Gold Trading Exposed: The Sellers

What do "gold sellers" actually do? Sit in a den somewhere, plotting crimes and flogging victims' credit card details, in order to fund their drugs and prostitution empires ... or is the picture of the hard-pressed Chinese worker on the edge of starvation wages more accurate? The truth is, probably, a mixture of both, with many "legitimate" gold farming and selling businesses keen to distance themselves from the criminal element in the industry. No-one knows for sure, because that industry is so fragmented and located in distant cultures like China.

Money makers

Gold sellers, or real money traders (RMT), make their cash in three main ways:

One: selling in-game currency. This is similar to buying foreign currency in the "real world". You buy via a gold seller's website at a clearly stated real-to-virtual currency exchange rate, with payment typically made via PayPal or credit card. You sometimes get the cash sent via in-game mail, but since MMO companies tightened up their procedures you often get a message and are told to meet one of the gold farmers in-game. The money is then delivered. According to just one estimate, in mid-2008, you could buy five million RuneScape gold for around USD 20.