Party
Hats, a symbol of hard work or just a piece of paper?
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Few topics in runescape will
spark off a more heated debate than the issue of party hats. Originally
dropped at Christmas as a present in crackers, they became the most
expensive items in Runescape history until the appearance of dragon
shields. It was soon apparent that their novelty value was being
replaced by the collectable value placed on them by members of Runescape.
The price soon began to rise and was over the million mark within
weeks. The recent duplicating of hats saw the prices crash from
as much 5 million Gp to not being able to give them away. Their
appeal and popularity soon drove the price up once more, with different
colours attracting different prices. Pink party hats became THE
hat to own and prices have at times gone through the 6 million barrier.
But what exactly is the point of them ? As a practical item they
are completely useless. They give no advantage in combat and help
no skills yet their popularity continues to dominate the Runescape
economy.
We asked members of Runevillage what they thought of them and unsurprisingly,
the opinion fell into two camps. You either love them or hate them.
Boozeman wrote; ‘I feel that party hats are a symbol, a symbol
of wealth, of hard work, and of dedication. They are one of the
driving forces in runescape, without them and other rares people
wouldnt push as hard to make money.’
This is a view held by many members, among them FX who believes
they are a collectable item.
Some people feel the prices are too high and others that they are
not high enough. This is an area that ( Gold ) WCCobra commented
on.
‘I bought one only with the intent to resell it for profit,
which I did. I feel they are completely useless (don't raise stats
or help you in anyway) and have no clue why people want them so
bad. If you ask most people why they want one, they will either
say to resell them for a profit’
The mercenary approach was something that Dustin commented on, finding
an angle few members had thought of.
‘Wouldnt it be awesome if runescape would give you intrest
for the money you keep in the bank?
Then alot more people would keep their money in the bank.
In a way this is how phats works,
as the value goes up you make money.
for example i bought my phat 2 weeks after the dupe for 2.5million
dollars
lets take a look at this
Current Value=4.00mill
I Payed=______2.50mill
Total Earned=1.5mill EFFORTLESSLY!!!!
Now how many of you look at
it from that point of view!
But what about the opponents
? Many people have written in saying what a complete and utter waste
of money they are.
Meaga12 wrote;
‘Well frankly i think p hats are a useless waste of money.
I mean they're just hats. I don't see why they should be so much
money… There is no reason they should be 1-9 million gp. Overall
i think that p hats should have never been created because they
have almost destroyed the runescape economy.’
This is a view echoed by others such as Arganite who commented that
if you tried to sell Egyptian paper for that price you would be
laughed at. Eva_09 also thought party hats over valued and useless
except for a fancy dress party.
The value of the hats has not only stirred up feeling amongst players,
Jagex have hinted at their displeasure with the prices being charged.
It lead to subsequent holiday drops being limited to one per person
and finally to being non tradeable in an effort to control the speculation
& profit making.
Whatever your views, there is no disputing the fact that people
still drive themselves on with the intention of buying one &
wearing it proudly. Those who oppose them will seldom change their
view and sooner spend their money on something more useful. The
split was about even among those who commented and when the subject
comes up in the forums it reflects this.
The value of hats shows no sign of dropping. If anything it is still
rising and inevitably, party hats are going to get rarer, a situation
xxpk discussed.
‘It isnt like you can get a phat from a kbd. Instead (and
especially because of the new random events) people have been dying
with phats with them, losing them, and nobody being there to pick
it up. Instead of them getting less rare, they are getting rarer
and rarer,’
The last word on the subject though, goes to Dustin who sent in
these pictures and commented;
‘however the best looking one is the yellow phat, because
you look like the bling bling king’
Thanks to all who took the
trouble to send in their comments & views.
GCSE
