Strange new marketplace activity
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We don't "manipulate the market" as is implied every so often. I just want to clarify that.
I can tell you all that the team is working hard to continue to get the bot situation under control so that the marketplace experience is the best it can be.
As we all know, it's an ever-evolving process.
You also said that the people that got Bunny packs instead of Ultra would get the Ultra packs. "That would make the most sense" I believe is how you put it. Well you might want to tell that to Miguel who sent me a 200 word e-mail, that basically said 'f-off, deal with it'.
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For those that don't know how the bots/stub resellers work. (I've not done it but I know someone that paid for their college books doing it.)
They will harvest 1000s of cards however they can. (WBC Glitch, Cronus Zen for the high value catds) Resellers then sell them off on the marketplace, often close to quick sell. They will not quick sell them because of the attention that would draw. (Like SDS can't see the 100s of cards being sold for less then quick sell after tax.)
When the player buys stubs from one of the websites it's individual people selling them through that site. They take control of your account, go on the marketplace, take a card that has no buy or sell offers, they will then 'buy' the card with your account and turn around and resell it to their account for ever how many stubs are needed. That is why all these sites offer around 10% free, because it's never a exact number.With that said... it's an easy fix. Find the 'players' selling 100s of cards at a loss and that would cut down the vast majority. There SDS, problem solved, I'll wait on my check.
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Last post... If you ever look through sell price history or recent sells and see a card that has been a certain amount for a long time then it spikes by 50k plus that is usually a reseller at work.
SDS could fix this, they have the tools. They just do not want to. Yes the stub resellers hurt them, but the people buying 90% off stubs are not the same people that would buy them at full price to start with. So it's a wash for SDS, they might lose a little on the stubs but it keeps the marketplace where they want it.Another example of marketplace manipulation, just with outside help.
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The really irritating thing about the bots is that it seems like they're designed not to help the person using them buy the cards they want, but just to prevent everyone else from being able to buy anything.
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Sometimes I think it is people just being an [censored] and under cutting by 1 just to troll.
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@whitejw98_MLBTS This...is the most outlandish take I've ever heard. And yet it almost makes perfect sense.
Also @sds_joek_psn I'm not accusing SDS of doing this nor stating that they are, I'm just saying that I don't think anyone would be surprised if it ever came to light that it was, especially given the amount of decisions that appear to be very heavily anti-NMS the past few years.
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The really irritating thing about the bots is that it seems like they're designed not to help the person using them buy the cards they want, but just to prevent everyone else from being able to buy anything.
You are correct. Reseller/bots and SDS, only want you buying a card after buying stubs. That's why there's so many cards released of the most popular players from the most popular teams. FOMO is a real thing, especially with younger people. See the Fortnite lawsuit for example. And this year SDS invited Pennywise to the Fear Of Missing Out party.
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All the more argument for SDS killing the community market. Whether the theories advanced here are true or not, there is certainly a degree of mistrust that no company can feel comfortable with.
There is a mimic of something real going on if the theory is correct -- the black market.
And when it comes to making real money, if the avenue is seen, it will be leveraged.
Do the smart thing, SDS. It requires leadership. Do you have leaders holding the seats of leadership? If so, then kill the community market and get back to the old-fashioned concept of making the best baseball video game that the current level of technology will support.
No more arcade style presentations, no more layers of junk, just pure honest baseball video games where the goal is to make the human interaction as realistic as possible and without the overt concepts like throw meters and other rubbish projected in peoples' faces.
I know that's almost radical today. But, it's the only way. You might find that without devoting energies to fixing a broken market, and by rewriting the code from scratch without the multiple layers of changes to add this or add that, you might actually find out that you make a game that really does redefine the concept of a sports video game.
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It is easy to figure out what is going on. Look at the game market in general. When is the last time anything went the player's way?
In the case of SDS, take out every concern for the players, throw your 'I can't do that' feelings in the trash, step back and look, if you were running this business and knew you were the only game in town and nothing but money mattered...
It's a perfect business model for SDS, they can blame high prices on the bots, while doing nothing to fix it or even slow it down. Plausible deniability.
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It's not a perfect business model unless your goal is to max out the money in your pocket before the game title destroys itself.
The sad thing is we have seen examples of this exact narrative playing out. So, I understand how people can be jaded and think that is what's going on with SDS.
But, I guess I'm just going to remain stubborn and advocate for things I truly think would make the actual baseball video game better. Not flashier, nor more inundated with slick marketing gimmicks. Reason is because I think people are very tired of that nonsense. They are repelled by it, and so if SDS is motivated to remain in business, they had better take suggestions like mine to heart, because if they continue down this pathway of micro-transactions, or post-sale revenue streams, then they are going to kill this game.
If you're correct, then the SDS suits are just calculating the number of years they have left to suck down their bonus checks. But, even if that's true, at least myself and people like me tried their best to keep a really nice baseball game going. But, perhaps, maybe just perhaps, there are still some people at SDS who see the bigger picture.
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@PriorFir4383355_XBL I can't argue with anything you said. My reasoning behind thinking that this game was/is a cash grab is based entirely on how good this game used to and could be.
To me it's impossible for this game to be this dysfunctional, have this many problems, fall this far this quick, without something being intentional. I'm not saying they intentionally destroyed the game. I'm just saying they intentionally decided to put all their efforts into profit margins. -
I personally think SDS or bots are buying/selling items. I've started flipping early in the morning on certain items. Buying/selling the same item 20-50 times within 10 minutes seems wild. Especially the stuff I flip.
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The prolonged silence often makes people assume the worst.
I find that many people don't need much, if any, incentive to assume the worst these days
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While that’s true, the lack of communication by SDS on this topic as well as many others all year long certainly isn’t doing them any favors.
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When you see those bots adding 125 orders at a time and deleting them just as quickly it’s a good idea to bid along. I focus on diamond equipment and I make a bunch of stubs super fast when I see that going on.
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@TripleH-4481_PSN Yeah they're not earning a ton of good will this year at all. Some games/devs have an off year, they usually get a pass once or twice because they communicate things. Look at NMS- that game is still going strong after ten years with active communication from the team.
SDS for whatever reason, and I know @sds_joek_psn does his best, seems to think that less is more even in what's turning into one of the worst releases in recent memory...and I'm counting 18 there too.
*edited for typo
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I am assuming you mean 2018? I didnt think 2017 was too bad.
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@theBlindRhino_PSN my entire issue is if bots can have more than 20 why can’t we? It’s pretty cut and dry they are handcuffing our stub making abilities it’s a major factor in determining if this is my last year playing
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@nhacia88_MLBTS It is clearly several accounts, all with the 20 limit, that are hooked up to a on-off switch. I think the 20 limit per card is actually a good thing and I don't care that people cheat. My concern is making stubs for me and I have been successful in doing so because I watch what is happening and take advantage of it.
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I think the bots do 20 at a time then repeat it over and over before posting hundreds of sale orders at once. I could be wrong but I’m pretty sure that’s how they get around it. Either way bots have and are currently destroying the market.
