The Merchant's Association

[Treysta]

The Merchant's Association

The Merchant's Association is a group of players interested in promoting ethical trade and helping the community.

• Bulk Reagents
• Bulk Potion Kegs
• Free Furniture Dying Service
• NFL Betting Ring
• Comprehensive Price Guide



Trusted Merchants

• treysta - Profile | Reputation
• MortiKi - Profile | Reputation
• TI_Smithy - Profile | Reputation
• The Gods - Profile | Reputation
• Grimoric - Profile | Reputation
• WarmApplePie - Profile | Reputation

The 7 Golden Rules

1) No scamming on the forums, in IRC, or in the game.
2) No using a forum trade to facilitate in-game stealing of goods.
3) No taking advantage of new players for financial gain.
4) No editing auction rules or contents after a bid or buyout has been placed.
5) No excessive lowballing.
6) No ghost auctions where public bids are pit against private bids.†
7) No retracting bids or buyout offers.††

† If private bids are to be accepted, a disclaimer must be displayed on the thread before any bids are posted.
†† If a bid or buyout is to be retracted, permission must be granted by the auction/sale creator.

Membership Requirements

• Members must be active players and traders. No "refresh mode" players are allowed.
• Members must have a clean sales history, background checks will be made on prospective members.
• Members must not break the rules of UOSA or use third party programs.
• Members must show some degree willingness to contribute to the Association's projects.
• Members are encouraged to help new UOSA players out when applicable.

Why Join The MA?

• Current members of the Association are allowed to display a badge on the forums certifying their membership. This badge shows prospective buyers and sellers that the member is a trustworthy individual and that their membership can be revoked if they break any of the Assocation's rules. This confidence benefits both the buyer and seller.

• Joining the MA grants access to a private IRC channel for members only. This can be used to discuss the economy, solicit trades, or otherwise tap into the resource that is the Merchant's Association. Building relationships with fellow traders not only broadens your social horizon, but your business network as well.

• Do your part in helping UOSA's economy grow in an ethical way. Whether you hunt IDOCs and unload the loot, craft items and sell them, or broker items between buyers and sellers, you have a home here. The more people trading with each other the better off everyone is, and what's a better way to achieve that than by banding together and attempting to legitimize trading as best we can in a game that practically encourages trickery, scamming, and thieving?

How to Apply

Joining The Merchant's Association is simple. Just drop a reply here or PM me and I'll contact you shortly! Remember that joining the association is a privilege, not a right, and that not everybody that wants to join will necessarily be accepted.

Project List

• Comprehensive Price Guide - Communal
• Player Vendor Guide - treysta
• Comprehensive Treasure Hunting Guide - treysta

[The Gods]

so this is not a guild right? and how would we wear the badges and how would ppl know that were in group? but im interested...never scammed anyone in my life...even ppl i dont like cuz i just dont believe in that...also i have alchemist, smith, carpenter, tinkerer, scribe(in-training) as resource characters...also i never low-ball...if anything ym vendor prices are too low i been told by numerous ppl but idc. well all the rules not to do...i dont anyways lol...but plz go more into detail cuz it is interestng

[Treysta]

so this is not a guild right? and how would we wear the badges and how would ppl know that were in group? but im interested...never scammed anyone in my life...even ppl i dont like cuz i just dont believe in that...also i have alchemist, smith, carpenter, tinkerer, scribe(in-training) as resource characters...also i never low-ball...if anything ym vendor prices are too low i been told by numerous ppl but idc. well all the rules not to do...i dont anyways lol...but plz go more into detail cuz it is interestng

It's not a guild, correct. The badges can be displayed in avatars or signatures. Here's what the badge would look like in a signature. A finalized version will come later.

The idea is simple, those who buy and sell on the forums band together to set a good example and conduct proper trading etiquette. The rules and details right now are preliminary and are subject to refining as more people join the effort, but the gist of it is all there in the post. Essentially, if you follow the rules of the association you can display the badge which adds authority to your sales and bids.

[The Gods]

so this is not a guild right? and how would we wear the badges and how would ppl know that were in group? but im interested...never scammed anyone in my life...even ppl i dont like cuz i just dont believe in that...also i have alchemist, smith, carpenter, tinkerer, scribe(in-training) as resource characters...also i never low-ball...if anything ym vendor prices are too low i been told by numerous ppl but idc. well all the rules not to do...i dont anyways lol...but plz go more into detail cuz it is interestng

It's not a guild, correct. The badges can be displayed in avatars or signatures. Here's what the badge would look like (a finalized version will come later):

aahh ok cool

[Taboo]

Hey Treysta,

I would just like to point out that if you pass out the membership too easily, it would become pointless.

I think players should have to of demonstrated a successful history of transactions in which there were no real issues.

Also if the player only buys/sells a couple of things a month, I personally think they would actually both dilute the purpose of the badge and not have shown enough history to show the player isn't, for example, a scammer.
...so frequency of trade would also be relevant IMO

Just my two cents

Cool concept +1

[Treysta]

I'm definitely interested in prerequisites for membership. That being said, at this point I'd just like to get people on board. In the future we can look at more stringent member requirements, like:

• A sales history background check
• Willingness to contribute to projects/resources
• Level of current activity in the trade forum
• Acts of charity to new players

For now, I'd like to get the ball rolling and test the waters, hence a starting list of invited people. My ultimate intentions are to not have this group function as a clique; its purpose is to make trading on UOSA safer and easier. Therefore, I won't be looking to invite/reject based on personality or attitude outside the trade forum.

[Capitalist]

Treysta: serious question... Have you ever in your entire life had an original idea?

[Taboo]

Haters gonna hate.

Let me know if you need anything.

• Willingness to contribute to projects/resources
• Acts of charity to new players

Sounds like a more interesting version of a brokering services group.

[Treysta]

Got some new members on board. Shaping up pretty nicely. Going to begin working on the first project of the association very shortly!

In the mean time, here's a new badge. I'll keep making more as time goes on so members will have some options for which to display based on their preferences. I'm far from a graphic designer so if anybody has any experience doing art feel free to contribute. Eventually I'll make custom badges with the names of anybody who wants one.

[Populus]

This joke is hilarious.

[Treysta]

This joke is hilarious.

All associates of [cA] get a .01% discount on all goods!

[Treysta]

I'm going to be starting the Comprehensive Price Guide project now. This is a work in progress and some of these prices will be wrong until the guide is finalized. Do not use this post for prices until it's done!

[Capitalist]

Some of your prices are just horribly wrong. I wouldn't ever trust a pricing guide where someone has managed to mess up at least 5 things with the quickest skim of text possible. Nor would I trust a "trusted merchant" who isn't trustworthy enough to do basic research on a search guide for common items and resources.

[Treysta]

Feedback noted. Keep in mind that the above post is a work in progress and that I'm bound to get some things wrong while creating drafts of the guide. I've already reached out to the members of the association + other traders to help with this and I'm predicting I'll have a finalized version within the week.

If you'd like to help price the guide out I'd be more than willing to work with you.

[Capitalist]

Publishing such misguided information in effect breaks rule #1, rule #2, and rule #3 of your organization's standards.