D3 Auction house a money trap?

[Immapwnu88]

Am I the only one that thinks that the new AH in D3 is going to be a money sink/trap? It sounds like you cant even get what you put in or earn back out... and that isnt event mentioning the transaction fees...

It is a great idea with actual real world money but if you can't generate hard currency with it why not just stick with the gold model and just have a gold store?

[ItZMuRdA]

You can opt to have it go into your PayPal instead of B.net Balance, it's just an extra fee. It's not supposed to replace your day job, but you'll be able to make some.

[Caiada]

You can opt to have it go into your PayPal instead of B.net Balance, it's just an extra fee. It's not supposed to replace your day job, but you'll be able to make some.

That.

The fees will also most likely be low, or else the barrier to entry would be high, much fewer people would use it, and Blizzard would make less money from it.

[selrah]

That.

The fees will also most likely be low, or else the barrier to entry would be high, much fewer people would use it, and Blizzard would make less money from it.

I'm not certain what blizzard cut of the profits from an auction sale is but I'm pretty sure this is paypals.

"PayPal fees mainly apply to sellers, who pay a 2.9% transaction fee on the total sale amount plus a $0.30 fee per transaction. If you're a business, see PayPal Merchant Fees for discounted rates and other pricing info."

I'm guessing Blizzard will be acting like ebay except they will more than likely get a cut from the buyer and the seller.

[DoctorDoomkin]

You can cash out, but that requires a paypal account. You'll also be paying a fee to do so. How much that is not known to me.

[Deleted]

I don't really see how it is a money trap; this battle.net option just seems to be adding an additional option for you - not forcing you or tricking you into doing anything. If you don't have a paypal account it's great that there is another option, even if it can only be spent on the battle.net store. There are quite a few people - especially younger people who play games who don't have their own paypal account. You can generate hard currency with it, that much is for sure.... how "profitable" it will be for your time is what remains to be seen, and fees/transactions are something people will just have to take into account before they decide whether they want gold or try and get a bit of real money for it.

[Deleted]

In certain regions, Diablo III players who wish to "cash out" the proceeds from the sale of an item from the currency-based auction house instead of storing it in a Battle.net Balance will be able to do so via PayPal for an additional fee. Players will need to determine which method they wish to use at the time they post their auction. For more information on the currency-based auction house, see the FAQ.

My biggest issue is with the bolded part, its quite hard for many to know the value of all items. Particularly in a game like D3 where many stats are randomly generated in a range. But perhaps they will have a good AH UI where you can choose to only cash out if price exceeds a chosen price.

I am also a bit curious at which price people will find AH+PayPal cut to big to be worth posting for cash out. ATM the beta bucks fee + PayPal would end up close to 1$, but even if final numbers end up more like 0.50$ it still quit a big cut for items under 5$. Depending on average price for items, fees might act as money trap indirectly.

And that thing about after 3 years of inactivity they have to try and reach the account holder for payout, isn't that a EU thing? Got a feeling that rule says they have to try and actually transfer the funds to account owner if they can reach them.