Q&A: Buying “virtual loot bags” for resale

This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.

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Friends, listeners, community, today I'm gonna present to you the latest in the world of what in the world is happening with money. So many crazy things we have seen take place in the past year or two. Today we're gonna talk about this concept of virtual loot bags. Loot, L-O-O-T. Virtual loot bags that consist of digital in-game items for a game that doesn't exist.

And yes, people are buying and selling these virtual items for a game that doesn't exist for a lot of money. Did you catch all that? Well, if you're confused, you're not the only one. But here is a quick primer of how it works. We'll talk about it more in this question and answer.

First, NFTs, non-fungible tokens, are digital artworks. We've looked at those a bit in previous episodes. We have also seen people selling in-game digital items for games like World of Warcraft and others. So this new concept of virtual loot bags, it brings both of those concepts to a game that once again, doesn't actually exist. So it's like in-game currency, but no game.

And these loot bags are the creation of a guy who minted something like 8,000 of them. And he actually gave away 97% of them. If you were quick, it all happened in one day. You could get your own loot bag for free or close to free. I think you had to pay some transaction costs.

But now there's a whole environment of people trading them, including a market for buying and reselling. And some people are holding onto theirs for a while. They're hoping the value increases. There's also a number of knockoffs coming on the market as well, because we might as well make it even more complicated. And because the world is so crazy, some people are now making a game for this game that didn't exist.

Wow, it is so hard to keep up these days. Or maybe you shouldn't because it's exhausting. All right, that's what we're gonna talk about in this question and answer, buying virtual loot bags for resale. What a world we're in. Stay tuned for the detailed question and some attempt of mine at a response.

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Hi Chris, this is Craig and I've been following the NFT space closely. Recently you had an episode about idiot coins that I enjoyed. In recent weeks, someone has made virtual loot bags that resemble video game tools and accessories, but they exist completely on their own. There is no actual game that the virtual items and the loot bags go with. Have you heard of this?

What do you think of being a broker or reseller of these or other virtual items? Looking forward to hearing from you. [Music]

Hey Craig, what's up? Thanks for listening. Yes, I have indeed heard of this.

I've been following the story a bit myself. It is remarkable. And by the way, I should say, I don't actually own any loot myself, nor do I have any affiliation with anyone. In the world of loot, I totally missed out on that. So I've got FOMO around loot.

But looking at this more broadly as a business, I actually don't think it's a great idea to be a broker or reseller here, unless you follow it much closer than I do. With so much happening in that world of NFTs and decentralized finance and various things being built on the blockchain, it honestly can be a full-time job to keep up with it, to keep up with how quickly these markets are changing. So really takes a lot of time and attention. I would encourage you or anybody else who's interested in that to start by learning, maybe compartmentalize the learning a bit, because if you like the idea of any part of this, for example, like if you're interested in the loot, the virtual in-game items for a game that doesn't exist. If you like the idea of the reselling, learn more about that.

Just start with reselling. If you like virtual in-game items and those kinds of currencies and assets, don't just start with loot. This new thing, I would go back a little bit to see how more established markets work. If you don't know a lot about blockchain or cryptocurrency in general, I would start there. So compartmentalize your learning.

Don't just start with a specific opportunity because they're changing so rapidly. I guess what I'm trying to say is I wouldn't put my life savings into loot. At least not yet. Somebody else is gonna have to become a billionaire and go to space based on their in-game virtual currency items for a game that doesn't exist. But as I said, I love following these stories.

I love seeing what people are up to. I think it's a wild, exciting time to be around. So let me know what you're working on, whether it's something like this or something perhaps more traditional, let's say, sidehustleschool.com/questions. We will continue to feature them throughout the year with this ongoing dialogue. I am cheering you on, whatever you're working on out there.

Remember to do something for yourself today. I hope you'll also come back tomorrow. My name is Chris Guillebeau. This is Side Hustle School. [Music]

From the Onward Project.