Smacky's Guide To Economics, Section 2-2: Transactions with players

Overview

There are many good reasons to trade with other players rather than NPCs. From a game mechanics perspective these include:

Availability

The shop has only a very limited and very basic selection of items on sale. Players buy and sell nearly anything.

Price

Shop prices are fixed. But the player marketplace is determined according to demand; whether you're the trader or customer, you often get a better deal.

Circulation

Items sold to the shop are removed from play. Items sold to other players remain in circulation. This benefits the community as a whole.

Keep an eye on the shoutbox. Players will often announce that they are buying or selling items by public announcement. Some people prefer to subsequently conduct business privately and some through public auction.

Whichever preference is specified you should respond accordingly. It is widely accepted that the default is public auction.

Following negotiations over price you must obviously physically exchange cash for item. This is a perennially controversial issue. Currently the only way to exchange money for goods is for either party to drop the one and get the other.

As in the real world, there is dishonesty in Daimonin and a player-player transaction may go awry in many ways: for example, the trader may grab the money and run, the customer may grab the item and run, or a third party may take the opportunity to grab anything and run.

Suffice to say there are several ways to improve the chances that everyone goes home happy from a player-player transaction.

Details