In the world of The Elder Scrolls Online (ESO), the "story" of buying cheap gold is a cautionary tale of shortcut-seeking that often leads to permanent account bans or real-world fraud. While the temptation to skip the grind is high, the risks involved are significant and widely documented by the player community. The Risks of Real-Money Trading (RMT)
: Scammers may agree to sell a valuable item like "Tempering Alloy" but send "Citrine" instead—two items that share the same icon but have vastly different values.
Buying gold for real money from third-party websites is a direct violation of the Elder Scrolls Online Terms of Service .
Players looking for deals in zone chat or on shady websites often fall victim to several common traps: