I was shocked to come across this post on the JMTC forums about accounts getting suspended for trading gold! Poor guy was minding his own business and buying amazingly cheap goods (10% PCT) from someone apparently clearing their bank. Well the deal was not as innocent as it seemed because the suspended player eventually found out that the account he was trading with was a hacked account, and that was why he was getting such great deals! What made matters worse is that he traded some gold not long after that to other characters on his account, which just doesn't look good in blizzard's eyes. I hope everything has worked out and that he has his account back, but it is an important lesson for those of you buying and selling on trade chat.
So what is the lesson which you should learn from this? When it comes to current game high end materials (such as abyss crystals), do not buy them by the thousands for less than 60% PCT! Now I normally don't shy away from any deal, but anytime someone is selling at that bulk amount they are either a complete fool, a guild leader looking for vengeance on his guild mates, or a hacker. There are plenty of other ways to make gold in this game that you don't need to participate in those kinds of methods. Be wary, play smart, and most importantly have fun :)
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13 comments: on "You can be suspended for trading gold!"
Flættir said... April 22, 2010 at 8:47 AM
"... do not buy them by the thousands for less than 60% PCT!
Hi Marcko. Just finished reading your blogg from day one. What a read! Without doubt the best blogg on goldmaking and AH.
But, regarding the above citation. You're not saying we shouldn't buy up "blue"-PCT items (in moderate loads) by fear of being accused of fencing? I mostly bid on blues. But how about you? Do you only stick to greens over 60 PCT?
Stokpile said... April 22, 2010 at 8:52 AM
This happened to me last month actually at the worst possible time... patch day!
I'm certain that any major AH player has bought stuff from a stolen acct at least once weather they knew it or not, sometimes they do speak fluent English after all.
Luckily it only took 45 minutes (including time on hold) after I dialed their number to get my acct fully restored. So unless you're actually doing something taboo there's not much to worry about other than a minor annoyance.
Anonymous said... April 22, 2010 at 11:09 AM
You don't get banned for trading gold between characters of the same account/same account information.
He posted it online, he was more than likely doing something he shouldn't have been doing and made it not look that way in order to gain sympathy from the forums.
Anonymous said... April 22, 2010 at 11:50 AM
"he traded some gold not long after that to other characters on his account"
How can you trade gold to other characters in your account? I mean, you can send gold but not trade it since you can log on one character at once, we are talking about one account, aren't we?
Also sometimes I send 3-5k gold to my alts for mounds or just buying mats, I wonder if I could get suspended
Markco said... April 22, 2010 at 12:52 PM
Flaettir, I am talking about a very rare instance where someone is selling thousands of items for extreme values, perhaps 60% is actually too high. I should of said 1-20%.
That's so cool you read the whole blog! :D
Aerom Xundes said... April 22, 2010 at 5:40 PM
I have to disagree with you on this, Markco. If someone is selling items at really low prices, indeed, even giving them away, there shouldn't be any problem with me acquiring them. I shouldn't have to raise my prices just because I question the origin of the items.
Of course, my argument assumes there is no foul play at hand. So long as the buyer has no knowledge of any shady dealings, buy away!
Wiggin said... April 22, 2010 at 6:47 PM
This happened to the editor of srsbusiness.org (a great blog btw, good writing, good format)
He posted the whole story of buying from a lvl 1 who had goods from a hacked account, and how he was banned for 3 days while blizz looked into the matter.
Anonymous said... April 22, 2010 at 10:05 PM
@The: It's a difficult situation. Ever heard of "good faith" in law? If for example someone has stolen a car and sells it to you, you can say that you bought it in good faith and won't get punished. If however the seller implicitly (or otherwise) states that the car has been stolen, and you still buy it - then you're at fault.
I think Blizzard does the right thing if they ban a player for buying a copious amount of materials for *way* below market price. The buyer should know something's wrong, and that it's not okay to buy things from a hacked account or bot.
Honestly, I'm quite surprised at what some goldgurus do. They think it's okay to actively contact a professional farmer in order to get cheap mats, even though they're supporting gold selling by doing so. Giants such as Wingman, Zamboni and Kraklin have explicitly stated that they know they're dealing with professional farmers and they still continue to buy from them. Moral degenerates? :P
Anonymous said... April 22, 2010 at 11:26 PM
I just got a 72 hour ban this morning, possibly for this very reason. I bought a bunch of stuff last night from a level 1 in Stormwind. Ugh.
Satyr said... April 23, 2010 at 1:56 AM
Where I live (Netherlands) you are supposed to know you are buying 'stolen' good. To make it even worse, if you get caught buying stolen goods you are in even bigger problems than the original thief!
I guess something like that also applies to this matter, as sad as it may be..
Guava said... April 23, 2010 at 4:00 AM
your views on this topic are really interesting and give a clear cut view. Thanks for sharing the knowledge!
Hinenuitepo said... April 23, 2010 at 11:48 AM
I've noticed this happening a lot lately - my primary business is JC, so I watch for deals there and often late at night I'll see things like "20 cardinal rubies, 90g each" (when the AH price is about 140). While you mention several possibilities, the most likely candidate in my mind is that the account was hacked. I think it's a bit of a gray area, but in general, buying from them doesn't cause permanent harm to the hacked since Blizz will get them their stuff back.
The only problem I have with it (buying from hackers) is that it encourages hackers to hack. Not so easy to resolve, after all.
Whitewolf said... May 18, 2010 at 9:28 AM
A few points in no particular order...
Transferring gold to your own alts isn't a problem. I often move amounts of 50k-100k between my alts. (When I'm not swimming in it like Scrooge McDuck.)
The one time I got a ban(that was recinded) was the 30 minutes after I hit 1 million and gave a friend 10k to buy a Kirin Tor ring. They never did clarify which of those two things raised a flag.
I buy cheap gems (80-90g) while the ah postings are in the 150-170g range everyday. Most are from PvPers and Alchies who want quick cash and no ah posting fees or delays.
NOT buying cheap goods advertised in trade will not UNhack a hacked account. These are virtual goods that are easily replaced. If Blizz goes to the trouble of tracking down every missing item off a hacked account, they're doing it to discover the scope of a hacking group. They have no need to do it to restore the items to the rightful owner.
As for setting up relationships with herb and ore suppliers, its not against the ToS for any player to earn and accumulate gold. Yes, that includes the "asian farmers". The transgression occurs when they sell the gold for real world money. Farming herbs and ores is probably the most legitimate activity these guys do in game.
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