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All of the latest Mists of Pandaria newsForum post of the day: A monetary slap in the face
by Amanda Dean 
Aug 1st 2008 at 2:30AM
Every once in a while we do nice things for other players out of the goodness of our hearts. More often we do things in game in exchange for gold or other necessary services. Feevah of Shattered Hand is unhappy that he was given a two silver tip for a portal. He feels that the acronym "WTB" implies that the tip for the service will be at least enough to cover the cost of materials. Thus defining the distinction between a purchase and a gratuity, which is usually given to members of the service sector above the advertised price.
Some suggested that the tip was mistyped in either the wrong coin slot or missing a digit. Others suggested that Feevah should have immediately disbanded his group so that the penny pincher could simply stare at the portal without being able to use it. Perhaps the poster was unaware of the material cost of the spell, or maybe he was just a jerk.
The subject of tipping comes up fairly often in WoW. I may well be the nicest person you'll ever meet. I'm hoping to have positive interactions in the future. Like many other posters in the thread, I try to tip fairly for service and tend more toward the over-generous end of the scale. I tip when I feel it's warranted. The neighbor kid helps me with the groceries, I give him a buck; a couple of guys juggling torches in Orgrimar during the Fire Festivall- a gold a piece. In this case I would be a little irate in the OPs position as there was the implied assumption of proper payment.
Was the OP at fault for not clearly stating the price of the service outright? Or was the purchaser to blameFiled under: Mage, Analysis / Opinion, Making money, Forums, Forum Post of the Day
Reader Comments (Page 6 of 6)
Vinna Aug 1st 2008 1:21PM
My GL is an enchanter, and he has pretty much every enchant, and when he's doing enchants for out of guild people he always states there is a 'fee' instead of a tip. Some people get bitchy about it with him, but especially when it's a rare enchant that not everyone has they will bitch for a bit then come crawling back. If they are lucky they haven't already been put on his ignore list.. lol. It's also been funny to see people bitch about an enchant fee, not like it, then ask if they can join the guild... when it's so obvious all they want to do is join the guild, get the enchant for no fee then split.. lol no, you can't join our guild.
I guess I am lucky in that I have guildies who can provide any of the services I require, and I am patient enough to wait for them to log on, so tipping is never and issue for me. (our guild never sells things to other members or pay them with tips, we all do it for each other out of friendship) But I am amazed at the people who have no patience, yet don't want to pay for that instant gratification. I've seen people in some of the top guilds on our server bitch about a fee for mongoose, when you know there is someone in their guild who has it. Dude, if you're not willing to wait for your guildie to log on and do it for free for you, pony up the gold.
Clanklub Aug 1st 2008 1:48PM
Like a couple of other posters, I think I may be an overtipper. I generally tip at least 5g for something like a rogue opening a box for me, up to 20-30g for a certain enchant I may need. I (almost) always provide mats. I've had a couple of people tell me the tip is too much, but I look at the convenience factor to me and the inconvenience factor to them... It's not like they were just following me around waiting to provide me service!
They never seem to mind performing like services for me in the future! Imagine that.
Pay it forward. It's just gold.
lazarhat Aug 1st 2008 2:43PM
Agreed. Had a fellow hordie (who I often see in the Hall of the Brave running bgs) call out on trade chat for Drums of War. I said I can do that, he asked how much and I gave him a price with about a 2 or 3% profit margin over the cost of the mats. No charge for my time. He hemmed and hawed about it, asking for a link to the mats until finally I said "look -- my bg is about to pop so I'll just make up a pair and mail them to you -- you know my price, so just send me what you think it is worth..." -- trying to help a fellow hordie.
Big mistake. It's a fine line between being nice and being taken advantage of... I know you'll say I should have been firm on the price or just sent it COD, but again, I try to be helpful as people have helped me in the past. Pay it forward, as it were. Nor did I want to do this to skill up my LW because I'm already at 375.
Surprisingly enough, the next day I log in to discover he sent me about 1/3 of what the mats were worth by themselves. He did say thank you, but needless to say I won't be going out of my way to help that particular individual out ever again.
-Laz
hoeding Aug 1st 2008 4:27PM
SOLUTION:
1)Ask in guild "anyone not in a party"
2)Invite said person to group
3)Pass them lead
4)Step into Ragefire Chasm
5)Leave party
6)Enjoy your ghetto hearth.
xlotrx Aug 1st 2008 4:35PM
A few days ago I got a monetary slap in the face when a player asked me to come to Darnassus from Shattrath City(reasonable) to cut a bunch of gems. Only after I arrived in Darnassus I was informed I would have to wait 15min so my client would have the money to get his gems. Now I was a little irked, the kid wasn't upfront about that with me but I was waiting for some friends to fly somewhere so I was in no immediate rush and in good faith waited. After the 15min he got his gold from some auctions he sold and bought some gems off the auction house to have me cut. I cut the the gems 9 of them in total, giving him the first 6, then i out the last 3 in the trade window and he tried to trade me without tipping, So I asked "No tip?" he put in 10silver. Now I was getting royally pissed and decided it wasn't worth my time I canceled the trade, destroyed his 3 gems and let him start drama and look like a fool in trade channel for the next 3 days. - Socca of Khadgar lololol.
kabshiel Aug 1st 2008 8:49PM
This is simple. If you want a specific amount of money for your services, ask for that amount. Don't be vague or non-confrontational about it.
It's like those people who are always going "WTS " and when you ask them how much they want, they refuse to answer. They expect you to make an offer and when, inevitably, your offer is too low, they make a big deal about how you're crazy and not offering enough. SO JUST TELL ME HOW MUCH YOU WANT ALREADY! GEEZ!
Jenna Aug 2nd 2008 5:21PM
Just because _you_ might not charge for your services... doesn't make people who do "jerks". It took time and in may cases some serious investment to get x skill or learn x cut/pattern. It's not like those Meta-Gem Cuts are trained off a trainer when the skill gets to the appropriate level.
If someone agrees on a 'price' and then tries to back out of it, after you've done the work? 100%, I would totally hold their item.
Depending on if they were a "jerk" themselves about it... would determine whether I COD'd it to them - slightly more expensive for wasting my TIME - or put it on the AH.
This does not make me a jerk or not a good person. I've spent hours farming and sending FREE level 40 plate to complete strangers because the market on the AH was stupidly high (lately 80-100g per piece). I've spent hours in game helping people learn the geography of new areas, and tons of other dedications of my time, effort, and resources.
Expecting someone to hold up their end of the bargain, and 'punishing' them when they try to screw me over does not make me a jerk. Tons of other things do, but not that.
Juliah Aug 4th 2008 12:13PM
Agree on the fee up front and do not create the portal before payment.
Oh, and by the way, my fee is on a sliding scale depending on how polite the person is asking. Niceness can be economical. :)
Adamanthis Aug 29th 2008 7:30PM
Overall, my only complaint is that people should stop referring to the fixed amount they charge as "tips". Also, it's not very wise to expect that other players, who may be new to the game, will know exactly how much they expect to be "tipped."
@Sothe:
A functioning economy is part of the fun of the game for many people. It's absurd to "hate" someone for playing a game where their character is a crafter who charges a reasonable amount for his services. It is fictional currency, after all.