WoW Gold & Paypal: What Are The Risks?

Paypal is the most popular payment option for most WoW Gold providers, and quickly becoming the preferred options of many other online industries. However, there are some issues you should be aware of before using Paypal to buy WoW gold.

We hope the following information will answer your questions and give you the confidence to go ahead and make a purchase:

Credit/Debit Card or Your Paypal Balance?

Paypal allows you to choose the funding source for the payment you will send. The payment with either be sourced from your credit/debit card or Paypal balance (though you can also upload funds from a bank, but there is a delay of 3-5 days).

Sounds trivial? It’s far from it.

The first thing you should know is that using your debit card or Paypal balance does not provide you with any protection against fraudulent sellers. If you choose one of these payment options, you will need to go through a 4-6 week process to file a payment reversal if you do not receive your goods. But even in this situation, you are not guaranteed to get your money back.

Credit card payments, on the other hand, provide you (the buyer) with full protection against fraud or an unsatisfactory product. A quick call to your credit card company will ensure the payment is reversed immediately, without the need for the permission of Paypal or the seller.

The bottom line is simple – use your credit card!

What If I Don’t Have A Credit Card?

If you don’t have a credit card to make the purchase, you are at a disadvantage in terms of protecting yourself. However, there are some steps you can take and factors you can verify pre-purchase to ensure you’re buying WoW Gold safely:

1. Seller Location

The importance of location isn’t about time-zone, almost all companies are available 24/7 these days. What is important is accountability; if the company you buy from does meet your expectations, can you do something about it? There is much to say about legal accountability, international consumer law and various other factors, but our advice is simple – buy from a company based in the USA, Europe or your own country.

How can you be sure where the seller is from? Contact their Live Support, this will quickly tell you whether the company is a legitimate Western company or an outsourced Asian hub.

2. Verify Seller Credibility

Two independent comparison and review services that most sellers register to are MMOBux.com and BizRate.com. MMOBux provides excellent insider industry analysis, whereas BizRate is the most popular user review community for the WoW Gold market.

3. Is The Seller Paypal Verified?

This is a no-brainer whenever you use Paypal – make sure the person or company you’re sending money to is Paypal verified. This means the receiver has registered and verified their information, thus guaranteeing that they can be contacted and pursued by Paypal should things go wrong.
Our Conclusions

Whilst there are fraudulent WoW Gold sellers out there, the proportion is no higher than in any other online industry, and they are usually very easy to spot with a couple minutes of research. Use a credit card to fully protect yourself and rely on independent review and rating sources to find the best providers.

Good luck with your purchase!

Virtual Currency and the 2008 Presidential Election

Over 10 million Americans regularly indulge themselves in the gaming phenomena of the 21st Century; Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). The genre has developed into a global, multi-billion dollar industry with titles such as EverQuest, Warhammer Online and the infamous World of Warcraft. These virtual online worlds captivate the minds of players and act as a space from which people can escape the real world.

However, there are numerous examples of where the real world breaks in to inform, capitalize on or entertain the virtual inhabitants. Musicians, charitable organizations and big business have all made their mark “in-game”, often making a big impression on the masses of orcs, elves and post-apocalyptic humanoids.

But now there is an opportunity to reverse the roles. Players of MMORPGs are being given the opportunity to make a difference to one of the biggest real world events in history – the 2008 US Presidential Election.

Massive Online Gaming Sales (MOGS), an American MMORPG services company, have started a new initiative to aid with voter registration in the USA. They are enabling players of seven major MMORPG titles to donate their virtual currency to make a difference to the democratic process. Players donate their currency to MOGS which is then converted into its US Dollar equivalent and donated to the prominent voter registration charity Rock the Vote. The company claims this is a way for MMORPG gamers to influence the democratic process in a way that is relevant to them and meaningful to the spirit of democracy.

The issue of voter registration is one that has sparked civil rights action and wide-scale government inquiries in the past, and remains an important issue today. By enabling a wider section of the electorate to have their say, the end result is more representative of the population and reflective of their views. This gives the future President and the government as a whole a stronger mandate from the people on which to act.

Whilst MOGS claims the programme is a fair and balanced way to encourage participation without them showing any leaning to one candidate or the other, it can be argued that great voter registration favours Barack Obama. The Illinois Senator has a commanding lead amongst young voters, those who are more likely to be disenfranchised without the help of organizations such as Rock the Vote. Encouraging voter registration therefore improves the chances of Obama more than it does McCain. However, the company stands firm on their claim; “We recognize that our customers, and MMORPG gamers as a whole, have a vested interest in the future Executive and are equally eager to support the democratic process. It is through this process that we are granted our freedoms and develop our ideals, two things which our company relies on and could not succeed without.”

Partisan politics aside, if you’re interested in increasing awareness of voter registration or have some spare MMORPG currency you’d like to donate then be sure to check out the Donate Your Virtual Currency page for further details.

Virtual Currency and the 2008 Presidential Election

Over 10 million Americans regularly indulge themselves in the gaming phenomena of the 21st Century; Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games (MMORPGs). The genre has developed into a global, multi-billion dollar industry with titles such as EverQuest, Warhammer Online and the infamous World of Warcraft. These virtual online worlds captivate the minds of players and act as a space from which people can escape the real world.

However, there are numerous examples of where the real world breaks in to inform, capitalize on or entertain the virtual inhabitants. Musicians, charitable organizations and big business have all made their mark “in-game”, often making a big impression on the masses of orcs, elves and post-apocalyptic humanoids.

But now there is an opportunity to reverse the roles. Players of MMORPGs are being given the opportunity to make a difference to one of the biggest real world events in history – the 2008 US Presidential Election.

Massive Online Gaming Sales (MOGS), an American MMORPG services company, have started a new initiative to aid with voter registration in the USA. They are enabling players of seven major MMORPG titles to donate their virtual currency to make a difference to the democratic process. Players donate their currency to MOGS which is then converted into its US Dollar equivalent and donated to the prominent voter registration charity Rock the Vote. The company claims this is a way for MMORPG gamers to influence the democratic process in a way that is relevant to them and meaningful to the spirit of democracy.

The issue of voter registration is one that has sparked civil rights action and wide-scale government inquiries in the past, and remains an important issue today. By enabling a wider section of the electorate to have their say, the end result is more representative of the population and reflective of their views. This gives the future President and the government as a whole a stronger mandate from the people on which to act.

Whilst MOGS claims the programme is a fair and balanced way to encourage participation without them showing any leaning to one candidate or the other, it can be argued that great voter registration favours Barack Obama. The Illinois Senator has a commanding lead amongst young voters, those who are more likely to be disenfranchised without the help of organizations such as Rock the Vote. Encouraging voter registration therefore improves the chances of Obama more than it does McCain. However, the company stands firm on their claim; “We recognize that our customers, and MMORPG gamers as a whole, have a vested interest in the future Executive and are equally eager to support the democratic process. It is through this process that we are granted our freedoms and develop our ideals, two things which our company relies on and could not succeed without.”

Partisan politics aside, if you’re interested in increasing awareness of voter registration or have some spare MMORPG currency you’d like to donate then be sure to check out the Donate Your Virtual Currency page for further details.

Blizzard's Economy Actions Backfire?

Unless you’ve been hidden under a rock in the farthest corner of Azeroth, you’ll have noticed that the price of many vendor items have dropped over the past few months. This is seen as an attempt by Blizzard to curb what they see as a Gold farming/selling/buying epidemic. The principle was simple; reducing the price of core items requires players to have less Gold, thus lowering the temptation to purchase Gold from third parties.

The problem lies in the heart of the Azeroth economy; the Auction House. WoW players are finding themselves with a larger expendable income when they approach the AH, and are thus more able to pay higher prices for the items they want. This is reacted upon by sellers who no longer need to cut their prices to sell items, and infact opt to increase their prices across the board. Whilst Blizzard’s economic plan may have had good intent, it seems they didn’t pay too close attention to economics in school.

The result is two-fold; players need more Gold (to afford the higher priced items) and farmers are able to sell their farmed items for more, thus producing more Gold and becoming more cost-effective. This seems like another situation that will lead to Gold saturation on the main servers, and see another dramatic drop in Gold prices in the near future, regardless of the recent price hike.

The only thing that can seemingly save Blizzard from this situation is repeating the mass bannings seen recently, removing Gold from the economy and sending Gold prices shooting up once again. This is a proverbial game of cat-and-mouse, bust-and-benefit for both the game developer and RMT companies, but one must ask what the effect is on the average gamer.

Will we see constant fluctuations in the AH, where tools such as Auctioneer are rendered useless? Or have Blizzard simply preparing the landscape for another big change? Only time will tell, and we’ll certainly be watching closely!

WoW Gold Prices Surge After Recent Bannings

A wave of mass bannings instigated by Blizzard’s anti-RMT unit has shook the WoW Gold industry and sent prices soaring… well, kind of. WoW Gold has decreased in price month-on-month since January 2007 ($126/1000g) to it’s lowest point recently in June 2008 ($17/1000g). Prices have now doubled-up to the $35-$40/1000g range; a bitersweet blow for the Chinese farms that were hit. Whilst many have lost tens, even hundreds of account and thousands of dollars in lost Gold, the price hike will allow for double the profitability while it lasts.

Industry analysts predict this to be a temporary rise and for prices to return to the $20 mark within 2 months. Though some farms will have ceased operation after this latest Blizzard offensive, the rate at which new Gold farms are springing up will more than take up the slack.

Suprisingly the vast increase in price has not deterred the average RMT customer, with major companies only reporting a minor dip in sales. With the majority of gold-buying-gamers residing in the United States, this is an interesting turn of events when considering their economic fortunes in the real-world.

WoW Gold Prices Drop After Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year has now finished and China’s golden army is back to work.

As you may have noticed, WoW Gold prices increased by 40-50% across the industry at the beginning of February. This yearly price increase is caused by the mass exodus of Chinese workers travelling back to their families for Spring Festival (Chinese New Year). Now the fesitivities have ended and prices have dropped back down to their normal price (even lower from some sellers) you may think this is the ideal time to grab a deal – think again!

Many WoW gamers previously put off by inflated prices are flocking to buy WoW Gold at what they see as reduced rates. This is putting huge strain on supply, as it does every year, and is causing extended delivery delays across China. So if you’re looking to bag a bargain you’d be wise to wait until mid-March.

If you can’t wait then we suggest you find a seller in Europe or the USA, as they tend to have a more sustainable stock in the West. Be sure to ask what stock levels are like on your server and as always ensure the provider is legitimate (check their BizRate feedback) – nothing is worse than paying for Gold you’ll never receive!

Blizzard's War on (In-Game) Terror

On February 22nd 2008, Blizzard issued a statement via their US and EU websites explaining the negative impact of buying Gold and Power Leveling services. This was yet another attempt by the game developer to hinder the growth of real-money transactions, but focussed on the “detrimental effects” it had to WoW players and the in-game economy. Blizzards intent was stated as follows:

“So, we hope to raise awareness about the practices they engage in and the detrimental effects they have on all players, including their own customers, as well as on the game environment as a whole.”

As a third-party commentator on real-money trading within World of Warcraft, with many years experience on both sides of the issue, I would like to present our perspective on the “issues” Blizzard raised in this latest statement:

OMG – Not the Economy!

Blizzard: “What many people don’t realize when buying gold is the large impact it has on the game economy”

And it would appear Blizzard don’t know either.

This is the classic argument put forward by economically-minded gamers and game developers alike; the introduction of additional currency into a marketplace has a “large impact”. It’s interesting to note that this point is not elaborated on further in this statement, or anywhere in the vaults of anti-RMT propaganda.

Propaganda Rating: 8/10 – whilst a mass influx of currency would effectively hyper-inflate any market place, the volume of players relative to the number of servers makes the current effect of new Gold miniscule.

Stolen Gold

Blizzard: “We regularly track the source of the gold these companies sell, and find that an alarmingly high amount comes from hacked accounts”

Accounts being hacked, stripped and their valuables being sold off is indeed an issue in modern-day MMO gaming. Whether it be addons laced with keyloggers or illegitimate Chinese RMT companies selling off Power Leveling account details (though usually 3-6 months after completed), account theft is an issue everyone should be aware of and Blizzard is right to increase awareness of it.

However, two equally important points must be highlighted that I’m assuming Blizzard forgot to mention.

Firstly, account theft is undertaken by a small minority of RMT companies who are unable to be brought to account for their actions. This lack of accountability is a simple case of geography; if your account is stolen by a company located in China, and you live in America, you have virtually no chance of winning a legal dispute with them. Such companies are aware of this and take full advantage of it. However, the statement that “an alarmingly high amount (of Gold) comes from hacked accounts” is pure misleading legal-speak. What constitutes an “alarmingly high amount”? We don’t know, but it sure sounds scary doesn’t it?

The fact is that whilst a small minority of Gold (sold by a small minority of companies) comes from stolen accounts, the vast majority comes from two sources; active WoW players and South-East Asian workrooms.

The second point is internal to Blizzard and the World of Warcraft staff. If you’ve ever been unfortunate enough to have your account stolen you’ll be aware of the tricky process of getting it back. The World of Warcraft Billing & Accounts team rightly asks users several security questions to ensure you are the rightful owner before returning your account. If you have further difficulties most of the Billing & Accounts team are very friendly and go out of their way to help you, and they should be commended for this!

However, you may not know that no measures are put in place to track password changes via the World of Warcraft web site. The first port of call for an account hacker is to change your password, and would seemingly be the ideal point at which to track the IPs of these undesirables. Sadly not – not only do Blizzard fail to deter account hackers at the change password stage, they keep no record of account password changes (via the website) what-so-ever. If we’re going to discuss account security issues, this is number one on my list.

Propaganda Rating: 5/10 – Blizzard highlight a very real issue here, but fail to talk straight or explore the issue fully.

Power Leveling Takes “Years to Recover From”

Blizzard: “(Referring to Power Leveling) In many cases the companies they paid use their personal information to perpetrate identity theft and credit card fraud. These are long-lasting effects on players’ personal lives that can take years to recover from”

After reading this particular sentence I expected the next paragraph to state, “And we also believe the evil doers have obtained weapons of mass destruction”. That’s right – evacuate Stormwind, the bombs are going to fall!

This marks a sign of desperation on the part of Blizzard. In 8 years of MMO gaming, I have never come across identity theft or credit card fraud as a result of ordering Power Leveling. That’s not to say that it doesn’t happen, but no more so than it happens with buying electronics, books or anything else online.

As a WoW gamer I felt insulted by this blatant attempt at scare-mongering.

Propaganda Rating: 9/10 – that’s one more than Hitler!

Player Responsibility

Blizzard: “The negative effects these companies create depend directly on people using their services. Without them, the companies have no way to continue their unethical actions”

In other words, RMT exists because there is demand for it. RMT continues due to the positive experience most gamers have with it and the repeat custom they provide. From this statement, and the rest of the article, you would think Blizzard wanted to wipe out RMT – but you’d be wrong.

Let’s think from a different perspective for a moment. Blizzard makes money from accounts registered, upgrades purchased and subscriptions renewed. Take away RMT and two things happen:

1. Blizzard no longer sees accounts registered and subscriptions renewed from workrooms in China (the source of the majority of traded Gold). Commentators have suggested the value of these accounts, in initial registration/subscription and re-registration/subscription after banning, to be worth around $10,000,000 per year to Blizzard.

2. Some of those who don’t have sufficient time to participate in “the grind” of the game (and thus purchase RMT services to compensate) decide to stop their subscription.

Whilst I would not be so foolish to state that Blizzard is pro-RMT, for legal reasons more than anything else, it seems that eradicating real-money trading would be significantly detrimental to Blizzard’s bottom-line. Combine that with the multitude of statements-without-action, and a very different picture begins to emerge.

Propaganda Rating: 10/10 – “We don’t want you to buy from them – honest!”

Conclusion

The purpose of this article was not to present retaliatory propaganda in favour of RMT, but rather to allow gamers an insight into the areas Blizzard does not discuss. There are real issues with RMT and companies that exist with the intent to defraud their customers. However, by properly researching a company prior to purchase and making sure the proper security measures are taken (as you should do with any online purchase) you will be able to join the hundreds-of-thousands of WoW gamers who benefit from and enjoy legitimate RMT.

We hope this article and the free services offer at WoWGold.net can help you make an informed purchasing decision.