The Gem/Gold Exchange System
In the past month I've had to explain exactly how the gem and gold exchange system works a number of times on these forums. It seems a lot of people have misunderstood what will be going on. So I thought I'd explain it here to hopefully clear up some of the confusion. If you have proof that anything I'm saying is incorrect then let me know and I'll change it. If I am wrong, I'm the first person that wants to know.
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Q. Do we sell gems or gold to other players directly?
A. No, we do not sell gems or gold to other players directly. ArenaNet are the ONLY supplier for gems and gold exchanges. Whether you are buying gems with gold, buying gems with real money or buying gold with gems it all comes from ArenaNet.
Q. Can we create trade orders for gems or gold?
A. No, we can not ask to do or even do gems and gold exchanges with other players at prices we choose ourselves.
Q. Can we trade/give gems to other players?
A. No, you can not trade/give gems tied to your account to other players. However, when purchasing gems with real money you have the option to 'gift' them to another account.
Q. Is there a list of exchange rates/prices to choose from?
A. No, the exchange rate is automatic and there is only one given rate for each type of exchange at any one time. We will not see a list of gems or gold that we can buy. All we will see is a panel similar to this:
*This is just an example image from a beta weekend and the market data shown here should not be considered as a post launch example of exchange rates.
You enter how many gems or how much gold you want to exchange and are told how much you will get in exchange based on the current rates. Underneath you can see market data, which is purely for analytical purposes.
It is up to you whether or not you choose to accept that rate or see if the rate will be better or worse at another time.
Q. Do I have to wait for someone to buy my gold or gems?
A. No, you don't have to wait for someone to buy your gold or gems because you are not exchanging them with other players, you are exchanging with ArenaNet. When you press the trade button the exchange happens immediately, everytime.
Q. How is the exchange rate/price determined?
A. We get a predetermined exchange rate based on an automatic push and pull demand system. We have no direct control over the prices.
What this means is if more exchange:
- Gems for gold: Gem cost goes down and gold cost goes up.
- Gold for gems: Gold cost goes down and gem cost goes up.
Whether the exchange rate is affected by players buying gems with real money, by exchanging gems and gold or by both isn't confirmed.
It is currently assumed that it is only the gems and gold exchanges that affect the exchange rate/price and not the gems bought with real money sales.
Q. Are the current exchange rates the same across all servers?
A. Yes, the marketplace will be global and draws data from all servers.
Q. Is there a currency exchange rate fee?
A. Yes, there is a currency exchange rate fee. The exact amount or percentage is not confirmed. The gem and gold exchange rates are not a mirror. If you exchanged 100 gems for gold and then immediately exchanged the same amount of gold you got, you will get less than 100 gems back.
Q. Will we ever be unable to exchange gems for gold and vice versa?
A. There is no evidence or official comments suggesting that we will ever see a "No gems available" or "No gold available" screen. There isn't any information suggesting that we won't either. From what we've seen and heard that situation does not exist, but it might.
In other words, we might always be able to exchange gold for gems even if no players have been exchanging gems for gold and vice versa. We don't know yet.
In even simpler terms, ArenaNet have never said that in order to do an exchange others needs to have done opposite exchanges first to cover the amount; what you spend could disappear, what you buy could be newly created.
Q. What does this all mean?
A. In an ideal situation, there will be an equal amount of players buying and selling gems so that exchange rates stay even. What will really happen to the exchange rate long term is yet to be seen and it may change by large amounts frequently. One day it could be in favor of gem buyers and another day it could be in favor of gem sellers.
It also means that for those who don't want to spend real money to get gems, those players who 'are' buying gems with real money and exchanging them will actually lower the exchange rate for those who don't, making it cheaper to buy gems with gold. But, if lots of players start taking advantage of this, the exchange rate for buying gems with gold will get worse again, which will result in gem 'sellers' getting more gold for their gems again. It will continue like this indefinately and will constantly be changing.
Q. Is it possible to make a profit on gems or gold using only this system?
A. In theory it is possible to make a profit using the exchange system by paying attention to the market data provided, yes.
For example, if one day gems are selling for less you could buy lots of them and wait until a day where gold is selling for less than you exchanged the gems for and get more gold in return.
How often this sort of change in the exchange rates will occur depends on the community's actions with the exchange system.
Q. Are there safe guards so that the exchange rates don't get rediculously high or low?
A. It hasn't been confirmed but it is assumed that ArenaNet have considered this as a possibility and have done something, or will do something, to avoid it.
Q. Is the price for buying gems with real money affected by any of this?
A. No, the price for buying gems with real money is determined by ArenaNet/NCSoft and is not affected by the exchange system.
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Thanks to:
Nadia, for the global exchange rate info.
Gaia_Hunter, for the currency exchange rate fee info.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.
TheDarkrayne
Member EpicPosts: 5,297
Comments
Very nice post Vannor. This should dispel a lot of misinformation, assuming people will take their time to read your post. : P
If that is the case, no will ever sell gems, ever.
Because pre-set rates will never satisfy a player trading "RL-cash" for ingame economy, specially if the rates start as low as that screenshot you got on the post
(i don't see myself ever selling 100gems for anything less than 10g)
In the previous BWEs the price was around 11 silver for 100 gems.
no story... facts.
But I agree on the flametrain part
@OP: very nice explanation, thanks for that.
I also had to explain this quite a few times, but stopped caring to put any effort into trying to explain it to strangers on the interwebz.
Even less reason to sell gems (ps. and the market was "high" in BWE's because the gems really cost you nothing, even BWE3 gems, you get refunded)
lol, the screenshot is just an example from one of the beta weekends. I'll add a note that the rates in that image should not be taken seriously.
That'll help lessen troublesome posts like mine
But im still sceptical about the rates handled by Anet, how high will the prices go before someone actually decides to sell his gems.
worth noting the marketplace is Global across all servers
http://gw2.variance.hu/2011/05/04/variance-guild-wars-2-arenanet-interview/
Is the marketplace going to be global between servers, i.e. drawing data for marketplace prices and selection from multiple servers, or is it going to be local to a specific server?
Eric: The Marketplace will be global, drawing data from all servers.
EQ2 fan sites
There is a gift option in the game, but no you can't send gems to her.
I'd sell my gems just to make a profit off them. I'm actually going to make a second toon just for playing the market.
That's all he is going to be.
Play the market, buy a small amount of gems to get him started, than play the market, buy low, sell high. If I make money on it, than I'll sell all of it, wait for prices to drop back down to a reasonable rate, buy with everything I have.
All in all, i'm hoping $10 will fund my little guild. Play the market, amass some wealth, then start using some, and re-investing the other.
Plus it's kind of fun cause if I get effed it's no big deal haha. It is just a game.
The "Youtube Pro": Someone who watches video's on said subject, and obviously has a full understanding of what is being said about such subject.
No.
There is a gift option - notice the gift symbol.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
No, but how ever many she needs, say 200, sell 200 and give her the money immediately, and she can buy those 200 or near to.
The "Youtube Pro": Someone who watches video's on said subject, and obviously has a full understanding of what is being said about such subject.
ANet will probably never make it reasonable to buy gems for gold. Generally speaking, time wise, you will always be better off buying gems for money rather than for gold (considering you arent a junkie homie, which you probably arent if you have a pc to play GW2). I doubt it will be a true "market" system. They will control it just like country banks control their currency rate against euro/usd, but with more power, since they control it just by setting a number in a textbox, they dont spend any resources to enfore the control, unlike banks who cant do it forever.
Thanks for info OP. Great post.
Not possible.
I've added in that in with a thank you note at the bottom
It's another market for stock broker types to have fun with since, like the items market, it's shared by all servers.
Not sure how the gift option works. Is it something i would have to do when i initially buy my own gems or is it a way that i can transfer gems from my account to hers?
Also to notice is that there is a currency exchange fee - the gem->gold and the gold->gem exhcange rates aren't a mirror, just like in real world currency exchange.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
You just pick something from the store with the gift icon, it asks you who you want to gift the item to, you type in their character's name, and they get the item. So you are essentially buying her stuff with your gems.
At least that's how gifting works in other games.
You can buy the item and mail her, just like steam.
That means you can buy her a dye pack with 200 gems, but you cant give her 75 gems to help her buy it herself.
Currently playing: GW2
Going cardboard starter kit: Ticket to ride, Pandemic, Carcassonne, Dominion, 7 Wonders
You can't transfer gems to someone else. From what I understand you can instead "buy" the items she needs with the "gift" option and they will be sent to her instead.
Block the trolls, don't answer them, so we can remove the garbage from these forums