I cannot put into words how much I struggled and still struggle with the community's pricing in this game. Yes, there are items that are understandably rarer and more expensive. I will not discount that they exist and should be valued at their bracket of prices. What I cannot discount is how each month, something declines that shouldn't. True, if you don't want to sell at their prices, you have all the freedom to not, but think about this situation for a second. This game amasses so many new players. The first prices they see will shape how they price on their own until they learn more. Low-balling (yes, it exists, bite me) creates a clear and lasting impression on anyone who is just entering the game. It's a problem. A problem that everyone says doesn't exist because it's an ethical one. Will you, being a player who knows more, choose to take advantage of a new player's innocence? I know a lot of you will most likely say, "It's their fault, they accepted." Yes. They accepted. They didn't know any better. Would you have wanted people to treat you the exact same way when you had been a newbie? Or would you have rather been helped to learn?
You all make good points- each item has their own value and rarity and finding a stable base price is difficult because it fluctuates so much over time and depending on if the person is overpricing or trying to lowball- Personally, I think a large contributor to this problem is how difficult it can be to find the right pricing for items. Most new players don’t even know about the forum and some just don’t bother- I think a helpful thing would be if there were a place where more experienced players could actually write down the true value of items. I, myself, was looking for a place to find price checks for stat items when someone suggested looking here. If there was a forum where all stat prices could be displayed and updated, I think this issue would become slightly less prominent.
THIS is why new items are depreciating in value. All those new players are earning the Items from this hunt, And as a result there are more e.g. 2mcs Main Story Rewards this hunt, than there were last hunt. So they are more common, there is more demand on the older, harder-to-find items that the massive new player base never earnt themselves. And as such, the older items go up in value because new players want them, and new items go down because there are more, and people just don't want them or see them as special. Better to have the same stat item from a few hunts ago than the same stat item from this hunt because their rarity actually does differ. Significantly. Surprisingly.
This is something brought up on pub/campus really often, and it frustrates me that a lot of people don't seem to understand how it works. Complaining won't really change anything. Prices have dropped solely because people are selling their things for a cheaper price. If nobody sold cheap, "problem" solved. But that seems far from happening. There are a lot of people who seem to be desperate for chibis/bentos and will sell their items, or cats, or furniture or whatever else for the first offer they see — it will keep happening. And I don't blame buyers, they are simply making an offer that is being accepted by others. Again, if nobody was selling cheap... They would have to make better offers. But since they're managing to grab items for a lower value, good for them tbh. What I always say on pub is basically: don't like the prices? Don't sell. Look for someone who will buy at your price or simply keep your item if you think it's worth more than what is being offered to you. If you're selling, you've got no rights to complain about the prices you have accepted out of your own will. I don't think prices being offered are fair. So I keep my items, it's simple as that. I sincerely think there is no way to "fix" a market with... I don't know, hundreds of thousands of players selling and buying at their own prices. It will always be a weird economy and our only control over it is the offers we individually make and accept.