[ahizzle]

Yes, but for thousands of years there hasn't been an Internet with bloggers detailing this sort of thing for the rest of the world. :)

I was commenting less on the haggling aspect and more on the team-based shill/forced-reciprocity system.

[Chocobean]

Knowing what it is when you see it does not make you immune to social engineering. The author knew right away what they were doing, but it still worked.