Okay, Sly, you are right - this is a HUGE problem in EQ2. Yes, you must stand there doing nothing - or leave EQ2 on all night - to sell. It stinks out loud. And it is a major factor contributing to the mass exodus of players to WoW (this and the 4 char limitation and the lack of innovation and variety in spells and tactics and, for some, no pvp).
Another point, Sly, you are now getting a good education in how this forum works... and doesn't work. You are pretty outraged at this policy, right? Yet read the bulk of the other posts in here. Are these people outraged? I don't think so. I am, but ... I just can't see how anyone could be luke warm over this. If you are, hey, it's okay - I'm just saying I don't understand. I'm not saying you are bad. But Sly, this is important - the immediate post above this one points out that SoE consistantly says online selling "protects the game economy" or some such.
Now, the poster is right in that this is SoE's cover stor- er policy on the subject. And I'm glad he put this up - cuz now, Sly, you are going to be tempted to *believe* that. Other players believe this sort of thing from SoE cuz they are very nice, easy-going people in RL (or that's my assumption) - and don't want to rock the boat - and don't like it when Gnomes like me rock the boat. Again, I'm trying to understand this- I don't - but I'm trying ... I guess for some people the stress of conflict is somehow painful or disruptive to them, and they'd rather have "peace" around them even if this means accepting bad policies... but hey, I'm trying to psychoanalyze at a distance w/ almost no data - so I could be wrong. The point is, for whatever reason, people are going to diagree w/ you in here even though you are SURE you are right.
Okay, what's really up here? Is this SoE's "real" reason for insisting on on-line selling? I don't think so. The French have a saying when solving a murder, "cherchez le femme" - seek the woman. When it comes to large companies this translates to "cherchez le franc" or seek the profit. Once people get hooked on this game and once people get inventories filled w/ sale goods - like RL yard-sale fanatics - the company can easily get them to buy SECOND accts to keep a merchant character constantly logged. They sold quite a few of these in old EQ - it was reasonably common for long-time gamers in old EQ to have two accounts - the second for twinking and other purposes - but mostly for selling.
My suspicion is that SoE is planning for this day in EQ2, where there will be tens of thousands of hardcore tradeskillers and buyer/sellers who will be so hooked that they will buy and maintain secon accts for selling. I do not believe the "we are doing this to control the economy" reason at all. For one thing it makes no logical sense to me (I'd love it if someone knows where they actually explain the logic - pls put the link if u know). Players farming cash and bots farming cash ruin mmo economies - not players trading items for cash that already exists!
Now, someone at SoE has to realize this is a crappy policy that is backfiring. But because the beancounters have likely said it is going to pay off in the long run, expect not to see it change - even though atm it is a major reason for the flood of players OUT of eq2 and INTO wow. SoE assumes that in 2 years w/ expansions and w/ some people burning out on wow they will recover market share. See, Sly, the good folk at SoE don't care that they are basically ruining your gaming experience by making it so hard for you to sell. And in case any of you wonder, this sort of anti-player crappy decision is normal for them and goes back five years.
That's why I *never* cut Sony any slack, never ever. I'm always hard on them. They make great stuff - so much of what they do is wonderful - but it always comes w/ a big, stinking, rotting, smelling dead albatros hung around its neck - and you have to live w/ that albatros to play their otherwise wonderful games.
Well, I'll get off my soap box now. But that oughta give u some fuel for thought, or at least I hope it does. GL all.