EverQuest auction site turns over $1.8m in first year

Everquest II auction site Station Exchange handled transactions worth US$ 1.87 million (EUR 1.44 million) during its first year of operation, according to a new white paper from Sony Online Entertainment.

Launched in June 2005, Station Exchange was designed to provide an official channel for EQII players to buy and sell in-game items. The site was created following a rise in the number of non-sanctioned third-party sites, many of which - according to SOE - were failing to deliver items as promised, if at all.

Titled 'Station Exchange: Year One', the white paper covers the period up to June 2006. It states that the most valuable items traded on the site were characters, which sold for as much as US$ 2000 each. Dark Elves fetched the highest prices, followed by High Elves and Humans.

The largest amount of money earned by a Station Exchange seller was US$ 37,435 from 351 auctions. All of the top 15 sellers took in at least US$ 10,000. The average exchange rate for the year was US$ 7.35 to one piece of platinum.

Most site users were male, with 22 year-olds the biggest sellers and 34 year-olds the biggest spenders. However, the average spend by gender was roughly the same for men and women, standing at US$ 63 and US$ 66 respectively.

"For the first time, we have reliable, verified numbers about the real-money trade phenomenon. Those numbers indicate that this market is driven by ordinary people, spending ordinary amounts of money, for ordinary reasons. In other words: as long as the game design gives people incentive to spend real money on virtual money, they will do so," said Edward Castronova, associate professor of communications at Indiana University.

"Moreover, the evidence suggests that makingRMT an official part of the game has little effect on whether people do it. Customer service costs fall dramatically, though. There's just as much activity, but a lot less fraud."

SOE president John Smedly commented, "We've found that Station Exchange is providing an excellent ancillary revenue stream for both SOE and our players. Some of our Station Exchange players are literally paying for their subscription to EQII, while others are making significant money.

"The Station Exchange White Paper results demonstrate beyond a doubt that there is a significant demand for a secure, sanctioned online marketplace where players can enhance their gaming experience by spending real dollars."