There are two sides to every deal. The buyer and the seller. Seems simple enough, doesn't it? You have the buyer who wants to obtain something for the least amount of resources (gold, time, effort). You have the seller that wants to get the most resources for the item/time they are offering.
I added gold, time and effort into the equation because in the negotiations of World of Warcraft all three become commodities. Your time and effort can easily replace gold simply from questing or running raids/instances. Effort is just how much you will go somewhere to obtain what you want from the other person.
I ran into this yesterday as I was in negotiations to purchase another guild. I needed one as a hiding place for a couple of my up and coming toons. It was a 4 slot guild that had 'some items' still in the bank. Not going into specifics the seller offered in general chat the guild for x amount of gold.
There are certain questions I always ask when purchasing the guild.
1) What is the name of the guild (don't really like inappropriate names for guilds I own)
2) Does anyone else still belong? (This is important because there have been some guilds that were sold
Without other members knowing until they logged out the next day.)
3) What level guild is it? (The higher the level of the guild the more lucrative that the benefits can be)
4) What items still exist in the guild bank (if they are good items you can easily recoup your investment)
So I offered what I considered a fair price opening up the negotiations. Generally, I half the price that they offer unless it is an extremely good opening salvo. They counter offered and then I accepted at about 75% of the original price they wanted. Win/Win right?
So I logged over to my toon that would take over the guild I contacted the seller. After a delay they informed me that someone had offered full price. Disappointed that the seller didn't keep his word as far as the deal for a measly couple of gold I just thanked him and went my merry way.
But here is the thing to keep in mind. I have said it many times that your word is your bond. It may seem very fleeting when dealing with online gaming. Players do not have the direct attachment to their toons that they have to their real lives. If I make a deal with someone, then I expect them to keep up with them. That expectation goes both ways. I have sold items that others came along quickly and offered me twice as much gold. I had to tell them the item was sold simply because my word was more valuable to me than ethereal gold.
I'm also someone who believes in Karma. If you do good things then good things will happen to you. If you do things that are questionable, then the questionable things will occur. This may seem like an old concept, but it is one that has ruled both my gaming and my real world life for years.
So the moral of this little story? There really isn't any. Not everything needs a moral, unless you want to add one of your own.
Good Luck and Good Profit Hunting
Cooking For Fun and Profit
Cycle of Life
Road to WOD: Finish Your Chores
Some Day I Will Learn
Garrosh Is My Friend
You Lost That Alpha Feeling
Too Many Coins On My Hand
We All Make Mistrakes
World Without The Auction House
Not So Smart Loot
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