Sulake Cracks Down on Black Market Trading

[Daltron]

If Sulake sell credits for cheap, the black market will simply sell them for cheaper.

I meant as a remedy to quickly catch out main offenders buying and selling credits and continuously ban/remove their accounts and supply.

[Bitty]

Ok let's put it this way, if you buy a new phone lets say an iphone
Does Apple send you a letter telling you that you can't sell it to your friend?!
When you buy gbs you own them!

[MKR&*42]

No you do not. Sulake's terms of service specifically state:

Accordingly, you have no other interest, including no property, proprietary, intellectual property, ownership, or monetary interest, in your Virtual Currency and Virtual Goods, which remain our Content and property. We reserve the absolute right, at any time and in our sole discretion, to manage, regulate, control, modify or eliminate Virtual Currency and/or Virtual Goods.

And

Sulake has the absolute right to manage, regulate, control, modify, and/or eliminate Virtual Currency and/or Virtual Goods as it sees fit in its sole discretion

[Kardan]

Ok let's put it this way, if you buy a new phone lets say an iphone
Does Apple send you a letter telling you that you can't sell it to your friend?!
When you buy gbs you own them!

Your iphone isn't a virtual good.

[Bitty]

So basically your giving away your money to sulake to do what ever they want when you buy a "virtual good"
That's dumb..

[sex]

So basically your giving away your money to sulake to do what ever they want when you buy a "virtual good"
That's dumb..

IF ITS DUMB DONT DO IT..

[jorsian]

It will happen no matter what. The emails are probably an intimidation tactic that won't be followed through with. Even if the sites are closed people will get craftier and find alternative ways to sell under the table.

[GommeInc]

I'm actually sure I asked @GommeInc; about something very similar to this - along the lines of "If Sulake agree to the terms of use on a retro site, in which the terms of use state "you must not be a member of the Sulake Oy corporation", can Sulake themselves be held accountable for anything?". I'm sure he said Sulake wouldn't get in trouble, but yeah.
--
Unless you meant something else, oops?

I don't remember that discussion

Technically Sulake can't get in trouble as they own that property anyway. Retros are essentially property of Sulake, so them signing up to a retro means absolutely nothing seeing as retros violate so many laws anyway - one area of which is intellectual property law. If they puts terms and conditions on their site saying "you must not be a Sulake member", then who is going to bring Sulake to court for violating something that is illegal in the first place? For using their own property which has been stolen? No one.

The court may make the odd comment that if Sulake can't control their own property or if their customers find their practices absurd then it is Sulake's fault for being a poorly managed and maintained organisation, possibly citing how it's a hive for paedophiles, but they will leave Sulake to go about their business unless they actually start to violate laws (e.g. paedophilia or not acting to protecting the rights of children).

Anyway:

If Sulake really want to remove the black market, they should just incorporate it into their services. Asking people to pay money for something worthless is stupid. It's like having a currency to buy currency. It never made sense when they started attacking rare dealers by making a separate service. If anything they shot themselves in the foot. I'm still waiting for Sulake to just give up - they're only going to become worse.

[HOSKO02]

It will happen no matter what. The emails are probably an intimidation tactic that won't be followed through with. Even if the sites are closed people will get craftier and find alternative ways to sell under the table.

You're right, I'm gonna be careful here as I'm still not sure what is/isn't forum rules regarding this.

A site that rhymed with HobbaTarget was popular in the past as I'm sure many members here know, it's since re-branded itself to something rhyming with MutualBabes - and it's expanding into other online virtual markets like the website at the receiving end end of this letter is known for. This only shows the scope for these markets is growing, not declining, Sulake will forever be fighting an uphill battle against this.

I say the only way to get around it is to make credits cheaper officially, at least it will rake some of that market back.

[KJK]

I will quit habbo if I can no longer buy coins from here.