Exploiting of the trading system!

Anne13 · March 2017

Every week these certain people from a large trading alliance exploit the trading system to obtain traders at very little cost using fake dummy guilds. They place a small bid on a few traders in the main areas. If that dummy guild wins the bid they then disband it and let their bigger guild hire it for 10k. This also bugs out the guild trader notice in the motd for everyone else. Many people have been gathering information and writing tickets. Yet each week these people carry on exploiting the system as it's intended to be and ruining it for every other hard working, honest guild! there are a few things that can be done to stop this, so why hasn't anything been done? Every time in the regular maintenance, you guys fix the bug that those cheats cause. please do something it's been going on for to long!

Anne13 · March 2017

@ZOS_JessicaFolsom Hi, could this thread be moved to the appropriate section please. Sorry. Could this issue also be looked into they have done the same again this week.
Thank you

Anne13 · December 2017

Why does this issue never get any or the correct response!? Despite it continuing still to this day -_-

Bhaal5 · December 2017

Anne13 wrote: »

Why does this issue never get any or the correct response!? Despite it continuing still to this day -_-

Has nothing to do with crown crates, thats why

Nocturnal_Annoyance · December 2017

It's not just one alliance that does it... there's another one. It's seriously like a measuring contest between them. I just wish the big guilds would stay in the main cities and leave all the lower tiered traders alone to give more of a variety of guilds the option at getting them. Like in Vivec City right now... the trader furthest from the wayshrine is called Snipe This and it's empty. What's the point?

Slick_007 · December 2017

wait, so if i get this right, they win the trader bid fair and square with the dummy guild. So whatever they bid there is the highest bid and they won it legit. Then they spend an extra 10k to change ownership of the trader.

So instead of paying X to win the bid, they've now paid X+10k. where is the exploit?

Anne13 · December 2017

Slick_007 wrote: »

wait, so if i get this right, they win the trader bid fair and square with the dummy guild. So whatever they bid there is the highest bid and they won it legit. Then they spend an extra 10k to change ownership of the trader.

So instead of paying X to win the bid, they've now paid X+10k. where is the exploit?

I’m guessing you have not read through this post or the many others relating to this exact problem.

How is the trading system intended to work?
Can 1 guild place multiple bids?
If a guild has lost. Can we find a free one and hire it for 10k? As a consolation?

Kiara · December 2017

Anne13 wrote: »

Slick_007 wrote: »

wait, so if i get this right, they win the trader bid fair and square with the dummy guild. So whatever they bid there is the highest bid and they won it legit. Then they spend an extra 10k to change ownership of the trader.

So instead of paying X to win the bid, they've now paid X+10k. where is the exploit?

I’m guessing you have not read through this post or the many others relating to this exact problem.

How is the trading system intended to work?
Can 1 guild place multiple bids?
If a guild has lost. Can we find a free one and hire it for 10k? As a consolation?

From what I've heard in real life auctions big companies/wealthy people hire fake biders and they do exactly the same trick as you described in first post but they are punished for that, so ZOS should punish such guilds as well. Another thing is, it would be hard to track it down in my opinion

Anne13 · January 2018

Kiara wrote: »

From what I've heard in real life auctions big companies/wealthy people hire fake biders and they do exactly the same trick as you described in first post but they are punished for that, so ZOS should punish such guilds as well. Another thing is, it would be hard to track it down in my opinion

Yes usually the fake guilds would be made by an alt acc. But the guild that takes over the dummy guild spot usually has their main as gm.

Also there’s 2 other ways they can implement something for it not to happen in the first place.

1. Do not allow any guilds to disband whilst owning a live trader location. Or
2. If a guild does disband whilst owning a live trader location. That trader then becomes locked and can’t be hired.

These options seem pretty simple and would solve the issue easily.
The last thing I remember seeing from a Zos response was “ keep coming up with suggestions. We are looking into this “

It’s been going on for 2 years....

Kiara · January 2018

Then it needs way more attention and answer from ZOS, because that is kind of exploiting of game mechanic, I'm with you on this one.

Nocturnal_Annoyance · January 2018

But you see it's not as simple as not allowing guilds to disband or locking the trader... you will still get dummy guilds bidding up the spots and driving prices even higher for trading stalls, thus still keeping other guilds out. Besides, they could then just move stuff to the alt accounts to sell from those dummy guilds and still make gold. There is no easy solution for this practice.

Anne13 · January 2018

Yes you would still get dummy guilds. It’s a huge way they make gold.
Get lucky with a 100k bid in Elden root for instance. Sell that spot for 3m.. their laughing.
Zos intended the trading system to work so if a guild lost their bid. There’s an opportunity to search and hire a non taken one for 10k.
They’re taking away that opportunity even to the point their hitting lower traffic areas. Riften, shadowfen, orsinium etc.
It also bugs out the trader notice and recruiting is hard because it shows ‘ no trader hired ‘
People unaware join and leave. Recruiting is difficult for that reason and the guild notification bug. It’s even more harder for smaller guilds and new guilds trying to build up.

The suggestions I presented wouldn’t completely stop it. But it’ll be a huge difference

After two years give or take and Zos still hasn’t done anything about it nor gave anyone a proper statement about it

I can’t fatham their logic

Nocturnal_Annoyance · January 2018

The suggestions wouldn't even make a huge difference other than driving up capital city bids and in turn guild fees. They don't hire the lower tiered traders for any other reason than to keep other guilds out of them. There is no way to make a noticeable difference without COMPLETELY overhauling the current trader system, which won't happen. It's not a good situation at all and won't be getting any better... (sorry for being so negative about it)

Kiara · January 2018

What about removing the option to buy out trader entirely so you can get one only from first bid? How would that work out?

Nocturnal_Annoyance · January 2018

An auction house is about the only way to fix it, and I'm sorry but I hope to never see one in this game.

Anne13 · January 2018

The bids in capital cities are already ridiculous. Always has been I’m paying pretty much over 5m weekly even lost a 8.3m before on Atin

It’s certain people sausage swinging building a real life empire. Eso’s own Donald trump!
Even making real money they’ve been doing it since day one ( PS4 Eu )

Anne13 · June 2018

So after Summerset release. Seems they have fixed it so that when a guild disbands on a live trader location. It does not bug the trader notice out no more.
They can do that but not directly fix the issue. Allowing the use of dummy guilds to exploit how the trading system is intended to work...

AbandonedTrolley · June 2018

This seems a shame, not being part of a guild means it's not really affecting me, in fact I rarely even bother to look at the traders! Maybe I should pay more attention.