Duplicate recipes create ingame scam
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 5th 2007 at 2:52PM
Tobold has found a strange little ingame scam that high level alchemists might fall into if they're not careful. Before the expansion came out, the recipe for Flask of Distilled Wisdom was an extremely rare drop from the last boss of Live Strat. Because it was so rare, the recipe could sell for hundreds of gold on the AH. Tobold thought he was getting one for a bargain at 150g, until he actually tried to learn it.Turns out he got the Recipe: Flask of Distilled Wisdom instead, which is exactly the same thing (produces exactly the same potion), but is available for a mere 4 gold from the Cenarion Expedition quartermaster in Zangarmarsh. The only catch is that while both are BoE (which means they can both be sold on the AH), the Cenarion version requires that you be exalted with the Expedition to learn it. Which isn't super hard, but the fact is that players who are exalted can buy this recipe for 4g, and sell it on the AH to unsuspecting alchemists for hundreds of gold.
Of course, this scam has an expiration date, because as soon as word gets out that a) it's a scam, and b) the recipe is available for 4g in Zangarmarsh as long as you're exalted, the AH price will likely drop anyway. As Tobold says, Blizz could fix it by simply making the Zangarmarsh recipe BoP, but Blizzard probably thought they were doing players a favor by turning a rare drop into a rep reward. Anyway, if you happen to be shopping around for high level flask recipes, buyer beware.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Philo Apr 5th 2007 3:13PM
If I read this correctly, it's not a scam.
The two recipes provide the same result, but the clever player just found a new source for the item, one which the world hasn't realized existed yet.
It's like if you found a little-known source of gold in your backyard... You could make a killing with it selling it cheap, and the market will eventually catch up to the fact.
It's just a matter of exploiting a perceived low offer before the offer goes up and brings the prices down... and spreading the info is the way to do it. :)
Acceptable Risk Apr 5th 2007 3:20PM
Yeah, while perhaps not completely above board, this isn't really a scam, if you ask me. Reselling vendored items is a perfectly legitimate method for making gold. People who can't be bothered to go out of their way to figure out where to find it get to pay for the convenience of just picking it up in the auction house.
I know I made a pretty tidy sum when saving up for my first mount by buying and reselling the fishing, cooking, and first aid manuals, along with whatever limited stock recipes I could find about.
Todd Apr 5th 2007 3:21PM
Sneaky... I will have to see if this is rampant on my server. This is slightly a scam. While not as bad as selling Runecloth for 100 gold buyout (hate you fuckers) this is one way to rip off unsuspecting players who aren't aware of the restrictions or reputation needed. I wonder, can people who don't own the expansion still buy this from the AH?
Addie Apr 5th 2007 3:22PM
It sucks for the buyer - but I think it's totally a "buyer beware" thing. If an item has requirements that you don't meet it says so in red letters on the tool-tip. Remember to check those labels. Yah, the seller is a sleaze-ball, but the buyer has to look out for himself too.
RogueJedi86 Apr 5th 2007 3:24PM
I don't think the first 2 commentors get it. You can't even USE the recipe you bought unless you have Exalted with Cenarion Expedition. They're selling the same item, but the buyers can't use it unless they're also Exalted with Cenarion Expedition in Zangarmarsh, in which case they could buy it themselves. It tricks people into buying a recipe that they can't even use. 2 recipes for the same item: one requires nothing but the skill level, the other requires Exalted with an Outland faction. See where people are getting scammed?
Todd Apr 5th 2007 3:26PM
It's like being sold a car and given the key, but once the shady dealer has moved on you realize the key doesn't work. You've bought a perfectly good car that you can't do anything with.
Addie Apr 5th 2007 3:29PM
@6 It's only a picture of a key... and an address to mail a million box-tops to.
Todd Apr 5th 2007 3:30PM
lol
Ragbar Apr 5th 2007 3:45PM
@#5
Doesn't the recipie tooltip say " Requires Cenarion Expedition - Exalted"??. If this is the case it's buyer-beware. It's not the seller's fault if people do not know there is an alternate source, especially if it says right on the "label" what is required to learn the recipie.
The seller may be putting it on the AH in hopes that people buy it without checking, however, he is not intentionally hiding anything from the buyer. Therefore, it's not a scam, it's taking advantage of an uneducated consumer.
Superbeef Apr 5th 2007 3:46PM
The first two commentors completely understand what's going on, and I agree with them to a point. They're saying it's not a "scam" because the game differentiates between the two, and if the player doesn't know the difference when it's displayed it front of them, it's they're fault.
And the key parallel doesn't really hold up. Its more like if the dealer showed you a key that said "porsche- 350" on it, and you thought you were buying a "porsche 351". They sell you the key to a car you can't use.
If they posted the recipe for 10G, nobody would bat an eye. But the 20x mark up price does show, yes, the sellers are not nice people and they know exactly what they are doing.
ripper Apr 5th 2007 3:49PM
@7 i lol'd, nice comment.
people just claim a scam when they do not pay enough attention to details. read the big red bolded letters next time, they form a sentence and actually shows you what requirement you are missing to use that item, go figure.
Fixed title: Duplicate recipes play on peoples stupidity QQ.
Mike Schramm Apr 5th 2007 3:52PM
Well, wouldn't it be a scam if the player who posted it to the AH was counting on taking advantage of people not realizing the rep was required to learn the recipe? I agree that it was a "buyer beware" thing, and it's not much of a scam anyway, as I said in the post. But if it was maliciously posted with a high value to look like the rare drop, I'd call it a scam.
Todd Apr 5th 2007 3:56PM
@12
You are correct. The very fact that whomever is posting this outrageous auction is hoping to take advantage of unsuspecting bidders, much like the assholes who post Runecloth or whatnot for a bid/buyout of 100 gold. Buyer beware for sure, but it's still a scam.
Smithra Apr 5th 2007 4:11PM
"Do not attribute to malice what could as easily be explained by stupidity"
One guy on my server was trying to sell some recipe in Trade not realizing that the required rep applied to using it in addition to purchasing it. It shows up bright red for the buyer, not so for the seller. If it's a scam, it's not a very good one. I more suspect that someone's trying to make a quick buck off people who don't want to rep up and not realizing that they don't actually have anything to offer their consumers.
Dabura Apr 5th 2007 4:20PM
Erm the Cenarion version will say "Requires Exalted with Cenarion Expedition". So any one tht buys that one for hundreds of gold is an idiot
Sideshow Apr 5th 2007 4:48PM
I agree, not a scam.
It's like buying the BC Expansion and then getting pissed when it won't work, even though it says in big letters "Requires World of Warcraft" to use. The "malice" quote was dead-on.
Todd Apr 5th 2007 5:01PM
I guess there is no way to really find an agreement on this topic unless you get the culprit and simply ask what their end intent was.
len Apr 5th 2007 5:32PM
There sure are a lot of shifty con artists in this thread. I supposed because your grandma is a bit slow it's ok for me to scam her, too?
One way to screw these people is to buy several of the recipe, and every time they put it up, put up two at cost. I've done that with several rare vendor leatherworking patterns because I got annoyed at seeing them listed by the same guy over and over at an obscene amount. Camping a vendor is easy if you got something else to do while waiting.
MartinC Apr 5th 2007 5:16PM
Not a scam. Try reading the tooltip before buying. 100% the buyers fault here.
Blizzard cannot patch stupidity.
Jellodyne Apr 5th 2007 5:19PM
Intent doesn't matter. You buy one of these for $150 gold, you're an idiot because YOU CAN SEE EXACTLY WHAT IT IS. Consider it an educational expense. If you can see what's offered and you agree to purchase it for the given price, there's no longer any cause for complaint. End.