Perhaps it wasn't really such a great idea. About 3 months ago I lent 2000g to a guild member of mine. I wasn't sure if I would ever get the gold back, and I was upfront in saying that he could pay me back at his leisure in the next two months. A month since then has passed and I have yet to receive even a "hey I have almost made enough to pay you back". I guess I should explain my reasoning behind this experiment.
Back in the Burning Crusade I was broke, and didn't really have any need for gold, until one day when they introduced the netherdrake flying dragon mounts. I looked at that and it was instant love, and it would have been instant purchase, except for the 5000g training cost and the reputation grind which couldn't even be started until after epic flying training.
So I needed 5000g. As a warlock I could solo grind mobs relatively easily, and so I started the primal water grind for gold. Some 2500g and about 10 hours of grinding later I was bored and tired and honestly not sure if I wanted to continue. As I mentioned my plight within guild chat, a friendly guild mate whispered me that he would be willing to lend me the remaining 2500g if I would repay him as soon as I could.
I thought about it and then accepted his offer. This happened just about the time that the Isle of Quel released in patch 2.4, So with my now 280% flying mount I proceeded to grind the SSC dailies and the Netherwing dailies. For one week I did every daily I could and within 7 days I was able to repay the 2500g I borrowed. I was also able to hit exalted with the netherwing, and I believe close to revered with SSC. The main point being that I worked really hard to make sure I could repay my loan asap.
Interestingly enough this is the trigger for my start down the road of being an AH Trader. I really disliked the grinding, disliked doing the same quest over and over, and I thought to myself, there has to be a better way. I ended up dropping tailoring and I took up Jewelcrafting and by the time wrath had come out had accumulated over 30,000 gold on my character and bought just about every BOE jewelcrafting recipe available (they sold for 500-1000g each).
So as I lent this 2000g to a fellow guildy, I wondered would it have the same effect on him? Would this gold ever get repaid? Or would I have to ask over and over and then only get my gold back after months of effort on my part to hold him to an agreement that he promised to fulfill?
So it has been three months, currently I have contacted him one time, a month ago to ask how things were going. As of yet I have had no further contact with him, and no gold has been repaid. Currently my lending policy is one person at a time, so should I never get my 2000g back I shall never lend another gold to anyone else. It will be interesting to see where this goes as 2000g is relatively easy to repay. Heck just doing 6 AT dailies for 2 weeks would allow you to repay it, a total time investment of about 4-5 hours.
I was curious to see what my readers thought of my actions, do you think I was foolish to lend tho gold, or that it was the right thing to do? What are your thoughts?
Saturday, May 30, 2009
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I think it is a nice gesture, trying to give someone else the same chance that you were given. Casually suggesting a few interesting gold making sites might help get your money back. :)
ReplyDeleteI don't like your guildie. Really, if you borrowed and promised to repay within two months, you should keep your word. As for your policy, just because one person didn't repay, doesn't mean you can't help others. In my guild, I usually just give people gold if they need it and tell them it's a gift and they don't have to repay. They still pay back. Almost all of them. Others send me herbs, flasks, ore, etc. I guess everyone is different.
ReplyDeleteIn WoW, just like in real life, I don't "lend" money. I will "give" someone money to help them out if they are in need, but if they are a friend, I assume that gold is gone the moment it leaves my account.
ReplyDeleteIf it comes back to me some day, it is a pleasant surprise.
If it doesn't, it's what I expected.
And since I view all "loans" as gifts, it doesn't impact my friendship with guildmates or RL friends. Money is just money. I can always make more. Friends are harder to come by; therefore, my methodology is the best *for me*.
But it's not like I am flinging money around like float-riders in New Orleans during Mardi Gras. I don't just spew money every time someone mentions being short, like a poorly-adjusted drinking fountain. When I do gift money/gold, though, I make sure I can do without it forever. And then I do what feels right.
2000g really is not all that much these days. I'm curious what the loan was even for? Back in BC, those drakes were pretty much THE status symbol to have, now there are tons of different mounts and money sinks in the game.
ReplyDeleteIn Northrend it is so much easier to spend large sums of gold on whatever happens to be catching your eye at the moment. After you bought your drake, was there anything else you really wanted to spend gold on? I'm sure after this person bought whatever their next big purchase was, they just moved onto the next mammoth, or wyvern, or drake, or cask of dalaran red wine or whatever! I'm wondering if this has an effect on a person's ability to timely pay back a loan.
Interestingly enough since borrowing from me the person in question had bought their dual spec, but I have yet to see my gold.
ReplyDeleteI know I will never see the money again, so giving a friend money for something like epic flying is a gift. It's not coming back, I don't want it coming back. I'm often be able to replace it the next day or twi just by hitting the AH a little harder, so it's not worth stressing over.
ReplyDeleteIn a couple cases, I've passed out money in exchange for materials. If he's leveling fishing, I tell him what fish I need and have it mailed to me. While he's questing, I get dibs on meat or cloth. It may not be worth the full gold amount, but the savings in time from not having to farm for stuff can be significant.
I kinda feel the same way, i don't feel like a loan shark. I just give out to whoever needs it if they have a good need. I run a guild of all adults, and we have 2.5 k in the gbank currently. I think when i get my last epic mount i'll put my efforts into building that bank up so others can get their epics. ANyway. Point being, nobody has ever asked for a gbank loan. We allow a small amount of withdrawl every day, but we're still in the black a year later. That's pretty good IMO.
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