I think the title says it all, but without the full story it doesn’t give the full picture.

It’s one of those things that happens to everyone eventually, especially if you buy plat. The day will come when you really want to try out a new site because they’re offering a great deal on plat, and with the money you save you can almost double your buy. This, my friends, is where the tale begins.

It starts simply enough. Just like I outlined above, a friend of a friend was really looking to try out a new site because he did a basic search and found a wonderful new site that offered some screaming deals. He was more than happy to try them out. The site was a little shoddy, but it was new so that seemed forgivable. The delivery time wasn’t great, but he figured you get what you pay for, and he could afford to be patient. They claimed to have plat at 500 for $10, and with that kind of savings he was okay waiting a week for delivery. He placed the order and thought it was nice they didn’t hassle him with a confirmation call. He quickly bought a money order for $50 and sent it off to the po box listed, then sat back and waited.

Here are a few things that should have raised some red flags for him. First and foremost, there is no way any site is offering that good a deal on plat. Even Toonstorm, where I usually shop, never goes below $100 for that much plat.

Next, a week long delivery time? Really? Where do they have to go for this plat, the moon? The longest I’ve ever seen anywhere is 48 hours, and that’s an outside figure. Sorry, that just doesn’t fly in my book.

Third and biggest - no confirmation call! Not even a live chat option! That little field where you filled out your character name? Yeah, they aren’t even reading it at this point. It’s there for show.

Finally, and possibly the greatest cardinal sin of buying plat, HE SENT A MONEY ORDER! Never, ever, under any circumstances should you use that method of payment. You may as well eat the cash. You’ll get more out of it that way. Pay pal or credit cards only, please.

Needless to say, that week went by and he didn’t hear from them. Now it’s been 3 weeks, and the site doesn’t even exist anymore, typical of a good scam.

Words to the wise folks. Be careful

Hey again everybody.

I had a little time today so I figured I’d drop a little advice for you all. I figure it’s a good time for a refresher. Whenever a new expansion comes out there is a massive influx of newbies who really want to get into the game. This is really great for us, because it generates revenue for EQ, which means more updates and expansions in the future.

Some of the people who are coming in will have the same mentality as we all do, as well. They, like us, will be fed up with the pointless grinding and wasting time on getting enough plat to do any of the fun stuff out there. This is great, but some of them have never done anything like that before, which puts them at serious risk if they aren’t careful. Plus, if a bunch of newbies get busted it can increase scrutiny overall which makes plat buying more difficult for the rest of us.

So here’s a little primer on things to avoid when you’re buying plat for the first time.

First and foremost, don’t make a big deal out of your buy, especially in game. The GMs are monitoring chat at all times, after all. And even if they somehow miss you, another player who overhears is usually happy to write up a complaint. From there you end up with an account review and a possible suspension or banning. Not good at all.

Next, be picky about who you buy from. There are plenty of places out there, but not all of them have the same security policies that others do. Toonstorm, for example, has a really good track record. I’ve never had a handoff go sour with them, and the GMs have never even noticed me.

The next thing to worry about is volume. If you start picking up tons and tons of plat but are a low level character, that puts you on the radar. Usually they won’t do anything at that point, but they will start watching you. Then the second they see anything that doesn’t look quite right, they’ll nail you for it.

Next time I think I’ll drop some tips about how to be safe when buying the plat. It’s really easy to get scammed if you aren’t careful, and I’d want you to be able to do your own buying safely.

Hey again everybody.

Well, here we are only a week before the next expansion launches for EQ2! I dont’ know about the rest of you, but I’ve really been enjoying all of the pre-launch stuff that they’ve been doing. Now I’m just drooling in anticipation of the release of Sentinel’s Fate.

Of course, with a new expansion, the market for anyone looking to buy plat is going to fluctuate pretty heavily in the next few weeks. I’ll try to keep some sort of tally about who’s got the best prices out there, at least among trusted names.

This brings me to something that I should mention to everyone out there planning to stock up. Whenever a new expansion or major patch drops for any MMO, you run a serious risk of getting scammed. New places will open up on launch day that will claim to have awesome prices and blah blah blah. They’ll spam just about every place they can to get noticed and lure in as many suckers as possible. DON’T BE ONE OF THEM!

For right now, I’d advise sticking with safe and familiar places for your purchases. It’s tempting to go after what looks like a great deal, but you just can’t be too sure with an expansion on the horizon.

I’ve recommended Toonstorm.com many times in the past, and I’m going to do so again. They are one of the safest places out there to buy eq2 plat, and their track record shows it. Plus, they’ll be ready for any new sort of security that the devs at EQ headquarters have planned for sniffing out plat buyers. I haven’t come this far only to have my precious plat or character taken away. Not with all of that glorious new content coming out!

Anyway, now is the time to keep a low profile and play everything as safe as you can. Feel free to buy, just make sure that the place you’re buying from can be trusted. Me, I’m going to stick with Toonstorm for the time being. I’ll let you know if anything new comes up after the dust settles.

Later.

Hello again!

Welcome to 2010! A new year means new opportunities for fun and adventure in EQ2. I’ve really been working my rear off trying to get some new gear and skill masteries. Getting the funds for this is never easy, so I’ve placed a couple orders over the last couple of weeks for some plat to really get me going. This did get me thinking that it’s been a while since I talked about how to handle buying plat safely.

So, here’s a refresher course on how this sort of thing should work.

First, a couple of don’ts:

Don’t buy the plat in large quantities. Most sites offer better prices the higher you go, but this also can put you on the radar for a suspension if they find out. It’s better to buy smaller quantities over time. Although you end up paying a little more, there are places where you can buy plat with good enough prices that it won’t matter anyway.

Don’t talk about buying plat! It’s the same as Fight Club - the first rule is, we don’t talk about it. The chats are always being monitored for that sort of thing, just like they are for spam. And if the GMs don’t catch it, other players who don’t feel the same way we do about it might, and they can report it just as well as a GM.

On the other hand…

Do pay attention when you place your order. Make sure you’ve selected the correct server and given the company your character name so that they can deliver it properly. Spelling matters here, with as many people playing as there are.

Do look for a money-back guarantee (like the one at Toonstorm.com). Places that offer one of these are willing to put you, the customer, first. That means better prices and safer delivery methods.

Also, use common sense. If a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. Most of us heard what happened when Blizzard dropped the 3.1 patch on WoW. Dozens of players who had used shady gold farmers were suddenly banned and companies disappeared overnight. It’s better to find a US based company who offer realistic delivery times instead of hyped up claims from a website you can barely read.

Take it easy out there!