The latest in summer jobs for kids
by Amanda Rivera 
Jun 19th 2007 at 10:28AM
Mowing lawns is so passé, delivering newspapers is totally last year. These days kids have found a new way to make money: selling WoW characters on eBay.
But how, might you ask, can they get around the fact that this is clearly against the TOS? Evidently they are posting disclaimers on their auctions, letting bidders know that they aren't selling the characters (which are the intellectual property of Blizzard,) but are instead selling the time it took to level that character.
In a CNBC segment on the topic, one kid mentioned that he gets around $400 for a level 70 character. He puts his profits right back into the business as any bright entrepreneur would, reinvesting in characters he will then level up again to sell to – you guessed it – Chinese gold farmers. Now, as much as I like the idea of news we have been writing on for weeks getting mainstream coverage, I have to wonder if this disclaimer business isn't just a loophole to get past Blizzard. What do you think? Is it breaking the TOS to sell the characters even with a disclaimer, or is this just a novel workaround enabling kids to make a profit off their play time?
[via Jane Wells]
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, WoW Social Conventions, Blizzard
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
solidsnake13 Jun 19th 2007 10:44AM
I honestly don't think that they're saved from Blizzard's terms by doing this.
Why can't they just go get a job bagging groceries or something?
Gurrash Jun 19th 2007 10:47AM
Regardless of Disclaimers it is a breach of the TOS for anyone other than the owner (re. name on account) of the account to play on the account. With the exception of Parent/Child of course.
And there is no fancy wording that can get around this. The minute the new "owner" logs on he has breached the TOS and as such can get his account closed.
Personally, while I have never used the service, I can understand why people would want to make money this way. There are numerous guides out there that show you how to lvl a character to 70 in a short amount of time. And I'm sure it's more profitable/enjoyable than a paper route...
Corrodias Jun 19th 2007 10:55AM
Indeed; if the buyer is caught, he's boned. It doesn't matter what the auction said.
Erica Olson Jun 19th 2007 10:59AM
My brother-in-law did it with his Everquest account. But he had to hand over all the disks, instruction manuals and everything. When he wanted to start playing again he had to go an buy the game again.
I think it's against the TOS if you level and sell but that's up to each person's moral code in the end.
mbree13 Jun 19th 2007 12:05PM
I just sold my account yesterday; just don't have enough time to play any more. I put disclaimers all over my ebay ad and they booted the auction twice before someone bought it. The comment that ebay gave me when they cancelled the auction was:
"The listing was removed because it violated eBay policy. All fees related to this listing have been credited to your account. We also notified members who placed bids on the item that the listing has
been canceled.
Copyright infringement is unlawful and against eBay's policies. Copyright is the protection provided by law to the authors of creative works, such as movies, music, software, photographs and books, both published and unpublished. Copyright owners possess the exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work, to distribute copies of the copyrighted work, and to perform or display the copyrighted work publicly.
eBay prohibits the listing of unauthorized copies of copyrighted works. Unauthorized copies include (but are not limited to) backup, pirated, duplicated, or bootlegged copies.
Guideline: If the product you are selling is a copy of another work that you aren't authorized to copy, don't list the item.
eBay prohibits the sale of virtual items or related software that violate copyrights. Copyright violations may result from license agreement restrictions. Some common types of virtual items or related software with license agreement restrictions are (but are not limited to):
- Online game characters
- Game currency
- Game items
You may need to obtain the copyright owner's consent to sell virtual items or related software."
So apparently Blizzard has convinved ebay to act on these to protect their copyright?
Elizabeth Harper Jun 19th 2007 11:03AM
Joana, who's done the fastest to-60s that I know of, does so in 4 days, 20 hours /played, or 116 hours /played to 60. (Joana doesn't have speed times to 70 yet, so I won't speculate.) But even using 116 hours as a baseline, presuming you sell your character for $400, that's about $3.45 an hour. And if you subtract from the $400 you made the $50 you need to spend to buy a new game and expansion box (at $19 and $30, respectively), you're making $3 an hour.
And of course, this is just using time to 60, so the actual numbers are going to be worse.
I guess if kids these days think making $3 an hour is cool stuff, more power to them. I imagine the kids who can do the math have a paper route instead.
khatia Jun 19th 2007 11:07AM
I agree that their wording does nothing to help them from a Blizzard TOS standpoint. Instead I always assumed this wording was required to keep from breaking the EBAY TOS in regards to what you can actually sell.
thetreasoner Jun 19th 2007 11:25AM
Elizabeth - I never really broke down the math, I always thought selling a character was actually a good idea. The fact that its the equivalent of working at a diner and getting absolutely no tips is pretty mind boggling why they would bother, especially when minimum wage in about a month is going to be approximately double that. Guess I'll hang on to alts I level, eh?
Ben Jun 19th 2007 11:28AM
When I was a teenager, everquest was in its early years(pre-kunark even). I used to farm frenzied ghoul room in Lguk and sell FBSS for 150-200 a pop, which considering id usually get one at least every 5-6 hours wasn't too bad.... and kept the working hours down. Don't think I could imagine playing a game for 3$ an hour.
Baluki Jun 19th 2007 11:27AM
Well, if you're just paying for the time invested, then it's a powerlevelling service, and those are against the TOS too.
Yea, this seems to be a "summer job" for stupid, lazy kids. Anyone else can make a lot more money even at a minimum wage job, and construction/labor-intensive jobs pay a lot more than that.
VerticalEvent Jun 19th 2007 12:02PM
"I'm not selling drugs; I'm selling the time it took me to smuggle the drugs"
Elizabeth harper: I suppose there's a thrill for the kids to be saying "I'm getting paid to play a game". $3 an hour isn't bad for something you might otherwise be doing for free.
MIke Jun 19th 2007 12:11PM
Who the hell cares if someone wants to sell their account and make some money off of it go for it, there shouldnt be a rule against selling accounts.
Paw Jun 19th 2007 12:16PM
I got to hand it to the kid, he has a very bright future ahead of him as successful, corrupt, corporate executive.
Kudos to him!
Maybe next summer he will steal cars. Maybe not "steal" then, per se, but park them in a new location...which is not illegal in and of itself.
Daghol Jun 19th 2007 12:42PM
You are comparing selling your account to stealing? oh, come on. The only reason Blizzard bans this behavior is because it affects their profits. They want you to play up to 60, paying monthly. Not rush through it.
While I understand why Blizzard shuns this behavior, it is NOT ILLEGAL. TOS does not equal LAW. The kid is taking a chance that he'll lose the account before he can sell it.
And the comments about it only being $3/hour...well, it still beats bagging groceries. At least you're doing something you enjoy. You can also groove to tunes, chat online and watch TV while "working."
I actually think this is productive. If mom thought paying video games put money in my pocket, then she wouldn't have minded so much.
Pzychotix Jun 19th 2007 1:32PM
illegal:
Etymology
il + legal
Adjective
illegal (comparative more illegal, superlative most illegal)
Positive
illegal
Comparative
more illegal
Superlative
most illegal
1. (law) Contrary to or forbidden by law, usually criminal rather than civil law (see unlawful).
2. Not permitted by rules, but not necessarily against the law.
* Moving a pawn backward is an illegal move in chess.
@14. Get out. Now.
Chris M Jun 19th 2007 1:34PM
I'm surprised no-one mentioned it earlier. Would you rather be bagging groceries, mowing lawns, or playing video games?
Anyone that said the first two, kudos to you- but I personally would love to make cash playing video games. Granted, at Elizabeth's rates, it seems quite unsubstantial, but nonetheless, kids aren't interested in efficiency, it's the money itself. I've heard stories of kids that paid for something, got change back- and thought he was making a profit.
Sad, but true.
Regardless, I think the 'no selling accounts' rule is put in place to hold down Blizzard's profits, as Daghol aptly stated. It's not a matter of 'because it's bad' it's 'because we don't want you to'. I think the rule itself is very childish, but in holding Blizzard as a multi-million dollar company, it's all in a day's work.
I see no moral dilemma. I wish luck to anyone attempting to circumvent eBay's account selling policy.
Chris
Chris M Jun 19th 2007 1:35PM
Pzychotix - please read your own definitions again.
Daghol was using the first definition of illegal, and you used the second in your chess metaphor. Quit being so quick to jump the gun on being anal, please.
Chris
franz Jun 19th 2007 1:56PM
Selling something you don't own? I think that's called fraud.
Sylvester Jun 19th 2007 3:07PM
My question is why do people care? Once you are done using a perfectly viable thing, do you just throw it away or sell it for someone else to enjoy?
In these situations you have a willing seller and a willing buyer, no harm is caused to anyone, no manipulation takes place and no extortion.
It's this exact reason why many states are eliminating their anti-ticket scalping laws. We have a very similar situation going on. Sports teams not making the profit off of the inflated sales price, but they got their original asking price. You have a willing seller and a willing buyer and everyone is happy. Buyer got what he wanted, seller got what he wanted and corporation got their original asking price. No harm, no foul.
James Jun 19th 2007 3:32PM
Daghol,
You are an excellent example of the fine type of person our society is churning out these days. Your ability to paint things in shades of gray, make excuses for deplorable behavior, use shoddy logic and your general attitude regarding fraudulent behavior mean one thing: your future as a public servant is assured. I recommend you run for local government as soon as possible and work your way up from there. We don't want your talents wasted, so get out there and show everyone how slimy you can be while reasoning it all away with petty excuses and flawed thinking.