read the article correctly.

To see if it was worthwhile getting into the "business", he set himself a goal of $1000 in 3 weeks.

This was as a complete novice to buying, selling & trading for real cash in UO.

Now, where, WHERE does it say he makes $1000 per 3 weeks on average?


@xemous - how much ISK exactly do you have in Eve?

around 2 bil ~ and 500mil in assets. last i checked 1mil isk was 2 usd. i would sell it all for 200bux aud cash in hand but. i dont work with ebay.

 

[Avé]

around 2 bil ~ and 500mil in assets. last i checked 1mil isk was 2 usd. i would sell it all for 200bux aud cash in hand but. i dont work with ebay.

You are about 18 months out of date

If you sold 2bil in one auction, you would be fortunate to get ~$800 USD.

Selling in 100mil lots you might get ~$975 total or so.

 

[Human Shield]

Human Shield, no offense, but maybe you need to look at it in some other way than a disinterested person who really doesn't know the extent of the problem. When it comes to the point where the Imms have to clear out areas of people who are doing nothing but farming entire zones, which also prevents others from playing the game anywhere near normal, offering none of the social aspects, then there should be an obvious problem. These are but one of the problems that the Lineage Imms are far too retarded to deal with. They say it's something akin to "realism" of a gang holding a territory. That is fine when it is an actual in-game guild. When it is a group that is doing nothing than having a load of high-level characters farming an area non-stop, killing anyone and anything in a certain zone for nothing but eBay profit for a company, then there is a definite problem that needs to be addressed.

Again, trading is one thing. Using exploits and doing little more than wasting bandwidth and game space at the experience of others is a whole different ballpark.

I see your point but I think the problem lies in the design of the game. With unlimited resources only restricted by time, people are willing to pay for someone else's time. And the most time efficient way to gather these resources is to farm with bots. People will try it as long as it benefits them and the rules are set so that it does.

From an economic point of view, Problems with MMORPGs

Unlimited animals.
Selling items to a store does not reflect supply and demand, static prices.
Selling goods from the animals produces unlimited currency, no one mints the money. Unlimited inflation.

No real ownership rights on most goods.
Most of the world exists in the wilderness and first extraction rule applies.
It is the tragedy of the commons, thousands of people are trying to over-extract respawning creatures and time becomes a more important resource.

Players kill as many as they personality can, because: there is no need to invest in future population of monsters, any you let go is just benefiting someone else at your loss.

Another problem with MMORPGs is that it makes the scarce resource of time a zero-sum game. Doing things as fast as possible usually makes it slower for others. In the aim of giving everyone everything, comparative advantage is destroyed and replaced with first extraction and everyone is screwed.

What do the hunters need? The people that use bots desire: In-game money, in-game fame and power, and/or real money.

The last one is the only one based on supply and demand! As more people sell game items the price will go down, which in turn will mean more camping and bots to keep the same income.

In-game money and character power given in exchange for time is automatic and maximized the more they exploit, time becomes even more precious when they are charged for it.

The exploiter has no in-game needs and the game imposes none.

This the biggest problem in MMORPGs. The player needs no one and everything is commonly owned for extraction, exploiting is the best thing to do in pursuing your goals. MMORPGs will never become complex without scarce resources and comparative advantage. PVP adds an element to this. The exploiter mite need to hire player guards.

Why don't we let the exploiter declare ownership over an area and have guards go after people that enter. How about we throw monster breeding code in instead of respawning. Looks like the exploiter can't kill everything in sight now. What if a purely player-made item comes out that increases breeding, but it requires land to grow. Looks like the player is forced to buy the item from other players if he still wants to maximize killing monsters.

You can exploit the mindless game but you can't control other people and the trade must be agreed to by both parties.

Privatization and scarce goods can produce more cooperation and interaction then thought possible, and make things many times more interesting then any other MMORPG.

 

[xemous]

eve

 

[Avé]

around 2 bil ~ and 500mil in assets. last i checked 1mil isk was 2 usd. i would sell it all for 200bux aud cash in hand but. i dont work with ebay.

You are about 18 months out of date

If you sold 2bil in one auction, you would be fortunate to get ~$800 USD.

Selling in 100mil lots you might get ~$975 total or so.

mate, if someone gave me 20 bux cash in hand id sell the whole bloody account.

heh, I felt the same when I sold off two 10mil SP accounts and 1bil isk

 

[Tiliqua]

Exploiters suck the joy out of mmos. I guess the joy you feel about "beating the system" is akin to the joy the authors of the Nigerian letters feel whenever another sucker takes the bait. I really enjoy playing mmos and just because they're not perfect is not a reason to justify ruinning the gaming experience of your average gamer. I like to think that these games have a "level playing field" and I get depressed when I discover otherwise.

 

[Viriiguy]

:D

Bah UO was a lousy game anyway.

Paid my bills that is all I care about.

 

[Rayt]

I still think it is the gameplay itself which is to blame for it. If the game didn't feel like boring work then no one (or at least far fewer) would be shelling out real money to get past the grind. Make the game entertaining all the way through and you won't have bots and exploiters everywhere.

The best way to avoid things like bots, ebaying kids and hacking is quite simple: avoid having über items and make sure it's easy to obtain the maximum character level (say, 10 hours of playing). Oh, and make pvp impossible. This may seem completely ridiculous, but maybe some day a company makes a mmorpg that is just fun to play (with friends) and isn't about hoarding loot or camping bosses. You know, like an online fps game but with elves and fireballs.

Because there's no way you can counter the greed, lazyness and general asshatness of people playing games online.