Rain Wrote:DAISHI Wrote:At which point they should just make it an AH.
Depends, really.
Technically, they could add a search function that would simply show you what ward the item is in, but not the pricing or the specific vendor. That's what it seems like they're hinting at. Not showing prices would be a key point. If the aren't prices listed, people will have to either do their research to undercut prices, or just put a price on their item based on what they feel it's worth.
Where as with the auction house, prices become set in place, and they usually fluctuate between a high and low point. If there were no price listings, crafters would be free to charge prices fitting to their tastes, as people who are either lazy or in a hurry might just purchase their goods, regardless of whether or not they cost a little bit more than a competitor.
Plus, no direct auction house means no RMT attempting to control it.
Actually, the way the Auction House worked in FFXI, was that it didn't show prices.
You'd just have to guess your bid, if it was too low, you wouldn't get the item, if too high, well you just lost some extra gil.
