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Character Bazaar

 
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I don't understand what's going on here
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Arpad Elo
Brave Newbies Inc.
Brave Collective
#1 - 2012-01-26 21:38:49 UTC
How do you guys know that these offers are valid? How do you know that any transactions took place? How do you know someone that says "Hey I got an in-game offer" is telling the truth, etc. WTF is the point of bidding on something with an unknown reserve? What if the buyer changes their mind about selling after you bid, etc.?

Basically I'm not sure how this forum functions as a legitimate market.

Could someone give me some help/reassurance about understanding this place?
Jeff simply
State War Academy
Caldari State
#2 - 2012-01-26 21:43:36 UTC
If you have the isk and think it's worth it. Then bid.

If not, dont'.
Mr Epeen
It's All About Me
#3 - 2012-01-26 22:05:38 UTC  |  Edited by: Mr Epeen
You don't know if the offers are valid and they often turn out not to be. Some of the resellers in here like to alt bid to try and pump up their sell price.

Then there are the trolls that just screw things up for fun.

Selling can be a practical exercise in frustration but buying is a little easier. As said above, just offer what you think it's worth and if you don't get it, don't panic. Unless it's a really specialized character build, there will likely be others just like the one you got outbid on in which to make an offer.

For example, you will, at this time, see a half dozen Tengu pilots per page. But you may only find a focused Black Ops pilot once a month. So Tengu drivers can be gotten fairly cheap for their SP while the Blops pilot will command a premium.

If your selling then you will be more likely to get a better price for a focused character than one you just plastered with every skill that he could fit. The thing I hate is seeing a 20m SP character that was decently focused and then turned into a mess with 170 skills injected. And most of them at level one.

Mr Epeen Cool
Katie Colgary
Doomheim
#4 - 2012-01-26 22:17:35 UTC
Mr Epeen wrote:
You don't know if the offers are valid and they often turn out not to be. Some of the resellers in here like to alt bid to try and pump up their sell price.

Then there are the trolls that just screw things up for fun.

Selling can be a practical exercise in frustration but buying is a little easier. As said above, just offer what you think it's worth and if you don't get it, don't panic. Unless it's a really specialized character build, there will likely be others just like the one you got outbid on in which to make an offer.

For example, you will, at this time, see a half dozen Tengu pilots per page. But you may only find a focused Black Ops pilot once a month. So Tengu drivers can be gotten fairly cheap for their SP while the Blops pilot will command a premium.

If your selling then you will be more likely to get a better price for a focused character than one you just plastered with every skill that he could fit. The thing I hate is seeing a 20m SP character that was decently focused and then turned into a mess with 170 skills injected. And most of them at level one.

Mr Epeen Cool



Mr Epeen do you think character bazaar is being used as some sort of meta gaming tactic? such as people faking selling a char in order to erase its past credibility and such?
Damien McCandless
DarK IntenTionZ
#5 - 2012-01-26 23:06:33 UTC
People definitely place fake bids with alts to drive up the sale price of their characters. It's usually easy to spot. If the original legitimate bidder doesn't take the bait then sure enough that high bidding mystery alt will back out or be "unreachable."

I've bought and sold a few characters here and it was always in the range of 200-250mil isk/1mil SP. Pretty much exactly what the character appraiser ballparks combat pilots at.

Anywhere there's isk to be made someone will try to manipulate the market to turn a profit. I won't use the word scam but honestly there should be rules against someone bidding on their own character. It would be easily moderated by IP checks. Even though that could be circumvented, it would be a start.
Robert Saint
The Grumpy Dogs
#6 - 2012-01-27 06:19:32 UTC
I've been buying and selling a while now and think it's fantastic. sometimes you mess up and get a lemon, but often it's the best ISK in game for time spent... alts or no alts, it doesn't matter. As stated i just bid what I think I want to pay and ignor all the rest. I've been billions lower than the highest bid and then I get an email asking if I want the character, so in that case there was fake bids of course, no different than in game market tricks... You can make billions easily though and make lots of friends too.

10 Rules to follow when selling.

1) Ignor troll comments, but thank them for the bump, because trolls will bump your post to the front page. Very nice.!! But wait to thank them until your on page three.
2) Always and I mean always put a password on your Eveboard sheet, that way that stupid gemblog joke can't appraise it. It's never accurate and was created to reduce the value of characters, not appraise worth.
3) Don't alt bid your own posts, it's just silly and not needed, as your toon will find a home. You can and should encourage questions to be posted in thread, thereby bumping the post with each Q and A.
4) Don't answer questions right away, wait until your thread is on page 3 or more, if you're already on page one or two, leave it be and use that answer for a needed bump. Same as rule 1.
5) Never bump your own post, it looks desparate!! period! Find other ways as above to get attention.
6) Don't have a start bid that is too high, scares everyone away and invites trolls to slam your toon.
7) Don't price buyout too high, or it's a joke. Look around at similar toons, and price in line.
8) Write a decent review of your toon, don't assume everyone is a skilled player. Resellers know, but your buyer may be new and not know what ship is a Black Ops ship, so write the name of the Ship as well. You have plenty of space. I like to read myself.
9) Try to add value to your toon before selling and don't sell too soon. 3 m SP toons aren't worth the transaction costs. Unless you just want the space for a new toon in your account. Check to see how far off the next level of ship is, as an example how long before he can fly a ??? , etc.
10) Timing.. If you drag out your auction or sale for weeks, you will lose interest fast. Try and keep it no more than 5 days and best to start it on a Thursday or Friday to build a base interest by the weekend.

5 Rules to follow when buying.

1) Don't bag on an auction to get the price lower, if you want an alt to help with pricing, just bid a bit lower, but a jerk is a jerk.
2) Although putting a time limit on a good bid seems to be helpful, it should be reasonable, like 24 hours, not 5 minutes since it's a world game.
3) Remember if you bid on a character you are also bumping the character, so sometimes if it's a good bid, email it instead.
4) Be nice, as being nice gets me better deals...... period.
5) Follow the CCP rules, read them carefully since they are the only way to get your money back if someone tries to scam you. If it seems to good,,, etc....
Szmuglerka
Hephaestus Technologies
#7 - 2012-01-27 08:36:35 UTC
Robert Saint wrote:
I've been buying and selling a while now and think it's fantastic. sometimes you mess up and get a lemon, but often it's the best ISK in game for time spent... alts or no alts, it doesn't matter. As stated i just bid what I think I want to pay and ignor all the rest. I've been billions lower than the highest bid and then I get an email asking if I want the character, so in that case there was fake bids of course, no different than in game market tricks... You can make billions easily though and make lots of friends too.

10 Rules to follow when selling.

1) Ignor troll comments, but thank them for the bump, because trolls will bump your post to the front page. Very nice.!! But wait to thank them until your on page three.
2) Always and I mean always put a password on your Eveboard sheet, that way that stupid gemblog joke can't appraise it. It's never accurate and was created to reduce the value of characters, not appraise worth.
3) Don't alt bid your own posts, it's just silly and not needed, as your toon will find a home. You can and should encourage questions to be posted in thread, thereby bumping the post with each Q and A.
4) Don't answer questions right away, wait until your thread is on page 3 or more, if you're already on page one or two, leave it be and use that answer for a needed bump. Same as rule 1.
5) Never bump your own post, it looks desparate!! period! Find other ways as above to get attention.
6) Don't have a start bid that is too high, scares everyone away and invites trolls to slam your toon.
7) Don't price buyout too high, or it's a joke. Look around at similar toons, and price in line.
8) Write a decent review of your toon, don't assume everyone is a skilled player. Resellers know, but your buyer may be new and not know what ship is a Black Ops ship, so write the name of the Ship as well. You have plenty of space. I like to read myself.
9) Try to add value to your toon before selling and don't sell too soon. 3 m SP toons aren't worth the transaction costs. Unless you just want the space for a new toon in your account. Check to see how far off the next level of ship is, as an example how long before he can fly a ??? , etc.
10) Timing.. If you drag out your auction or sale for weeks, you will lose interest fast. Try and keep it no more than 5 days and best to start it on a Thursday or Friday to build a base interest by the weekend.

5 Rules to follow when buying.

1) Don't bag on an auction to get the price lower, if you want an alt to help with pricing, just bid a bit lower, but a jerk is a jerk.
2) Although putting a time limit on a good bid seems to be helpful, it should be reasonable, like 24 hours, not 5 minutes since it's a world game.
3) Remember if you bid on a character you are also bumping the character, so sometimes if it's a good bid, email it instead.
4) Be nice, as being nice gets me better deals...... period.
5) Follow the CCP rules, read them carefully since they are the only way to get your money back if someone tries to scam you. If it seems to good,,, etc....


EXCELLENT post! Having bought & sold quite a few alts in the past, I agree, that Char Appraiser tool is pure & utter crap. An 8M SP combat char is worth more than 2B, I've sold unfocused starter chars with less SP for more than that amount. The selling price is whatever the Market is willing to pay. As in, if Legion pilots or whatever are a "hot" commodity & in high demand right now, they'll go for more, regardless of what the "Appraiser", & I use that term loosely, says.

I HAVE found some player appraisers that were genuine, knowledgeable & RIGHT on the money as far as a fair buying/selling price goes though. If you find a good one, listen to them.

To the OP: What the above post said holds, ignore it if it looks like a scam/the seller is being unscrupulous, I don't post in-game offers in the thread for chars that I'm selling, & when buying, if it's NOT in the thread, I ignore it & stick to what I can SEE. If something about the transaction seems fishy, it very well MAY be, so simply put, DON'T buy it.
Mira Annages
Doomheim
#8 - 2012-01-27 09:47:16 UTC
Robert Saint wrote:
I've been buying and selling a while now and think it's fantastic. sometimes you mess up and get a lemon, but often it's the best ISK in game for time spent... alts or no alts, it doesn't matter. As stated i just bid what I think I want to pay and ignor all the rest. I've been billions lower than the highest bid and then I get an email asking if I want the character, so in that case there was fake bids of course, no different than in game market tricks... You can make billions easily though and make lots of friends too.

10 Rules to follow when selling.

1) Ignor troll comments, but thank them for the bump, because trolls will bump your post to the front page. Very nice.!! But wait to thank them until your on page three.
2) Always and I mean always put a password on your Eveboard sheet, that way that stupid gemblog joke can't appraise it. It's never accurate and was created to reduce the value of characters, not appraise worth.
3) Don't alt bid your own posts, it's just silly and not needed, as your toon will find a home. You can and should encourage questions to be posted in thread, thereby bumping the post with each Q and A.
4) Don't answer questions right away, wait until your thread is on page 3 or more, if you're already on page one or two, leave it be and use that answer for a needed bump. Same as rule 1.
5) Never bump your own post, it looks desparate!! period! Find other ways as above to get attention.
6) Don't have a start bid that is too high, scares everyone away and invites trolls to slam your toon.
7) Don't price buyout too high, or it's a joke. Look around at similar toons, and price in line.
8) Write a decent review of your toon, don't assume everyone is a skilled player. Resellers know, but your buyer may be new and not know what ship is a Black Ops ship, so write the name of the Ship as well. You have plenty of space. I like to read myself.
9) Try to add value to your toon before selling and don't sell too soon. 3 m SP toons aren't worth the transaction costs. Unless you just want the space for a new toon in your account. Check to see how far off the next level of ship is, as an example how long before he can fly a ??? , etc.
10) Timing.. If you drag out your auction or sale for weeks, you will lose interest fast. Try and keep it no more than 5 days and best to start it on a Thursday or Friday to build a base interest by the weekend.

5 Rules to follow when buying.

1) Don't bag on an auction to get the price lower, if you want an alt to help with pricing, just bid a bit lower, but a jerk is a jerk.
2) Although putting a time limit on a good bid seems to be helpful, it should be reasonable, like 24 hours, not 5 minutes since it's a world game.
3) Remember if you bid on a character you are also bumping the character, so sometimes if it's a good bid, email it instead.
4) Be nice, as being nice gets me better deals...... period.
5) Follow the CCP rules, read them carefully since they are the only way to get your money back if someone tries to scam you. If it seems to good,,, etc....



This ^^

Ive been character trading for years now, tbh the little tricks mean nothing in the end. Although ive never thought of the password on the eveboard. Awesome post, like.
Othran
Route One
#9 - 2012-01-27 11:05:29 UTC
Spot on about the gemblog character appraiser - I think its actually a clever scam.

I sold a couple of characters last year - totally different skill sets.

In both cases the figure it came up with was basically the cost of skills and the cost of PLEX to train them, assuming +5 implants are fitted.

If you take any notice of the valuations it spits out then you may as well never have trained the character - you WILL be down at least 900mill (PLEX transfer costs).

I ignored it and got maybe 30% more than the "valuation".
Niteka
TEMPLAR.
The Initiative.
#10 - 2012-01-27 12:18:12 UTC
Quote:

WTF is the point of bidding on something with an unknown reserve


Unknown reserve doesnt mean, that the seller HAS a reserve most the time.

It's more likely, that he may or may not sell the character for a certain price.

So, its not different to any other Auction, since there is NO Guarantee, that the seller will sell
the char, if the posted reserve is met. He ALWAYS can say: "Changed my mind, keep the char".
Arpad Elo
Brave Newbies Inc.
Brave Collective
#11 - 2012-01-29 00:09:21 UTC  |  Edited by: Arpad Elo
Awesome, thanks guys. :)
Gre gore
Naliao Inc.
Test Alliance Please Ignore
#12 - 2012-01-29 01:56:18 UTC
Also, don't accept a bid as final until the isk has been transferred to you.

So many times have I had bids on chars and the buyer just needs a day or two to gather isk, then after a day or two you either never hear from them or they say they are no longer interested.

They say there is no scamming allowed relating to characters, but that only applies to the seller not the buyer as the above situation proves. It would be better if there was an escrow system in place so that you could only bid if you actually have the isk to buy it.
Arpad Elo
Brave Newbies Inc.
Brave Collective
#13 - 2012-01-29 05:45:09 UTC
(Well, I don't know why they don't just put chars on contracts like a BPO...)
Super Whopper
I can Has Cheeseburger
#14 - 2012-01-29 10:11:20 UTC
Arpad Elo wrote:
(Well, I don't know why they don't just put chars on contracts like a BPO...)


Because then you'd have someone bumping the price with their own Alts, as happens with contracts.
Gre gore
Naliao Inc.
Test Alliance Please Ignore
#15 - 2012-02-01 19:55:16 UTC
Super Whopper wrote:
Arpad Elo wrote:
(Well, I don't know why they don't just put chars on contracts like a BPO...)


Because then you'd have someone bumping the price with their own Alts, as happens with contracts.


So that doesn't happen in here at all?

If you believe that then I have a nyx I want to sell you, just send me the isk first.