Auction House Price Hike Scam

I had rather hoped that you would return with a more constructive, less vulgar tone, Wooly, but it seems my optimism was for naught.

In short, placing items on the Auction House for significantly higher prices than other, like items is not a "scam" because at no time is the price of the item misrepresented; not only are prices (along with their gold, silver and copper denominations) clearly labeled in the Auction House interface, but players are required to confirm once more that they actually wish to pay X price for Y item. These safeguards are sufficient to ensure that players are aware of what they're agreeing to pay, as one should always exercise caution when making such purchases, large or small.

What's more, the Auction House is a free market, which means that there is no authoritative regulation of prices; thus, sellers are welcome to set whatever price they feel is fair, and buyers may either opt or decline to purchase the item at that price. In this way, supply and demand fuel the economy; not only are sellers given an opportunity to influence the market of which they are a part, but buyers ultimately make the decision as to whether those sales are successful. This does, of course, place the burden on buyers to pay attention to their dealings in the Auction House. :)

Q u o t e:
So what if my chat logs show that the offender had the full intention to rip someone off, and was completely smug/giggling about the entire thing then what? He's just an average guy, with fair business practices?

We are not here to discuss the intricacies of moral behaviour, Wooly; the fact of the matter is, regardless of their intentions, players are entitled to place items on the Auction House for whatever gold value they wish. Likewise, you are entitled to determine whether you wish to pay that price.

Q u o t e:
The confirmation box is flawed, I don't want to have to click confirm everytime I buy something for 5 silver. I obviously want to confirm if I buy something for 50 or more gold.
When you are buying 100 auctions at a time, it becomes second nature to click and it's very easy to mess up. I just want the GM to rescind the auction, and give the guy his small little 90s item back.

The purchase shall not be rescinded; you agreed to pay the price labeled on the auction and the confirmation dialogue box. Should you feel that the Auction House interface can be further optimised, feel free to post on our Suggestions Forum for consideration by our Development team.

Q u o t e:
If he wasn't trying to scam, he should no problem with it.

We do not define this as a "scam," given that the price was clearly labeled; it is your responsibility to make note of it before making a purchase. :)

Q u o t e:
Let's take into account the gift wrap C.O.D. scam.

In that situation do you guys just say that the player was buying the wrapping for X amount of gold?

When it was possible to send gift-wrapped items as CODs, players could misrepresent the item that was actually being accepted for the Cash-on-Delivery price; due to this attempt at defrauding, we were able to assist on a case-by-case basis. There is no fraud in what you call a "scam," as nothing was misrepresented. They placed an item on the Auction House, you opted to purchase it, then confirmed as much.

Q u o t e:
Would ANYONE buy a tin bar for 900 gold if there wasn't some form of deception or misrepresentation involved?

In a free market such as this, pricing an item significantly higher than other items of its ilk shall generally prove imprudent, unless the demand is high enough -- or the supply low enough -- for buyers to be able to justify paying it. I fail to see how clearly labeling a Tin Bar for 900g is deception.

Q u o t e:
The confirmation box is the same as the trade box. Either you accept it or you don't. There is nothing further to be discussed here, requesting lock.

Yep, this is going nowhere. You've been provided ample reasoning behind our stance in this regard, Wooly. My apologies if you disagree. :)