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Auctioneer::Discussion: Pricecheque(s) of Dalaran

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    • CommentAuthorsal
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2008
     
    Hey Auctioneer Forums. Long time user, first time poster. Big fan.

    I thought I'd stop by and ask your advice on something. Dalaran has an alliance alt named Pricecheque (sometimes Pricecheques) who sits at the Neutral AH and runs bottomScanner, buying items that people list for cheap when they're trying to move them across faction. Now, I'm pretty sure that he's not violating any rules in doing this, so I don't think Blizzard will stop him. I was wondering if you had any ideas. I love Auctioneer, I love BottomScanner, playing the markets has opened up a whole new and entertaining side of WoW for me, and this guy is taking that away.
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      CommentAuthordinesh
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2008
     
    heh, is that you, bunny?

    i don't do any cross faction stuff, so i can't really help.
    • CommentAuthorNine
    • CommentTimeFeb 22nd 2008
     
    Can you gift-wrap them so he can't see what they are? :)
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      CommentAuthorDeckard
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008
     
    While I've been tempted many times to try that very thing, I never have. Doesn't surprise me that people do it though.

    Can you even put gift wrapped items up on the AH? I've never tried it...
    • CommentAuthortestleK
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008 edited
     
    don't think you can, pretty sure all 'lootable' items are not auctionable...

    edit: if I'm wrong lemme know : - )
    • CommentAuthorKinesia
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008
     
    I've never done it deliberately but I've grabbed auctions off people like this in the past. I usually feel ssoooooo guilty.
    The times they've asked me for them I've given them back.
    • CommentAuthorsal
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008
     
    I'm not bunny (Bunnyfufu I assume? I've seen the name on the AH a lot. :) ) I'm pretty small-time, but I still have fun playing in the AH. No, you can't auction gift wrapped items, though that would have been a good idea. Turns out you can flag At War with BB and kill the Auctioneer he's using to stop it for a little bit, and I'm told it takes about 5 minutes for the mob to respawn. I'm thinking of trying to rally people to mass mail him junk items for 5000g COD, just to fill his mailbox with spam. Anyone know if there's a mail mod that will automatically decline CODs?
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      CommentAuthorDeckard
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008 edited
     
    Posted By: salTurns out you can flag At War with BB and kill the Auctioneer he's using to stop it for a little bit, and I'm told it takes about 5 minutes for the mob to respawn.

    LOL! Now that is a funny approach, I would not have thought of that.

    The only way I'll pass stuff over the neutral AH's like that is to have a friend with the opposite faction on Vent or Skype, have them enter the name of the item I'm putting up on the AH in the search box, then tell them the instant I put it up. They simply hit enter to search for the item and then buy it as fast as possible. While that won't stop that guy from still getting the item, it lessens the chances. His BottomScanner would have to be scanning the instant the item went up to have a chance at getting it.

    I'm thinking of trying to rally people to mass mail him junk items for 5000g COD, just to fill his mailbox with spam. Anyone know if there's a mail mod that will automatically decline CODs?

    While that's also an interesting idea, you can get reported for harassment for that, then you will be the one getting a nice vacation from WoW for it.
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      CommentAuthorkandoko
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008 edited
     
    Another way costs a bit if transferring but [A] has item [B] wants item

    • on [B] have them first post a trash item with a very high buyout.
      [*] on [A] buy the trash item, moves gold to B
      [*] Now [A] can post the item at a high enough amount to ether stop the guy from buyin it or make a profit if he does.
      [*] [B] purchases the item, giving the gold back to [A] minus transaction fees and the item to [B]. And if someone does intercept it then you earned the profit right there.
    • CommentAuthortestleK
    • CommentTimeFeb 23rd 2008
     
    As kandoko pointed out thats the safe way of doing it (and I have done that in the past) or if you have two accounts (which I do) you can do as Deckard stated without a friend to aid in the transfer
    • CommentAuthorsal
    • CommentTimeFeb 24th 2008
     
    Yeah. I've been on two machines on two accounts and hit "list auction" with my right hand and "search" with my left and lost the item. And taking a 15% hit on even one transaction usually makes it not worth the while, let alone two. Thanks for the input folks, much appreciated. I think I might just have to freeze cross faction transfers for a while.
    • CommentAuthordraco947
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008 edited
     
    The only way I'll pass stuff over the neutral AH's like that is to have a friend with the opposite faction on Vent or Skype, have them enter the name of the item I'm putting up on the AH in the search box, then tell them the instant I put it up. They simply hit enter to search for the item and then buy it as fast as possible. While that won't stop that guy from still getting the item, it lessens the chances. His BottomScanner would have to be scanning the instant the item went up to have a chance at getting it.



    Just a word of caution, my friend and I do faction trades to our horde toons from alliance toons, and we call eachother when doing the transfers... well, tonight, even though we were on the phone and i told him when it was going up the exact moment i posted it, within no more than 2 seconds, it had been bought out by Pricecheques, so, apparently his Bottom Scanner, or maybe he's using something else, is scanning and buying absolutely instantaneously.

    So, word to the wise, try something else.

    Also, it didn't happen on the first item, but every single item after that. The first time, we thought it was a fluke, and someone had just bought it. Second time, the buyout happenned IMMEDIATELY after I posted, and that's when we checked on who was buying. So, be wary, even if you are on skype or vent or even a cell phone with someone trying to do a trade.

    I wouldn't suggest trying it late at night, either, as there tends to be less to scan, I would guess.
    • CommentAuthormattbnr
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    there normally is only like 4 pages at a neutral ah anyway so btm would scan very quickly gotta have fast fingers to beat him :)
    • CommentAuthorKinesia
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    They are using a bot and scanning every second... It's definitely not worth the risk.
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      CommentAuthordinesh
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    well, default BTM can go no faster than every 6 seconds. it could be hacked to go faster though. and the size of the AH doesn't really matter if you're just scanning the last page.

    oddly, some folks in my guild were talking about him last night on vent, and said that Pricecheque had been banned for botting before, since he basically sits there 24 hours a day. Dunno how true that is.
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      CommentAuthorDeckard
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    If he is really there 24 hours a day then he's definitely botting, since no one can actually play that long without falling asleep, at least not days at a time. If you really think he is botting, just report him. It might take a few weeks, but Blizzard will get him eventually. Botting is a perma-ban too, so unless he creates a new account from a different IP address, he'll be gone for good.
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      CommentAuthordinesh
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    like i said, i dunno how true the reports were. but the actual complaint was that he had been reported on multiple occasions, and that blizzard didn't seem to care any more. The lats ban for allegedly just a few days, and as soon as it happened he created Pricecheques as a replacement. Now both are in use.
    • CommentAuthortestleK
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    I thought blizz doesn't ban by IP which is not a reliable method of banning anyway... I have always been under the assumption its been payment based (ie a credit card used on a banned account will lock out any other associated accounts to that card)
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      CommentAuthorDeckard
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    That could very well be testleK, and that makes more sense. A dedicated scammer can get around that with multiple cards and such, but I also think it is account name based, so if the name/address match, that combo is banned. That would make it more difficult for scammers since they would either have to commit credit card fraud by using false info, or somehow have access to multiple valid cards.

    I often wonder how the gold sellers are allowed to keep spamming their chat in major cities. They get reported, they disappear (or log out on their own), then a new one pops up in its place a few minutes later. Blizzard doesn't seem to be able to do much to stop them.

    The issue with Pricecheque(s) is a curious one, since I doubt Blizzard really wants items to be traded cross faction on a large scale in the first place. They explicitly prohibit cross faction communication, and using the neutral AH's for trading is made difficult enough as is. In an odd way, Blizzard might consider the actions of Pricecheque(s) more beneficial to them than a hindrance. Just my opinion.
    • CommentAuthortestleK
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008 edited
     
    I also agree that theres nothing blizzard wants to do about what Pricecheques is doing as long as he isn't botting or anything like that it is well within his right to stand there and buy up auctions people post... after all that is the entire concept of an AH... Its a risk you take when trading cross faction IMHO

    edit: also because of non ip banning that is how they can so easily just spam the heck out of everything. Theres some huge debates on the concept of RMT that probably don't need to be brought here but one of the huge arguments is that blizzard actually profits from RMT and thats why the ban gold sellers the way they do.. The argument is basically that they allow the accounts to stay around just long enough for the gold sellers to profit from it then ban the account and then another cdkey + expansion + couple months of account time is purchased so they are increasing sales even tho they are banning thousands at a time...
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      CommentAuthorDeckard
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    I've created a new thread in Chit Chat for the RMT topic, Blizzard and RMT Discussion, not wanting to hijack this thread any further. Feel free to post there regarding that topic. :bigsmile:
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      CommentAuthordinesh
    • CommentTimeMar 4th 2008
     
    testleK, agreed. our conclusion was that people who traded cross-faction for realistic prices were in no danger, and that is what blizzard wants people to be doing anyway to get stuff cross faction. the only thing they care about, and the only reason they banned him the first time, was for botting. the issue is that he seems to be at it again, and no amount of reporting him has had any effect.
    • CommentAuthorbunnyfufu
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2008
     
    Posted By: dineshheh, is that you, bunny?

    i don't do any cross faction stuff, so i can't really help.


    Not me. I forget the character name in question, but the guy is not legit (if we're talking about the same person).

    Proof: he is able to buyout items I'm attempting to transfer *before* it shows up on my second account UI (where I click "search" for the item just posted from first account)

    Not fun: dude bot-snipes with reckless abandon, and GMs turn deaf ears to this behavior

    FUN: Build a campfire. Right underneath the botter. You'd be surprised (well, I was) how long it takes for the botter to respawn after said weanie is roasted. =)
    • CommentAuthorbunnyfufu
    • CommentTimeMar 5th 2008
     
    Posted By: salI'm not bunny (Bunnyfufu I assume? I've seen the name on the AH a lot. :) ) I'm pretty small-time, but I still have fun playing in the AH. No, you can't auction gift wrapped items, though that would have been a good idea. Turns out you can flag At War with BB and kill the Auctioneer he's using to stop it for a little bit, and I'm told it takes about 5 minutes for the mob to respawn. I'm thinking of trying to rally people to mass mail him junk items for 5000g COD, just to fill his mailbox with spam. Anyone know if there's a mail mod that will automatically decline CODs?


    There are, in fact, mail mods which automagically return to sender CODs. Mine isn't ready for prime time (seems like none of my addons ever are) but I'd recommend: http://git.tekkub.net/ExpressMail/
    • CommentAuthorVaugn
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008
     
    It's been months since this discussion, but I only noticed it today. I wanted to suggest one way of spotting whether they're a stealth buyer waiting to intercept the item you want to transfer. Just post an at a fraction of its value a minute before you're ready to sell the real one. Then see if anyone bites. I'm not sure what the profit requirement of pricecheques (or anyone else) is before they'll intercept an item, but I'm betting it's only 10-20g. More than that and they risk losing potentially valuable intercepts. So buy a 40g item and post it for 10 silver first. See if someone grabs it. Far better to lose a 40g item than it is to lose a 2000g recipe or whatever. Call it an insurance policy.

    If someone does bite, you can find where they're located and go temporary pull the auctioneers (killing them probably isn't necessary. If they auctioneer is pulled them he'll presumably drop from his trade window and you can safely trade the item). Or start the cookfire under the person -- I absolutely loved that idea.

    --Vaugn
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      CommentAuthordinesh
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008
     
    I've since been told the cookfire doesn't actually work, though I didn't try it myself.
    • CommentAuthorVaugn
    • CommentTimeJul 10th 2008
     
    Okay, I have conducted a scientific experiment outside Orgrimmar. I asked several people to come outside with me. We started a cookfire and stood on top of it. No effect. So I dueled one to see whether his pvp flag would have an effect. Nope, it didn't.

    Result: Campfires do not burn people to death any more. Clearly a hotter fire source is necessary. Wish I had a suggestion.
    • CommentAuthorVaugn
    • CommentTimeJul 25th 2008
     
    I started a tangental discussion regarding auction house thieves. You can find it here:

    http://forums.norganna.org/discussion/7569/neutral-auction-house-thieves/

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