Afternoon all,

The subject basically says it all.

When you purchase special "currency" at any particular store, venue, or game, you almost never have the option to convert a large amount back into "real money". 

In the last year or so, we've seen major efforts by admins to make FREE credits more available to active users: the two major ones that come to mind are the lounge and VIP rewards. I don't think a system where people can rack up credits for free and then sell them for real cash cheaper than the site is selling them benefits the game as a whole.

I suggest that we simplify the system:

1) If you're going to buy credits with real money, you purchase them from the game. Perhaps with increased frequency of the regular "bonus" codes? Simply, don't purchase more credits than you can afford.

2) If you're going to re-sell credits for real money, that needs to be done entirely privately with nothing posted in game chat, OOC, or Outside. I don't think this is particularly draconian. Many online games offer "credits" available for purchase; I don't imagine the majority allow you to convert it back to cash. 

Admittedly, I don't know all the ins and outs of this process. If this would be too much of an immediate disruption, then we can set a date after which the changes would occur. But it seems to me like the game really benefits from the purchase of credits and gives a ton of them out for free. Also, if the credit resale market is somehow helping the site in a way I don't understand, then my bad. But it just seems to me like this is allowing people to profit at the expense of the game in a way that almost any other system wouldn't allow.

Investing wasn't something I was considering; thanks for bringing that up.

Perhaps "investor credits" could have a separate special marketplace, similar to how season ticket holders can sell individual game tickets?

Obviously, I don't know the bottom line when it comes to investment vs. credit purchases. If the amount of investment money dwarfs the amount of money from people buying credits, then obviously that would be a factor. From my position of ignorance when it comes to the financial details of MR, it seems to me that people buying credits (where the game makes money in exchange for credits) would be preferable to investing (where the game gains zero money overall and loses credits, which are then sold at undercut prices to players who would otherwise have to buy them from the game.)

as much as i agree with this i don't believe it can be enforced. people need to be smart buyer beware, personally i only buy from MR to support MR, keep MR alive is my thinking