I had an interesting encounter in LOTRO yesterday, of the sort that only really crops up just after an expansion is released.
I was wandering around Dunland, minding my own business (well, actually minding other people’s business because that’s what we quasi-ranger PCs do in Middle Earth) and I saw on the zone chat someone looking to swap for a 3rd Age Runekeeper’s Runestone. They linked a wide range of other legendary drops they’d picked up as up for trade.
I thought, “Hm, I know I’ve been picking up some legendary weapon/item drops over the last couple of days, was one of those a runestone with the fire attunement he’s asking for?”
So I looked through my bags and found it. Then I whispered the guy asking if that was the sort of thing he had in mind, because I’d be happy to trade it for the burglar item in his list of unwanted drops. He was really excited, apparently it was ideal. So we met up and did the swap. (The burglar tools did turn out to have pretty good traits which was a bonus, but I could have levelled them up to disenchant regardless.)
Now, you could argue that since he really did want my random drop, I could have gotten a much better price. Even from putting it up for auction for gold and pointing him to the auction house. But somehow, a win-win swap of something you don’t want for something you do just FEELS more satisfying. I am sure all the AH goblins will be shaking their heads at this. Absolutely certain of it. But since I don’t really need the gold, I have the luxury of bartering if it makes me happy.
The reason I say this only really happens at the start of an expansion is because in MMOs these days, that’s about the only time that a random drop will be useful and/or an upgrade over what you already have.
Welcome to Spinksville! 
It’s a good observation.
Dan Ariely has a chapter on this in Predictably Irrational. He has very helpfully put up a youtube summary:
“we live in these two worlds. We live in a social world where we do things for favours…. we live in a financial world where we work for money”.
I’ll be writing in due course about the mixing of the social norm with the material norm in games.
He was looking for level 65+ legendary items so that he can use them to get legacy scrolls for the future level 75 weapon which will most likely be able to get pimped to level 79 or 80 via scroll.
Have you got legacy scrolls going higher than level 79 already?
The “legendary item swap” is nothing new. I did it all the time. It is also a good way to judge the qualities of your friends and kin (that’s guild in LOTRO terms, dear WoW players). Some really didn’t ever get the idea to send me a Champion weapon back when I sent them some weapons for their class.
Yeah, we live in a social world where we do things for favours! This probably makes me a social dude when I stop caring for those who don’t care for me? 🙂
Random drops are useful to most of my characters most days that I play. That’s what they gear themselves in!
I used to do lots of swapping like that but nowadays I find the whole process of arranging the meet and doing the swap too irritating. It used to be fun but somehow it isn’t now.
I am a goblin. I am shaking my head at you.
Honestly, that works for me if I know the person. If that makes me a terrible person so be it. I am a businessman by nature, so it makes little sense for me to pass up an opportunity to make (virtual) cash of any sort!
I am goblin and I approve of this behavior.
Although I post 40 to 50 auctions per day, I also try to help newcomers and the occasional player who is making an effort to obtain a specific item.
For me, the interesting part of gold is how I make it, not how much I have.
Real AH fans don’t care what you do with your drops. Its your choice to put them on the official AH, the black market or private swaps.
What we get angry about is when people start calling for price controls on items. That is just ridiculous.