Gold selling: A long, hard look at the industry

Like it or not, gold buying, selling, and powerleveling have become rather lucrative businesses, particularly with the stratospheric rise in popularity of the MMORPG. *cough*WoW*cough*. So what is it? Is it legal? Ethical? Dangerous? Sally forth dear reader, and find out for yourself!

  

Like it or not, gold buying, selling, and powerleveling have become rather lucrative businesses, particularly with the stratospheric rise in popularity of the MMORPG. *cough*WoW*cough*.

So what is gold selling?

Gold selling is the practice of selling in-game items and currency to players in exchange for real world money. Sound strange? It sort of is, the idea of paying real money for virtual currency might seem odd to those unfamiliar with MMORPG culture, but companies like IGE and other gold trading organizations make a tidy profit from this business, so there’s definitely a market for it.

Legality:

Perhaps the first issue that springs to mind is the question of the legality of it all. Many video game companies claim that all virtual items (your character, your equipment, and even your gold) are their property.

As such, a gold seller has no right to sell what isn’t theirs. Fair enough…  or is it? Are developer EULA‘s too draconian in their thinking? After all, you’ve paid for the game… are most likely still paying for the game, shouldn’t your equipment, character and gold belong to you?

It could be argued that gold sellers are not selling the gold itself, but are getting paid for simply transferring in-game gold from one player to another as well as for the time it took them to get the gold.

Either way, it’s safe to say that gold selling exists smack dab in the middle of one of those nu-age legal gray areas the internet saw fit to leave us with when she blessed us with the gift of new media. Judges, philosophers and lawyers are going to be arguing this one till they’re blue in the face.

The effects of gold selling and buying:

Assume you’ve spent five arduous weeks scrounging together every last in-game penny you could find, saving up for that sweet new mount.

Now, along comes John Q. Public, he plonks down twenty real world dollars and gets instant access to the same mount without having to lift a virtual finger. Is that fair? Does it matter? 

On the one hand you’ve probably got a right to feel somewhat cheated, but on the other, gamers have been using cheat codes, guides and FAQs for decades to get ahead of the game, is this much different? Does it affect your personal enjoyment of the game that someone else is having an easier time? Shouldn’t a player be allowed to play the game how he or she sees fit?

Much less subjective or open to interpretation are the irritating and downright insidious steps some gold sellers will go to to peddle their wares:  spamming and farming, and hacking accounts, oh my!

Of these three, without a doubt the most alarming is having your account hacked, no one should have to experience the misfortune of logging in only to find all their gear, weapons and hard earned cash stripped from them. This sort of virtual crime is often perpetrated by gold selling companies operating out of China, outside the jurisdiction of any real legal recourse.

The inherent dangers of buying gold:

Obviously the simple act of buying gold in itself can be a tricky proposition, there are many “fly-by-night” companies that swindle players of their hard earned money. If you’re looking for a few horror stories to leave you weeping uncontrollably in the corner, look no further.

When buying gold, players usually don’t have to do anything but receive the gold in person from a seller. It’s worth noting that more often than not it’s the sellers who are more likely to get banned (if caught).

However, those of you who do transfer gold to your alts or give gold to friends can sleep soundly with the knowledge that developers don’t lay the banhammer down on a whim.

Conclusion:

 

There may come a time when gold buying and selling will be a regulated and more widely accepted practice, countries such as Australia and the United States are taking steps to create legislature that taxes and keep track of the buying and selling of virtual items.

Pioneers in the virtual economy space such as Second Life already allow players to buy, own and rent virtual plots of land. How will those companies at the forefront of buying and selling gold adapt to these legislative changes? How will gamers adapt? Only time will tell, but the future definitely looks interesting, I’m eager to hear what you guys think about the subject, so please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.