legality of buying a game's account

[caitsith]

I was looking into purchasing an account for an online mmorpg game. since the time it would take to get to the point of the game when it becomes fun (when your at the peak level) takes a long time. anyone know of any protection on my part for assuming control of the other persons account? I know the sale of the account is illegal according to game regulations, but are there any laws or conditions that will allow me to at least not have the account taken back after i pay for it?

 

[Some Random Guy]

google "unclean hands"

Since you knowingly entering into a transaction that is against the rules, nobody's going to care if you get cheated.

Most common results of selling a game account:
1. Company finds out and deletes your account. You have no recourse for this.You just lost your money.

2. Person who sold it waits a week for you to change the password on the account and start playing. Then he calls up the company claiming he forgot the password. They validate that he is the registered owner fo the account and then reset the password. You just lost your money.

 

[caitsith]

reply

so there is no addendum, statement, or anything therein that could be taken from the seller to make legal recourse? like if i ask a series of questions recorded on the phone if they are to far away, or written on paper stating that I said seller give all my time invested in the account to said buyer? or something along those lines? seems kinda weird how there are websites devoted to the purchase of accounts if said seller could just wait a weak and reclaim his account 100$ richer without worrying about having a lawsuit on his/her hands. these websites gotta have some kind of angle to keep the accounts.

 

[tranquility]

No. You cannot make such a contract.

 

[Some Random Guy]

so there is no addendum, statement, or anything therein that could be taken from the seller to make legal recourse?

Nope. Its all a matter of trust. Do you trust an anonynous stranger that you find on the internet to not screw you out of $100 when you give him an easy opportunity?

 

[caitsith]

reply

still doesn't explain how there are websites out there running who thrive on the purchase/sale of these accounts.

 

[Zigner]

still doesn't explain how there are websites out there running who thrive on the purchase/sale of these accounts.

They could be operating without permission. Or they could be operating WITH permission.

 

[Some Random Guy]

still doesn't explain how there are websites out there running who thrive on the purchase/sale of these accounts.

Because, like ebay the websites make money on the trade whether or not the buyer or seller gets scammed. And they are likely hosted outside of the US where you are unlikely to have any possibility of dragging them into court.

As I said, its a matter of trust. On ebay, you are selling a legal product, you usually have a physical address for each party and you have a feedback system to try to weed out scammers. Do any of the web sites you mention have that?

 

[caitsith]

reply

found out a friend of mine sold his account to a website, the site called him and made him agree to a bunch of statements over the phone(no clue what they were) and then they sent him 250$ thru paypal this was almost a year ago, what stops him from just calling up the game company and getting his account? nothing it seems.... :-/

 

[caitsith]

Because, like ebay the websites make money on the trade whether or not the buyer or seller gets scammed. And they are likely hosted outside of the US where you are unlikely to have any possibility of dragging them into court.

As I said, its a matter of trust. On ebay, you are selling a legal product, you usually have a physical address for each party and you have a feedback system to try to weed out scammers. Do any of the web sites you mention have that?

didn't read that one that close before, there is a website hosted here in the usa (California i think) whom straight up buys accounts. how can they do this without fear of the account being taken back? It boggles the mind unless there is a series of statements that make it legal to where they can prosecute to get the money back. I know i have seen the statement "you are not buying the account, but the time put into the account" flying around a lot on ebay. don't know if that makes it any more legal....

 

[cyjeff]

You cannot enforce a legal contract for an illegal act.

I could no more bind you, in a court of law, to a buyer's contract for crack than I could for this.