People actually buy neopoints??!?! o.O"""

[Bright ^_^]

On a neo-related google search I stumbled upon a website that was selling neopoints, old accounts, uc pets--anything you can think of that people on neopets want. o.O Isn't this illegal? And from looking around the site, it looks like there are other sites like that out there. I don't want to say the name of the site because I don't want to encourage this kind of thing. Has anyone else ever heard of this sort of thing?

[karmacow]

This happens in virtually every online game. In many games, including neopets, it is against the rules.

[Haliaetus]

I came across a site just like that the other day, possibly even the same one you found. Was really odd to me. Didn't know people would really go against the rules and purchase things from sites like that. :S

[Ashbash]

This is sort of off topic but on topic at the same time. A friend of mine went to a site she thought was a neopets help site and she doesn't collect avatars. After going to the site she somehow had like 63 avatars, all the clickable ones I would assume.

[Tedhaun]

On a neo-related google search I stumbled upon a website that was selling neopoints, old accounts, uc pets--anything you can think of that people on neopets want. o.O Isn't this illegal? And from looking around the site, it looks like there are other sites like that out there. I don't want to say the name of the site because I don't want to encourage this kind of thing. Has anyone else ever heard of this sort of thing?

 

Unfortunately, I have. Like what one the above posters said, sites that sell Neopoints, rare and valuable Neopets items, and Unconverted Pets for actual currentcy are against Neopian law and the laws of other online game sites.

 

From the Neopets/Nickelodeon Worlds Terms of Use:

5. Playing The Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds Is Not A Way To Make Money : As a guest you do not own the accounts, activities, items, virtual currency, characters, locations, games and avatars on the Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds; they are for you to play with while on the Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds. Except as permitted by the functionality of the respective Nickelodeon Virtual Worlds, you can't sell anything for real money. This means that you cannot try to make money off the virtual items or currency in your account or even sell the time it took you to collect such items. If we find someone selling virtual items or currency, we will freeze every account controlled by that player and every account of the player who purchased such virtual currency or items.

 

Do not trust sites that sell Neopoints and other Neopets on-site goods for real world money, stuff like this is an obvious scam and can get you frozen. Do not buy stuff from them, save up your Neopoints for the stuff you want instead of resorting to such sites and risking your account.

[Zombiiesque]

I've actually heard about this. I had a friend who played that passed away - she was 64 and she was actually the person that got me hooked on NP in the first place! :( And her son was talking about selling her account off. I had no clue you could do that, but I thought it would be against the terms!

[vyvren]

I actually saw an ad for one of those sites on the Lost and Pound website, which really surprised me, but then again, I doubt the ones who owns the page can control what ads it's sponsored with. /:

 

I would think buying your neopoints/pets would ruin the game, wouldn't it? Part of the fun is when you achieve your goals, right?

[Ashbash]

I actually saw an ad for one of those sites on the Lost and Pound website, which really surprised me, but then again, I doubt the ones who owns the page can control what ads it's sponsored with. /:

 

I would think buying your neopoints/pets would ruin the game, wouldn't it? Part of the fun is when you achieve your goals, right?

 

Yeah you would think so. I don't really understand the point if you can't set goals for yourself and try to achieve them.

[kivu]

I actually saw an ad for one of those sites on the Lost and Pound website, which really surprised me, but then again, I doubt the ones who owns the page can control what ads it's sponsored with. /:

 

I would think buying your neopoints/pets would ruin the game, wouldn't it? Part of the fun is when you achieve your goals, right?

I agree. If you don't earn your own way, I think achieving those goals as robbed of their value. It's sad that people do this altogether though. :/

[chiaroscruo]

I've seen a number of sites doing this as well. Too bad neopets doesn't really have a way of doing anything about it other than freezing. I mean, the stuff is all copyrighted isn't it?

[lilshadowdweller]

It's illegal. But all online games have people doing this stuff.

 

I've known about those types of sites for awhile. Many people by accident stumble upon these websites when looking for help sites. Be exceedingly careful. Many of them have cookie grabbers (websites which grab your stored Neopet's password from your browser). Because of these types of websites, TNT has been known to freeze people who suddenly gain a whole whack of NP - even if they claim innocent.

 

Selling Neopet accounts is also against the rules; and one who purchases such accounts risks having it frozen. (If TNT suspects it was purchased, they will freeze it.)

 

The market for UC pets was pretty predictable. TNT should have anticipated it when they made it so that all new pets would no longer look like those rare ones.

 

I agree. If you don't earn your own way, I think achieving those goals as robbed of their value. It's sad that people do this altogether though. :/

 

I'm not defending these people, but now TNT is legally allowing you to sort of "buy" stats for your Neopets - by way of the Faerie Quest cookie. They also have the Game Cookie, which lets you double the NP you can earn - it's not a "direct" way of buying stats nor profit, but it pretty much is. Faerie Quests are often much cheaper than purchasing Codestones or Dubloons to train your Neopets. Also, you could get a FFQ, which is frequently cheaper than buying a Paint Brush..

 

Some people actually make a living this way. It's risky and silly, but they do.

 

Because of how frequent these things tend to be, certain online games actually permit the buying of in-game currency. Like Diablo. But it's legal there; not on Neopets.

[minniemeggie]

wow, that just seems ridiculous! I just went on a search and found a site that was selling a zombie paintbrush for $54! and 5 million neopoints for $30! Gosh, why would you pay that much with the risk of getting your account frozen! Spend $60 and hope you don't get caught! NOOOO THANK YOU! It would totally ruin the game, half the fun is saving up for those rare items! :/ Saddens me

[Finn the Human]

I actually saw an ad for one of those sites on the Lost and Pound website, which really surprised me, but then again, I doubt the ones who owns the page can control what ads it's sponsored with. /:

 

I would think buying your neopoints/pets would ruin the game, wouldn't it? Part of the fun is when you achieve your goals, right?

Yea, what fun would the game be if you already had everything.... Nothing to accomplish.

[andaraen]

Yea, what fun would the game be if you already had everything.... Nothing to accomplish.

Well, you could always brag about all that you "accomplished" and how much "skill" it took.

[TayParade]

They have a site like this advertised on the Lenny Conundrum Answers blog. Unfortunately, some people do resort to this but they usually end up frozen shortly afterward once TNT realizes sketchy activity going on within the account. Whether it's illegal or not is a pretty grey area, seeing as Neopoints etc. are all indicia of Neopets and Nickelodeon. That said, people will always find a way to compromise that and they know this.

 

It's not stated anywhere that it's actually against the law to do this, but it is stated that it's against the rules.

[Angeló]

sometimes i go to Neo help (fan) sites and Google Ad-Sense is displaying ads for such websites *facepalm*

 

i know it's not the fan site's fault .. but lots of people use them .. having the illegal websites ads there is potentially very dangerous .. cuz people would want to click them !

[mojojojo3119]

That's got to be cheating! Anyway, are people really SO hooked that they will go to that extent? Wasting money for NP?

[vyvren]

That's got to be cheating! Anyway, are people really SO hooked that they will go to that extent? Wasting money for NP?

 

Good point! It doesn't make sense to buy 'fictional' money for real money - especially if you get frozen. That's a whole lot of money wasted, and I doubt you'd be able to get a refund.

 

I agree with RayRay (lilshadowdweller), and despite the fact that I myself am an outspoken NC Mall addict, I think Neopets got a little too greedy with the mall.

[kivu]

I'm not defending these people, but now TNT is legally allowing you to sort of "buy" stats for your Neopets - by way of the Faerie Quest cookie. They also have the Game Cookie, which lets you double the NP you can earn - it's not a "direct" way of buying stats nor profit, but it pretty much is. Faerie Quests are often much cheaper than purchasing Codestones or Dubloons to train your Neopets. Also, you could get a FFQ, which is frequently cheaper than buying a Paint Brush..

 

Some people actually make a living this way. It's risky and silly, but they do.

 

Because of how frequent these things tend to be, certain online games actually permit the buying of in-game currency. Like Diablo. But it's legal there; not on Neopets.

True, but NC and the items in the NC Mall are profit in TNT's pocket and helps to keep the site running. On the other hand, people using these websites are profiting in a way that takes away to the overall value of the site for many players. Although, I agree that the NC Mall is making it easier for people to gain stats, and this disappoints me also. I wish we could just go back to the "good ol' days" before NC. <_<

[andaraen]

Good point! It doesn't make sense to buy 'fictional' money for real money - especially if you get frozen. That's a whole lot of money wasted, and I doubt you'd be able to get a refund.

To be honest, I think there are times when it's okay to buy or sell currency in an online game. In EVE Online, for example, it's legal to buy and sell their currency (ISK), accounts, and characters. It's even possible to sell subscriptions to other players for ISK. And you know what? It doesn't give any players any kind of advantage over anyone else.

 

Neopets, on the other hand, doesn't really lend itself well to that kind of system. (Well, buying enough money for a paintbrush isn't much of an advantage in my opinion.) It's more like playing a video game and getting frustrated at as boss, so you enter a cheat code to skip to the end credits. And then claiming that you beat the game.

[Saxen]

It's sad but as everyone's been saying people do do it :/ Whenever one of those sites pops up on Google I avoid it like the plague, so paranoid about being CGed and they're exactly the types of places for that to happen like lilshadowdweller says.