[MUD-Dev] Are eBay sales more than just a fad?

[Vincent Archer]

According to Dave Rickey:
>     I think it's safe to say that this is starting to look like a trend.
> Like being a little bit pregnant, once you start down this path, there's no
> stopping till you get to the end (IMHO).  Question is, where's the freaking
> end?  What's the legal consequences of selling, as the operator of a game,
> in game stuff for real money?  What if a bug eats that Sword of Buttkicking
> you just sold somebody?  What if you ban the account? How do we integrate
> what is, after all, a rather cold-blooded money-suctioning device into a
> game concept?  Do we even *want* to go this route, and if we don't can it
> possibly be prevented?  What do we do when the EverQuest Platinum Piece is
> traded in the world money markets?  We've been talking about how "Graphical
> MUD's" were going to redefine commerce and business.  Welcome to the future.
> Who do you want to kill today?

It all depends on what, exactly, you're setting up shop for. If you're
"creating" the goods you're selling, be it the ubervorpalsword or the
level 999 character, you're probably going to face the court someday.

An alternate "model" for this kind of business is taking over EBay sales
by adding something they can't provide: goods escrow. If you link your
own on-line auction site with the game engine, you may provide for the
buyer a guarantee that the seller's merchandise exists (see the scam
referenced in the original article) and provide a guarantee that the
seller can't delete, use, or trade the merchandise except to the
legitimate buyer.

Your revenue is then the cut you take from transactions, not the
manufacturing of virtual game aids.
--
Vincent Archer                                         Email: archer at nevrax.com

Nevrax France.                              Off on the yellow brick road we go!



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