Can a runner actually "over" charge people?

hey peeps, i was just in gunnars and was accused of overcharging people bc I OFFERED to run a guy from vlox to gadds for 4k. Now to me, my price is my price, if u got a problem with it you can leave. Now in my eyes I was doing my own thing and the guy i offered it to said i had a bad sense of judgement.

question is:
Is there a set price or does the runner(s) decide what they will charge?
Can a customer report you for running at a higher than average price?

Note: I just want your opinions on this, not a fullblown accusation of me being a scammer/ripperofferer.

there is no set price for anything in this game (run, item, etc). The runner (or trader) sets whatever price they want, and if someone is willing to pay that price, cool beans.

end of story

You're the runner. You're the one providing the service. You set the price. If someone is willing to pay the price you set, they'll pay it. If no one is willing to pay your price, you MIGHT be over-charging. The best gauge for pricing on any in-game service is seeing what others are charging.

Just because one person says you're overcharging doesn't neccessarily make it so. That person may simply be looking for a discount.

You are right. You can run for any price you want and if it's too high for someone then they can find a cheaper runner or run themself or fight their way. You cannot get banned for charging 4k for a run like that. I highly doubt that you would get banned even if you charged 100k for runs. Anyways you might get flamed by someone who doesn't agree with your price and even if they report you, nothing will happen.

Something is only worth what someone will pay for it.

If you get someone to pay 4k for that run, then it was worth 4k to them.
If you don't get anyone to pay 4k, obviously its not worth 4k.

^ may sound a bit rude to the person who wants the money, but its the truth behind all business.

this says it all. on days like imperial sanctum runs. i always wait for the runner with the price i want. if they dont wanna pay your price they wont take you if they do they will pick your service. simple as that

If u want it bad ull pay what they ask..if not u got a 7 hero update ...use em

Reddog sums it up pretty much.

Also, overcharging isn't a reason to report. It's one thing if you advertised a run for 2k then said well I change my mind I want 4k half way through, you told him your price up front.

There are sorta prices that are set for things...That run from Vlox to Gadds is typically 1k
Now since I am assuming you were the "only game in town" at that time...that was the reason that the price was 4k vs the standard.

Tbh I dont agree with all of the above posters......I think that even if one is the only one offering the service at a given time they should not exploit that fact to gouge ppl. A small increase over the standard price is to be expected but going overboard......yeah..I think I would have called you out on it as well. Kinda a "golden rule" deal. If you needed a run somewhere or for something would you like it if the only option was someone that was charging 4x the normal price? While you might pay it...it doesn't change the fact that it is well above the "normal price".

Whether or not the person choses to pay any given price or not has no bearing on overcharging. Overcharging is simply charging more than a regular price.

I think you should ignore Essence. You quoted a price, if they think it is fair than the customer pays. If the customer does not like the price, they don't pay and you go without a customer. Simple as that. There are no "set prices" in Guild Wars, there is an average cost for a service but the only way to find what that is, is to watch the other runners.

exactly pixels or a damn bone dragon staff or even an inscribable can be sold as 1 gold yet be worth millions to one person...its what u are willing to pay to make it worth that much...

(its worth what your willing to pay.)
the bold can really give a straight answer to the thread

You only charge what people are willing to pay. It works for everything, including running. I could charge 7 stacks of ectos and 100k for a crappy weapon as long as I'm willing to sit in spamadan and sell it. I'm not over charging because to someone it would be worth that. The great thing about the Guild Wars economy is that its pretty much a barter system so there aren't really any set prices (for player to player transactions, obviously player to NPC and vice versa has set prices).

If anyone accuses you of overcharging them just say what I usually say, "Thats my price, if you don't like it, find someone else to do it."

There may not be a set price but there is most probably a consensus on what the range of prices that is deemed acceptable is. So if your price is outside that then yes you can 'overcharge' people but that is in the eyes of the beholder.

never. running these days (apart from dungeon or endgame) is so far down the food chain. inflation never caught up with running so even though people have so much more now, they still expect a, what 10 or 15 minute run?, to cost them a pittance.
i know some people will pay or tip generously if they need something fast or are impressed with you, but i can't even stomach running anymore.

While there is no set price for goods/services there is usually a "going rate" or cost/fee players are willing to pay. The only way a runner can be properly accused of scamming is accepting the agreed-upon price for a run, taking the cash, then reneging on the actual (full or complete) run.

The wiki article on running pretty much outlines the pros and cons of running (as a service). As a former runner I can certainly relate to wanting to price my services a little higher then the going rate -- personally it’s really not worth the time/effort to run a single person from Lion’s Arch to Ascalon City for 1K-2K, considering I can easily make more money in that same amount of time doing other things. In addition, waiting around for more "customers" (to make a run more worthwhile) is even more time-consuming.

These days I pretty much only run friends/guidies that need a run. But when I use to run (as an offered service) I usually charge (for those longer hauls) whatever the going rate is/was but included a provision that I could “leave now” if my "charges" are willing to pay a higher fee if they didn’t want or couldn’t wait around for more paying customers.

Before Night Fall came out my best cash return on running (as a service) was the "Iron Mines to Grotto" run, solely on tips alone – it was a short 10-12 min run x 7 paying customers (between 500gp to 2K each). (This was before speedbooking, mission running, etc.)

However, if you plan to charge what may be considered to be an outrageous price for run, be prepared to be ridiculed.

I think it's OK for runners to "over charge" (if there's such a thing, they set their prices) if they run few people. Say you normally run 4 people from Vlox-Gadd at 1k/each, I see no harm in charging 4k from a single player. Either he pay, he wait for a runner to get more people, or he use his 7 heroes and get there himself.

^^ This sums it up very well. It's your service/merchandise, your price. Take it or leave it, as simple as that.

Sounds like simple economics at work here, with supply and demand. If you want the service then you need to pay the price.

Yap. No need much more from anyone else. This covers everything.

I occasionally see runners who offer full EotN runs for about 5-8k per person so 4k for Vlox -> Gadd's is a bit steep in comparison.

I wouldn't pay the 4k but I wouldn't flame either. I'd shop around.