Internet contract?

July 4, 2007 11:07 AM

I want to buy a game account online from someone else that I do not know. To make sure I don't get scammed, is there some sort of legal contract online that we can create and sign ourselves?
posted by lain to computers & internet (14 comments total)

If you're buying something from someone, you're already creating a contract. The problem you have is enforcing the contract. If you both write out a long written contract and sign it and he still doesn't give you the account then you're no further ahead than you would be if you didn't bother.

You could use escrow, but the escrow costs would be prohibitive.
posted by mendel at 11:22 AM on July 4, 2007

One possibility would be having him/her list it on ebay. You can judge their trustworthiness by their feedback score.
posted by dendrite at 11:28 AM on July 4, 2007

Legal contract can't help you with being scammed. If they were going to scam you without one, they will with one, and your legal recourse is about the same. (Which in the case of transferring online characters is very little. Most companies don't allow transfer of accounts so you won't get any help from them, otherwise small claims court, but good luck with that.)

Escrow or find a broker you both trust to do the in-between.

Otherwise do as much research on the person as possible. Check if they have an eBay rating, check the community forums for posts by they person, etc. Google the account user name if it seems unique enough. If you are already in the game, chat with guildmates about the guy, but don't mention you're buying the account.
Ask for references.
posted by Ookseer at 11:40 AM on July 4, 2007

Escrow is what you're looking for.
posted by Netzapper at 11:43 AM on July 4, 2007

Some online games don't allow selling/transferring accounts. If that's the case with the game you're talking about, there'd be no way the contract would be enforceable.

ack. on preview what ookseer said. check the game's policy first.
posted by juv3nal at 11:43 AM on July 4, 2007 [1 favorite]

Ookseer and juv3nal are right--online games are in many respects a world unto themselves. And mendel and Netzapper are right--this kind of situation is precisely what escrow is for.
posted by box at 12:11 PM on July 4, 2007

Escrow isn't going to help if this is World of Warcraft or similar -- they can just wait a week until the money's transferred, then call up customer service and say "hey, I'm the registered owner of the account, can you change the password back for me?" There's no way to protect yourself in this kind of situation since, as mentioned, the companies hosting it don't officially allow you to sell accounts.
posted by inkyz at 12:24 PM on July 4, 2007

It's true, its more than likely against the user agreements and whatnots. However, having just recently pawned off two accounts myself, depending on what the game is, there is a good amount of information you can get to better the chances that the former owner will NOT be able to get back into the account.

These things involve secret questions, changing email addresses, and possibly CD keys. In order to, as referred prior, call up and get the info back you need most, if not all of those things and more, to get the info.

There are some sites that host forums for people to sell and auction off game goods and accounts, and believe it or not, some people are actually honest and do their best to protect their reputation within these forums, but ultimately there is no way to absolutely insure that you wont be ripped off. I think that's life too, not just second-life.

All in all, the only thing you risk losing is the account entirely. These game companies can ban you from the game, but I dont think they have quite the ban from society other laws/rules may have.

Also keep in mind, it's in your user agreement to not hold me responsible for any information stated or hinted within my replies, for I claim to know absolutely nothing.
posted by Palerale at 12:53 PM on July 4, 2007

If this is World of Warcraft, the user cannot sell you the account or the characters, because they're not the user's property; they belong to Blizzard. What you can pay for is their labor in leveling the character, and for access to the account. It seems to me to be no different from buying a physical object from someone on eBay. You send the funds, and they may or may not send the item.

As soon as you get access, change the password (first) and billing information on the account. If the other user cannot provide things like the credit card number used to bill for the account, their leverage is reduced.
posted by jimfl at 5:20 PM on July 4, 2007

I've sold accounts to all kinds of mmo's on ebay...EQ, EQ2, Shadowbane, WoW, Project Entropia, Eve Online...the list goes on.

Have them list it as a private auction on Ebay and buy it via paypal. Paypal and ebay will provide you with as much protection as you will be able to get in this circumstance.
posted by TomMelee at 5:33 PM on July 4, 2007

I sold my DAoC account and ran into the same issue... we finally settled on eBay, because you *do* have a lot of protections if something goes wrong. I also had them pay into my Paypal account for the same reason. Both services provide protections for both buyers and sellers.

But it still requires common sense. This is where things like the ratings system in eBay come into handy - if the person has a record of good transactions, you can feel that much safer regarding your own.
posted by foobario at 5:38 PM on July 4, 2007

Alright, the simple and sad truth is this. You cannot safely do this. You CAN use Ebay, Paypal, escrow services, or the like. It's a good idea if you insist upon this.

However, the end result is that with very few exceptions, MMOs do not allow sale of accounts/virtual items. This is in part due to taxation reasons. Details aside, the fact is that your only recourse is through the intermediary service. Any complaints to the company will almost certainly result in banning of the account in question, possible banning of accounts associated with either of you, and everyone loses all around.

If you're spending $500+ on a WoW account, you would be well off listening to Palerale. Change all information possible, make sure you have all information, and get a feeling for the person you are buying from.

As with any larger purchase from someone you don't know, be careful.
posted by Saydur at 10:18 PM on July 4, 2007

The warnings above should be carefully considered.

I know of a person that gets into betas on most big mmos that come out. He has repeatedly sold the eventual high-level accounts on ebay for $500+.
He waits a few months and checks on the account status. If it hasn't been active for a few weeks, he calls and resets the password. He sells them again. He is a douche and he is not alone.

If the license doesn't call for transfer, then the person that opened the account can probably get it back. Possibly months after the transaction. There isn't a good way to protect yourself. Even if they are who they say they are, the amount of litigation needed to resolve the matter would cost way more than the transaction.

If you're talking about WoW, there is a mechanism for transferring characters between accounts. The "Paid Char Transfer" link on worldofwarcraft.com allows for a one-time tranfer between accounts for $25. Other games may vary.

That said, most people trading accounts are probably sincere about it. The bad actors really mess up the market.

Be Careful.
posted by EmptyK at 11:20 PM on July 4, 2007

EmptyK and others have it right- this is a screw-over business. People who trade accounts get boned with an almost predictable regularity. Happened to a former GM I knew- really fun getting 500G and your entire guild bank stolen because the guy who originally owned the account decided to re-sell it after you got the toon geared out.

If you do this, you can never be completely certain that the account you buy will still be yours in a week.
posted by baphomet at 8:29 AM on July 5, 2007