It’s time to raise the broker and trade window caps

Not happening because:
1) They want to sell replay badges and resetting for cash is probably how they get most reset money from.
2) People not always want to trade every item for cash, they might want to trade a aura for another aura + 100mil for example, broker doesn't allow that.

Your point has the rare quality of being completely true and yet adding no actionable insight. This is not meant as a dig. I just don’t think that people labelling sellers as ‘greedy’ (as others have) and characterising buyers as willing participants in an unethical pricing system, who should abstain for some sort of greater good, adds anything constructive to the price inflation question that people are discussing. Players would have to come together in a coordinated effort to ‘refuse’ to pay certain prices for price decreases to start to occur.

The underlying problem with approaching the issue from this angle is that the DCUO economy is a free market, not a cooperative. I can ask any price I want and if I don’t find a buyer I can either lower my price, try and resell the item at a future point, or even consume the item. I own the item and I can do what I want with it. Similarly, if I am a prospective buyer and am willing to meet someone’s asking price, it’s not realistic to expect me to say to the seller that I’m not going to buy because it encourages high prices which are unkind to others. I’m just going to buy.

Price increases are a part of the game’s natural inflation over time. There are higher costs because there is more money in player hands. If everything was available at 2016 prices, money would have little value. People just don’t seem to want to grasp that.

great idea

How about lowering the cap to 1 million Jesus Christ lmao

I'm on the fence about this, raising the broker cap could make things worse, or could make them better, the fact more rare items now often don't appear on the broker is a definite problem as it allows people with money to more easily control the market and stifle competition that inevitably brings prices down.

The more you're able to put on the broker the more likely it is someone will come and undercut you and them and them and so forth.

With that in mind I would tend to agree that the broker should be raised to 2.4bil, the same as a trade window to allow more items to be listed in a hope to spark competition.

The fact that the most highly desirable items are being kept off the broker is probably doing just as much damage as raising the broker cap would, you're simply not going to stop players selling at those high prices when the game simply has too much money out there, short of literally resetting everyone's cash.

I think the crux of this problem lays in the first year after release. The huge money duplication glitch pumped billions of dollars into the economy years ahead of schedule. By the time the glitch was identified, and fixed the money had been laundered through the broker so it was practically impossible to remove it from the economy without hurting thousands of people who hadn't exploited the glitch. In hindsight 10 years later it probably would have been smart to reset the economy then. (Mind you, there have been other money glitches since then). Having said that, at the time IF they had reset it a lot of people might have quit the game for a perceived punishment for a wrong they didn't do.

Unfortunately, here we are years later still dealing with the fallout of that glitch. What's the solution? I don't know, do we punish people for other people's past wrongs, people who more than likely don't even play anymore. Do we lift the cap, although from Mepps' comment, that doesn't sound possible. A selling cap in the broker perhaps, capping prices at say 1 million. Is that fair to people who bought auras for 1 billion though?

A broken economy is tough to fix.

And, just so I get this straight, you think other people have a poor understanding of economics?

A flat cash amount should do

I have a question: why was the cap made higher for trading than it was for the broker?

Hmm....

I'm split on this one; it could be good for a hot second then quickly turn sour and stay that way. Since the broker/trading caps seems to be an issue, perhaps trading should be item for item only (after the devs have a solution for players to transfer money between account characters, of course). Having one less avenue for gold spammers to ride on is always a plus.

It's rare that I get out-nerded in math. This was one of those times. Good form sir.

a certain percentage of players are greedy - thus creating this inflated economy - since no one puts a stop to the greed - the inflation continues.

I for one would rather see the cap deflate instead of inflate - a market correction

a deflation would make it harder for the gold sellers to keep selling gold - but this may not be practical as the gold sellers will just keep creating more accounts to hold the gold - as I suspect the gold sellers also are inflating pricing on the broker - just as greedy players do

perhaps an economist could point out a solution to something far more balanced.

as it is the greedy players and gold sellers - drive up prices and encourage this type of environment.
if that was the original intention of DCUO (Sony) then so be it.... but I don't think it was.

an artificial cap on all items may be required to not reward the greedy players and eventually have prices that are much more reasonable - and thus allow players to complete more feats, which is the goal for many players.

I don't believe the original intention of the game was to create virtual billionaires
all players above a certain amount should be taxed to the point where everyone has the same amount of $

an annual reset of everyone's cash along w/a review of the annual cap - could bring about far more equality of the game for everyone.

as it is - the 'broker' players will continue to frustrate the majority of other players - who don't have the time, the inclination to be a broker player or the real money to spend on gold sellers.

so a few controlling the rest - is that what DCUO really wants?
is that what the majority of the playing DCUO population really want?
or is it the vocal minority - that continue to squeak loudly for their pound of flesh? that developers will listen to....

I think the silent majority - don't like the broker and all that it stands for - since it's mutated to a 'greed' is good for everyone mentaility...

if players want more equality in this game - as in the real world - there needs to be a reset of some type...

sure it'll drive certain players away - the remaining players should see/play something that is a much nicer in-game experience...

this game should be more of an escape from the real world - and changing the cap to an inflated amount - would only encourage the greedy....

sometimes going opposite to the real world is a much better path.... if you can see/find/plan a way....

So what is the purpose of money in game? To get things, right? And those who most believe things are bad are likely the ones who don't have the money (logically), but why? I'd guess because they can't buy those things they want because they are too expensive. So let's look at lowering the cap...what does that do to incentivize the guy who has way more money than he can now spend (due to the cap) into selling that same less than rich person what he wants? Nothing. So the end result is that the guy who wants something but can't have it STILL won't have it. Big win. If I'm sitting on a Comic Material and want 2 Billion for it, you think if you drop the broker or trade cap to 100 Million I'll just sell it for 100 million then? Good luck with that. At best you end up in a barter system where you'd have to present me with items of equal value and we'd swap items like the old days where 1 cow would buy you 15 chickens and a pig. Good trade if you ask me, but I like bacon.

So they do a 'wipe' of the cash...fixes everything right? Not quite. So we wipe cash....Those that are 'rich' now have the items that will still be desirable....you will will not. So as we rebuild cash(however slowly) from running quests and selling goods, do you think they will sell you what you want for $1 because you want it more than the guy with $10? Nope...they will sell it for $10 (or in 1 guy's case $50), and if you don't have the $10...you don't get the item. And likely by the time you hustle $10, someone else with $100 will be there.

And guess what. If you can't figure out how to get the money now...you won't be able to figure it out later either. Those that have the items now will STILL have them later, and will be able to charge whatever premium price they want for them...it will just have less 0s attached....or likely they will NOT sell at all and will wait a few months till the money starts building back up. You can accumulate millions of dollars just by running content and seilling drops vs salvaging, so your Utopia where everyone has exactly the same amount of money will be over in about 1 day....maybe a few days. Granted no one will have 100 billion dollars for a while, and the gold sellers aren't going anywhere. They will now be shouting for "10 bucks = 100K (vs 100m)" but those willing to use those sites will have more than you...they will out bid you on items and they will build their fortunes back up quickly.

You want equality...you have it. You have just as much chance of opening 1 TC and getting a billion dollar drop as someone else opening 1 TC does. Or the opportunity to get a rare drop like a Dark Robins or Ultraman's cape as anyone else if you run the content where those drop. OP catalysts drop the same for everyone under RNG, and some sell for a ton. Anyone who CHOOSES to spend money on buying a ton of TCs or goes and spams 'money' runs or replays new content for desirable drops in the first few weeks of a DLC will quickly pull back out to the front. And you will be here (not you-you...but those who think there is some 'equality' possible) complaining that some shouldn't have 100 million when they are having a hard time getting 100k.

Well done Reinheld for replying to all that. Rarely does a post so long have so little insight. You have the patience of a saint.

again this in game economy only works for a few IMHO the large majority of players - rather play - and not play the broker
- that is my point -
instead you do like the broker and the economy as it helps you - and feeds your ego
- I don't have any need to be a billionaire -
if you really think the present economy is for everyone - that is your view
- mine is very different obviously -

I don't really care if you don't like my view or wish to cut up all my thoughts along with the rest of the broker players in the game
- but my view needs to be seen and heard -
I don't believe a majority of players views are heard or seen - by the devs
the devs only really see - the replies in the threads

so say what you will
and I'll say what I will

Feel free to say your peace. No one said you couldn't. And if you don't want to play the economy game, then fine, don't. However if there was a reset, or cap or whatever, you are saying that suddenly you'd WANT to play that game? You don't want to be a Billionaire (for your ego?) but I'd guess if something cost 200K or 400K vs 400 million, you'd be ok with that? Well guess what, so would I...and I'll beat you to those things (not necessarily ME....but someone will). I'm actually no fan of how the economy looks today, but I know I want stuff and to get that stuff I have to play the economy/broker game. You are saying you don't like it now, but apparently would like it after a reset? Why? Same game....just less 0's.

Rich is relative. Right now it means 10s of billions, if there were a wipe and reset or a cap, it might mean 10s of millions. You'd still have to play the broker game to get what you want as others would still be doing that after a reset. Everyone that thinks they will get all the stuff they want but cant get today because they can't scrape together the money will STILL not be able to get what they want later. They will just have smaller numbers to look at while doing so.

And I'd guess the devs have seen this conversation a bunch...pros and cons. It comes up frequently. It is indeed 100% your right to state your opinion....just like it's 100% my right to rebut that opinion or point out inconsistency in your logic.

I have 2.5 billion and still feel broke because there is a lot of items that cost 1 billion and if they raised the cap all that would happen is those items would just go up in price so no thanks. I never do trades either because people can't be trusted, too many thieves and scammers out there.

That's fine, I get you not wanting the prices to go up (yeah....they might) but how would you get scammed on trades?

Oh....because you can't give them the full amount in one trade.....because of....of....OF?

Oh yeah....because of the cap. That pesky thing.

You can't get scammed in the broker....you can't get scammed in a 1 transaction trade. The caps are the thing that makes it so those 2 options are not viable for high ticket items. Yes...the prices would probably go up, but scamming would be lessened(or eliminated). So at least that fear could be alleviated for you.

kindly no? the broker is a complete mess because of the lack of actions taken against cheaters on more than one occasion, legitimization of even more insane trade caps isn't a solution.

That would be true if there had not been cash glitches. There have been, and the economy has been skewed ever since. These are not things that have a parallel in a real-world market - it's not possible to simply print your own money.

The people that did not benefit from those glitches have still had to suffer the immense inflation that has been caused. The broker and trade cap keep things (somewhat) in the possible realm of trade for the people that did not benefit from those exploits.

Note that there is nothing stopping you trading ITEMS of equal worth. Barter is still a thing.