Retailer

A retailer is a person or business that sells goods and products.

In slang, a retailer is a person in online games (especially including MMORPGs) who creates hacks and cheats so that a gamer can get an unfair advantage in the game and do considerably better than other players.

Retailers in games

The typical retailer will go to online games and whisper to players that they have a web site where they can give hacks or cheats, doing so quietly. They will say such things as "I see you are having a hard time levelling. Want a hack to get you good real fast?" Once they have hooked a player, they point them to a web site, where the player forks over a said amount of money in return for instructions in how to cheat in the game, with a money-back guarantee attached, including a guarantee that the player will not be caught.

Because the retailers rely on good faith from their customers to get business, they usually ensure that the cheats and hacks really work and furthermore that the player won't be caught. Of course, if someone buys off a retailer then tells the game's owners/managers how the cheat/hack works, then the retailer loses business; but surprisingly few players do this. Even when one cheat/hack is caught, the retailer has several others that they can sell.

Retailers themselves may not play the game, although they may have others play it and try to get business for them.

Whilst some games go to lengths to stop retailers and cheating in general, others seem to allow it freely. Some games are so riddled with cheats that it is not worth playing unless you are cheating. Because of this, some players suggest that the so-called retailers are actually working for the game themselves and just pretending to be cheating so as to get money for themselves. Buying these cheats and hacks can cost more than the original purchase price of the game.