Occasionally when I’m speaking to another investigator about possible illicit activities that can occur in virtual item markets or RMT I get the question “but why would anybody pay money for a virtual item?” My usual answer is “well, in a sense it doesn’t matter why, the point is that they do and that is why there is a market for these things.”

The truth is that I didn’t really have a great answer, but I’m starting finding some sources that have provided some very good insight. The first place I would suggest any reader to stop is an article on the Virtual Economy Research Network called “Community dynamics that create demand for virtual goods: case Habbo” written by Vili Lehdonvirta. After that, download the article called “Virtual Consumerism: Case Habbo Hotel” written by Mr. Lehdonvirta, Terhi-Anna Wilska, and Mikael Johnson. This is a pre-print version of the article and it is expected to be in the journal Information, Communication & Society vol. 12 no. 7.

The article is good because well, the article is just good. But the article is also very good because of the numerous sources cited. If you want to continue digging on the subject, there are sources there