"Hey diana why the **** are you pricing it so low, you're losing money."
"No I'm not dipshit, you are losing money I got these rocks for free *******"

This is what you guys aren't grasping: This is his idea of fun.

We get that. It doesn't change the opportunity cost of his actions. If he wants to mine minerals and then jettison them and blow them up because he considers that fun, that is his prerogative. But, the opportunity cost exists regardless, so those minerals still aren't free.

Third time's a charm: Opportunity cost is irrelevant because it can't be accurately applied to a recreational activity.

You can pick 3 apples in 5 minutes to sell for a total of $3. Or you can spend an hour making and cooking an apple pie that you can sell for $2 dollars. Are you stupid or something?

We get that. It doesn't change the opportunity cost of his actions.

The "opportunity cost" is decided when he decided to play the game. Game = time + money = opportunity cost. Anything you do in game has the same opportunity cost.

Yeah, I ran into the "I get the 'stuff' for free to build item X" paradigm a while back when I was examining T3 production as an alternative source of diversion and profit. If you try to explain why the "stuff" they get themselves isn't free they'll eventually transition to "But I like providing cheap products to people". Perhaps, but by indicating that the primary reason they sell products below market value of the components to build them is because of "free" resources that they get themselves, they've already indicated that their primary motive is to sell their end product at a "profit". So, I don't believe a word of any other reason they sell at such prices.

I mean, I never ask someone who is ignoring opportunity cost and am told "Oh, profit doesn't matter to me. I do it because I enjoy the process". No, the first reason they give me is always "I get the stuff for free".

It boils down to people assuming a product is profitable and not doing the necessary research to vet any such endeavor.

Here is a quick example for those of you who "get the stuff to build with for free".

You can pick 3 apples in 5 minutes to sell for a total of $3. Or you can spend an hour making and cooking an apple pie that you can sell for $2 dollars. Are you stupid or something?

The whole premise of opportunity cost is that doing X instead of Y "costs" you Z, where Z=Y-X (yes it's more complicated, but it makes the point). But if Y is something you never would have done in the first place because it's not fun for you, then there's nothing to calculate.

This says nothing about opportunity cost within the game which is what people are talking about.

The rocks are free: they cost him nothing

In Eve, opportunity cost is subjective.

At that point, informing him of how he has failed to understand the scope and source of his failure is a rather nice thing to do (even if it robs everyone else of the free minerals he's providing).

I think you need to look up what opportunity cost is. Nobody is saying there is an actual physical cost involved in extracting them (other than time, which is a given).

No, it is objective and quantifiable.

I'm well aware of what opportunity cost is. What you seem to be failing to grasp is the notion that in a game, there is no value to activities that you don't enjoy. I could make more isk running incursions, but I don't want to run incursions. So the cost of me not running incursions is zero, as I don't consider them a viable option for gameplay.

Here's a real life opportunity cost example: I know of two places I could drill for oil. Location A will yield more oil at lower costs than location B. With this information, the opportunity cost is simple numbers. However, it is illegal to drill at A, therefore it's a moot point and there is no calculation to be done.

Back to Eve: I could mine rocks and sell the minerals, or I could mine rocks, build something, and sell the items. Selling the minerals yields more isk per ore mined. Again, simple objective numbers. But if I don't get as much enjoyment out of selling the minerals because I *want* to build something, it's a moot point.

Opportunity cost in a game depends entirely on the entertainment value of the activity in question.

Don-¦t forget, that every time a ship is sold by a 'I value my mining time less than you' person, you are actually LOSING money because you didn't sell one of your ships instead.

False analogy; something which cannot be done, vs something you do not wish to do. Opportunity cost indeed does not apply to the first one (or rather, would have to factor in the 'cost' of the repucussions), whereas it does apply to the second.

No, it is objective and quantifiable.