Rent seeking (or lack thereof) in WoW
by Mike Schramm 
Nov 15th 2009 at 7:00PM
As the commenters over there say, there's a good reason for that, and it's because most of the economic play in WoW is completely optional. Aside from repair costs (which can be high for raiders, but for everyone else are fairly inconsequential), you don't really need money at all; given enough time, you can collect whatever you need from somewhere in the world, either by simply collecting ore or herbs, or by running instances and doing quests. But that doesn't mean that the "rent seeking" comparison isn't valid.
I cannot ever remember, though I'm sure it has happened at least once, hearing a complaint about a quest reward, or complaints directed right at Blizzard about auction house prices. Sure, there are complaints about those from time to time, but in general, players understand that the market in place there is a completely free one -- if you don't like what people are willing to pay for goods, then find something else to sell. Of course, the in-game economies of Azeroth aren't directly comparable to real-world markets ("Eaten by a Grue" makes another great point over in the comments there: that in-game items are essentially worthless to Blizzard, and therefore they are immune to corruption, another significant difference), but it's even interesting thinking about where the differences lie.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Odds and ends, Blizzard, Economy, Making money
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Lornos Nov 15th 2009 7:15PM
lol what?
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Nov 15th 2009 7:35PM
WOW's economy is the closest known model to a completely lassiez-faire (that's "hands-off") economy. You have farmers, who collect (IRL farmers raise crops, but same idea) valuable resources; tycoons, from Gevlon types to just the average Joe trying to get epic flying (a car/house?); industrial workers, who turn something from a farmer into something a tycoon can use for their paycheck; and of course "1g plz" types. Costs of shipping and whatnot are replaced by the AH cut. There's no regulation (beyond botting-type stuff) and almost every profession is economically viable (even Engineers have stuff to sell.... honest). So it's a pretty interesting model. The only major difference being that it's completely optional to partake in.
Gware Nov 15th 2009 7:38PM
lmao same thing i said when i finished reading this
sephirah Nov 15th 2009 7:47PM
Add me to the list of the "lolwut?"
Galtus Nov 15th 2009 7:52PM
Ever heard of EVE: Online?
Dboy Nov 15th 2009 8:06PM
Why would you post on here simply to advertise your inability to read and understand? Fair enough if you don't get it straight away (took me a while of re-reading too), but do you really need to tell the rest of the world?
Mr. Tastix Nov 16th 2009 2:17AM
Same could be said for you answering to what is obviously a troll.
Dazaras Nov 16th 2009 4:09AM
Farming Eternals is the most profitable thing an engineer can do, thus from an economic standpoint, I would easily consider them a gathering profession. Obviously not from other standpoints besides economic, but that is just about the only sales-worthy thing they produce from the guns to the chopper. Believe me, I've sold maybe one gun in my entire engineering career (no choppers yet). Eternals are the big engineering economic thing.
Arbitor Nov 15th 2009 7:27PM
I am normally (I say normally, I think I may be an "attention whore" and prone to outbursts of stupidity) quite the intellectual, but I wasn't really sure of the point of that article over on pinkpigtail, it seemed to be a long, rambling discussion about something that has no need to be discussed, like why people need energy to move.
No not "they need the energy to power their muscles and whatnot" but WHY people need energy, why cant we all just run on solar power?
Arbitor Nov 15th 2009 7:29PM
Note: I said I'm an intellectual (read: In my words: articulate) not someone who completely understands the ins and outs of economies, so its possible that the article just went straight over my head.
jumb Nov 15th 2009 7:36PM
tl;dr version: WoW has a good economy.
Jari Nov 15th 2009 7:50PM
Ah.. thanks! I get it now.
Pat Nov 15th 2009 7:51PM
Hey, remember years ago when someone on the official forums was trying to claim that her repair bills outpaced her loot earnings? And everyone pointed out that her story was impossible unless she died multiple times fighting each mob?
Ah, those were the days. Back when men were men and trolls were completely ridiculous. (And oddly obsessed with taking down The Man.)
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Nov 15th 2009 7:56PM
@Galtus
Okay, okay, I'll say "MMOs" and /fkee.
Clydtsdk-Rivendare Nov 15th 2009 7:57PM
Supposed to be a reply to the first thread.
This was user error and not the comment system BTW.
ratbuddy Nov 15th 2009 9:08PM
Personally I think the idiots with nothing better to do than sit in the AH and buy any goods priced lower than theirs - just to sell them for more money and thus inflate prices - should be shot. Add a flag to items in AHs that makes them bind on sale.
Dulock Nov 15th 2009 9:35PM
Evidently you didn't understand the post at all. The article was talking about how the game has a free market and that people are able to raise their funds any way they see fit with NO outside interaction. Choosing to spend all your time in the AH is how some people make their in game gold. I am not one of these people but I would assume that they enjoy what they do and at the end of the day they are playing WOW they want to. It is not your right or anyone else to punish them just because you don't like how they are playing.
Croe Nov 15th 2009 10:07PM
The AH is just another aspect of the game. You can choose to make your fortune by it or ignore it altogether.
Those who buy low and sell high are taking a risk. They do potentially stand to lose money if their goods aren't bought. If they have gambled correctly, then more power to them. The same opportunities are open to everyone.
It's no different to real life where suppliers buy goods at a lower price and sell them for somewhat higher.
Psiwave Nov 16th 2009 3:04AM
I don't know, I perfectly understand that people might enjoy this. It's a strange and scary world pit there. But it does make life unpleasant for the rest of us. One example that springs to mind is the control of the pricing of raid flasks, on my server they have recently rocketed in price from 20 to an average of 70 gold and they are all listed by one player.
While this isn't a problem for established players with many revinue streams or the ability to tap guild resources, the newer player trying to get a foothold in raiding finds themselves unable to afford what many consider to be an essential buff.
I personally would like to see cross server auction houses. More competition amongst the AH junkies would be better for buyers, and probably make playing the Market more interesting for those who's perversion lies that way.
Ratskinmahoney Nov 16th 2009 5:31AM
Yes, but we had a similar issue on my server recently with armor vellums being sold on ah by one player only and reaching incredible prices. Two guys in my guild noticed this in my guild, got out their inscription and started producing as many vellums as they could muster and selling them on ah at similarly inflated prices. At least two or three other people had the same idea, and within only a couple of days the prices had dropped in a series of undercuttings and repricings right back to where it should be.