Part 7/10:
The Rise of Merchants and Price Manipulation
By 2004, the value of party hats had rebounded thanks to the manipulation techniques employed by savvy merchants within RuneScape. Players took advantage of these techniques to inflate prices through a convoluted series of trades, igniting intense speculation around rare items.
However, Jagex's introduction of the Grand Exchange in late 2007 shifted the trading dynamic entirely. This system allowed players to buy and sell items more freely, but it inadvertently restrained the trading of party hats. Due to heavy manipulation and high prices set by the Grand Exchange, party hats once again crawled toward stagnation and perceived uselessness.