Solving the Runescape Gold Selling Problem
Jagex have made it very clear on a number of occasions that they want to prevent Runescape items, primarily referring to Runescape gold, being traded for real world money. Though despite their best efforts real world trading for Runescape items continues, and if anything, grows every month with more Runescape gold selling merchants opening their online shops every month.
Jagex have attempted to warn and ban both buyers and sellers of gold. They have attempted to take legal action against a number of these Runescape gold selling merchants. They have now even tried to rope Runescape fan sites into the cause by asking Runescape players to boycott Runescape fan sites that run Runescape ads that link to Runescape gold merchant sites. So my question is, why when none of these methods have worked do they persist? I believe there are alternatives available that are worthy of consideration.
Now the solution I’m going to propose is not new, it has been suggested that many times before, but from my perspective really does seem like the best solution to the issue, and that is for Jagex to sell the Runescape gold themselves.
OK, so a lot of you are now arguing that doing so would destroy the integrity of the game, but I’d like to suggest that whilst Jagex should consider selling gold, that their should definitely be certain restrictions and regulations placed on this process. I’ll get to them soon.
Firstly I want to talk about some basic economics, you know, the crappy subject that many hate but in my honest opinion is what drives everything in this world (though I have studied economics for nearing six years and am about to graduate with my economics degree, so my opinion might be a little biased).
Anyway, Runescape gold is obviously a precious commodity, and rightly so, it takes many hours to earn yourself a meager million pieces of the stuff. Now there are lots of people out there that would love to have more of the stuff, for whatever reason, and are willing to part with a few bucks to get their hands on it but unfortunately Jagex is attempting to regulate the market, well actually they are trying to eliminate the market by making it a banable offense to trade for real world items/money. This very act of regulation is what leaves door open for a black market for Runescape gold with sellers looking to come in and supply the very product that Jagex themselves are unwilling to supply.
Basically what I’m saying is that this is a problem that Jagex has created because they believe that they are maintaining the integrity of the game by banning such trading.
So what would happen if Jagex themselves was to look to sell gold? Well firstly they’d destroy the black market gold sales! Why? Because unlike Jagex, gold merchants have to actually play the game to make the gold or purchase the gold off other players – these are all costs of production, but Jagex on the other hand have an unlimited supply all at no cost giving them lowest cost of production. In addition to this I’m quite sure those looking to buy Runescape gold would be much more willing to pay Jagex a small premium above the prices of that currently offered by black market gold sellers just to ensure that they don’t have the accounts they have spent countless hours developing banned.
From my business perspective I think this would be an absolute goldmine for Jagex, not to mention would help diversify their currently extremely narrow income sources; currently only consisting of subscription revenues and banner advertising. Now I mean if I were Jagex I’d probably use that extra income to reinvest into the game and its development to counteract any disgruntled uprising as a result of the policy change, not that there would be one if people understood that it was a move designed to destroy the black market gold sales. I mean it’s not like Runescape players don’t believe everything else that Jagex announce as gospel anyway. So I’m sure a nice bit of public relations spin would settle the masses.
So despite Jagex’s fears that it would be the end of the game I’m sure that for the most part the move would be received in a fairly neutral light with the added benefit of all parties being better off, with Jagex being financially better off, players having the ability to buy gold and not running the risk of being banned for buying gold and with Jagex hoping reinvesting funds into creating more features and upgrades players win again. The only losers would be those black market traders, but that would be the objective.
Now the arguments against such a move often center around the thought that allowing players to be able to buy gold would be unfair to those that can’t afford such luxuries. Well my argument to that is there are already players that are affording the luxury of members which is a distinct advantage over the free to play version of the game in regards to raising skills and earning Runescape money.
This brings me to my next point, Runescape isn’t all about money, actually I’d argue quite the opposite no one can see how much money you have in your bank, your are more often than not judged by your stats, and at the end of the day money doesn’t raise you stats for you, everyone has to slog out the man hours raising levels personally. Sure money might make it that bit easier in some skills but that doesn’t negate the fact that they still need to be leveled.
Another argument posed is the notion that some people that play Runescape at times can be a bit obsessive and some players investing hundreds of dollars into buying Runescape gold isn’t an unlikely scenario. There have already been reports of WoW (another MMORPG) players spending upwards of $1000 on buying WoW gold. Now I personally think that this is much more of an issue because it is something that Jagex might be liable for. My solution to this problem would be fairly simple, Jagex should just cap the amount of gold they sell to any one individual in any given month, I’d probably argue the cap should be set somewhere between 2M – 5M.
Now some might argue that the influx of gold would result in increased prices for raw products and material in Runescape, and I’d imagine that this influx may well force slight upward pressure on prices, but these upward pressures on prices would also result in the dispersion of gold throughout the Runescape economy, because if prices go up for raw materials then all players selling raw materials would find that they would be earning a better return for their hours spent developing skills like fishing, woodcutting, mining etc. Plus considering the black market for Runescape gold would have been destroyed there would be a large reduction in the use of Chinese gold farmers using autobots to farm gold, making it easier for real players to make a good Runescape living. So whilst introduction of more gold into the Runescape economy would result in slightly inflated prices players should also be earning more as a result.
Now I might be really going out on a limb here, and this suggestion I’m about to make might cause more problems than it solves, but if Jagex were looking to stop inflationary pressure they could potentially look at buying Runescape gold back of players, or potentially trading Runescape gold for membership. That may sound a little crazy but it would solve many of Runescape’s price inflationary pressures, though it might reintroduce the Chinese gold farmer issues, giving gold farmers incentive to exploit Runescape glitches and use Runescape autobots to farm gold.
Another alternative that might also be consider is one that Sony Online Entertainment (SOE) has already implemented in their MMORPG, Everquest, which is a the creation of alternative private servers for gamers that want to be able to participate in real world trading. So players of EverQuest are able to buy and sell gold with each other in a SOE managed auction house whilst Sony take a small percentage of the trade value. So Sony is making some good money as well as keeping players happy by providing the service they asked for. According to the surveys and research done involving EverQuest players, for the most part, players are very happy with how the system works and Sony didn’t note any detrimental effects to the game with the introduction of the system.
Now I know that some of these choices may be tough at first but I honestly believe that attempting to fight these market forces (ie – people wanting to buy gold) is naive, people want what they want and attempting to manipulate the market almost always fails and it just makes so much more business sense to take advantage of the general market demand. So all in all, if people want to buy Runescape gold then bloody sell them gold - it costs nothing and they stand to make a fortune from it. Plus I’d like to think that players would generally be better off as well and the major drawbacks taking this option could be largely offset with some good regulation.
Did You Enjoy this Post? Subscribe to Runescape Haven for Free Today!
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
(15 votes, average: 4.27 out of 5)
Loading ...
July 1st, 2007 at 12:08 am
Great article but I don’t fully agree with your ideas. Don’t get me wrong if Jagex is selling gold I would buy it. But I’m not sure if this is an fix for fansites that tell they need the ads to survive, wouldn’t this kill them or do they remarkably get money from a different place?
Really interesting how you point out the rise in prices. If you look at one of the latest updates the string all update you see that the yew logs have raised to about 350 gp each (even people buying for 400 each) and bowstrings have slightly dropped to 180 gp. Yew logs and bowstrings are used for fletching to make yew longs, a lot of players use these to for high alchemy (nature runes required worth 300 each - costs 830 gp earns 768 gp) others sell them for 580. So some items cannot react on these because they are stopped by high alchemy profit.
What about prayer, prayer is really a skill for the rich if you’re going for 99 it will at least cost you 30 mil (with gilded altar) so in 1 year a lvl 3 should be able to get 99 prayer this might sound long but a lot of the people play for 2-4 years and have earned all their levels with lots of sweat.
Also I want to point out that rares will skyrocket. I’m only assuming this because if people that normally aren’t able to afford these rares are then buying 5 mil gold every month.
Finally what if people want to buy more then the cap will they buy from the blackmarket or just wait an other month?
Runescape Haven » Blog Archive » Offering Runescape Sites Other Sources of Income Says:July 2nd, 2007 at 7:00 pm
[…] « Solving the Runescape Gold Selling Problem […]
Chris Says:July 3rd, 2007 at 11:48 am
Obviously there are some skills which for the most part just require money to be leveled, but I’d argue that the majority of Runescape skills can’t just be bought. Plus I’d also argue that the skills that can be bought aren’t really the sort of skills that give you a big advantage in the game over other players. So I’m hesitant to believe that people that are able to “buy” their levels would necessarily have a big advantage over those that couldn’t.
Also there are a select few instances where prices of materials in the Runescape market are to a degree capped because the money fueling the market (ie alching yew longbows) is capped, but for the vast majority of other Runescape markets it is really based on supply and demand.
Also I don’t believe the prices for rares will skyrocket - if there is a limit to how much gold can be bought each month. Even if a player does buy 5M each month that’s well short of being able to afford any rares, therefor I can’t see their being a “dramatic” increase in demand for rares. Now if Runescape gold sales were uncapped then I’d definitely agree with you that there would be extreme upward pressure on Runescape rare items - largely because you’d have investors throwing hundreds, even thousands of dollars into buying Runescape rares. I probably would even throw a couple of hundred dollars into buying gold to buy some rares, because if Runescape is around in a couple of years time who knows how much those items will be worth.
Kafei the Belligerent Says:July 9th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
While I don’t have any moral problems with Jagex selling gold, I think it’s a bad idea.
Jagex already has enough problems with youngsters *ahem* borrowing their parents’ credit cards to open Runescape member’s accounts. Opening the door to gold purchases will be a PR fiasco.
Ya mum Says:July 14th, 2007 at 6:03 pm
I think its sad to see ppl cant play runescape the propper way if ppl buy runescape
Yo Pepz Says:money let them its a waste of there money on Fake gold FAKE GOLD!! whats the
point Jagex should just let em run. who really cares *except jagex* whats the point of being a lvl 3 *witch most of them are* with 1mill? if there going to buy gold then
they would probably get a macro. then the’ll get reported and theres there money down the drain. as i repeat WHO CARES its gonna come back to them in the end.
July 31st, 2007 at 6:01 am
I think that if people want to buy runescape gold why shouldnt they because at the end of the day if i was jagex i would go okay then you can buy it i dont care your wasting ur money to come to me and if that is your choice to buy it from a website you may aswell get banned or i just get free money who cares apart from jagex they just get the money at the end of the day so i wouldnt really mind.
aly. Says:August 28th, 2007 at 12:06 am
I’d like to think there are some things that can’t be bought. Like satisfaction, for example.
I’d like to think that money, whether real world money or gp, does not drive the world.
I’d like to think that economics doesn’t drive the world precisely because money does not.
I’d like to think integrity, morality, even, holds a more elevated status than common money. Of all things.
In short, I disagree completely.
“[I]f people want to buy Runescape gold then bloody sell them gold”. I’m not one for giving in to people’s demands, and ignoring how wrong it is. It’s a small comfort that Jagex, at least, remains true to that belief.
“I honestly believe that attempting to fight these market forces (ie – people wanting to buy gold) is naive,” As in this case, the word naive is often used synonymously, and erroneously with the term morally upright. Perceived naiveness is often not actions made on the basis of a lack of knowledge of the world, but a conscious choice made to be different from the world, after gaining knowledge of the world.
“[…] people want what they want and attempting to manipulate the market almost always fails and it just makes so much more business sense to take advantage of the general market demand.” It makes business sense, yes. As for the amount of common sense it makes, on the other hand…
“[…] this is a problem that Jagex has created because they believe that they are maintaining the integrity of the game by banning such trading.” True. I have, in the meanwhile, though, failed to find anything in your solutions that allows them to maintain any semblence of integrity at all. I’m of the opinion that it’s better to live with a problem created solely because you have integrity than eradicate it at the cost of said integrity.
An economist might be familiar with the term ‘market ethics’.
I am not an economist, and neither do I intend to be. Law’s my thing. I’m biased, and there isn’t any “a little” about it. I can’t rightly explain that term to you, but that term was what was shot at me regarding merchants buying from macros. Market ethics are what prevent merchants from seeking out macros and buying from them.
Market ethics is one of many airy fairy theories floating about that everyone subscribes to but no one lives by.
I don’t like to give in to things I don’t believe in. The “if you can’t beat them, join them” line might well be the antithesis of what I do believe in. I do not, though, consider being persuaded as to the contrary ‘giving in’.
I have not, in the meanwhile, been persuaded as to the contrary.
Jagex, however, might not be able to survive long without giving in to any extent. I would grudgingly accept the introduction of alternative private servers, but would firmly oppose it on all avenues open to me. The slippery slope argument works for this, and it isn’t one that bears thinking about.
I’d also like to add that I’m one of those people who’s *naive*, or even deluded. For me, as far as runescape’s concerned (come to think of it, real life too, to some extent), the only purpose of money is to teach that concept of ‘work ethic’. Okay, I’ll be realistic now, that’s only just one of the *main* purposes of gp. Jagex selling gp would effectively nullify that. What’s been mentioned about stealing credit cards is a very valid point, and taking into account the number who play runescape, it’s very likely that another generation (may I be so bold as to say, *our* generation) will grow up absolutely clueless about the value of money.
I suppose you’ll be wanting me to substantiate my arguments. Right now, I must say I’m at a loss. I don’t have any solid figures, or stats, or even examples that haven’t already been mentioned. If I do find any more, I’ll post again.
Before I shove off, let’s clear a few things up. If Jagex sells gold, I will not buy it. I’m not even a member, nor will I be. Not for any reasons remotely moral, though.
Something may not be working, but that doesn’t mean I’ll just give up on it.
Lately though, it does seem as if the prices of yews, sharks, and various other raw materials are going up. Of course, there’s all that usual fluctuation, but a noteworthy point would be that Jagex hardly “attempted” to warn and ban. Jagex *did* warn and ban, and *is* warning and banning, along with whatever other mundane solutions you already mentioned. It can’t be denied that there is some effect, insignificant as it may seem.
Venturing into the realm of the philosophical, ethical, anthropologic and even literary (seeing as bringing up religion would plausibly be the worst thing I could do at this point), you’ll realise the entire concept of ‘good and evil doing battle’ is notoriously present throughout human history. It is not at all reasonable to expect any one, or any combination of solutions to be absolutely successful. I’m inclined to think the solution of Jagex selling gp for real world money leans more towards the proverbial (and existing) ‘evil’ than anything else.
Jagex is a business, but it’s nice to see the company doesn’t discard it’s humanity along the way. And fighting, even in what seems to be a losing battle, the best way you can - that, for me, is the ideal manifestation of the human spirit. (Of course, my idea of an ideal world, in the economic sense, would be one where there simply isn’t a need for money. But ‘ideals’ are meant to defy logic, anyway.)
You know, I’d like to think all these things. I’d like to *hope* these things. It’s posts like these that seem intent on proving me wrong.
PS. (I’m sorry for being overly harsh. That’s just the way I am, when I disagree with something. Don’t take it personally. (: )
clowns pocket Says:August 31st, 2007 at 10:53 am
i’ve always had a suspicion that Jagex has some sort of part in the gold that is being sold. It does make sense, they make a company that has no relation to themselves and then create gold on the game by typing how much gp they want to magic out of thin air (they made the game!) and then sell it to players, ban their accounts, seize all the gold and items and then re-sell them. This prevents inflation and makes them a fair bit of cash.
joash1000 Says:January 5th, 2008 at 7:14 am
i have alot of money on my acount but as of the 2nd your not aloud to trade with people if u wonna give them over 3k…….i want to get this money from my acount to my ofther acount(i no your surpost to but still iam wonna)but iam only aloud to trade 3k every 15 mins which will take days to trade all the money…….has anyone got a quicker way???
jason Says:February 27th, 2008 at 5:33 pm
Games such as Entropia and Second Life allow buying/selling of game currency, even allowing exchanges with real world currency (at a percentage to the company, of course). They seem to be doing very well.
Jagex is missing a great opportunity to profit while protecting his customers from scams outside the game. The same goes for Blizzard with WoW. These companies who ban their customers should embrace and take pride in the fact that players value their in game currency AT ALL!
Increases In Buying, Selling and Hacking of Runescape Accounts - Runescape Haven Says:March 12th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
[…] long ago that I was writing about the Runescape Gold Selling Problem and how I thought they could solve it considering there was actual evidence to suggest that despite their best efforts Runescape gold […]
ben Says:April 5th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
i think that everyone shold git like 100,000 coins each week we play because its very hard to make alot of money.
ben Says:April 5th, 2008 at 2:11 pm
and for people that dont have cell phones we should git at lest 50,000 coins each week because nobody hardley buy’s what we sell because we dont have enogh coins
Lucian(cybersword1) Says:to buy it.
April 24th, 2008 at 12:15 pm
I think its unfair to the people who didn’t play when phats came out… How else are we going to get an armadyl gs willout playing for hours on end…
Guardian Says:May 20th, 2008 at 11:03 am
Ehm… Yeah, let’s give everyone 100,000 gp each week. Because that would do anythign for anyone? If everyone had that much money there would just be inflation galore and it wouldn’t mean anything. It would just be a waste of time.
And sure, I hate that I wasn’t playing when party hats were easy to come by, but it’s part of what makes the game fun is that things happen in realtime, including advantages/disadvantages. For example, you can now get a law talisman without doing that quest. I am now very thankful I didn’t slave over the quest (being a skiller kind of person) for no reason.
As for selling gp for real cash, I would agree that it would lower the “moral integrity” of the game if - in reality - money didn’t already make a difference with runescape. Since you CAN in fact buy a membership, and it does make the game easier and more fun to play (in my opinion), buying gold wouldn’t be much different than that. It’s like trying to ban illicit substances on moral grounds - it’s a sound moral ground, but doesn’t work out pragmatically.
Sam Says:June 14th, 2008 at 2:59 am
Look , you say you are economic student. well selling gold by runescape or by anyother website will destroy the game. They will strip the players off their identity. take example on that southpark eposoid on everquest.
P13808 Says:Now there is no way to cheat due to their new-old update on trading. It was good and now no more their is a unfair advantages for other people to use to be better then someone else. AND RS ROCKS>>>>> Your essay on gagex selling gold is a whack and dont try to apply real world theory on FANTACY game. keep your nose off of that problem jerk….
August 13th, 2008 at 4:31 am
It’d end up going from the buyers to the skillers who sell raw materials, so then they would get money, everything would inflate, so the mpney buyers would pay for even more, and everything would inflate to the point where the general stores and other stores are worthless for selling, but great for buying, and the GE is great for selling, but not buying. EXCEPT for the higher items which are only at the GE, but at that point you can make a lot pretty easy, so you can just buy it anyway, and if the caps stay, then within a year, then all the ppl who bought gp won’t have an advantage.
Raise the cap and repeat for a fun market.