Why do people do this.

I just went into Beetletun and the first thing I saw was "WTS awesome healing ankh" So I asked for the stats and he shows me the item. It was a collector item. Yes collector items have nice stats...but you know why not advertise what you really have. I mean if you look on the buy forum people have said they would consider buying a collector item. The point being they know what they are getting. I seem to see an influx of people trying to "make a buck" in ways I would not waste my time. I just do not understand these people...its not like gold can get you anything better than you can find or use collectors to get. The only thing you truely need gold for is your armor.

Now I did not ask how much the guy wanted because I was kind of disgusted and felt that he was trying to catch an unexpecting noob and soak him/her for a plat or so.

I also did not feel like getting into it with the guy so I just said "nice but my healing is not that high" even though it only has a 9 req healing it was a good out for me (monk is secondary) and no conflict arose.

Anyhow I attached a screen shot of a collector item with the same stats as the one the guy was trying to sell. So if you are new to the game check it out so you know the stats of the collector items of this type. Then if you want to pay for it then at least you are an informed consumer.

So your bothered by the fact that he didnt outright say it was collectors Item? Or the fact he didnt say what it was besides "awesome"?

Probably the guy should have advertised it as "WTS Healing Ankh collector's item". I have NO problem buying collector's items. It saves me having to go get the stuff, find the collector and get it.

Exactly what Aniewiel said. And also in the past I have seen some people try to get a plat or more for that stuff.

Meh... Ill pay more than a plat or 2 for the higher end ones just to not go and fetch it. Anyway seem just a bit much "nit picking" to me.

Might as well as people to use trade channel instead of All. ^_^

I junked my healing, divine and protector items in the merchant because i ran out of space.
Wow, people really must be strapped for cash nowadays.

I have so little time to get to play and most of it is taken up with missions/quests. I don't get the luxury of going to find the top-of-the-market collector items. With a 3 year old and a full time job, I am more than happy to pay someone to go get that perfect Domination Staff I see a collector making.

Indeed ... some collector items are in so difficult places and require rarely dropping items that I often end up buying anyway, because I don't want to spend hours hunting for them. It's easier to buy some of the collector items than to go pick them up yourself ...

Wands and focuses aren't an issue, really, but other collector's items, and especially quest items, can be nuisances-

Should you upgrade them unaware that they are what they are, your upgrade is now lost, because you can't salvage them.

Should you buy them for the chance to salvage the upgrade, you just got ripped off. (Buying the upgrade itself is generally a better idea anyway.)

Although, I'll admit, it's probably best if buyers just didn't let eye-catcher words such as, "leet/uber/godly/awesome" get to them, considering what game they're playing.

Actually you can salvage collector's items. It was in one of the updates.

I had a few 20/20 healing ankhs a player paid me with for a fortitude mod. I sold them for a few plat each even though I mentioned they were collector items. I don't think people should have to say they are collector items at all. If someone is happy to pay for something they find useful, where is the problem? The buyer may not have the ability to go to the collector in Snake Dance with 5 items to get it and it's a useful service the seller provides them.

I'd buy a reasonably priced collectors item if it was something I was after. Thanks to the drop rate of some of the items and the location of some of the collectors, I'd actually prefer it.

Well it would seem that there is a general consensus that this is resonable. I guess I just am too taken aback by all the scams I have seen here and on so many games that I just dont like to pay for items that I can get myself. So if people want to pay that for items that a little time and effort will get you for yourself then so be it.

Take care

Just mention it's a collector's item (unless it's a focus, shield or wand - those can't carry upgrades anyway), and it should be fine. Those people trying to get innocent people to pay outrageous prices for the collector items are usually foiled by the fact they're not gold, not even purple. 1k-2k is something people are willing to pay instead of going through the hassle of collecting the items and tracking down the collector themselves.

I'll usually tell someone that it's a collector's item while they are looking at it, or when they ask to see it. But I rarely put it in the advertisement, and you know why? Many players seem to have a bias that collector's items suck, and that only gold or purple items are worth anything... I even felt that way my first time through the game, until I got into the Maguuma Jungles and the items started being worth the effort.

There's also those who say, "it's not worth that. I'll just get one myself," not realizing how really hard it is for a non-farmer to actually get 5 Alpine Seed drops and then get to the collector in the far east of Mineral Springs, or how far away in the game timewise that actually is from where they currently are... for players just arriving in Lion's Arch with only a 9 req in a given attribute, paying only 3k for an item like that is a steal, as it could easily take them another 100 hours before they even get to the area of the game where those collector's items drop, let alone do the work to get it.

Hardcore players who burn through the PvE missions and typical farmer-types can get to them much easier, so yeah they might think it's a ripoff. If a high lvl player is looking at my item and wondering if it's worth the cost, I'll usually tell them what items it needs and where to get it. Sometimes upon hearing what they have to do, they change their mind and 3k doesn't seem like such a ripoff anymore.

If it's a max 20/20 collector's item or one that gives built-in energy or health bonuses, that is an awesome item, regardless of whether it came from a collector or not. Certainly there are rare items out there that are arguably better with their inherent stats (mod upgrades don't count, as they can be added to collector's items too)... but they are rare. The fact that the standard max collector staves/melee/bows can have any 2 upgrades added on top of their inherent bonuses is not to be considered lightly, imho.

Just make collectors items appear green, like rare items appear gold. Problem solved.

Whats the current farming rate / h?

If its above 5k/h, people selling collectors items are scamming themselves...

That ankh is a POS, it'll get your team killed real quick in fissure or uw.

There's a 20/20 Ankh, too.

Couldn't agree more! I bought a collector's focus from someone in Lion's Arch back when I was level 12 (for 2.5K I think). I used the thing right up until level 20, and it was definitely worth the money. I am currently gathering a set from the desert for myself (different attributes for fun), and it does take some time to do.

I have just switched to an Earth PVE build, and wanted to snag the collectors items as a cheap way to get kit to work with it. Here's how it went (bear in mind I already have all desert locations unlocked):
Start: Decide to get collectors items. Look up relevant collectors and required items (5 Crusty Lodestones, 5 Azure Crests). Guildie has stones, so result! Start trying to buy Crests for 100g.
0:20: Fail to get any crests (even offering 1.5K for 5), so decide to go farm drakes with guildies.
0:30: Get a couple of mates together and roll out of Elona to hunt
0:45: After a spectacular run of luck get 5 crests in one run
0:50: Get first collector item (easy as outside Augury) head over to Dunes to get second
1:00: Try to run out from Dunes to the second collector. No dice. Decide to do something else for a bit.

Now I know the power-players will accuse me of not being a good farmer etc, and I'm not. Good farmers only wield Gold status symbols anyway .However for someone just wanting to PVE for fun the collectors items are great pieces of kit that do take real time to get. 3K each is just not a lot of money for them, especially for the benefit offered. Is a max dmg clean bow worth a middling purple item? Yes, I think it is.

Just my 0.02.

Az

PS: As I am going to be out in the desert this week collecting items if anyone needs anything and wants to pay a reasonable amount for my time let me know and I can pick you up some!

i have to agree with the majority here... not often, but i do buy collectors items if i need them. there are times i flat dont want to run circles trying to buy/farm the neccesary items to trade in... then run my ass out to the collector and get my item. im a pretty gimpy farmer, but im capable of making a few K to buy an item in far FAR less time than it would take me to farm the neccesary items usually.

Items actually better than the collectors items are very rare. I don't see a problem with people selling them, even without explicitly saying they are collectors items.

I would have a problem if the seller was lieing to the buyer, trying to say that is was rare, difficult to find, "godly" or any of the other nonsense that people use to advertise their wares. But other than that, no, I don't see a problem.

You can get a Focus Item at the collector in the Temple of Ages with the same stats for 3 Decayed Orr Emblems. I use one now. I have an extra in storage. It might be a Divine Favor requirement...I can't remember.

I bloody well can't stand people who sell collector items for ridiculous amounts of money. It's pathetic.

I sell that garbage for like 400g as long as it's not a super huge pain in the ass to get. Even then.....

I sell the 12/20/20 Fire focus thing for roughly 3-4k cause its actually really hard to get to it in Minerial Springs as well as it costing Avicara Scalps... but that't the only one I sell for that amount, since all the other's are pretty easy to get to.

The question is not wether is easy to get the collectors items, but wether is easier to just get the gold.
Everything that is not at the entrance of a zone, and i rather buy the item. Unless you need to reset your "overfarming" rating or whatever.

If you're level 10 and have 3k why not buy the best healing ankh in the world. It's a collector item doesn't matter.

It's certainly not any more a scam to pay for a collector item than it is to pay top dollar for a 'gold' healing ankh that's not as good and I've seen that more times than I can say.

You're paying for the stats.

Beetletun is a new player area? odd.

Unless YOU know its a collector item, because theyre id'd ....how would one know that it is a collectors item....ive probably bought and sold these items with out knowing.....e.g....a relativly new player wont have any idea that a collector item from droknars or thunderhead isnt just some really awesom item ,,cuz in his adventures , hes never seen anythin like it. the reason i say this some mo ron berated me fully cuz he broadcasted on the public chat WTB max (insert item here) , i sez ,,,i have one thats max.........he come to see it....i didnt ask a price or anything when he goes off an me being a G o d,,,Dnnnnnnnnnn noob and doesnt want lame collector stuff........i sez....thats what you asked for.......you werent specific.....you didnt specify...-no collector items-...so how am i to know,,,,,,huh......

maybe when asking to BUY items you should specify....- no collector items_.....but once again.....if i aint never seen it before ......say i bought it from someone dirtcheap and am trying get a lil extra from it.........how would i know its a collector...they are not ID'd as such


anyway 0.02

K - just an opinion. I've seen several people offer Max Dmg Ascalon bows for about 400g in Ascalon. I don't have a problem with that. It's obvious that what they've done is farm the first area of Elonas, gathered loads of minotaur horns and turned them all into these Ascalon bows (Which retail for 125g from the merchant - about the same price as the 5 horns needed to get the item.) - So, why don't I have a problem? Well, they've invested their time, are farming, and are selling good bows at sensible prices.

The difference between these "Collectors Farmers", and your typical trader offering "Godly Max Dmg bow with bonuses! WM your price" (where the price must exceed at least 10k) is staggering.

That "Godly Max Dmg bow with bonuses!" is a shocking 14-28 gold hornbow with +5% while in a stance and enchantments last 11% longer. I know the type. And they're trying to sell them for 30k. Disgusts me every time I see it.

I agree, 30k is alot ...without a doubt. however, what would be a fair price for an item like this. and doest some of that depend on how the item was acquired? what would make an item worth this much and why isnt this one ...one of them...i merely ask cuz i dont know. what makes the "mods" of percenatge worth what they are......greater than...less than....5%,,,11% ,,,in stance...while enchanted.....HUH?.....personaly i do not have the answers ...so when i "find" a lets say...max damage sword, +20 health, +8% damage less than 50%, colored purple........I THINK?......its a good item and try to sell if for a good dollar amount.,,,,,i dont understand