eBay Bans Virtual Property / RMT Auctions

Hot on the heals of South Korean Gold Famers forming a lobby group, EBay has banned the sale of such virtual property on its popular online auction system - often referred to as Real Money Trading (“RMT”) of virtual goods. Many online gaming publishers prohibit such trading, while others, like Linden Lab’s popular MMRPG, Second Life, not only permit it, but encourage it and even promote it as a beneficial feature to gamers.

Specifically, the following items cannot be auctioned of on eBay going forward:

• characters
• in-game currency (a.k.a. “gold”)
• weapons
• character attire
• online game accounts

Significantly, the eBay ban does not apply to RMT of Second Life virtual property.

This ban will be a boon to IGE, a popular site for real money trading of virtual property. While eBay is likely doing this to avoid lawsuits from online gaming publishers that prohibit RMT, it is also walking away from a huge growth “industry” with the value of such annual trading estimated to be between $200 M and $1 billion.

Sources: CNet | GamePolitics.com | Slashdot | TechNewsWorld | Gamasutra | Wired | Virtual Economics | SeekinAlpha

• Gold Farmers Form Lobby Group in South Korea (January 24, 2007)
• Japan Investigates Illicit Gold Farming (July 18, 2006)
• Square Enix Cracks Down on Gil-Farming RMT in Final Fantasy XI (June 14, 2006)
• Chinese Gold Farmers Documented on Video (March 16, 2006)
• TERRA NOVA: How a Gold Farm Works (January 19, 2006)
• Why PC Gamer Kicked Out Gold Farmers (January 17, 2006)

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