Welcome to the first article of The Meltelbrot Series.
Melterbrot is a series of Multiverse based articles aiming to introduce and keep you up to speed on what developers, and the general Enjin community alike, are creating within the Enjin Multiverse Ecosystem. It will be on point, and keep progressing from point to point. It will endeavour to provide insights, information from insiders, and the points of view from everyone involved in this new exciting frontier. The overall multiverse is an ever evolving image, charging off in multiple directions, but I’ll be doing my best to join the dots to provide you with a clearer picture. Why? Because it’s fun, and like the original Meltelbrot Legacy Token suggests – If nothing is still then why should we be…
Today I’m talking not with game developers, but the traders of their collectible items. Personally, I think the community of traders dealing in-game collectibles is a great sign for a healthy ecosystem and proves True Ownership means something and is valuable. But we all know any trade dealing in something of value, can attract unscrupulous behavior. Luckily a few traders have stepped up to the plate and are offering services built on trust, whilst we wait for an official secure marketplace. Big ups to Marc, Blue Elvis, & Jax, for their efforts in creating smooth transactions for us all, and sharing their insights today. Let’s start the Q&A.
First of all, what got you into ENJ and its collectible market?
Blue Elvis
I really enjoyed reading “Get Ready Player One” by Ernest Cline. ENJIN caught my attention through the concept of a Multiverse/treasure hunt. I felt I could really immerse myself into the project and games and be part of the hunt. To achieve this, I would need some collectables, weapons, keys, armour, allies etc. When ENJIN released its first set of giveaways, which included 8 Multiverse Founders Tokens, I knew I wanted 1 of each and would need to start trading to get them.
Jax
I’ve always been a gamer and have been involved in Cryptocurrency and the blockchain for a number of years. It seemed like a natural move. The possibility of permanently owning one’s own in game items in the blockchain was another big draw. The lure of being able to mint your own collectibles and have them immortalised on blockchain is also appealing.
What made you decide to take the challenge of being a trusted middleman, it obviously requires effort on your part?
Marc
The ERC115 – Trading channel has been a HUGE success. Over 320 members organically without having the need to externally push this, or create competitions / Giveaways. With this in mind over the 3-4 weeks it’s been trading there has only been one serious occasion where somebody has been scammed, and the community has been extremely efficient in trust, vouching and doing deals. However, there is always new people who are unsure and not too trusting, so to have a trusted middleman who can help alleviate some of the
Un-surety really does help! & anything that helps the long term goal of Enjin – I’m there!
Jax
I’m a big believer in the community as a whole and am quite happy to assist other community members. It promotes trust and overall community growth by giving its members a feeling of security as well as the added bonus of having someone to turn to for general advice. I love being involved abs see the next milestone as mass adoption.
How do you think the ERC1155 collectible market will evolve?
Blue Elvis
I think in the short term ENJIN will want to promote its initiatives. Game devs will want to promote their games. Buyers and sellers will continue to mint items. I feel the collectable market will become saturated with collectables and people trying to trade them that all prices will continue to fall. Compared to the current number of people buying to keep the market is already filling up to the point of supply being greater than demand. The only way this flips is if several games achieved mass adoption where demand begins to pressure supply. I think looking for unique, useable items with low quantities available is a safeguard against investment.
What’s your take on Official EA/Enjin MFT Vs. Public Blockchain Legacy items?
Blue Elvis
As the Multiverse was the initial attraction for me then I have a soft spot for ENJIN released items. With this said they have released an oversupply of some items, and little information about their use, and that makes it a bit disappointing. As for public blockchain legacy items I both love them and hate them. Some Public Made items have had great thought and time placed into them, have been kept scarce, and have a great story behind them. Other items have been made in large quantities and have no obvious back story.
Marc
I think the Multiverse tokens obviously hold more True Value, however legacy items do come with their own set of benefits. Take some of the stuff you have done. Create a Blockchain book or story with limited supply, this takes the block chain to a whole new level, so not only are you storing game items, you can also store 1 off pieces of art? Family Memorabilia & books, stories, even puzzles etc.
Jax
At this stage only hints have been dropped as to their benefits. I would hope that MFT holders are privy to a few extra benefits as it demonstrates their involvement and belief from an early stage. Holders wouldbe free to trade any items they receive from the airdrop so even if you initially only had access to public blockchain items you would still be able to obtain these items at some point via trade.
My take is that a functional collectible is usually worth more than a non-function collectible. What’s the market saying?
Jax
In theory yes, as they have an in game usage. However there will always be a market for collectibles in any sphere. I have already seen some superb productions from people who have minted different themed community items that are currently selling for more than in game items. One guy has minted collectibles with short stories attached to each 🙂
What are you looking for in a non-functional collectible to give it a value greater than the base value of ENJ?
Blue Elvis
Artwork and text are important. Amount made, and method of distribution are important also. I think in many years time legacy items may all get a slight bump in price. My preferred are the collectables that tie directly back to an individual such as I have a Billy Bird collectable. The ones that are less desirable are ones that simply have pulled an image of Google, made 200 of them, backed by 5 ENJ and trying to sell for 500ENJ.
I think functionality and rarity will eventually create a rental market of token and is another reason why functional collectibles are something of value. Do you agree that there is a possibility of residual income from the collectibles we are trading in today?
Blue Elvis
Certainly if ENJ price goes up a lot, people may not be able to buy an Iritus for example backed by 6000ENJ. Having a rental system in that sense may work. I’m not sure how that plays out practically. I feel that will need some 3rd party management.
Jax
It is possible on highly prized items or characters especially if they allowed you to finish a certain part of the game that ordinarily you would be unable to complete without them.
From the tokens available now, what’s all your top three tokens that are most likely to be rented in the future?
Marc
I think it would have to be Daagon, the WOC hero. Staff of Vitalek, & Mike as he is useable everywhere.
Blue Elvis
I think the top 3 would be Iritus due to high ENJ Backing and Daagon due to high sale price and desirability. I think following that the CryptoFights Legendary weapons may stay scarce and might be a good candidate for renting.
Jax
Only WoC character tokens have been released so far and there are only a couple of those I could ever see it happening to. Daagen and Iratus. I think other games in the space such as Cats in Mechs and Crypto Fights will have a couple of valuable rentables. Cats in Mechs has a couple of unique characters backed by 10k ENJ. Dr.Prissy Von Treat and Gata Telltale. They are yet to be released but I personally see them as being more rentable than the current WoC characters.
There’s been a lot of trading of WOC items of late, but I’ve seen CryptoFights collectibles begin to emerge. Personally, my CryptoFights collectibles were the first I ever received in my Enjin Wallet, and one of the many exciting steps on this Enjin journey. Being new to the trading market, how’s their pricing fairing compared to the more published WOC?
Jax
Their current pricing structure on the upcoming sale is similar to WoC. They are charging 25 USd for a chest. WoC charged the same for a crystal.
Blue Elvis
CryptoFights collectables for now are slightly unknown entity. I think the price will become more clear once the next CryptoFights presale occurs. However to give a comparison the WoC Legendary Irustus comes with 6000ENJ backing but there will be 20+ of him in circulation. The CryptoFights presale Legendaries only have 4 of each Type, but backed by 2500ENJ. For now I rate these items in the same value range.
As traders, what are you looking for in supply models or other distinguishing features to determine value in a collectible?
Marc
I don’t look at any of the actual features, or even currently supply models really. I look what the customer wants, and what the people are selling. Enjin MFT for example. Has outpriced all other MFTS by a long shot and not many people are selling, thus creating a huge demand for buyers.
Jax
Uniqueness, good character stats, low supply models, high damage or perk advantages. Comedy and theme value.
Blue Elvis
I keep track of many things to determine value. I’m looking for gaps between the selling and buying price. I try to track the number of buyers vs the number of sellers. I consider my own sales prices to determine a trend. I’m concerned about infinite supply models, and am seeing less value in those. The more information released about game mechanics the better I can gauge a collectables function and potential return on investment. Needless to say there is a lot going on in my mind in a seemingly simple trade.
Finally, but only for now, as I hope you guys are up for another interview – What’s your favorit collectible, as in, the one you would last part with? No upselling here please just truth 😉 I know traders be traders.
Blue Elvis
A buyer sent me a collectable they had made of their own cat. Leo the Lion. This was a gift, and I promised I would keep Leo safe. So for me I think I will keep Leo for a very long time, unless I find someone even more deserving than myself to continue to keep him safe.
Jax
Trying not to upsell it but the BlueElvis collectible. It is based on an active community member with current discussions to get it involved in the multiverse games.
Cheeky ha. I’ll have to think about which one is my favourite. Marc’s favourite can be found elsewhere…Thanks for taking the time out chatting and the great service you’re providing to the ERC1155 trading community. Let’s chat again more soon.
For those interested in the ERC1155 Trading Community, check out the telegram account.
Melt out!
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