RuneScape Forums

Merchanting Clans and you



Hi everyone,

As you'll surely have noticed if you've been looking around the Clans Forums, there has recently been an increase in the number of "Merchanting Clans".

Many of these clans promise that if you start with a relatively modest amount of money and follow their simple instructions, you will quickly make a fortune.

It is possible to make money from merchanting on the Grand Exchange - but it's also possible to lose money. And if someone tells you something that seems too good to be true, it probably is.

The Grand Exchange is meant to empower players to buy the items they need when they need them. Likewise, if players have made or obtained something that they don't need, the Grand Exchange can help them sell it to someone who does need it.

If you spend a lot of money on items that you don't actually want or need, you are choosing to take a risk. You might make money, but you might also lose money.

How you might lose your money

What often happens is something like this. There are variations in the details, but the overall principle is usually the same.

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1. Due to the economic principle of "supply and demand", prices tend to rise when a lot of people are buying an item, and fall when a lot of people are selling.



2. A rich player, or group of rich players, will choose a specific item and buy up a large quantity. This causes the price for that item to start rising.



3. The leaders tell you that if you buy enough of the same item, the price will keep rising. They say that you should keep buying until they tell you to sell, and everyone will make money because you'll be selling for more than you paid.



4. Prices will only keep rising as long as there are more people looking to buy than there are items for sale. Once someone starts to sell in large quantities (known as "dumping" the item), the prices will fall ("crash") as the supply/demand imbalance is reversed. Anyone who doesn't react quickly enough will be left holding items that are suddenly worth a lot less than they paid.



5. Crucially, the crash will almost always be before the "sell date" publicised by the clan leaders. No-one wants to be last to sell as they would be less likely to make their money back. This means that you're essentially having to trust other players with your money. You don't control them and you probably don't even know them, but it just takes one or two of them to lose their nerve and your money evaporates.

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Once again, if you choose to buy items just because you're hoping to make money by selling them on, you also need to accept the risk that you could lose money on them too.

Hopefully you now understand that you should never expect to get something for nothing.

What is Jagex's policy and how does this apply to the official Forums?

• The Grand Exchange was consciously designed to emulate a real-life stock market in many ways. One of the most important principles is that an item is worth whatever someone is willing to pay for it. This is why we chose to make it possible for GE prices to rise and fall, rather than simply fixing them at static amounts.



• We don't see anything wrong with merchanting per se. However, we do want to minimise the risk of our players losing their money because they don't understand the risks that come with trying to 'play the market'.



• We also want to prevent dishonest players from deliberately misleading others into making unwise transactions so that they can profit at the others' expense. Of course, not all players involved in merchanting are out to scam people. However, if someone is giving you buy/sell instructions, it is almost impossible to tell in advance whether they are advising you in good faith, or whether they are actually attempting to mislead you.



• If you do still want to try and make money by buying and selling on the Grand Exchange, that's fine as long as you're aware that you could also lose money. To minimise the risks, it's better to spread your purchases out across multiple items rather than putting all of your available funds into a large stock of a single item. Then if one of the items should crash, you won't lose everything.



• Ultimately, the most important thing to remember is that you should never risk anything that you cannot afford to lose.

What is encouraged on the forums

• Swapping advice on how to merchant most effectively. The main goals of a legitimate merchanting clan would be general advice, guidance, moral support and friendship.



• Advising one another on how to follow item price rises and falls, and how to tell when to buy and sell according to price fluctuations and charts.



• Teaching players to make their own merchanting decisions and not have to rely on a large group of people.

What is not allowed on the forums

• Deliberately trying to scam or deceive other players. This includes telling people any false information to try and make them lose their money.



• Making any kind of promise like "You will make millions by doing what we say." As we've explained above, trying to 'play the Exchange' is inherently risky and you can't guarantee that players will make a profit.



• Telling others what items to buy or sell, what prices to set, and when to buy or sell. You may give advice and make recommendations, but not give absolute instructions. Everyone is free to make the trades that they personally wish to, as long as they are within the limits imposed automatically by the GE system.



• Asking players to "advertise" a clan chat channel in-game for any period of time. This leads to the use of autotypers which are against the Rules of Conduct and cause disruption for other players.