Selling MMORPG Accounts Online

Greetings,

I have been hearing a lot of horror stories as of late regarding Selling MMORPG Accounts online. As the popular one at the moment is World of Warcraft (WoW), it is important to know a couple things.

1. Blizzard has the right to ban you at anytime for any reason. You pay for a subscription and you do not legally own anything you do in the World of Warcraft.
2. Selling your account is not "illegal" in the sense that you can be fined or serve jail time. It does, however, break the agreement you have as an account holder with Blizzard, and the can ban you for this. So, it is wise to be careful when selling your account, because you are very vulnerable.

Knowing this, there are a couple things you can do to securely sell your account and not get banned. Of course, nothing is ever certain, so don't try to pretend that my guide is the end all guide to selling stuff. This is not 100% guaranteed, but it will help.

Here we go.

Never give out information that points to your account. Do not give out your character name or armory link (or any kind of link that shows your character/character's name. "But, how do people know that I actually have the character I'm trying to sell?" You can, and should, supply screen shots, but black out your character's name.

When selling, make a very clear description of exactly what you are selling. The more detailed you are, the better chances you have for selling your account. This also comes in handy if problems arise. You need to make sure the person knows what they are buying, so if need be, you can get everything back intact.

It might be annoying, because your post will probably be taken down several times. Try not to let that stop you. Sell on Ebay.

It's more secure simply because it creates a history of the transaction. If you want to sell on a forum like MarkeeDragon, you will take more risk. One thing you might try is make an Ebay listing, make it Buy Now only, and post immediately on the forum. That way, you might be able to sell the account before Blizzard can file complaint to Ebay to have the listing deleted.

Sell as quickly as possible, but don't cut corners. Speed is important when selling anything, but don't let that prevent you from taking necessary steps.

Paypal is also a pain, but you should use it. There is currently a scam that involves buying an account, stripping it's items, and then filing a dispute with Paypal to get their money back. The buyer gets his or her money back, and you lose some or all of your assets.

Tip:
Make sure the buyer has a confirmed shipping address. At Paypal, you can go to My Account > Profile > (under Selling Preferences) Payment Receiving Preferences > (Select the option) “Block payments from U.S. users who DO NOT provide a Confirmed Address.” This way, you can prevent making a deal with someone who is possibly shady.

Next, this mainly applies to people selling on forums, but should be a general tip for anyone. Do not have Instant Messaging conversations with people you are selling to. E-mail or phone call should be your only means of communication. And, even with a phone call, you should e-mail to reiterate and confirm the conversation. The more history you have of the transaction, the better.

Your sale should include your Original CDs with CD Keys. What does this do? You get to ship them something! Ship with tracking numbers. This is all about confirming the transaction and where the person lives, which also creates a sense of accountability on their part. Because, you are familiarizing yourself with the person, and they no longer become an absolute stranger, your chances for a secure sale increases greatly.

Recognizing the scammer. The scammer will want things to happen VERY quickly. There's a difference between a fast sale and a ridiculously fast sale. He or she will insist conversing over Instant Messaging. If a person calls you a name, like dickhead, he's probably a scammer. As insane as that might seem, that a person you are selling to, would insult you, it's actually likely to happen.

There is a good chance the scammer will send you a fake e-mail. At the time you may not actually know it's from the scammer. Either way, the e-mail is fake because:

Companies DO NOT (NEVER EVER) send e-mails asking for user names and passwords. GET THAT THROUGH TO YOUR HEAD, PEOPLE! It will save a lot of grief. It boggles my mind that this still happens. There is an e-mail going around right now to people who sell accounts that is allegedly from the Company of the MMO, and that they somehow know you are selling your account, and because of this, they need your user name and password. If you send your user name and password over an e-mail to ANY company, you are an IDIOT.

When the money is in your Paypal (and even more securely, in your bank account), that is when you may send an e-mail to the person who has purchased your account your password and user name.

So, why all the precautions? If I got the money in my Paypal account, why should I care about anything else? Because, Paypal can freeze your account, and give the money back to the person if disputes it. This seem unfair? It is, and they are getting sued. You can also go to your favorite search engine, and look up more information about how unfair Paypal is treating their customers.

What should I do if I get scammed like this? I'm not sure, but Fight it with all your heart. Let Paypal know that you are aware of the lawsuit. Provide EVERY little detail that you have about the transaction of your sale (this is why Ebay and shipping CDs become very important). If Paypal gives the buyer their money back, and you get your account back, but it's missing items that were listed in the description of the sale, then you need to further the dispute. People aren't supposed to get their money back if they don't give you back the item. And, in this day and age, Computer Data is just as valuable as material goods.

I will add to this entry as new/better information comes to my attention, or if I think of anything else.

For now, good luck selling your accounts.