EllyRox

There will be noticeable fees levied on any sales in the auction house for Diablo III, where you can sell in-game items for cold hard real world cash. One of the biggest new features Blizzard has added to the release of Diablo III, you can buy and sell with other players, previously this was not a sanctioned function of the game, however, Blizzard has decided to cash in on your desire to buy and sell your collected loot.

According to the FAQ from Blizzard, “Nearly everything that drops on the ground, including gold, can be traded with other players directly or bought and sold through the auction house system. Aside from certain quest items, there will be very few (if any) items that will be “soulbound” to your character and therefore untradable. We are also planning to allow players to buy and sell characters in the auction house at some point in the future”

This is a welcome innovation for many players since loot collecting is practically an occupation in Diablo games; however, it comes at a price. Selling your finds through the auction house will cost you 15% of the sale price for things like recipes and gems, and cash transfers to a third party such as PayPal. Blizzard plans to charge $1 per item of weapons and armor. These are in addition to any fees associated with the auction itself.

The transfer fees can be avoided by using your Battle.net account to store your IRL gold. Which can be used for more products from Blizzard games, or more from the Diablo III auction house. This account can’t be turned into cash, but you can use a credit card to pay for items.

These fees could add up fast for zealous players, and possibly push them back onto the unsanctioned websites previously frequented to sell items before the implementation of an official auction house. Blizzard seems confident that players will prefer the official version, noting that outside websites lead to “numerous customer-service and game-experience issues that we’ve needed to account for.”

Blizzard claims that they want to “serve as the foundation for a player-driven economy that’s safe, fun, and accessible to everyone.” I’m sure that fairness and accountability are a big part of this move, but it also seems like maybe Blizzard was tired of not getting their cut.

The cap for Battle.net will be $250 (USD), at which point you will not be able to put any more items up for sale, this is also the max bid for items, with the minimum being $1.25 (USD). This means, if you sell a piece of armor, for $1.25, and want to turn it into real money, you’re only going to be seeing 25 cents. So, don’t worry, it might take a while to hit your cap.

Luckily, Blizzard will not be selling anything in the auction houses, preferring to leave it in the hands of the players to buy, and sell to each other, all while Blizzard sits back and reaps the benefits.

(Originally Posted to PixelPerfectMag, Via: Kotaku)