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Sunday, October 11, 2009
Rather doing it the legal way
I am playing World of Warcraft on two different servers, due to having more alts than are allowed on a single server. Most of my Horde characters are on one server, most of my Alliance characters on the other. My wife also has characters on both servers, which allows me to transfer gold or items from Horde to Alliance or vice versa. On my Horde server I'm rich, as I have two level 80 characters, and my glyph business there. On my Alliance server I'm poor, with my highest character being level 60.
This morning, in the early hours where the server wasn't very populated, and my wife was still sleeping, I borrowed my wife's level 80 shaman, who happens to be a miner and jewelcrafter, to mine saronite and titanium ore to get some gold for my paladin. The paladin is trying to level mining and blacksmithing, and is currently level 25. That means he can smith mithril items, but in the zones where he can go at his level he'll only find tin. Having the somewhat irrational desire to max my blacksmithing skill I therefore need to level mining and smithing with ore from the AH, which is expensive, or with ore gathered with my wife's high-level character.
So while I was trying to farm some gold via mining, I got a tell from a level 1 character asking me whether I wanted to buy some gold. Now usually I put such characters on ignore immediately, but as I was in the process of gold farming myself, I at least checked out the website the guy spammed me. Not sure what the going rate is, but on that site the gold appeared to be expensive, over $100 for 4,000 gold. And I didn't really want to buy gold in WoW, because I'm a bit of a stickler when it comes to rules and laws. Hey, I don't even fileshare, so while I wouldn't have problems buying gold in a game where it was allowed, I didn't want to do it in WoW, where it isn't allowed, and I theoretically could even get my account banned for doing so. Or the gold seller could scam me, which is probably the bigger risk.
Then I started thinking of whether I couldn't find a cheaper, safe and legal method of getting a lot of gold for my paladin. After all, the reason why the gold from the gold seller seemed expensive to me was that I had tons of gold on my Horde characters. And then I remembered that I had recently done a business deal I regretted: I had bought 5 Crusader Orbs for 5,000 gold with a Horde bank alt, because my auctioneer had told me that the regular price would be nearly twice that. Only I hadn't realized that since the last patch you can buy Crusader Orbs for Emblems of Triumph, and in spite of predictions that prices would rise again, I only managed to sell one orb for 1,600 gold, before the prices on the AH crashed to around the 1k mark, and I was sitting on 4 unsold orbs.
So, still using the fact that it was early morning hours and quiet, I used the neutral auction house to transfer the 4 Crusader Orbs and 500 gold to an unused Alliance toon on my Horde server via one of wife's characters (you can't buy from yourself, not even on the neutral AH). And then I paid Blizzard 20 bucks for transferring that character to the server where my paladin is. Crusader Orbs also just cost around 1k there, but at least the orbs got me past restriction on the amount of cash a low-level character can carry when changing servers. And assuming I can sell the orbs quickly at that price, I effectively got my paladin 4,000 gold for just 20 bucks. Completely legal, safe, and cheaper than buying gold.
- posted by Tobold @ 10:43 AM Permanent Link
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Of course the biggest issue with buying gold is that much of it is obtained from "hacked" accounts, and nobody wants to support that :)
Err .. you didn't really get those 4000 gold. You already had them. You just paid 20 bucks to relocate them.
After all, when you're server-transferring a level 80 character you're not saying that you paid that fee for character levelling services, just because that level 80 character appears on the new server out of thin air. You did that levelling service yourself, just relocated its returns.
After all, when you're server-transferring a level 80 character you're not saying that you paid that fee for character levelling services, just because that level 80 character appears on the new server out of thin air. You did that levelling service yourself, just relocated its returns.
You can share accounts if you have the same last name and reside in the same household.
The average price for gold is $10/1000g. A good price for gold is 8000-10,000g for $60.
Theirs only one gold selling website which is "safe" to buy from for both your account security and credit card/paypal information - I won't mention it by name, but it is the biggest and most famous and doesn't need to be advertised by spammers in game.
The average price for gold is $10/1000g. A good price for gold is 8000-10,000g for $60.
Theirs only one gold selling website which is "safe" to buy from for both your account security and credit card/paypal information - I won't mention it by name, but it is the biggest and most famous and doesn't need to be advertised by spammers in game.
Err .. you didn't really get those 4000 gold. You already had them. You just paid 20 bucks to relocate them.
Yes, but they gained value by relocating. 4000 gold on a server where you have 40000 isn't worth much. The same 4000 on a server where you only have 40 gold is worth a lot.
Yes, but they gained value by relocating. 4000 gold on a server where you have 40000 isn't worth much. The same 4000 on a server where you only have 40 gold is worth a lot.
Dont give blizzard any good ideas. Pretty soon you can transfer 100gold for 1$
# posted by 
: 11/10/09 16:13
: 11/10/09 16:13
You talk about the rule of law so I just wanted to confirm you know something. Filesharing isn't against the rule of law. Sharing accounts and buying gold isn't against the law either. Filesharing is a civil tort, it's not a crime and there is a big difference. If it were a crime you could go to jail for it. While there may be some countries in the world which have criminalized this, the United States hasn't been paid off by the recording industry enough to do so (though believe me they are trying).
Similarly, buying gold or account sharing is against the WoW Terms of Service which is quite a step down from even non-illegal filesharing. Oh god the anarachy if breaking some random company's ToS was ILLEGAL. I would move to Canada or some other reasonable country if this happened.
Similarly, buying gold or account sharing is against the WoW Terms of Service which is quite a step down from even non-illegal filesharing. Oh god the anarachy if breaking some random company's ToS was ILLEGAL. I would move to Canada or some other reasonable country if this happened.
Normally when I get gold whispers, I just politely reply with "no" and they get the picture..
Even if I was super poor gold-wise I wouldn't buy Gold, I love the feeling of knowing "hell, it was a slow grind, but now look what I have :D".
But your post was well written and gave me a intresting outlook towards the situation. :).
Even if I was super poor gold-wise I wouldn't buy Gold, I love the feeling of knowing "hell, it was a slow grind, but now look what I have :D".
But your post was well written and gave me a intresting outlook towards the situation. :).
One thing I would warn of when even goig to a site and looking at the pricing is that you could end up picking a key logger up and compromise your account that way. I would recommend these sites all together.
As far as transferring the orbs and gold, that is a fine move in my opinion. I guess technically it could be frowned on, but me and my wife will use the other's accounts in similar ways. I suppose I should write a letter to Blizzard and have it notarized giving authorization to my wife to use it.... (Sarcasm)
I just cannot bring myself to spend any sort of real world monetary value for in-game gold/items, but that is just me.
As far as transferring the orbs and gold, that is a fine move in my opinion. I guess technically it could be frowned on, but me and my wife will use the other's accounts in similar ways. I suppose I should write a letter to Blizzard and have it notarized giving authorization to my wife to use it.... (Sarcasm)
I just cannot bring myself to spend any sort of real world monetary value for in-game gold/items, but that is just me.
Zode had the correct rules, same name, same household is fine.
Did you transfer any BOA at the same time?
I am in a similar situation but since i dont have access to a 2nd account I plan to do a faction transfer as well.No rush but i might do it around xmas.
Did you transfer any BOA at the same time?
I am in a similar situation but since i dont have access to a 2nd account I plan to do a faction transfer as well.No rush but i might do it around xmas.
Just created a new character on a new server, just for fun, played it to Level 20.
Now i have 50 Gold on him, with only plucking flowers and collecting leather and sell it on the auction house ,that's all (No other tricks).
(At level 10 i had already 3-5g)
So since the gold has become less valuable since the old days, it's easier to collect gold when you are a newbie on a server, then it was before.
Not forgetting that you actually need less gold, because the prices for mounts/riding has dropped alot.
The first time i saved money for my ride, it took me until level 46 to get the 90g it needed...
Now i have 50 Gold on him, with only plucking flowers and collecting leather and sell it on the auction house ,that's all (No other tricks).
(At level 10 i had already 3-5g)
So since the gold has become less valuable since the old days, it's easier to collect gold when you are a newbie on a server, then it was before.
Not forgetting that you actually need less gold, because the prices for mounts/riding has dropped alot.
The first time i saved money for my ride, it took me until level 46 to get the 90g it needed...
4000g for 100 EUROs? Uh, yeah, his prices were not good.
And seriously, the TOS is a joke. No one actually reads it. No one is expected to read it. It's the purest boilerplate.
And seriously, the TOS is a joke. No one actually reads it. No one is expected to read it. It's the purest boilerplate.
I wonder how much money Blizzard make from all the people using the $20 transfers for all manner of things like this.
Basically free money - seems such a simple idea I wonder why it took so long to implement and if this side effect was even forseen.
Basically free money - seems such a simple idea I wonder why it took so long to implement and if this side effect was even forseen.
"Just created a new character on a new server, just for fun, played it to Level 20.
Now i have 50 Gold on him, with only plucking flowers and collecting leather and sell it on the auction house ,that's all (No other tricks)."
Yeah, I remember my first toon a year and a half ago. I was always relatively poor. Had enough to pay for repairs, had enough to pay for training. Bought some upgrades from venders and later the AH that I really shouldn't have bothered with, and then level 40 hits and BAM! I have no where close to the gold I need for a mount and training.
I have had a few toons I leveled a bit and never worried about gold much since I sent some from my main.
Recently I started a warlock and he is at 42 now with almost 400 gold. I never sent him any gold. I did send him some BoA items so he is probably saving on repair bills (BoA items seem to never need repairs). I'm not really saving on AH buys since I wouldn't have bothered this time around. I also sent him a set of bags, which I'm sure has made a fair bit of the difference since I don't dump items I would sell...but I could in theory have just done that buy buying bags as soon as I could afford them, and making more frequent trips back to town. It just would have been slower for almost the same gold.
The big difference for me was that I took skinning and herbing, and dump loads off in the AH (I know mailing them to a bank alt would be more time efficient, but I was experimenting).
"(At level 10 i had already 3-5g)
So since the gold has become less valuable since the old days, it's easier to collect gold when you are a newbie on a server, then it was before."
I'm not sure, but I think herb prices are pretty similar now and when I started. Or at least now and when I was level 40 (the first time!). In fact herb prices may have been higher as folks were stock piling away for the release of inscriptionists...
Last time I was a miner, and it took a while for me to realize that selling in the AH was way more profitable then selling to a vender. I also dumped a bunch of my ore into my crafting (which I later dropped to pick one up that is a better match for me).
So I'm not sure gold is easier to collect now then before...I just know a lot more about how to get it. Enough that I can collect more then I can usefully spend. (I mean I could get 200g worth of crafted items and enchants, but in 5 or 10 levels they won't be as good as quest items, so why take the time to shop?)
"Not forgetting that you actually need less gold, because the prices for mounts/riding has dropped alot.
The first time i saved money for my ride, it took me until level 46 to get the 90g it needed...
"
I think you only need less gold because you get it at an earlier level. I fully expect blizz has a spreadsheet that tells them how much money you _should_ have at a give level if you vender all the old rewards and sell the expected amount of trash and have zero, one, or two gathering professions. I bet the new lower level 20/40 prices are once adjusted for "level inflation" the exact same sized purchase.
I bet you also know a lot more about how to make gold the 2nd time around...even if you roll on a new server with no big brother to give you a set of bags and BoA items :-)
Now i have 50 Gold on him, with only plucking flowers and collecting leather and sell it on the auction house ,that's all (No other tricks)."
Yeah, I remember my first toon a year and a half ago. I was always relatively poor. Had enough to pay for repairs, had enough to pay for training. Bought some upgrades from venders and later the AH that I really shouldn't have bothered with, and then level 40 hits and BAM! I have no where close to the gold I need for a mount and training.
I have had a few toons I leveled a bit and never worried about gold much since I sent some from my main.
Recently I started a warlock and he is at 42 now with almost 400 gold. I never sent him any gold. I did send him some BoA items so he is probably saving on repair bills (BoA items seem to never need repairs). I'm not really saving on AH buys since I wouldn't have bothered this time around. I also sent him a set of bags, which I'm sure has made a fair bit of the difference since I don't dump items I would sell...but I could in theory have just done that buy buying bags as soon as I could afford them, and making more frequent trips back to town. It just would have been slower for almost the same gold.
The big difference for me was that I took skinning and herbing, and dump loads off in the AH (I know mailing them to a bank alt would be more time efficient, but I was experimenting).
"(At level 10 i had already 3-5g)
So since the gold has become less valuable since the old days, it's easier to collect gold when you are a newbie on a server, then it was before."
I'm not sure, but I think herb prices are pretty similar now and when I started. Or at least now and when I was level 40 (the first time!). In fact herb prices may have been higher as folks were stock piling away for the release of inscriptionists...
Last time I was a miner, and it took a while for me to realize that selling in the AH was way more profitable then selling to a vender. I also dumped a bunch of my ore into my crafting (which I later dropped to pick one up that is a better match for me).
So I'm not sure gold is easier to collect now then before...I just know a lot more about how to get it. Enough that I can collect more then I can usefully spend. (I mean I could get 200g worth of crafted items and enchants, but in 5 or 10 levels they won't be as good as quest items, so why take the time to shop?)
"Not forgetting that you actually need less gold, because the prices for mounts/riding has dropped alot.
The first time i saved money for my ride, it took me until level 46 to get the 90g it needed...
"
I think you only need less gold because you get it at an earlier level. I fully expect blizz has a spreadsheet that tells them how much money you _should_ have at a give level if you vender all the old rewards and sell the expected amount of trash and have zero, one, or two gathering professions. I bet the new lower level 20/40 prices are once adjusted for "level inflation" the exact same sized purchase.
I bet you also know a lot more about how to make gold the 2nd time around...even if you roll on a new server with no big brother to give you a set of bags and BoA items :-)
I'm not sure why you didn't transfer more gold, up to half your total wealth. Because you're paying a flat fee of $20 (plus the work it takes you to convert currency via trading goods). I thought you might find it fun to play the AH on both sides to find price discrepancies and load up on goods to ship with the character transfer.
Ended up following Gevlon's advice and deleted a series of comments from me and others (many anonymous) with an increasingly acrimonious fight over an issue not central to the subject of the post.
I think you only need less gold because you get it at an earlier level. I fully expect blizz has a spreadsheet that tells them how much money you _should_ have at a give level if you vender all the old rewards and sell the expected amount of trash and have zero, one, or two gathering professions. I bet the new lower level 20/40 prices are once adjusted for "level inflation" the exact same sized purchase.
That spreadsheet does not exist, because the income from a gathering profession strongly depends on server age. On a new server a stack of copper is worth a few silver. On the server my pally is on I can sell a stack of copper for 8 gold, because the buyers have thousands of gold. As most servers are old, even a single gathering profession easily makes 10 to 100 times more gold than all the quest rewards and vendored items you could have done at the same level in the same time.
That spreadsheet does not exist, because the income from a gathering profession strongly depends on server age. On a new server a stack of copper is worth a few silver. On the server my pally is on I can sell a stack of copper for 8 gold, because the buyers have thousands of gold. As most servers are old, even a single gathering profession easily makes 10 to 100 times more gold than all the quest rewards and vendored items you could have done at the same level in the same time.
Depending on the server, you can get 5000 gold for about $25 US now.
Blizzard bans the gold sellers not the gold buyers. The buyers $15 is worth more as the gold seller will resub another account after a ban. The gold buyer may not resub after a ban.
Blizzard bans the gold sellers not the gold buyers. The buyers $15 is worth more as the gold seller will resub another account after a ban. The gold buyer may not resub after a ban.
# posted by : 13/10/09 17:29
: 13/10/09 17:29
my highest char on my new server is a lvl 74 dk then a lvl 72 hunter and a lvl 22 mage with max proffessions (jc and ench at 225) since i rerolled 2 month ago those 3 chars i am sitting currently on 40k gold....doing alot of ah stuff for sure. Making money is pretty easy nowerdays.
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# posted by : 22/10/09 12:47
: 22/10/09 12:47<< Home
