I just sold my first virtual item for real cash in Diablo III

I bought Diablo III when it came out, and I had been playing it, trying to get up to level 60 before the real-money auction house opened. I succeeded with that goal, and then found out that after you reach level 60 there are multiple tiers of gear that you can buy that allow you to progress further into the game where the higher level, and thus more expensive, loot is.

So I have also been training my blacksmith, and I bought some plans for something called a Demon Hand, which is a legendary fist weapon for the monk. I crafted a few of them, and then put them up for auction.

One sold for $10.00. This is a personal milestone for me, as it is the first time I have sold a piece of virtual equipment. My virtual blacksmith used virtual materials to craft a virtual weapon that made me real cash.

I still have a long ways to go, and I'm hoping my blacksmith will become more profitable in the months to come.

reply to post by darkbake


Those many, many hours of time you spent "earning" that 10 bucks were pretty "real" weren't they?

Play a video game.
Earn a little extra cash?

Why the hell not!

I've been amazed by this virtual marketplace thing ever since I read about people making millions off of Second Life.

It just blows my mind that people are willing to spend real cash on thin air.

But then that real cash is basically a product of thin air itself so I kind of fits.

I'm sure quite a few people will try to make a living doing this if not simply supplement their income. I'm interested to see what approximate hourly wage people can average.

We were once an agrarian economy. Then an industrial economy. Recently a service economy. Will this paired with epidemic obesity and lethargy bring about a new virtual economy?

I design "virtual" scrapbook images, put them together in kits and then sell them in stores. People pay real money for them and then download them to use on their computers. I make pretty good money doing it.

What about the people that built Diablo III? (or any other game or software) They design and sell virtual reality for real money, too.

My point is, people sell virtual stuff every day for real money. The only difference is yours involves playing a game and mine involves playing in Photoshop.

My son wanted this game, and there are now several level 60's and I am furious with Blizzard, for their evil in their real house auction. And think people should sue their bottoms off.

I will never allow my son to use real money for anything.

Also, I wrote on their forums that while grinding is OK in the short run, ie to spend a couple days doing the same lowly run over and over for a couple million digitial gold to use the in game digital auction, it is a rip off beyond to have people spend hours and weeks and months doing such a pitifully boring thing.

That good items with the correct stats to get you through the next act, should drop easily in the last act. PERIOD.

They are abusive rip off artists and creating more stress and pain for adults and parents of teens and youths than you can imagine.

And I am watching them very closely for they are not off any hooks.

By the way, this game is not using your talents to serve others and work for abundance. Don't get roped into making/creating this as some kind of hobby money or income, its done by intention by the bloodlines, to create a false hope and a digitial income to create money for CHINA IMO.

He'll be getting through the game with what he can find, buy digitally with digitial money, and craft. He's already nearly act 3 infernal mode, going that root. On the last boss of act 2.

I've always gamed a bit with my sons, since they were 6 and mario days And I fill in for him at times.

reply to post by darkbake


Don't remember where I heard this, but a woman designs shoes for female avatars and sells them for either $600 or $60 bucks (can't remember which price either). I think it was in a documentary with Michu Kaku on futuristic stuff.

In case anyone's interested, I made some cyber lime green Jell-o I can email to ya for just $3.99. Anyone? Anyone?

Originally posted by darkbake
I bought Diablo III when it came out, and I had been playing it, trying to get up to level 60 before the real-money auction house opened. I succeeded with that goal, and then found out that after you reach level 60 there are multiple tiers of gear that you can buy that allow you to progress further into the game where the higher level, and thus more expensive, loot is.

So I have also been training my blacksmith, and I bought some plans for something called a Demon Hand, which is a legendary fist weapon for the monk. I crafted a few of them, and then put them up for auction.

One sold for $10.00. This is a personal milestone for me, as it is the first time I have sold a piece of virtual equipment. My virtual blacksmith used virtual materials to craft a virtual weapon that made me real cash.

I still have a long ways to go, and I'm hoping my blacksmith will become more profitable in the months to come.

This would have been better on Game Forum, but since its here might as well add.

Its god you trying to take advantage of the early aspects of the game. Chances are that the value for the item would drop heavily(1-5 items selling for decent money) after a while, that it would be hard for an avg players to make it worth his time. Only those hardcore would get anything worth it.

I was a hardcore for 3 yrs on a MMO, made close to $3,000in about 7 months, then my college grades starting dropping... my college cost more then the money i was making, in the end it cost me another 12,000 to finish my school..

reply to post by AzureSky


Training a blacksmith?
Wow, and I thought Grand theft auto was fun. I would much rather enjoy my hours of gaming than it become about training a blacksmith for a measly ten bucks.

reply to post by darkbake


Be careful with real money computer games...they can take control of your life if you have an addictive personality.
I used to play Project Entropia(now called entropia universe)years back,until I started noticing that I was turning into a gambling addict!
Just one more creature will give me that BIG loot...

One of my mates still plays it,god knows how much money he has sank into the game by now.

Just be careful is all.

Cool story! Good job!
Auction sales = $10
Monthly subscriptions = -$30
Net profit = -$20 not including credit card costs for mats bought on the auction house.

One could have taken up a real world trade and made much more and got a tan in the process.
Listen, those games are fun but they are truly life suckers, please stop.

Originally posted by g146541
Cool story! Good job!
Auction sales = $10
Monthly subscriptions = -$30
Net profit = -$20 not including credit card costs for mats bought on the auction house.

One could have taken up a real world trade and made much more and got a tan in the process.
Listen, those games are fun but they are truly life suckers, please stop.

D3 has no monthly subscription.

Actually I consider this a real conspiracy. Just what intentions do these crapola bloodline companies have in putting out a popular game with so much mystery school coding in it and duality stuff, including their fake demiurge heaven. I kept telling him to break all those pots for that is not the real heaven, that authorative non gentle, loving/serving, pryamid, ego thing is the fake heaven. Ohhh, I said, notice how cheapskate the fake heaven is, there is nothing good in their pots at all.

Its all fakery.

And its set up by design to distract and also to create a digital slave income for China or something.

I think that is a big conspiracy.

Are they planning on promoting this as the new income and job? Oh, dont expect handouts go and make money in a digital game?

edit to add: I'm really glad to see this with my own eyes, and be able to analyze this in depth for it is shocking to me the codes in the game and the way they are setting it up.

Dont wanna be captain Buzzkill but thats been around for at least 10 years.
Theres tons of chineese workers doing the same on every MMO out there.
Creepy if you ask me but its an industry now.

Video games are not meant for that.

reply to post by eagleeye2


yes, and what a terrible blue print to set for an income. Is this their new industry they will promote?

Just think how much money you could make in the REAL world if you trained as a blacksmith, plenty of demand for that trade, AND you would have a useful skill for when the SHTF. Real life - it's the ultimate 'larping' experience! (and yes someone had to explain to me what larping was.)

Originally posted by Unity_99
reply to post by eagleeye2

 

yes, and what a terrible blue print to set for an income. Is this their new industry they will promote?

They're not promoting people to devote their lives to the game.
They're giving players the option to buy items in-game for money, Just like every other MMO on the market nearly. Its just because they want more money, and D3 has no sub(like wow), so they need to make it somewhere

Originally posted by AzureSky

Originally posted by g146541
Cool story! Good job!
Auction sales = $10
Monthly subscriptions = -$30
Net profit = -$20 not including credit card costs for mats bought on the auction house.

One could have taken up a real world trade and made much more and got a tan in the process.
Listen, those games are fun but they are truly life suckers, please stop.

D3 has no monthly subscription.

I did not know that, I guess that means good for me!
But the game has been out for 1 or 2 months by now?
Ten bucks for all of the time is kind of negative, in my opinion.
My problem like mentioned above, is these addictive games just run you into the ground.
Then when the major attraction to the game dies, where are you and what do you have?
You have tremendous knowlege of lore, atrophied muscles, foreclosed home, ex-wife, alienated kids, alienated relationships, the list goes on and on.
These games are truly a blight on humanity, but someone is making cash on them.

(Edit)
Anyone interested, Google chinese prisoners wow. Here, done it for you.
Pretty nasty stuff.

reply to post by darkbake


Congratulations on reaching your game goal!

Now, even though what others have said against this game, it really is fun to play. I play D3 and have had a ball doing it. Just be careful that it doesn't create a RL zombie out of you!

I have a question... does Blizzard make real money off of the the real money auction house? In the virtual gold auction house the house takes a cut of the proceeds, I'm just wondering if it's the same way in the real money AH.

I'm not participating in the Real Money Auction House myself at this time, but I'm wondering how it's going to go from here. No one really knows what is valuable right now, so any prices are going to fluctuate rapidly before the market settles. That $10 monk weapon you sold may be $2 before too long so I would consider that sale VERY lucky.

People will buy the # for no other reason than to have what they want when they want it...

-shrugs-

It wont ruin the game for me, but it already has for many, it seems.