What are good virtual items or services to sell?

Someone asked me what type of virtual goods should be sold, and I mentioned that it is based on the game.  One of the things that people should keep in mind, is that if your are going to make the majority of your revenue from selling virtual items, you will not be profitable if it is ONLY BASED on decorative items. 

With a lot of successful games in the Western Market and years of games selling virtual goods in the East, there are alot of examples one can draw from to help populate their item store, but keep in mind what works for one game will not work for every game.

I.  Examples of some items that probably will not work in the west due to various laws is as follows:

• Yell Item / Blow Horn:  For a fee, players can spam all chat channels a message.  Because this message may be profane or disturbing to other players, this is probably not a good item to sell in the US.
• Lottery Ticket:  Buy a ticket for the chance to win an item.  The base concept is of coarse an issue as it is considered gambling but there are work arounds to make this feasible in the US.  For example, win X amount of times and get a ticket. 

There are a lot more items that will not work in the West due to legal restrictions.

II.   Items or services that should definitely be looked into by RPG based games:

• Character Name Change
• Character Gender Change
• Character Race Change
• Character Class Change (may be abused if players play an easy class to level then switch to a more difficult class to level)
• Server Transfer
• Additional Character Slots
• Additional Bag Slots
• Additional Bank Slots
• Premium CS Support (normally added as part of being a premium or paid member)

III.  Items or services that are offered in the east which should be evaluated for the west:

• In-Game Character Wedding Services:  Yes players do spend money to have their virtual characters wed.
• In-Game Location / Facility Services:  Players sometimes reserve or rent a area for their guild friends or others to get together.

There are a lot more services sold in the East that may translate well in the West but they are currently slipping my mind.

IV.  Game altering items need to be considered with the following mindset.

• Money Vs Time:  Many games that do well allow players to buy items that they could otherwise earn in game after playing for multiple hours.  For example, would you rather spend an hour killing mobs to gain a access key to the next area or would you rather pay $5.  Some games I have worked at allow you buy items that give similar benefits as an item 2-3 levels higher but only for a short duration. 
• Duration:  I believe that most paid items should be limited duration based on usage or time because of various tax laws in the West.  Also, this helps enforce the Money Vs Time value as players can "earn" the permanent item or pay for the limited use item.
• Separate but Equal Catalog:  Due to tax and other legal issues, it maybe a good idea to keep virtual items and paid items separate.  For example, both items may have the same bonuses but will have different colors and requirements.  If the same item can be paid by both cash or in-game earned cash, then the tax laws change.  Businesses need to keep this in mind if they want to recognize the cash up front or as it is spent or over the life of the customer. 
• Do NOT BREAK the Game:  Some companies and the west have had failed micro-transaction games because they have an ultimate weapon or item that breaks the game.  Make sure that even if an item gives a competitive advantage, it is not an insurmountable advantage.  Items should help players level fast, access items faster, get better skills, or look cooler, but they should never be required to win.  Players need to know that skilled players can beat a character completely upgraded with cash items.  Remember they need to think that it is fair, it does not need to be fair.  An example is if players can buy health pots during a match.  If the health pot had a cool down to begin with and health pots already randomly drop, why not allow for an instant transaction to buy a potion?  Now if players can buy unlimited potions and used them without any delays then it would be unfair.

V.  Personalization items should always be include any item catalog.

• Character modifying items help players be more unique and more attached to their characters.
• Fun items such as emotes, dances, and other help their character be more fun without playing the games.

Items should be planned out with the game design so that the games and the items are self reinforcing.