TruthScape.com  9  The Truth About RuneScape Item Scams       9  RuneScape Item Advertising Scams and False Claims

Lying About Item Value, Rarity or Power Overpriced Item Team Advertising Scams

Most of the people who sell overpriced items stick to the old “standbys”, as seen on my list of junk sold as valuable. One exception to this occurs whenever an update to the RuneScape game introduces new, interesting items to the game. This can occur due to a new quest or skill, an addition to a skill, or even just a store in a new area that sells an item that nobody has seen before.

Whenever this happens, a bunch of people will try to be the first to get the items, and then they will offer them to sale to others for ridiculous prices. This gouging goes on both for good new items, and even new items that are complete trash.

I remember when the update came out that introduced boat chartering at several ports in RuneScape. These included new stores, and a new item called a Tyras Helm. Well, the day these came out, merchants would sit on the docks and buy out the helms as soon as they replenished in the store, then resell them. They only cost about 1k, but people were paying 10k, 20k, even 50k each for them.

Must have been a great item, right? No, it actually has the same stats as a regular steel full helm. So why were people paying through the nose for them? Because people on RuneScape tend to be sheep who follow the herd—it was new and “looked cool”, so thousands of people decided they “had to have one”. Two weeks later, you would never see anyone wearing one of these helms, and you could buy all you wanted in the shops.

Now, again, it's not technically scamming to sell a new item for a ridiculous price, as long as the item isn't misrepresented by the seller. And there are some folks who are willing to pay a lot extra to be the “first one on their block” to get a new item. Some did get annoyed about the Tyras helms, because merchants made it impossible to buy one at the normal price. But that's a matter of consideration, not legality.

The lesson here is simple though: don't be a sheep! Unless you desperately “need” a new item the minute it shows up, be patient. In a day or two the hype will wear off and the price will come down to a more reasonable level. In fact, most items in RuneScape drop in price quickly at first, and then continue to drop slowly over time - so don't buy anything until you are sure you need it!

Lying About Item Value, Rarity or Power Overpriced Item Team Advertising Scams