[edit]

Established guilds (any that require dues, not just trade) are certainly a safer bet. That said, there are plenty of trustworthy, well-intentioned people starting new guilds. Just be cautious where you throw your gold. Lowlifes like this guy are certainly out there. It's not the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last.

@Ixtyr - can you PM me the name? I've had a couple people on my radar in recent months and I'm curious if it was one of them.

Edit: spelling.

Joosef_Kivikilpi wrote: »

FungusCat wrote: »

Skwor wrote: »

Honestly this story is short on detail and long on accusations/assumptions.

This could easily be a guild structure just collapsing which often looks the same but to the standard member looks nefarious, thus rumors and and accusations fly.

Really need more details.

Dude hops in chat and starts getting "angry" that we've been robbed by "xxx" while trying to get the other members angry, but never actually responds to anyone trying to talk to him. He goes from "I just found out a couple minutes ago" right to "ohhh its all over, everythings gone goodbye". Within a couple minutes the discord gets nuked, and all of the guilds are being taken down. Why would any leadership just nuke every guild AND discord within minutes of being robbed, especially without saying anything to anyone? Combine that with the fact the he up'd the "investment" advertising in the week leading up to this as shown in the mail by vampirenight, it's pretty obvious.

Sounds like "The Count of Monte Cristo" and Villefort destroying the only evidence available as a judge... mmmh...

(eyes look side to side) I deny everything!

TairenSoul wrote: »

I'd like to know why the guild still has a store in Marbuk! I thought you could only have a store if you had a certain number of members. If the GM kicked everyone out how is there a store still selling? Just curious...

50 members - it's possible that once you've bought the kiosk for the week, you're grandfathered in. I believe you have to disband a guild to give up a trader midweek. (The shady practice used by some guilds to camp kiosks.)

I'd be more curious who still has items up for sale... Those folks are still in the guild.

AlienSlof wrote: »

What is 'ponzi' ?

To be honest, the more I see of the stunts humans pull, the more I love my cats.

One person at the top handles the money

Get investors with a promise to pay back with interest on the investment in a specific number of days

Example - invest 100 receive 125 in 60 days.

However, there is No actual investment that is acruing interest. The guy at the top uses New "investors" money to pay off initial investors, so it seems to the people that it is a real sound investment. And they invest more.

Obviously, at some point you can not bring in enough New investors to cover the payouts that are due - So the guy at the top takes everything that is in the bank and run for the hills.

myskyrim26 wrote: »

So, how to avoid this? Not to invest in a new guild that recruits me? Just want to know how to be on the safe side

The Trading guild I'm in does not accept donations to retain membership. You make your trading requirement of 20k (or 50k,100k depending on the trader) and retain your spot. Donations are welcome but not obligatory, nor a substitute for trading. If you don't make your sales, a warning is posted on the Friday and you are kicked on the Sunday. Thing is, there is no malice in this procedure and if you ask before the time for grace because of RL, the GM is understanding. Re-invites are also no problem the next week if there are slots open and you plan to try harder. This is a nice system and, I feel, a professional approach. Also the members are always helpful in guildchat with advice on how to improve sales when you ask. I'd be suspicious of any guild that actually asks for "investments" Guild bank access is only there for long term, high-level, trusted members, which doesn't include the average trader. That being said, the average trader won't be hurt by a collapse. If I had a good week, I'll put money into the guild because I feel my good sales are definitely bolstered by good location and management on the GM's part.

Hadda check my guild banks - wasn't a guild I am in.

amen

Yep. Sent him mail asking what happened. I'm sure he'll block me.

Ryath_Waylander wrote: »

myskyrim26 wrote: »

So, how to avoid this? Not to invest in a new guild that recruits me? Just want to know how to be on the safe side

The Trading guild I'm in does not accept donations to retain membership. You make your trading requirement of 20k (or 50k,100k depending on the trader) and retain your spot. Donations are welcome but not obligatory, nor a substitute for trading. If you don't make your sales, a warning is posted on the Friday and you are kicked on the Sunday. Thing is, there is no malice in this procedure and if you ask before the time for grace because of RL, the GM is understanding. Re-invites are also no problem the next week if there are slots open and you plan to try harder. This is a nice system and, I feel, a professional approach. Also the members are always helpful in guildchat with advice on how to improve sales when you ask. I'd be suspicious of any guild that actually asks for "investments" Guild bank access is only there for long term, high-level, trusted members, which doesn't include the average trader. That being said, the average trader won't be hurt by a collapse. If I had a good week, I'll put money into the guild because I feel my good sales are definitely bolstered by good location and management on the GM's part.

Most of us who have quotas that we enforce are more than reasonable and willing to let folks back in if they miss targets, dip out of game for a while and come back, etc. I've got a lot of members who go abroad for work or armed service, or who take extended vacations, or just lose interest for a while and come back later. They're always welcome to stick around in Discord and get an invite back when they return to game.

Only time that *isn't* the case is when someone is removed because of their behavior, or if after removal for missing quota they get aggressive and act entitled, as if somehow it's unfair of us to expect them to contribute to the multi-million-gold-per-week upkeep costs that often times ends up being paid by the same few people.

Any GM worth their salt who has some shred of pride in their guild and their work doesn't beg members for long-term investments or additional large contributions unless the status of the guild is *literally* on the line during a bidding war. Will I encourage you to buy raffle tickets? Sure, obviously, but we give away houses, millions of gold, thousands of materials, etc., every week there, and it helps us cover bids. Of course I'll push you for that, there's something in it for everyone, but if you don't want to, there's other ways to hit your quota without participating. Most decent guilds provide multiple opportunities to be flexible about that, if we didn't people would just bail and join some other guild that did.

Begging people to pre-pay dues for X months in the future? Screw that. Pre-pay a week or two for a vacation, or ask if when you come back from being abroad in six months if you'll be able to come back and how to stay in contact. Don't give people truckloads of gold if there's any form of long-term expectation tied to it, certainly not someone you don't trust or who's reputation is questionable.

sylviermoone wrote: »

reoskit wrote: »

TairenSoul wrote: »

reoskit wrote: »

TairenSoul wrote: »

I'd like to know why the guild still has a store in Marbuk! I thought you could only have a store if you had a certain number of members. If the GM kicked everyone out how is there a store still selling? Just curious...

50 members - it's possible that once you've bought the kiosk for the week, you're grandfathered in. I believe you have to disband a guild to give up a trader midweek. (The shady practice used by some guilds to camp kiosks.)

I'd be more curious who still has items up for sale... Those folks are still in the guild.

The GM is selling things.

Naturally... smh. Well, now y'all know how to find his current @name.

Which does nothing, since @name changes are so easy to do.

I certainly understand ZOS's desire to make that easy to access rather than requiring assistance from support, but it's a glaring oversight that it isn't easier to track name changes from the player's end. The ease @name changes pretty much ensures this [edit] will be able to do this exact same thing again.

[edit].

Mhm, mhm, mhm.

I did say "current" - but ya, I wish they'd implement a cooldown on @name changes. So many people abuse that system.

Also, thanks. Now I want waffles.

reoskit wrote: »

sylviermoone wrote: »

reoskit wrote: »

TairenSoul wrote: »

reoskit wrote: »

TairenSoul wrote: »

I'd like to know why the guild still has a store in Marbuk! I thought you could only have a store if you had a certain number of members. If the GM kicked everyone out how is there a store still selling? Just curious...

50 members - it's possible that once you've bought the kiosk for the week, you're grandfathered in. I believe you have to disband a guild to give up a trader midweek. (The shady practice used by some guilds to camp kiosks.)

I'd be more curious who still has items up for sale... Those folks are still in the guild.

The GM is selling things.

Naturally... smh. Well, now y'all know how to find his current @name.

Which does nothing, since @name changes are so easy to do.

I certainly understand ZOS's desire to make that easy to access rather than requiring assistance from support, but it's a glaring oversight that it isn't easier to track name changes from the player's end. The ease @name changes pretty much ensures this douchewaffle will be able to do this exact same thing again.

What a piece of excrement.

Mhm, mhm, mhm.

I did say "current" - but ya, I wish they'd implement a cooldown on @name changes. So many people abuse that system.

Also, thanks. Now I want waffles.

Put him on your ignore list and you should see all name changes...

Shady_Allie wrote: »

I wish there was a better way. Sure would love to buy a "wandering crown trader" that I can plop 30 items into, then set it loose on Tamriel to walk the roads selling my junk.

In theory, fun idea. In practice, though...

Think about how many Tythises you have to wade through in a writ turn-in spot. Now, make them all interactable.

Yikes!!!

MLGProPlayer wrote: »

DBZVelena wrote: »

This is why i don't join trade guilds that req dues of any kind.

Then you're never going to sell anything since all the best locations require sales minimums/dues.

Not true. We don't.

MLGProPlayer wrote: »

What server was this on?

they were in greenshade so not steller locations to start

myskyrim26 wrote: »

So, how to avoid this? Not to invest in a new guild that recruits me? Just want to know how to be on the safe side

1. Get to know your GMs, higher-ups. This is always useful. Know why they play and how they play ESO. Socializing is good, just don't be too direct.
2. Choose Trading Guilds with long history. They are usually traceable via forums or at least google
3. Yes, don't invest in the trading guilds that don't appeal to you (which most of the new guilds are going to be)

Well, the nice rule of investment is:
- invest as much money as you are ready to lose.

Basically, when you invest gold it has been already lost to you. So, don't invest without a cause or a reason.

To the OP:
Well, perfectly executed scheme is something of an achievement in my opinion. So, while the accident is quite regrettable, I think such things add diversity and make game more interesting.
Compared to RL, there is much less to lose in the game: we have friendlists and gold coffers are renewable. So I find it acceptable for such thing to happen if someone was clever enough to pull it off.

I'm trying to feel something, but Greenshade is like a shopping plaza on the run-down side of town with maybe a Goodwill, a sketchy tax preparation store, and a CVS with metal bars on its doors and windows.

I'd venture out to Morkul Stronghold before even considering Marbruk. So like, congratulations on scheming to get the worst possible deal in the entire game?