Blizzard isn't a bank. They don't lend out depositor money or invest it to make a profit. How much of a fee is appropriate depends on overhead. Doing a lot of small transactions carries a high overhead. The money goes in the money goes out. The volume, size, and percentages of these transactions are peanuts.
So you know they dont invest it?
Given the fee, we can assume people will either use the money to buy blizz products or keep it there as long as possible, or do you see players paying in 5 bucks every week and withdrawing it? As for the "inner" overhead of running the ah, we already payed a good chunk of that within our 60 bucks a box. The rest depends on paypal fees, which has a extensive plan, probably negotiable for someone like blizz, in the end, in numbers with a bulk business discount on their page, 4.9% for 10 bucks to 2% for 250, so 10-13% for blizz, without any special deal from paypal.
Heh , D3 is already dead and Blizzard won by fooling everyone including myself at buying the game , let's see how their precious "Titan" will do once release , because I doubt everyone who bought a crappy version of Diablo will forget what they wasted 60$ on, anytime soon. Blizzard is on my block list forever , no matter what they come up with even if Titan becomes the next WoW , I won't care and got 0 "ZERO" respect for them.
Because Blizzard said they do. Because paypal is absorbing all the risks instead of passing them on to merchants like they usually do. If you've ever dealt with paypal you know how hard it is to get your money if a deal gets a little sideways or a payer turns out to be a thief. Blizzard got far better terms from paypal than any ordinary merchant can. Paypal has been chomping at the bit to get into new markets.
Do you have a link of blizzard saying that paypal is getting most of the transaction fee?
I'm sorry but I don't believe you. I think blizzard might've said someone else and you just took it the wrong way. Reading most of your posts on this topic you seem to make up and plug in whatever you want to try and prove some incoherent point.. I don't know what your deal is, maybe you think this game needs a white knight or maybe you just like playing advocate - who knows.
Even though I don't particularly like the RMAH, d3 isn't a bad game. I've stopped playing but I got my 60 bucks out of it and will consider returning for any future expansions. The fact remains, Blizzard wants to make money off of the RMAH and anyone who says different is either hired by blizzard to play crowd control or a blind fan.
Blizzard isn't a bank. They don't lend out depositor money or invest it to make a profit. How much of a fee is appropriate depends on overhead. Doing a lot of small transactions carries a high overhead. The money goes in the money goes out. The volume, size, and percentages of these transactions are peanuts.
So you know they dont invest it?
Given the fee, we can assume people will either use the money to buy blizz products or keep it there as long as possible, or do you see players paying in 5 bucks every week and withdrawing it? As for the "inner" overhead of running the ah, we already payed a good chunk of that within our 60 bucks a box. The rest depends on paypal fees, which has a extensive plan, probably negotiable for someone like blizz, in the end, in numbers with a bulk business discount on their page, 4.9% for 10 bucks to 2% for 250, so 10-13% for blizz, without any special deal from paypal.
Flame on!
They invest what they earn in making games. The auction house may provide a small cashflow but they don't play the market withany of their cash. If they need to use the profits from box sales to support the auction house that would indicate they were losing money not making it.
Well, [mod edit], if they manage to loose money with 1 buck per sale and 15% due to fraud or just a small number of sales WHILE already owning most of the money, that would be quite the achievment, [mod edit]
Why are you claiming that paypal gets most of the 15% when you don't even know?
Because Blizzard said they do. Because paypal is absorbing all the risks instead of passing them on to merchants like they usually do. If you've ever dealt with paypal you know how hard it is to get your money if a deal gets a little sideways or a payer turns out to be a thief. Blizzard got far better terms from paypal than any ordinary merchant can. Paypal has been chomping at the bit to get into new markets.
"How do players get “cash” from real-money auction house sales, instead of having the proceeds go into their Battle.net Balance?
In certain regions, players will have the option of attaching an account with an approved third-party payment service such as PayPal to their Battle.net account. Once this has been completed, proceeds from the sale of items in the real-money auction house can be deposited into their third-party payment service account. “Cashing out” would then be handled through the third-party payment service. Sending proceeds to PayPal will be subject to an additional 15% transfer fee if the auction succeeds, calculated based on the amount being transferred. Additional fees from PayPal may apply. Also, any proceeds from the sale of items in the real-money auction house that have been sent to your Battle.net Balance will not be transferrable to the third-party payment service account. Not all regions will support this advanced feature at launch. For more information on cash-out availability and methods, see the Funtionality section of this FAQ.
"What’s Blizzard’s cut?
As with other online auction sites and real-world auction houses, our fee structure varies by region. We collect a fixed transaction fee for each piece of equipment sold in the real-money auction house, as well as a percentage-based transaction fee for commodities sold in the real-money auction house. These fees are only assessed if the items are sold. For players who opt to have the proceeds of their auction house sales go to their third-party payment service account (such as PayPal) instead of to their Battle.net Balance, or for those who have exceeded their maximum permitted Battle.net Balance and are required to use a third-party payment service, Blizzard will collect a separate transfer fee. See above for details on the transaction fee in each region; refer to the functionality section for more information on transfer fees and maximum Battle.net Balance."
Blizzard isn't a bank. They don't lend out depositor money or invest it to make a profit. How much of a fee is appropriate depends on overhead. Doing a lot of small transactions carries a high overhead. The money goes in the money goes out. The volume, size, and percentages of these transactions are peanuts.
So you know they dont invest it?
Given the fee, we can assume people will either use the money to buy blizz products or keep it there as long as possible, or do you see players paying in 5 bucks every week and withdrawing it? As for the "inner" overhead of running the ah, we already payed a good chunk of that within our 60 bucks a box. The rest depends on paypal fees, which has a extensive plan, probably negotiable for someone like blizz, in the end, in numbers with a bulk business discount on their page, 4.9% for 10 bucks to 2% for 250, so 10-13% for blizz, without any special deal from paypal.
Flame on!
They invest what they earn in making games. The auction house may provide a small cashflow but they don't play the market withany of their cash. If they need to use the profits from box sales to support the auction house that would indicate they were losing money not making it.
The red highlights are false statements.
Firstly, the money in your Blizzard account isn't depositor money. You cannot withdraw it. You are essentially buying a gift card or store credit. Blizzard isn't a bank, but that doesn't mean they don't invest money.
Check out the freaking quarterly reports. Activision-Blizzard holds close to half a billion dollars in investments. Your money sitting in their coffers makes them money. Sure, they will list it as a liability, but its still cash sitting in their bank.
Oh, I almost forgot a source or something that can back up what I say.
Comments
So you know they dont invest it?
Given the fee, we can assume people will either use the money to buy blizz products or keep it there as long as possible, or do you see players paying in 5 bucks every week and withdrawing it? As for the "inner" overhead of running the ah, we already payed a good chunk of that within our 60 bucks a box. The rest depends on paypal fees, which has a extensive plan, probably negotiable for someone like blizz, in the end, in numbers with a bulk business discount on their page, 4.9% for 10 bucks to 2% for 250, so 10-13% for blizz, without any special deal from paypal.
Flame on!
Paypal's listed fees for other services:
https://cms.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/?cmd=_render-content&content_ID=merchant/merchant_fees
https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/paypal-fees
Why are you claiming that paypal gets most of the 15% when you don't even know?
Where is the proof/story/source on this? All i see is an OP who wrote nothing but a title....
Heh , D3 is already dead and Blizzard won by fooling everyone including myself at buying the game , let's see how their precious "Titan" will do once release , because I doubt everyone who bought a crappy version of Diablo will forget what they wasted 60$ on, anytime soon. Blizzard is on my block list forever , no matter what they come up with even if Titan becomes the next WoW , I won't care and got 0 "ZERO" respect for them.
Do you have a link of blizzard saying that paypal is getting most of the transaction fee?
I'm sorry but I don't believe you. I think blizzard might've said someone else and you just took it the wrong way. Reading most of your posts on this topic you seem to make up and plug in whatever you want to try and prove some incoherent point.. I don't know what your deal is, maybe you think this game needs a white knight or maybe you just like playing advocate - who knows.
Even though I don't particularly like the RMAH, d3 isn't a bad game. I've stopped playing but I got my 60 bucks out of it and will consider returning for any future expansions. The fact remains, Blizzard wants to make money off of the RMAH and anyone who says different is either hired by blizzard to play crowd control or a blind fan.
I knew the RMAH was just a way to make blizzard obscene amounts of money from fools.
I sold an item for $1.50. Blizzard took 1$. I made $0.50. I stopped using the RMAH.
Well, [mod edit], if they manage to loose money with 1 buck per sale and 15% due to fraud or just a small number of sales WHILE already owning most of the money, that would be quite the achievment, [mod edit]
From the FAQ
http://us.battle.net/support/en/article/diablo-iii-auction-house-general-information;jsessionid=74D9956E76F1764ED9CDDF69FFDEE16F.blade32_04_bnet-support#q10
"How do players get “cash” from real-money auction house sales, instead of having the proceeds go into their Battle.net Balance?
In certain regions, players will have the option of attaching an account with an approved third-party payment service such as PayPal to their Battle.net account. Once this has been completed, proceeds from the sale of items in the real-money auction house can be deposited into their third-party payment service account. “Cashing out” would then be handled through the third-party payment service. Sending proceeds to PayPal will be subject to an additional 15% transfer fee if the auction succeeds, calculated based on the amount being transferred. Additional fees from PayPal may apply. Also, any proceeds from the sale of items in the real-money auction house that have been sent to your Battle.net Balance will not be transferrable to the third-party payment service account. Not all regions will support this advanced feature at launch. For more information on cash-out availability and methods, see the Funtionality section of this FAQ.
"What’s Blizzard’s cut?
As with other online auction sites and real-world auction houses, our fee structure varies by region. We collect a fixed transaction fee for each piece of equipment sold in the real-money auction house, as well as a percentage-based transaction fee for commodities sold in the real-money auction house. These fees are only assessed if the items are sold. For players who opt to have the proceeds of their auction house sales go to their third-party payment service account (such as PayPal) instead of to their Battle.net Balance, or for those who have exceeded their maximum permitted Battle.net Balance and are required to use a third-party payment service, Blizzard will collect a separate transfer fee. See above for details on the transaction fee in each region; refer to the functionality section for more information on transfer fees and maximum Battle.net Balance."
I believe you have some of your facts wrong.
"Be water my friend" - Bruce Lee
The red highlights are false statements.
Firstly, the money in your Blizzard account isn't depositor money. You cannot withdraw it. You are essentially buying a gift card or store credit. Blizzard isn't a bank, but that doesn't mean they don't invest money.
Check out the freaking quarterly reports. Activision-Blizzard holds close to half a billion dollars in investments. Your money sitting in their coffers makes them money. Sure, they will list it as a liability, but its still cash sitting in their bank.
Oh, I almost forgot a source or something that can back up what I say.
http://investor.activision.com/results.cfm
Earnings Release Financial Table. Page 2.