Economy Lessons from Neopets

    To some people, Neopets is just another virtual pet site, where you get to take care of, feed, and play with made up creatures in a world called Neopia. To others, it is an important lesson in money-making, business, responsibility, and communication – skills essential to functioning successfully in the real world. The virtual trading and shop systems of Neopets are an engaging and effective tool which will help children – as well as adults – in their lives.

    The Neopian shop system is fairly simple: there are a number of ‘main shops’ which restock at random about eight times an hour. Some items stock more than others; some stock in large numbers while others come in ones and twos. This is where the players come into the picture. A group of Neopets players who call themselves restockers wait for these stores to stock, then attempt to buy the rare items – a task which requires practice, speed, and determination. They then resell their items for a large profit in the shops created by the players.

    Through this process, kids learn about inflation, supply and demand, investing, and money-management. They learn how to be patient and persevere. They learn the value of money and make the connection between how often an item is restocked and how much it is worth as a result.

    The process doesn’t end there. User shops can only sell items for less then 100,000 Neopoints (NP), the Neopian currency. This creates what the players refer to as unbuyables, which are put up for trade or auctioned off. At first glance, the trading post seems straightforward – players state what items or amount of NP they want for their item (or items). But one visit to the auctions/trading board on the Neopets forum, and it becomes apparent that there’s much more to it than that.