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What constitutes as "sharking"

Discussion in 'Discussion Archive' started by TradingCo, Feb 27, 2013.

  1. TradingCo

    TradingCo New User

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    I have been wondering this for a while and i was wondering if somebody could clarify this for me. So the term "sharking" has been thrown around a lot and i was curious of the pure meaning of it. So for example, lets say somebody is selling a bills hat for 4 keys,and i buy it for 4 keys and then resell it for the normal 9 ish keys. Is that considered sharking? Or is sharking where i go to somebody else's trade on lets say outpost, and he is asking for 9 keys on a bills hat, and i offer him 5 keys and he takes that offer, is that sharking? I have also seen people define sharking as when you ONLY find the newer players and "abuse" them for easy profit. From what i could put together is that sharking is when somebody buys something for under "market" price. By that definition nobody can make profit, correct? If people ONLY sold bills (and other items) for 9 keys and nobody sold for less or more keys than that, nobody could make profit at all. So would sharking only be on a larger scale? Like buying buds for 10 keys for instance? I have been wondering about this for a while and i hope this could be cleared up. I looked around for a bit and i did not come across a thread that fully explains this, if there is one could i please be linked to that? Thank you :D
  2. Eoj Nawoh

    Eoj Nawoh Retired Staff Partner Community

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    The way I define sharking and the way I've banned people for it follows this guideline:

    Sharking is where the shark knowingly deceived and misled the owner about the value of the items to ascertain items that are much higher worth than what is given and to make profit.


    You buying a bills hat for four keys if the owner is selling for such, that's not sharking. However, I would suggest perhaps giving more. But you finding a newer player, telling him that "silly military hat he has in his backpack is cool and that you'll give him 10 weapons for it!" is sharking.
    Pretender and VenGanZa like this.
  3. TradingCo

    TradingCo New User

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    Ah, thank you that makes more sense now. So its telling somebody that their item is worth less than it acatuly is and then buying it off them for that price, thats sharking?.
  4. Eoj Nawoh

    Eoj Nawoh Retired Staff Partner Community

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    Essentially. Making a profit isn't something that is sharking. Those who enforce rules against sharking are not trying to be the price police. Sharking is more about the deception and the deceit. (Much like what makes a scammer a scammer)
  5. Nobel

    Nobel New User

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    Yes, because its an attempt to deceive and take advantage of a person who does not fully understand the potential value of their item. Misrepresenting information and lying to another user for your own gain constitutes sharking. I concur with EOJ's definition of sharking.
  6. TradingCo

    TradingCo New User

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    Thank you guys very much! This was a question that i had on my mind for a while and im happy that its in the open for others to view as well. Thanks again :D
  7. VenGanZa

    VenGanZa User

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    EOJ summed it up rather nicely.

    Sharking is not something you can codify easily (although many severs/communities try to), and for this reason SR does not tag directly for this (yet).

    The sad fact is that when newer users are genuinely "sharked" they rarely take any screenshots that can establish deceit.

    There is nothing wrong with profit, but if you see an opportunity that seems too good to be true, check seller, and make sure they are aware of what they are doing. If someone really is happy to sell a Smoking TC for 1 bud when you know it is worth at least 5, you want to make sure YOU have evidence the seller is legit and is aware of relative worth, or your windfall purchase may come back to bite you on the bum when your fellow traders hear of your dealings, especially if the seller later claims you ripped them off :)

    It comes down to common sense.

    Sjru likes this.