Restrictions on the use of bots to outbid skins on the Marketplace

Recently, there has been widespread use of automated programs (bots) on the Marketplace to instantly outbid skins listed for sale. This means that when one player lists a skin for sale, another seller’s bot instantly outbids them by 1 kopeck.

Consequences

• Circumventing restrictions: This method allows bots to "snap up" listings almost instantly, depriving honest sellers of the opportunity to sell their items at a fair price.

• Artificial price reduction: Constant "outbidding" by bots leads to an unjustified drop in skin prices on the market, harming players who were counting on a more profitable sale.

• Deterioration of the Market’s overall balance: Such automated activity distorts natural pricing and creates an unfavorable environment for manual trading.

  Proposed solution: I believe that trading skins on the Marketplace should be based on manual management of listings. To curb the described scheme, I propose:

  1. Introduce a more significant minimum price increment: Instead of microscopic price reductions, set a more substantial minimum increment for listing an item for sale. This will complicate the work of bots that specialize in "undercutting" prices by mere pennies.

  2. Limit the number of resales: Analyze and, if necessary, limit the number of transactions (sales and purchases) for the same item (or items by a single seller) within a short period of time.

  3. Strengthening measures against bots: Continue to improve systems for detecting and blocking bots that systematically use such schemes to manipulate the market.

  4. Clarification of rules: Clearly state in the Marketplace rules that such automated actions aimed at price dumping and automatic reselling constitute a violation.

     Expected result: Implementing these measures will help restore fairness to the Marketplace, give honest sellers the opportunity to sell skins at reasonable prices, and make the trading platform more transparent and attractive to all users.

     Thank you for considering my idea!

     by rasex 3<