LOL, Ive been reading this board for years but this thread finally made me post. Sorry guys, but you have completely missed the point on what this really is; it is not investing, not in the least! Its insider trading, which is very illegal in real life. Just like a drug company knows that the FDA is going to approve their new drug and the share price is going to go up. The merch clans KNOW that the price is going to go up, because they are going to make it go up, so they buy at the price, until the price is up, then dump. Its like they are the company buying the stock and the FDA approving the drugs too! Better Example: Its just like if I knew the corn crop was going to fail, because I poisoned all the fields, so in preparation I bought up all of last years corn. Then when the corn crop failed, I could sell my corn for whatever price was, because I controlled it all. Even the few people whos corn didnt fail would just be a drop in the bucket compared to the massive glut of corn I put up for sale. They do the same thing with Runescape items on the G.E. Im investing based on insider information not available to everyone, just like they are with their little racketeering consortiums.