New Design Interface!

This is a project two months in the making! Originally, we had planned to release a newly designed site at the beginning of September, however as the project grew in scope, so did the various upgrades that came up along the way!

PlayerAuctions has strived from the beginning to distance ourselves from the negative reputation that plagues the RMT industry. We've simply tried to establish ourselves as an honest platform for players to come and trade with each other. Our new website design is meant to keep you, the Player in mind. Additionally, for those who honestly buy and sell for a living, we've added a few features to make your experience more convinient as well.

Features:

Deep Discounts Tab: The deep discount tab shows a list of offers which feature seller initiated discounts for high volume currency orders. This showcases a tool we recently developed and implemented to allow sellers to attach specific discounts to particular order volumes. It came to our attention that so many buyers developed rapport with certain sellers to the point that sellers were freely giving away discounts to some of their most loyal buyers. This tool thus provides an official function for our sellers, so they no longer have to create special orders for their 'special customers'! :)

Featured Offers:
This tab features a few special offers that are selected by our staff which are quick snatch good deals. This benefits people who resell accounts, or are interested in stock inventory. In the future, this space may be tied in to premium service features where Sellers can choose this adspace for their account to be featured.

Game Index:
PlayerAuctions is aiming to jumpstart and offer more support for the many smaller MMO games out there. As part of nurturing this community, we’ve added a Game Index which will add a more convenient way for people to get to those particular games they enjoy. Pretty soon we'll be implementing this feature all across the site!

New Games Tab:
For Market entrepreneurs looking to plunge into new markets before any of the competition, we’ve established a tab featuring our newest games that have been added to our platform, which will be updated regularly!

New Design Scheme:
Some of us here at PA are ALSO gamers, so we know what its like finishing Ulduar late at night, then opening PA’s page to the effect of nearly being blinded by the change in screen contrast! We’ve updated the site schema to reflect a more familiar environment to our gaming members.

Tell us what you think!

We'd love to know what you guys think of the new site!

PlayerAuctions Recovers!

Many of you expressed surprise and concern over the apparent DDoS attack that was launched against our site in September. The attack however does not appear to have been directly solely at us, because other websites were also affected including egamingsupply, mmobay, and several small websites. During the attack, we responded quickly by attempting to clean up the traffic being directed to the site, finally we initiated a reverse IP and have finally changed the location of our servers entirely. 

The mirror site we previously set up (image.playerauctions.com) is no longer in use. You can therefore directly access the site via www.playerauctions.com.

 Thank you all for your patience and overwhelming support during this time. We have been rather taken aback by the amount of encouraging emails, and offers for help. I (Jacob!) personally wonder if many other websites in this industry have this much loyalty amongst their userbase. Additionally on a positive note, our traffic returns have no diminished as a result of the attack, on the contracy, during the attack we recieved some of our highest unique IP traffic days directed at the mirror site shortly after it was set up. If the original intentions of those who initiated the DDoS attack were to dimish traffic and interest to our site, quite the opposite has happened!

 Again, on behalf of all of us here at PlayerAuctions, thanks for your amazing response and for keeping up with us with each move we made to fix the problem. 

 You all rock!

~PlayerAuctions

PlayerAuctions Sets Up a Mirror Site

 While our main site is still battling a continuos botnet attack, we have set up a mirror site using a subdomain so that our members can continue using our services unfettered. We have isolated certain issues occuring at the main site, however it is still not functioning at its fastest speeds. Reports from some have stated that it is still inaccessible. 

With our mirror site, all safety measures associated with PlayerAuctions are still active.

To access the site, visit:

http://image.playerauctions.com

If you experience any difficulties, please send us an email: support@playerauctions.com

I've received a few responses from our latest newsletter send out, most of which have been filled with support and encouragement. This is something that we read and truely appreciate around the office here. I can honestly say, that we have a real good lot that actively visit us, so thanks on PlayerAuctions behalf!

Kindly,

Jacob

PlayerAuctions Recovers from BotNet attack

More information will be forthcoming, however  we are pleased to announce that we have made a speady recovery against a very large DDoS attack. I'll be sure to post more specific details tomorrow. Our site was brought back online as of Sunday night PST but had periodic outages since then. Due to tireless work from our IT teams we are now close to a full recovery. Sign in, and payment processing issues are now fully resolved.

 Some potentials have informed us that they are having trouble registering. This has been brought to the attention of our IT staff and they are working on it. Aside from our website loading slower than normal, we have repelled a majority of the attack and continue to make astounding progress.

 As some of you know, many other websites have also suffered from this same attack. We are proud to say we are one of the first to recover.

Your Private Information and Payment Information

...has remained safe and secure. We made sure of that. When the attack first began, that was one of our primary focuses was first to protect our member's information even before we were able to discern what was taking place. Judging from member feedback also, confidence remains high, so thank you for all your encouragement.

 PlayerAuctions Site Down since 9-5

 Yes, its true. Alexandra reported site outage across a few sites including mmo-armory, mmobay.net, and others. The cause is yet to be determined, however both IT management teams are working on the issue to diagnose the problems. 

Our LiveChat service is still available for those members who have currently pending orders. For the safety of all parties involved in transactions, disbursements have been put on hold. To faciliate smooth order progression, if seller's have any questions regarding whether it is okay for them to send delivery or not, they may contact our livechat service to inquire if the buyer's payment has been verified or not. 

More updates to follow!

Greetings PA groupies, traders, pirates, and ninja's alike!

It has been quite some time since our last post, and not without some due reason! Truth be told, we have been exceedingly busy developing our product even further.

I, (Jacob) will be making more of an effort to post more regularly. Previously our blog has been used primarily for big announcements as well as posting weekly winners for the screenshot and caption contests. However, sentiment around the office has been leaning more towards developing a community. Why you ask? Good question.

 Some People are Professional Traders/Resellers:

We recognize the need for there to be a place where Professionals in the real money trade (RMT) industry can come, gather, discuss, and offer up their wisdom to the more casual gamers with how to trade safely, set approrpriate prices when selling, and general safety tips to avoid publisher backlash. We here at PlayerAuctions are literally a gold mine of knowledge for this industry with very high profile traders ranking in our midst. As much as I'd like to introduce them now, I'll let them do that on their own timetable once we develop a clear direction for our blog. Another reason for developing community:

 PlayerAuctions as a Flagship for Buying/Selling Virtual Goods:

Right now the market is saturated. HORRIBLE saturated. Anyone who has googled "wow gold" will know this. The problem with this saturation is that people are having to sift through endless pages of advertisements, and gimmicks before they can find something reliable and safe. We however take it a step further, in that PlayerAuctions has a grand vision to forever change the landscape of RMT trade. Those things that people dislike most such as unethical farming practices, in-game spam, outright fraudulence, etc. are all things that harm our digital worlds. We'd like to be a beacon of life, but beyond this... we'd like our members to carry on this vision as well. 

 A transparent marketplace:

Thats right, that is what we are calling ourselves! Everything is laid out and bare for all to see. No hidden agendas, no hidden fees, no tiny fine print that most people are guaranteed to miss. From the outset, we've wanted to be open, honest, and a company with integrity. What more can faciliate transparency than a community that engages in dialogue with us! We're gamers just like the lot of you, and some of us are even experienced traders, what a boon to the community if we could hear your great ideas and then act on them!

 I guess on the whole, this blog post is about expressing PlayerAuction's desire to develop a solid, bona fide communit where people trade, buy, sell, talk, discuss, think, improve, and assist one another. But on a more exciting note, I'd like to key some of you in on some exciting changes.

 On the Horizon (what the future holds for PA) :

1.  Watch out for posts from our Chief of Operations, Service Developer Manager, Product Manager, and others who will be posting here in the blog to offer their expertise and insight on Player to Player trading and the industry as a whole!
2. Myself and the user interface (UI) design team have been hard at work revamping the entire site.
   
3. Our member registrations and order volume continue to increas everday.
4. Be prepared for major improvements to search functionality for World of Warcraft accounts!
5. Some special premium services are in the works that add greater functionalty and choice!

On the whole, its been a pleasure. The weekend approaches, so if you comment, I'll get back to you Sunday night no later!

 ~Pura Vida,

Jacob 'Flowers'

Communications Manager, PlayerAuctions

Some of you may have been wondering...

 ...why things have gone somewhat quiet here. Well, I'm here to answer that! Recently we have had the winds of change blow upon our offices here at PlayerAuctions and have had some new direction breathed into the PA team. I myself am "old blood" as some would say, as I have been with PlayerAuctions since last year. So what changes might I be referring too, you ask?

Well for starters, you'll notice the more personal tone of my lettering. We have felt here at PlayerAuctions that it is time to start becoming more involved in the community. Not only that, but we also want to become a place of "reference" for those in the RMT industry. Having been active since 2000 in the RMT industry, it might not be so haughty to say that we have a bit of professional knowledge when it comes to buying, selling, and trading virtual goods . Not only that, but we have a lot of dedicated staff working hard to ensure that PlayerAuctions is a safe haven for buyers and sellers.

In addition to fostering a community amongst our members, we have design plans on the horizon to to make our user interface more "friendly", sleeker, and add some additional service options which other sites do not offer. I can't give out details quite yet, but I just want to drop a note to our members who read our blog and say "keep your eyes peeled". 

 As for myself? Some of you may have interacted with me before (Mr. Flowers anyone?) in our Instant Chat service, as I was the "Quality Monitoring Officer" who had those more "special situation" chats escalated to. Now, I'm filling the role of your very own Community Liason (although that isn't my official job title to keep you connected to what is going on here at PlayerAuctions, and also to begin provide content and dialogue for safe trading, news on the RMT industry, and whatever else our loyal community may fancy. Comments welcome!

 Look forward to our next update, I'll be posting a small interview from one of our community members!

Yours truly, 

Mr. Flowers

Congratulations to Bouke285 and Beefquake for winning this week's Screenshot & Caption Contest, and thanks to everyone who sent in their submissions!

Last Week's Winning Screenshot (by houdenki):

Caption Contest Winner: Beefquake

Beefquake’s Winning Caption: You sir are convicted for crimes against humanity. How dare you roll a female troll!

Caption Contest Honorable Mentions:

Well, seems like I've gotten myself into quiet a pickle here...
- illusive101

Shhh! She hasn't realized that it isn't locked. Somebody run up there and flip that thing shut!
- somekindafunk

LF lockpick, hurry please my head hurts
- Kotar

God, I thought this stuff ended with Robespierre
- blackderbyhat

"I knew I should of never killed that human in Stormwind."
- venom1623

I told them, these shoulders are too broad. But did they listen? Noo... instead they said "Just try it, you'll fit". Stupid shoulder pads and clipping issues...
- ReitenXIII

"I knew I shouldn't have called Thrall fat."
- bouke285

Am I dead yet?
- Fauzool

All I wanted to do is get ahead in life.....
- MasterKubby

And for my next trick....uh....
- arcanemind

Hope they don't slap my bottom with hot bologna again.
- Proxis36

Townsfolk: .....are we sure her outfit isn't humiliating enough?
- ecdwsoccer

Sweet! They didn't even lock up my arms and I'm a rogue... *attempts to pick the lock* What do you mean I need a Lockpicking skill of 225!!!! Son of a gnome!
- Vanyun

Coming up next on What Not to Wear! Polka dot tops get you thrown in the stocks!
- elseano

Woah, my hands are free! Time to get outta here!
- Doorah

This Week's Screenshot Winner: Bouke285

Make a funny caption to the screenshot above, OR, send in a humor-inspiring screenshot of your own for the chance to win a $50 PlayerAuctions Coupon or a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate!

Winning the recent Weekly Contests are: illusive101 and somekindafunk for funniest captions; ameng and houdenki for funniest screenshots. Many thanks to all the Honorable Mentions, and everyone who participated!

Winning Screenshot for Mar 14th - Apr 3rd (by heidi):

Caption Contest Winner: illusive101

illusive101’s Winning Caption: You are here : How do they know that!?!

Caption Contest Honorable Mentions:

Gnomer Shouts: "Seeking the bush of eternal questions, anyone seen it?" Pewpewu Shouts: "Yea it is sitting next to me" Gnomer Shouts: "?"
- arcanemind

Proof that blizzard didn't know what they were doing.
- littlewho

I knew being a druid meant speaking with the earth...but this is ridiculous.
- GT_Trade

i thought it was supposed to be X marks the spot! what am i supposed to do now??????
- hugehair

Well, this still doesn't answer my question
- orangetabbycat

They find the oddest stuff on Google Earth!
- somekindafunk

Where did WoW developers come up with this terrain?
- klak1212

This is even more confusing than blizzards spreadsheet of profit made over the years !
- kinghyrule3

who needs smoke signals when you can have BUSH signals???
- Adiera1

Last Week's Winning Screenshot (by ameng):

Caption Contest Winner: somekindafunk

somekindafunk’s Winning Caption: Grizzly Adams dyed his hair blue! Midlife crisis anyone?

Caption Contest Honorable Mentions:

The bears is still bigger. . . .
- ShaggyBal

I repeat, never - NEVER have a yelling contest with a bear.
- illusive101

Everynight at 11pm, our young druid friend turns into a horrible Werebear! Beware the bear!
- orangetabbycat

Oh no! they killed my brother and stuffed him! WHY?!?
- baraerinis

This Week's Screenshot Winner: houdenki

Send in your funny caption for this week's screenshot, or a funny screenshot of your own for the chance to win a $50 PlayerAuctions Coupon or a $20 Amazon Gift Certificate!

After many months of working diligently to enable a safe online trading environment for our new product, we are very pleased to announce that unparalleled protection will soon be available for the secure online player-to-player trading of frozen water, or as we proudly refer to it at PlayerAuctions, “Arctik Freeze”.

Unlike our other supported product types, Arctik Freeze (commonly known to many people as “ice”) will need to be shipped to a mailing address after purchase. We appreciate concerns our buyers may have with regard to providing their mailing address to sellers. However, to address and alleviate those concerns, PlayerAuctions has developed a new security model specifically for trading Arctik Freeze: sellers will deliver the Arctik Freeze to PlayerAuctions, who will send the Arctik Freeze to the buyer’s mailing address provided during registration.

Below is the summarized order process for Arctik Freeze:

1. Seller posts Arctik Freeze For Sale Offer on PlayerAuctions
2. Buyer creates order and sends payment to PlayerAuctions
3. PlayerGuardian secures Buyer’s payment, and informs Seller of purchase
4. Seller sends Arctik Freeze to PlayerAuctions
5. PlayerAuctions confirms Seller’s delivery
6. PlayerAuctions sends Arctik Freeze to Buyer’s mailing address
7. Buyer confirms delivery to PlayerAuctions

Our members and the gaming community can rest assured that with our security model, both the buyer and seller will be protected.

As a preview, the Arctik Freeze product icon will be:

We have high hopes for PlayerAuctions with the addition of Arctik Freeze. Our website will certainly first receive an update to enable our members to securely buy and sell Arctik Freeze online, and our IT and Design teams are working assiduously to have that update on our marketplace soon.

Stay tuned for more updates!

April 2, 2009 Edit: We hope everyone had a nice April Fool's day... ... and to remove any ambiguity: This blog post was in honor of April 1st. PlayerAuctions will not be securing the buying and selling of ice over the Internet any time soon.