New Scam

[Rand Althor]

You'd think after playing since Beta.. going through all the different scams in UO throughout all those years I'd have learned and can pick out the scams... well.. It's been may years since I was sucked in... too good to be true always is.. in any case.. Watch out for vendors selling "Valorite Runic Hammers" with the label "Valorite Smith's Hammer"...

I paged on the two players involved and get the typical we can't reimburse you.. like to UO site... etc.."... I don't care about reimbursement... why not do something about the players?.. lol...

Attached is a Pic of the vendor on Pacific

 

[Martyna Zmuir]

Old scam. Has been going on for years.

Caveat emptor.

 

[JC the Builder]

Scamming is no longer illegal and it has been this way for a while now. So I don't see why you would page a Gamemaster.

 

[Blesh]

theres this scam too

why they didnt make it so EM couldnt be in a player made name, I'll never know.

 

[kelmo]

Why would anyone care about an EM item? They are just T shirts now...

 

[Maplestone]

My pet peeve is seeing "an old ring" for sale ... it's a quest a screen away from where a new player arrives, repeatable, can be completed without moving a step for 12gp and yet people try to charge as if it were some ancient event item.

Caveat emptor, but still ... something about seeing it just offends my sense of fair play.

 

[Blesh]

Why would anyone care about an EM item? They are just T shirts now...

I have noooo idea. but someone must care enough to pay the vendor fee's on a 2.5 mil item. either that or they're stupid enough. who knows.

 

[Madrid]

There was a vendor house on Sonoma that sold Agapite Smith Hammers trying to pass them off as Runics for quite a long time with no repercussions whatsoever. Currently his vendors are all gone and his Luna house is up for sale on Sonoma with his ICQ listed.

The Luna Vendor owner did this for one or two years and got away with it scott free. I remember people parking named Pack Horses in front of his vendors like "SELLING FAKE RUNICS" etc and such periodically. He probably lost money in the long run due to vendor fees because he had a boatload on fake hammers on his vendor.

I almost bought a hammer when I returned to UO after a long hiatus and didn't understand the ins and outs of Runic crafting system.

An Agapite Smith Hammer it said...and the price was right so I told my friend "I think I'm going to buy an agapite runic hammer". He then informed me "those are fakes" and then when I took a closer look at the hammers nowhere did it say anything about being Runic. Just Agapite Smith Hammer. But it's very easy to be fooled by it if your brand new to the UO Runic system.

Well I was mad as hell for almost being had and I told my friend how upset I was and his perspective was that it was "Highly Unethical but not illegal".

I vehemently disagree with this...

Granted UO is Virtual World full of pixels but in the real world we have laws on the books that prohibit misleading consumers and selling fraudulent goods.

I'm not sure what the ToS but I think they should give 1 warning and if it goes rebuffed after a certain period of time (the period it takes for a vendor contract to expire) then burn the house down to the ground. Maybe I'm a bit extreme in my perspective but what that ar$ehole is doing is utter BS. Unfortunately that's UO sometimes.

In the case of vendor rentals...

I believe the owner of the house is just as culpable as the player owned vendor if the owner continues to allow fraudulent behavior to go unabated.

C'mon Draconi where is your Flamethrower!

 

[Blesh]

I believe the owner of the house is just as culpable as the player owned vendor if the owner continues to allow fraudulent behavior to go unabated.

C'mon Draconi where is your Flamethrower!

Quoted for truth

 

[wanderer1origin]

not honest but has alwasy been legit!!!!!!!

 

[Budweiser]

You'd think after playing since Beta.. going through all the different scams in UO throughout all those years I'd have learned and can pick out the scams... well.. It's been may years since I was sucked in... too good to be true always is.. in any case.. Watch out for vendors selling "Valorite Runic Hammers" with the label "Valorite Smith's Hammer"...

I paged on the two players involved and get the typical we can't reimburse you.. like to UO site... etc.."... I don't care about reimbursement... why not do something about the players?.. lol...

Attached is a Pic of the vendor on Pacific

BTW: That is a Whispering Rose Radio vendor house..Aren't they the pride of Pac?

 

[PsychoKinetic]

BTW: That is a Whispering Rose Radio vendor house..Aren't they the pride of Pac?

***LAUGHS***

Thanks Bud, that made my night.

 

[Budweiser]

***LAUGHS***

Thanks Bud, that made my night.

I like making someone's night.

I icq'd DJ Sandman a link to this topic, that's all just a link..

His response back was,

If the house said Owned by Budweiser would that make you a scammer?

Interesting response to a link I'd say.
After that I decided to delete him from my ICQ since I don't listen to his station anyways. :loser:

 

[NuSair]

I have noooo idea. but someone must care enough to pay the vendor fee's on a 2.5 mil item. either that or they're stupid enough. who knows.

Chances are they aren't paying any vendor fees.

You just have another account buy said items from your vendor just before the time is up, wait for the time to pass, then put the items back on vendor.

No vendor fees.

At first, I loved then change, then about after 10 minutes I figured out how you can still get around paying the fees.

Fees should either be charged when the item is sold or on a more proactive basis.

 

[Blesh]

Chances are they aren't paying any vendor fees.

You just have another account buy said items from your vendor just before the time is up, wait for the time to pass, then put the items back on vendor.

No vendor fees.

At first, I loved then change, then about after 10 minutes I figured out how you can still get around paying the fees.

Fees should either be charged when the item is sold or on a more proactive basis.

This saddens me deeply.

 

[Jaleesa January]

You'd think after playing since Beta.. going through all the different scams in UO throughout all those years I'd have learned and can pick out the scams... well.. It's been may years since I was sucked in... too good to be true always is.. in any case.. Watch out for vendors selling "Valorite Runic Hammers" with the label "Valorite Smith's Hammer"...

I paged on the two players involved and get the typical we can't reimburse you.. like to UO site... etc.."... I don't care about reimbursement... why not do something about the players?.. lol...

Attached is a Pic of the vendor on Pacific

So sorry you did not manage to buy a real duped valorite hammer.

Oh no wait, I'm not.

ALL valorite hammers for sale for less than 40 million gp are/were illegally created and brought into the game.

I'd take a scammer over a duper (or EA employee who's generating high end items and making a real life profit on the side by selling them for cash) any day.

I cannot do one single thing about a duper, other than avoid what he is selling and page on them if I ever learn anything about who he or she might be.

A scammer however, is easy. My brain vs his.

 

[Connor_Graham]

BTW: That is a Whispering Rose Radio vendor house..Aren't they the pride of Pac?

Not as far as I'm concerned. I'd voice my opinion again, but it would just get deleted and I'd probably get an infraction point.

 

[Tinsil]

So sorry you did not manage to buy a real duped valorite hammer.

Oh no wait, I'm not.

ALL valorite hammers for sale for less than 40 million gp are/were illegally created and brought into the game.

I'd take a scammer over a duper (or EA employee who's generating high end items and making a real life profit on the side by selling them for cash) any day.

I cannot do one single thing about a duper, other than avoid what he is selling and page on them if I ever learn anything about who he or she might be.

A scammer however, is easy. My brain vs his.

That's pretty flawed logic. If I said my hammer was real would you buy it for 40 million vs 20? No. You just wouldn't buy one altogether. The real smiths are forced to sell there's for 20 because there's no way to prove that there's is any less duped than the others.

I've personally seen a couple val hammers that friends or myself acquired through the BOD system sell for whatever the going rate is because you can't get more than that.

 

[EnigmaMaitreya]

Scamming is no longer illegal and it has been this way for a while now. So I don't see why you would page a Gamemaster.

I assume the OP's scam here is Labeling an item something it is not on a vendor. If thagt is the case then ....

As far as I know it has NEVER been illegal to do this and has always fallen under the heading of Buyer Beware .....

 

[Lord Gareth]

I saw an EM Vladimere on Chesapeake character. I was wondering what they were up to.

 

[Prince Caspian]

This is a fine line. Is scamming people abuse? It's certainly not nice or honorable, but I'm not sure it's really abuse.

The age old defense is that you are "roleplaying a grifter" that is trying to cheat his fellow Britannians.

I've played UO since it came out, and have switched shards quite frequently. I don't sell things and I don't camp spawns, I really am a casual player, I always have been. As such, I don't have a huge bank account. In fact I never had more than 15 million, and right now I have just over 10. But making money in UO isnt my objective, really. I get by just fine, and in fact I think its a good thing -- limited funds make the prospect of lucre more appealing!

But I'm digressing here -- point is, since my funds are limited, I am careful of what I buy. If you are buying something for 20 million gold, well hey, you have money to throw around. Getting scammed out of it probably isn't going to ruin you.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not excusing it. I think scammers are cheaters at heart, and I don't like them or condone their practices. I have never scammed anyone nor (as far as I know) has anyone I associate with in game. But as it has been posted over and over again, caveat emptor.

I've been scammed in this game. It's a lesson with a high tuition, but it makes you much more careful.

 

[Mook Chessy]

You'd think after playing since Beta.. going through all the different scams in UO throughout all those years I'd have learned and can pick out the scams... well.. It's been may years since I was sucked in... too good to be true always is.. in any case.. Watch out for vendors selling "Valorite Runic Hammers" with the label "Valorite Smith's Hammer"...

I paged on the two players involved and get the typical we can't reimburse you.. like to UO site... etc.."... I don't care about reimbursement... why not do something about the players?.. lol...

Attached is a Pic of the vendor on Pacific

"my name is Forrest, Forrest Gump"

 

[Rand Althor]

I assume the OP's scam here is Labeling an item something it is not on a vendor. If thagt is the case then ....

As far as I know it has NEVER been illegal to do this and has always fallen under the heading of Buyer Beware .....

The item isn't labeled through the vendor, it's the weapons name... see attached pic.

 

[Rand Althor]

So sorry you did not manage to buy a real duped valorite hammer.

Oh no wait, I'm not.

Simular to the GM, you miss why I posted this... not for simpathy, not for concern, I could care less for the gold.. I posted to aid others... do I complain, whine, or threaten to quit UO?. do I rant, etc.. no I just let my fellow UO players know and become aware... my intent to post is to help... please don't flame me or my post when my intentions are good..

 

[Rand Althor]

This is a fine line. Is scamming people abuse? It's certainly not nice or honorable, but I'm not sure it's really abuse.

The age old defense is that you are "roleplaying a grifter" that is trying to cheat his fellow Britannians.

I've played UO since it came out, and have switched shards quite frequently. I don't sell things and I don't camp spawns, I really am a casual player, I always have been. As such, I don't have a huge bank account. In fact I never had more than 15 million, and right now I have just over 10. But making money in UO isnt my objective, really. I get by just fine, and in fact I think its a good thing -- limited funds make the prospect of lucre more appealing!

But I'm digressing here -- point is, since my funds are limited, I am careful of what I buy. If you are buying something for 20 million gold, well hey, you have money to throw around. Getting scammed out of it probably isn't going to ruin you.

Don't get me wrong -- I'm not excusing it. I think scammers are cheaters at heart, and I don't like them or condone their practices. I have never scammed anyone nor (as far as I know) has anyone I associate with in game. But as it has been posted over and over again, caveat emptor.

I've been scammed in this game. It's a lesson with a high tuition, but it makes you much more careful.

Nicer way to say something then Jel... or whatever her name is... and you are correct, I have no issue with gold or goods in the game, that's why my post was about letting people know about this issue, not complaining about losing gold, if you look at my post It doesn't mention gold once..

 

[Jaleesa January]

Simular to the GM, you miss why I posted this... not for simpathy, not for concern, I could care less for the gold.. I posted to aid others... do I complain, whine, or threaten to quit UO?. do I rant, etc.. no I just let my fellow UO players know and become aware... my intent to post is to help... please don't flame me or my post when my intentions are good..

Oh sorry what I meant to say is blame the val hammer dupers for causing this scam to affect players who would never in a million years be able to afford a legit val hammer valued at 40 mill gp.

The dupers can sell them for 15 mill so now everybody and their grandma can afford to buy one.

Naturally this leads to scammers having a wider pool of scammees available since prior to the val hammer duping only those who could afford to pay 40 million for a val hammer ran the risk of being scammed by the old val 'smith' hammer scam.

By the way this is not a 'new' scam, regular Stratics readers have seen these posts before.

Best advice I can give people is to do what I do, refuse to buy the duped val hammers and you will never have to worry about being scammed into buying a fake val hammer AND you won't be supporting dupers at the same time.

How sweet is that?