Isn't Guild Trader collusion awesome?

DeadDealer · August 2016

lol
just lold

ok without proofs i reported this topic and first post for blatant attemption of denigration and slander

Uriel_Nocturne · August 2016

Shadeaux wrote: »

DeadDealer wrote: »

like to any other forums
google how to upload pictures on forums

Uriel_Nocturne wrote: »

Shadeaux wrote: »

I can't seem to post a pic without having it hosted somewhere.

That's generally how online Forums work.

Just go to Imgur. It's free, and you just grab the "direct link" and paste it into the test box here after making an account. Simple.

Yea, not going to bother with all that. Naysayers will simply say I fabricated it anyway.

Choose to believe what you want.

What I know to be true is that my guilds minimum mandated prices went up to exactly the same amounts (18k) as all other traders at the exact same time. I have not found a TA for under 17k, and only one trader had those. Everywhere else it is 18k to 21K. Our price mandate also went from 10k to 13K at precisely the same time as everywhere else just a few weeks ago. I also have evidence of past collusion between trading guilds.

Well, now that you've refused to put your "proof" up, there's really no way anyone is going to believe you.

This is a laughably bad cop-out.

It's not that there's "collusion", it's that you're butt-hurt about the price spike that always goes along with a DLC release (which happens in every single MMO btw).

I get it now.

But, then again; I need to keep reminding myself that I'm just another cog in the "collusion conspiracy" wheel... almost forgot about that.

SirAndy · August 2016

I frequently sell stacks of mats to "scouts" from the large trading guilds. I price my mats below what you would pay at the trading hubs and the scouts turn them around for a quick profit.

Works for me since i wouldn't move nearly as much warez otherwise ...

Shadeaux · August 2016

Good grief, I went and took a screenshot of the message, but there is no simple way to simply paste it into this message.

I could fabricate my own message of the day anyway, so what proof is it? I will not give the name of the guild, per forum rules.

I'm not butt hurt, I will simply wait till I get them myself through writs and refining.

I am simply telling the community what I saw.

You obviously have nothing constructive to say, so I am done arguing with you.

DeadDealer · August 2016

Butthurt issue i see in the topic

Pandorii · August 2016

There's always going to be a person or two that are looking for a quick sell and will underprice the market value. If you're looking for deals, avoid the high traffic traders. These are where the money-makers put their wares on sale. Look around in the middle-tier traders, even if they have less stock.

Uriel_Nocturne · August 2016

Pandorii wrote: »

There's always going to be a person or two that are looking for a quick sell and will underprice the market value. If you're looking for deals, avoid the high traffic traders. These are where the money-makers put their wares on sale. Look around in the middle-tier traders, even if they have less stock.

Agreed.

I find some of the best deals at the out-of-the-way Trader Stalls. There's one in eastern Deshaan province just outside of a fort there (I forget the name of the Guild that runs it) that always has some really good deals.

FloppyTouch · August 2016

If u farm they are free pro tip

jedtb16_ESO · August 2016

Pandorii wrote: »

There's always going to be a person or two that are looking for a quick sell and will underprice the market value. If you're looking for deals, avoid the high traffic traders. These are where the money-makers put their wares on sale. Look around in the middle-tier traders, even if they have less stock.

^this one way of making gold.

a lot of people rely on things like mm for pricing - indeed will say that the market price is xyz because that is what mm says. just plain wrong cos mm only gives you pricing from the guilds you are in and that is not the whole market.

but deals are to be found.... just have to get out and look for them.

Nefas · August 2016

@Shadeaux

Interesting you mentioned the message of the day where none of this happens

What I know to be true is that my guilds minimum mandated (mandated on MOTD) prices went up to exactly the same amounts (18k) as all other traders at the exact same time

What lol.

I agree system could be better but switching over to global auction house is, in my opinion, too extreme & reckless of an alternative at the moment.

The current system needs improvements particulary with the bidding/guild system.

If your guild(s) is indeed ordering everyone to set certain prices then you should leave the guild(s) in question.

All of the reputable and even small trading guilds I've been involved with do not do such things although there have been coordination for trader spots and fierce bidding wars in the past.

KaleidoscopeEyz · August 2016

It's only price fixing and collusion if you can't afford it, right?

Shad0wfire99 · August 2016

Hmmm. I wonder how many guild leaders sent people to this thread?

jedtb16_ESO · August 2016

Shad0wfire99 wrote: »

Hmmm. I wonder how many guild leaders sent people to this thread?

i'm not in a trading guild...

/thinks...more conspiracy and collusion?

Cryptical · August 2016

I feel like will smith in the first Men In Black, standing there while the 'experienced' people overlook the obvious that is staring them straight in the face. So, I will channel Will.

HEY FOOLISH PEOPLE!

Have you tried google to look for guilds with minimum pricing?

This link http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/719738-the-elder-scrolls-online-tamriel-unlimited/72364005/829688879

Has this text written by a guild master
---

Thanks for your interest in the guild. Since we have no trader right now, I don't care what people price things at. The comment about you'll know if you're priced fair means if an item isn't priced competitively it won't sell.

I might move to a minimum price structure with listings once the trader goes live because as a member of other huge successful guilds they have this in place and it works. I really don't want to see nonstop undercutting because you are devaluing the product. Just my two cents.

---

Then this link
https://m.reddit.com/r/ESObay/comments/4daxnm/mod_weekly_price_check_megathread_404_410/

Has this text
---

danielcarterhurst•133d, 5h
[XB1] NA price check on fortified nirncrux. my trading guild used to have a minimum price of 6000g each, but when i looked yesterday it was dropped to 450g minimum. is that a typo in that it should be 4500g?
1
PRIMALmarauderGT: PRIMALmarauder•131d, 14h
4500 sounds about right for a minimum for guild stores. Probably a typo.

---

Then this link RIGHT HERE ON THESE FORUMS
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/145742/help-we-need-more-guild-management-tools/p6
---
Posted by Kat_Cnaa

For a guild store to have a really robust selection, so that someone stopping by may have a very good chance of finding what they are looking for -- be it a mat, recipe, set item, etc, the #items stocked generally needs to be in the 5-6k range.

Trade guilds that aim for this typically have strict activity requirements. Sometimes it's a time-based requirement where a member who doesn't log in for 5+ or 7+ days is "automatically" booted. Or a member who doesn't "contribute" by buying a raffle ticket, making sales, or depositing in the store within a period of time is booted from the guild. And I've also seen guilds set a minimum price floor for their guild because of taxes. This seems like a *** step to me. I'd rather guilds be able to set their own tax rates that are automatically posted on the guild home page.

---

So, will anyone who continues to claim that there are no minimum prices set by guilds please kindly quiet down.

Posting from mobile, checking and editing right now to get formatting correct, because no preview...

Looks like the formatting is good. Let the naysayers commence their head-in-the-sand ostrich impressions in 3...2...1...GO!

idk · August 2016

DRXHarbinger wrote: »

xilfxlegion wrote: »

DRXHarbinger wrote: »

Yep its going on XB EU. From 14.5 an alloy now to over 18k most are 20k solid now. Stupid.

yes --- dont buy them. if people dont buy them, the price will come back down.

I'm not. Never will. Esp as half of that will still be left overs from survey glitches. It's all the same people doing it. No one always had that many alloys for sale all at once all the time. But low and behold one person on one guild in Rawlka has 22 alloys up for sale right now alone.

@DRXHarbinger

That's a very big generalization. I expect many are from played like myself who do writs on multiple characters every day but wait until a new DLC to sell upgrade matts knowing demand sill be higher hence a larger return. I would not be surprised if some players buy the lower prices ones just before a DLC to re-sell them once it is launched. It's very obvious demand will jump.

It's really good business sense.

jedtb16_ESO · August 2016

Cryptical wrote: »

I feel like will smith in the first Men In Black, standing there while the 'experienced' people overlook the obvious that is staring them straight in the face. So, I will channel Will.

HEY FOOLISH PEOPLE!

Have you tried google to look for guilds with minimum pricing?

This link http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/719738-the-elder-scrolls-online-tamriel-unlimited/72364005/829688879

Has this text written by a guild master
---

Thanks for your interest in the guild. Since we have no trader right now, I don't care what people price things at. The comment about you'll know if you're priced fair means if an item isn't priced competitively it won't sell.

I might move to a minimum price structure with listings once the trader goes live because as a member of other huge successful guilds they have this in place and it works. I really don't want to see nonstop undercutting because you are devaluing the product. Just my two cents.

---

Then this link
https://m.reddit.com/r/ESObay/comments/4daxnm/mod_weekly_price_check_megathread_404_410/

Has this text
---

danielcarterhurst•133d, 5h
[XB1] NA price check on fortified nirncrux. my trading guild used to have a minimum price of 6000g each, but when i looked yesterday it was dropped to 450g minimum. is that a typo in that it should be 4500g?
1
PRIMALmarauderGT: PRIMALmarauder•131d, 14h
4500 sounds about right for a minimum for guild stores. Probably a typo.

---

Then this link RIGHT HERE ON THESE FORUMS
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/145742/help-we-need-more-guild-management-tools/p6
---
Posted by Kat_Cnaa

For a guild store to have a really robust selection, so that someone stopping by may have a very good chance of finding what they are looking for -- be it a mat, recipe, set item, etc, the #items stocked generally needs to be in the 5-6k range.

Trade guilds that aim for this typically have strict activity requirements. Sometimes it's a time-based requirement where a member who doesn't log in for 5+ or 7+ days is "automatically" booted. Or a member who doesn't "contribute" by buying a raffle ticket, making sales, or depositing in the store within a period of time is booted from the guild. And I've also seen guilds set a minimum price floor for their guild because of taxes. This seems like a *** step to me. I'd rather guilds be able to set their own tax rates that are automatically posted on the guild home page.

---

So, will anyone who continues to claim that there are no minimum prices set by guilds please kindly quiet down.

Posting from mobile, checking and editing right now to get formatting correct, because no preview...

Looks like the formatting is good. Let the naysayers commence their head-in-the-sand ostrich impressions in 3...2...1...GO!

i have been in guilds with a minimum price floor - like nothing other than recipes for under 100 gold. that is a world away from price collusion.

do you really think denigrating people who don't agree with you is a sensible thing to do?

Cryptical · August 2016

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

i have been in guilds with a minimum price floor - like nothing other than recipes for under 100 gold. that is a world away from price collusion.

do you really think denigrating people who don't agree with you is a sensible thing to do?

Typical deflection, diversion. Proof positive that guild do in fact set minimums for things beyond recipes - that one source was for F nirn - and rather than address the price fixing, divert attention to the person that spotlighted the price fixing.

That's the sort of move many people fall for, it's used by many political campaigns all the time.

The fact remains. There is price fixing going on. That means the "free market" is actually rigged.

What are you going to do about it?

Judas Helviaryn · August 2016

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

Cryptical wrote: »

I feel like will smith in the first Men In Black, standing there while the 'experienced' people overlook the obvious that is staring them straight in the face. So, I will channel Will.

HEY FOOLISH PEOPLE!

Have you tried google to look for guilds with minimum pricing?

This link http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/719738-the-elder-scrolls-online-tamriel-unlimited/72364005/829688879

Has this text written by a guild master
---

Thanks for your interest in the guild. Since we have no trader right now, I don't care what people price things at. The comment about you'll know if you're priced fair means if an item isn't priced competitively it won't sell.

I might move to a minimum price structure with listings once the trader goes live because as a member of other huge successful guilds they have this in place and it works. I really don't want to see nonstop undercutting because you are devaluing the product. Just my two cents.

---

Then this link
https://m.reddit.com/r/ESObay/comments/4daxnm/mod_weekly_price_check_megathread_404_410/

Has this text
---

danielcarterhurst•133d, 5h
[XB1] NA price check on fortified nirncrux. my trading guild used to have a minimum price of 6000g each, but when i looked yesterday it was dropped to 450g minimum. is that a typo in that it should be 4500g?
1
PRIMALmarauderGT: PRIMALmarauder•131d, 14h
4500 sounds about right for a minimum for guild stores. Probably a typo.

---

Then this link RIGHT HERE ON THESE FORUMS
https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/145742/help-we-need-more-guild-management-tools/p6
---
Posted by Kat_Cnaa

For a guild store to have a really robust selection, so that someone stopping by may have a very good chance of finding what they are looking for -- be it a mat, recipe, set item, etc, the #items stocked generally needs to be in the 5-6k range.

Trade guilds that aim for this typically have strict activity requirements. Sometimes it's a time-based requirement where a member who doesn't log in for 5+ or 7+ days is "automatically" booted. Or a member who doesn't "contribute" by buying a raffle ticket, making sales, or depositing in the store within a period of time is booted from the guild. And I've also seen guilds set a minimum price floor for their guild because of taxes. This seems like a *** step to me. I'd rather guilds be able to set their own tax rates that are automatically posted on the guild home page.

---

So, will anyone who continues to claim that there are no minimum prices set by guilds please kindly quiet down.

Posting from mobile, checking and editing right now to get formatting correct, because no preview...

Looks like the formatting is good. Let the naysayers commence their head-in-the-sand ostrich impressions in 3...2...1...GO!

i have been in guilds with a minimum price floor - like nothing other than recipes for under 100 gold. that is a world away from price collusion.

do you really think denigrating people who don't agree with you is a sensible thing to do?

Seems pretty clear cut to me. Guild trader collusion is a very real thing in ESO.

And denigrating people who disagree with you? Like you've been doing throughout this thread?

Bouldercleave · August 2016

Cryptical wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

i have been in guilds with a minimum price floor - like nothing other than recipes for under 100 gold. that is a world away from price collusion.

do you really think denigrating people who don't agree with you is a sensible thing to do?

Typical deflection, diversion. Proof positive that guild do in fact set minimums for things beyond recipes - that one source was for F nirn - and rather than address the price fixing, divert attention to the person that spotlighted the price fixing.

That's the sort of move many people fall for, it's used by many political campaigns all the time.

The fact remains. There is price fixing going on. That means the "free market" is actually rigged.

What are you going to do about it?

What I'm going to do?

Price my goods at what I think is fair for them in the current market. If someone wants to gobble up items that I farmed for free and resell them higher - more power to them.

That is a risky endeavor by the way - buying up everything you find and reselling higher on an item that has a pretty constant inflow into the market. If someone wants to take that risk, I say let them.

If they buy them all at say 10k and relist them at 15k, there is NOTHING stopping the new items coming on the market at 10k again. then all they have is a bunch of items that they can't get rid of at a higher price. If the market gets saturated and the price drops to say, 8k - then they can't even recover their initial investment.

If you buy my crap at the price I list it for - I couldn't care less what you do with it after that.

Judas Helviaryn · August 2016

Bouldercleave wrote: »

Cryptical wrote: »

jedtb16_ESO wrote: »

i have been in guilds with a minimum price floor - like nothing other than recipes for under 100 gold. that is a world away from price collusion.

do you really think denigrating people who don't agree with you is a sensible thing to do?

Typical deflection, diversion. Proof positive that guild do in fact set minimums for things beyond recipes - that one source was for F nirn - and rather than address the price fixing, divert attention to the person that spotlighted the price fixing.

That's the sort of move many people fall for, it's used by many political campaigns all the time.

The fact remains. There is price fixing going on. That means the "free market" is actually rigged.

What are you going to do about it?

What I'm going to do?

Price my goods at what I think is fair for them in the current market. If someone wants to gobble up items that I farmed for free and resell them higher - more power to them.

That is a risky endeavor by the way - buying up everything you find and reselling higher on an item that has a pretty constant inflow into the market. If someone wants to take that risk, I say let them.

If they buy them all at say 10k and relist them at 15k, there is NOTHING stopping the new items coming on the market at 10k again. then all they have is a bunch of items that they can't get rid of at a higher price. If the market gets saturated and the price drops to say, 8k - then they can't even recover their initial investment.

If you buy my crap at the price I list it for - I couldn't care less what you do with it after that.

Well the best thing to do for buyers and sellers alike would be to undercut them in bulk. The community would have to keep the supply steady and consistent, depending on how much back stock the manipulators have.

johu31 · August 2016

I don't get it. Go farm and sell for the high price, save your gold for when they drop lower again. Supply and demand fluctuate the market. DLC population is the highest so the supply is low.

ragingruby1991 · August 2016

This is why I farm my own materials and refine my own gold materials. The prices on guild stores is absurd. You can find a good deal here and there by checking less popular cities but it's mostly just overpriced.

AntMan100673 · August 2016

For trader collusion and price fixing all guild leaders would have to be getting together and agreeing on minimum prices and I don't think this shows that. What this shows is a guild leader trying to stop members from undercutting each other to boost their sales at other members expense which I think is a sensible practice. There's nothing to say other guilds aren't pricing cheaper in which case the minimum price gets reduced.

On one of my traders I sell a lot of items at 1k, I'm sure I could get more for at least some of them but I think that's a fair price for my target customers and I prefer to make a profit through a high volume of sales. As I'm selling low value items I don't have much competition within the guild however sometimes other people will also be selling them. If they price at 1k too then great I might not sell quite as many but we're all making money or if someone gets 1 or 2 as drops and want them sold quick so lists at 999 that's fine as well because there's will be gone and mine will be selling again. What's annoying though is if someone decides they'll sell in volume as well but price at 999 so I end up with no sales. I could just then list at 998 and they go 997 etc until the price is driven down to where one or both of us decide its not worth selling them any more. Now you may think that's how the system should work to be fair however I disagree, at 1k they fly off the shelves, reducing the selling price doesn't lead to more sales all it leads to is less gold for the sellers and the guild. I've just messaged the other guild member/s and asked them nicely if they could list at 1k and so far they always have

Cryptical · August 2016

Bouldercleave wrote: »

If they buy them all at say 10k and relist them at 15k, there is NOTHING stopping the new items coming on the market at 10k again. then all they have is a bunch of items that they can't get rid of at a higher price. If the market gets saturated and the price drops to say, 8k - then they can't even recover their initial investment.

If you buy my crap at the price I list it for - I couldn't care less what you do with it after that.

a number of things wrong with your understanding of the market.

Prices are sticky upwards. People act like economies and markets rise and fall freely with supply and demand, but that's wrong. Prices rise when demand pulls the price up, but in the longer term a supply glut never manages to push prices all the way down to previous levels. Prices go up smoothly, but then are sticky where they are.

Then, the incoming new mats are a trickle compared to the stockpile that a market-mover has bought up, and their asking price also takes consideration of the current average.

So, someone buys up all the item X they can find, then bumps the price by 50%, the new X is going to enter the market at a higher price point. And, as prices are sticky upwards, once people start paying that higher price point then a flag has been planted there to mark what the market will accept... Until the next person comes along and also moves the market higher still. All the while moving the market further from the true value of item X.

People will claim that if someone buys X at 50k then it is worth 50k, but that's not true. Bubbles show I am right. Historical examples, from the more recent housing bubble to the dot com bubble to the stock market bubble of the 1920's to the 'panic' boom/busts that were happening every 5 to 15 years going back from 1920 all the way to the 1700's... Just because someone pays 100K for a Minotaur motif doesn't mean that's the actual value of the thing.

And this is EVERYBODY's problem. Price fixing is going on, and it either directly or indirectly impacts everyone.

So what are we going to do about price fixing?!?!

wayfarerx · August 2016

Cryptical wrote: »

Bouldercleave wrote: »

If they buy them all at say 10k and relist them at 15k, there is NOTHING stopping the new items coming on the market at 10k again. then all they have is a bunch of items that they can't get rid of at a higher price. If the market gets saturated and the price drops to say, 8k - then they can't even recover their initial investment.

If you buy my crap at the price I list it for - I couldn't care less what you do with it after that.

a number of things wrong with your understanding of the market.

Prices are sticky upwards. People act like economies and markets rise and fall freely with supply and demand, but that's wrong. Prices rise when demand pulls the price up, but in the longer term a supply glut never manages to push prices all the way down to previous levels. Prices go up smoothly, but then are sticky where they are.

Then, the incoming new mats are a trickle compared to the stockpile that a market-mover has bought up, and their asking price also takes consideration of the current average.

So, someone buys up all the item X they can find, then bumps the price by 50%, the new X is going to enter the market at a higher price point. And, as prices are sticky upwards, once people start paying that higher price point then a flag has been planted there to mark what the market will accept... Until the next person comes along and also moves the market higher still. All the while moving the market further from the true value of item X.

People will claim that if someone buys X at 50k then it is worth 50k, but that's not true. Bubbles show I am right. Historical examples, from the more recent housing bubble to the dot com bubble to the stock market bubble of the 1920's to the 'panic' boom/busts that were happening every 5 to 15 years going back from 1920 all the way to the 1700's... Just because someone pays 100K for a Minotaur motif doesn't mean that's the actual value of the thing.

And this is EVERYBODY's problem. Price fixing is going on, and it either directly or indirectly impacts everyone.

So what are we going to do about price fixing?!?!

This is how economies work. People play off each other, prices go up and down, etc. I find your assertion that prices are "sticky upwards" to be patently absurd. Prices in the guild stores go up and down all the time. I know, I watch them.

What you are effectively calling for is an economy controlled from the top down. Tempering alloy costs X and will never rise because some law or system or overlord won't allow it. You are asking for global price fixing because you can't afford to buy what you want.

Bouldercleave · August 2016

Cryptical wrote: »

Bouldercleave wrote: »

If they buy them all at say 10k and relist them at 15k, there is NOTHING stopping the new items coming on the market at 10k again. then all they have is a bunch of items that they can't get rid of at a higher price. If the market gets saturated and the price drops to say, 8k - then they can't even recover their initial investment.

If you buy my crap at the price I list it for - I couldn't care less what you do with it after that.

a number of things wrong with your understanding of the market.

Prices are sticky upwards. People act like economies and markets rise and fall freely with supply and demand, but that's wrong. Prices rise when demand pulls the price up, but in the longer term a supply glut never manages to push prices all the way down to previous levels. Prices go up smoothly, but then are sticky where they are.

Then, the incoming new mats are a trickle compared to the stockpile that a market-mover has bought up, and their asking price also takes consideration of the current average.

So, someone buys up all the item X they can find, then bumps the price by 50%, the new X is going to enter the market at a higher price point. And, as prices are sticky upwards, once people start paying that higher price point then a flag has been planted there to mark what the market will accept... Until the next person comes along and also moves the market higher still. All the while moving the market further from the true value of item X.

People will claim that if someone buys X at 50k then it is worth 50k, but that's not true. Bubbles show I am right. Historical examples, from the more recent housing bubble to the dot com bubble to the stock market bubble of the 1920's to the 'panic' boom/busts that were happening every 5 to 15 years going back from 1920 all the way to the 1700's... Just because someone pays 100K for a Minotaur motif doesn't mean that's the actual value of the thing.

And this is EVERYBODY's problem. Price fixing is going on, and it either directly or indirectly impacts everyone.

So what are we going to do about price fixing?!?!

You are acting like this is a true economy, and it it simply isn't. You can't equate this to real world bubbles at all, as it is virtual product in a virtual world, with no REAL effect on anything of substance. Inflation and supply can be artificially manipulated here MUCH easier than it can in a real world scenario as the goods and currency do not actually even exist.

In answer to your question though, ZoS isn't going to do a damn thing about price fixing in a virtual world - and why should they?

Cryptical · August 2016

wayfarerx wrote: »

This is how economies work. People play off each other, prices go up and down, etc. I find your assertion that prices are "sticky upwards" to be patently absurd. Prices in the guild stores go up and down all the time. I know, I watch them.

They go up, have they gone down to previous levels? Have they done so with the same speed that they went up?

Here's how it works. Temp alloys run an average of X. A spike happens for some reason, and they jump to X plus 50%. People pay X plus 50%. You farm an alloy and sell it for X plus 40%, scalping the average seller while feeling happy about the 40% than you could have gotten a week earlier. Other individuals also get into farming, eventually undercutting that the average is brought to X plus 15%... Which becomes the new 'normal' called Y. (Copy paste)

Temp alloys run an average of Y. A spike happens for some reason, and they jump to Y plus 50%. People pay Y plus 50%. You farm an alloy and sell it for Y plus 40%, scalping the average seller while feeling happy about the 40% than you could have gotten a week earlier. Other individuals also get into farming, eventually undercutting that the average is brought to Y plus 15%... Which becomes the new 'normal' called Z.

Get it? Prices are sticky against downward pressure.

And there's price fixing to increase revenues. So I ask again... WHAT are we/you going to do about it?!?!

Bouldercleave · August 2016

Cryptical wrote: »

wayfarerx wrote: »

This is how economies work. People play off each other, prices go up and down, etc. I find your assertion that prices are "sticky upwards" to be patently absurd. Prices in the guild stores go up and down all the time. I know, I watch them.

They go up, have they gone down to previous levels? Have they done so with the same speed that they went up?

Here's how it works. Temp alloys run an average of X. A spike happens for some reason, and they jump to X plus 50%. People pay X plus 50%. You farm an alloy and sell it for X plus 40%, scalping the average seller while feeling happy about the 40% than you could have gotten a week earlier. Other individuals also get into farming, eventually undercutting that the average is brought to X plus 15%... Which becomes the new 'normal' called Y. (Copy paste)

Temp alloys run an average of Y. A spike happens for some reason, and they jump to Y plus 50%. People pay Y plus 50%. You farm an alloy and sell it for Y plus 40%, scalping the average seller while feeling happy about the 40% than you could have gotten a week earlier. Other individuals also get into farming, eventually undercutting that the average is brought to Y plus 15%... Which becomes the new 'normal' called Z.

Get it? Prices are sticky against downward pressure.

And there's price fixing to increase revenues. So I ask again... WHAT are we/you going to do about it?!?!

That's how it works, yes. You have described a "seller's market" What exactly is the problem?

If you think the prices are too high, go farm them for... FREE

You are paying market prices so that you don't have to farm your own. There is a choice that you are making in purchasing rather than getting your own stuff. Get it?

wayfarerx · August 2016

Cryptical wrote: »

wayfarerx wrote: »

This is how economies work. People play off each other, prices go up and down, etc. I find your assertion that prices are "sticky upwards" to be patently absurd. Prices in the guild stores go up and down all the time. I know, I watch them.

They go up, have they gone down to previous levels? Have they done so with the same speed that they went up?

Here's how it works. Temp alloys run an average of X. A spike happens for some reason, and they jump to X plus 50%. People pay X plus 50%. You farm an alloy and sell it for X plus 40%, scalping the average seller while feeling happy about the 40% than you could have gotten a week earlier. Other individuals also get into farming, eventually undercutting that the average is brought to X plus 15%... Which becomes the new 'normal' called Y. (Copy paste)

Temp alloys run an average of Y. A spike happens for some reason, and they jump to Y plus 50%. People pay Y plus 50%. You farm an alloy and sell it for Y plus 40%, scalping the average seller while feeling happy about the 40% than you could have gotten a week earlier. Other individuals also get into farming, eventually undercutting that the average is brought to Y plus 15%... Which becomes the new 'normal' called Z.

Get it? Prices are sticky against downward pressure.

... and then, once the prices reach unsustainable levels people stop buying them and instead turn to farming them. See, this is a make believe world where everyone has the means of production for everything. Then the flippers can't sell for the inflated prices and start losing money on listing fees, so they adjust downwards.

If ESO had anything like a true monopoly on a certain good then what you describe could become a problem... but we're talking about things that literally pop out of the ground everywhere.

Finally, you are on console without the benefit of plugins like Master Merchant, but with it it's trivial to see the spikes in prices for tempers that occur when a new DLC comes out as well as the resulting drop off after the rush dies down. Maybe XBox has some kind of specific problem when it comes to the stores you shop in, but this "sticky upwards" phenomenon you assert simply does not happen on PC.

ssewallb14_ESO · August 2016

Market manipulation doesn't happen gaiz, it's just the new patches and the supplys and demands.

But seriously, once a game has been out long enough for people to amass large amounts of ingame currency this becomes more and more prevalent, as it requires comparatively very little effort for the vast amount of gold it yields. An AH would just make this easier, and although the FTC would want to have a word with you IRL, it's not really practical to have antitrust laws in video games.

Unfortunately the best you can do here is not buy the targeted items, and don't sell your mats to the "WTB all dreugh wax! no amount too large!" people in zone. If you give it a couple days after a buyout price "spike," the price will tend to go down a bit just from natural supply and demand, although overtime this practice will steadily raise the price of said item.