New Loot Feature: BoP Item Trading! - Updated

UPDATE: 09/03/09

Please be advised that it has been 30 days since BoP Item Trading was introduced. As this change is intended to place greater place control and responsibility in our player’s hands, we are very unlikely to interfere with related item transfer requests moving forward.

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Greetings all!

We are pleased to announce with the advent of Patch 3.2 players are now allotted 2 hours of in-game time to freely trade Bind on Pickup items between members of the group or raid who participated in the loot-yielding encounter!

In almost any situation, a player can be traded a soulbound item if they actively participated for a portion of the encounter, were in the party eligible for the loot, and initiated the trade before the two hour window expired. For example:

Players are eligible to be the recipient of a soulbound item within the two hour window if they:

• Were alive and present for the entire encounter.
  
• Participated in the encounter but died.
  
• Died during the encounter but released before it ended.
  
• Participated in the encounter but were disconnected before it ended.

Players are ineligible to be the recipient of a soulbound item within the two hour window if they were:

• Outside of the instance for the entire encounter.
  
• Offline for the entire encounter.
  
• Not a member of the party that initiated the encounter.

In light of these changes, we will be examining our policy regarding Game Master assisted item transfers for the next 30 days. Although we will continue to assist those who request item transfers during this time, please be advised that our stance may change once this observation period concludes.

Please Note: Despite this change, we strongly encourage you to continue choosing your groups and looting methods wisely. If you are invited to join another player’s group, please discuss looting rules with the group leader and master looter (if applicable) before entering an instance or engaging in an encounter. We recommend that you decline the invitation to join a group if you are uncomfortable with the leader’s adopted looting rules. For additional tips on how to avoid being scammed, please review our Scam Prevention FAQ found here: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20459

Q: How do I trade a recently looted Soulbound item?
A: Simply open a trade with the intended recipient and place the item within the window. The item will be inserted into the “Will not be traded” slot by default, but the item can be dragged to a standard slot if the trade recipient was eligible to loot the item.

Q: How can I tell if another player was eligible to loot the item?
A: Any player in the party that initiated the encounter would be considered eligible to loot the item if they participated for a portion of the encounter. For example: a player who participated in the encounter but died and/or disconnected would be eligible; however, a player who was outside of the instance or offline for the entire encounter would not. Furthermore, if the player is not eligible for the trade, the message, “You may only trade bound items to players that were originally eligible to loot the item” will be displayed.

Q: If I leave the instance, can I still trade the item to an eligible player?
A: Yes! You are welcome to conduct the trade outside of the instance as long as the trade is completed within two-hours.

Q: How can I tell how much longer I have to trade the item?
A: On the item’s tooltip you will see a message which states: “You may trade this item with players that were also eligible to loot this item for the next <time remaining> minutes.”

Q: Who can see the trade timer?
A: The trade timer is only visible to the player who has the item within their inventory.

Q: I don’t see the trade timer displayed on my item’s tooltip! What should I do?
A: If the item is not available to be traded or the time has expired, the timer will not be displayed on the tooltip. If you recently received an item and you are certain that it should display a trade timer, it may be beneficial to disable your custom addons as they may interfere with the tooltip. Should the issue persist after your addons have been disabled, please reset your user interface. For more information on how to reset your user interface, please review the following support article: http://us.blizzard.com/support/article.xml?locale=en_US&articleId=20377

Q: How many times can the item be traded within the two-hour window?
A: There is no limit to the number of trades that can be completed within the two-hour window; however, the item cannot be traded once the two-hour window has expired.

Q: Can I mail a soulbound item to an eligible player within the two-hour window?
A: No. You may only transfer the item via a direct trade.

Q: The two-hour trade window has passed; can I still trade the item?
A: Once the two-hour window has passed you will be unable to trade the item, and the item will be considered permanently soulbound.

Q: Can I trade a token to another player if I’ve already turned it in for a piece of gear?
A: No. Once a token has been used it can no longer be traded to another player.

Q: Can enchanted or gemmed gear be traded if done within the two-hour window?
A: When you attempt to modify the item by applying an enchant or gem, you will receive a confirmation box informing you that the modifications to the item will remove the trade timer and permanently bind it to your character. Once confirmed, this item can no longer be traded.

Q: Can soulbound quest items (e.g. “Key of the Focused Iris”) be traded?
A: Yes; however, you will be unable to complete the associated quests if you no longer possess the item.

Q: Can soulbound stackable items (e.g. “Scourge Stones”) be traded?
A: No. Soulbound items that are “stackable” may not be traded with this system.

Q: I realized another group member could use the item after I sold it to a vendor, what should I do?
A: Visit the nearest vendor and check the “Buyback” tab to see if you are able to purchase the sold item. Once retrieved, the item can be traded freely within the allotted two-hours.