Curse

murtagh deadmoon · Jul 10, 2007, 04:32 AM // 04:32

They're back up to 5.5k. And I hope they stay around there.

HawkofStorms · Jul 10, 2007, 04:41 AM // 04:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcanemacabre

Funny, because I thought that's what this thread was about.

Do you disagree with the rarity of an item having any effect on how desirable it is? It's honestly common sense, not any kind of economic theory. If Crystalline Swords were the skin of collectible swords, do you honestly think there would be equivalent demand for them, and equivalent value attributed to them? Think about it.

The thing is, it is an overgeneralization, with plenty of counter example.

Counter example: A good Guild Wars counter example is the plain staff wrapping.

This was a rare staff wrapping that only could be salvagedd for a few weeks after the game was released before a.net fixed the glitch. It just said "staff wrapping" and had no mods of any kind attached to it. If you attached it to an item, it would be destroyed (as it would cease to exist with no mod). Herbalizer (a collector of odd ball items who is one of the richest power traders on guru) paid 1 million gold for one of these a couple of months ago. It is probablly one of the only ones known to exist on an active account.

Now, the item had value because it was rare, HOWEVER, that does not mean it was desirable (Herbalizer paid 1 million gold more of as a bounty fee to get people to research and look for one for him). NO ONE else would have paid that much for that item. According to your logic, more people would have wanted these glitched staff wrappings then crystaline swords.

Basically, rare things can have value because they are rare, but that value is not always related to demand (few other people, if they had as much money as Herbalizer, would have wanted to buy a worthless gimich item).

arcanemacabre · Jul 10, 2007, 05:03 AM // 05:03

Quote:

Originally Posted by HawkofStorms

The thing is, it is an overgeneralization, with plenty of counter example.

Counter example: A good Guild Wars counter example is the plain staff wrapping.

This was a rare staff wrapping that only could be salvagedd for a few weeks after the game was released before a.net fixed the glitch. It just said "staff wrapping" and had no mods of any kind attached to it. If you attached it to an item, it would be destroyed (as it would cease to exist with no mod). Herbalizer (a collector of odd ball items who is one of the richest power traders on guru) paid 1 million gold for one of these a couple of months ago. It is probablly one of the only ones known to exist on an active account.

Now, the item had value because it was rare, HOWEVER, that does not mean it was desirable (Herbalizer paid 1 million gold more of as a bounty fee to get people to research and look for one for him). NO ONE else would have paid that much for that item. According to your logic, more people would have wanted these glitched staff wrappings then crystaline swords.

Basically, rare things can have value because they are rare, but that value is not always related to demand (few other people, if they had as much money as Herbalizer, would have wanted to buy a worthless gimich item).

No no no, demand is not solely based on the number of people demanding, but how much the people demand it. In other words, that item, even if Herbalizer was the only person wanting it, is in high demand because they really wanted it.

Take an expensive sports car, for instance. Not everyone, in fact, very few may even want to own that particular sports car. However, those that do want it, really, really want it - BAD. They will pay "out the ass" for it, if they can afford "out the ass", which means their demand is "out the ass". Now let's say there are only 2 in existence. That makes this sports car super rare. Those who will pay "out the ass" will also offer up their leg, arm, and son/daughter to get one. If there are instead millions in existence, those same people will know the company simply needs to get rid of them, and will likely no longer pay "out the ass", but a more reasonable, lower price.

In summary, demand is simply how much that item or items are "in demand", despite the number of people that demand it.

October Jade · Jul 10, 2007, 06:57 AM // 06:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by arcanemacabre

Take an expensive sports car, for instance. Not everyone, in fact, very few may even want to own that particular sports car. However, those that do want it, really, really want it - BAD. They will pay "out the ass" for it, if they can afford "out the ass", which means their demand is "out the ass". Now let's say there are only 2 in existence. That makes this sports car super rare. Those who will pay "out the ass" will also offer up their leg, arm, and son/daughter to get one. If there are instead millions in existence, those same people will know the company simply needs to get rid of them, and will likely no longer pay "out the ass", but a more reasonable, lower price.

Congratulations. You've just explained diminishing marginal utility, a primary structure within the law of demand. The flaw this time lies in the fact that the price is not driven down by the first guy, who wants the sports car "out the ass." It's driven down by the last guy, who wants it just enough so that he's indifferent between the car and the cash he would've had instead.

Perhaps your next lesson can be about consumer and producer surpluses; I always enjoyed those.

arcanemacabre · Jul 10, 2007, 07:36 AM // 07:36

Quote:

Originally Posted by October Jade

Congratulations. You've just explained diminishing marginal utility, a primary structure within the law of demand. The flaw this time lies in the fact that the price is not driven down by the first guy, who wants the sports car "out the ass." It's driven down by the last guy, who wants it just enough so that he's indifferent between the car and the cash he would've had instead.

The price is driven down by the first guy who knows there's a surplus. It's all about what knowledge the consumer has.

Regardless, if something is desired purely for it's rarity and is in limited quantity, such as rare items in my original post or antiques, demand is greater. Once the quantity, or supply, has risen, demand lowers. The sports car example is not a good one anyway, simply because there is other value to it, such as how good it looks, or the power/speed of it.

I'm talking about a specific type of item - the rare item. The value behind the rare item is subject almost entirely to how rare it is.

Again I ask, if Crystallines dropped from every 10th kill as a r9 15^50 gold, do you honestly think the same people who want them now would want them then? You don't suppose that the demand for Crystallines would drop if the market was flooded with them? Honestly?