1. Steal expensive item.
2. Sell back to owner.
3. Repeat 1-3
4. ???
5. Profit?
~NuttiKrust
I'm going to guess you haven't actually tried this, because it doesn't work that way. You can only pickpocket a specific NPC one time.
I see it this way: stealing is very easy in the game and without real risks. To battle this they took a look at real life, where stolen goods are usually sold. Using stolen stuff is risky as many thiefs notice all day when caught in stolen cars during traffic controls.
I think it is ok, stealing should not be the master way to live an easy life.
The problem is players invest points into related skills like pickpocket and sneak, valuable points that can be used elsewhere. So while I agree stealing shouldn't be the end-all-be-all of everything, the point investment should at least pay off with a system that makes sense. Stealing an item and then not being able to use it because the entire world can see a "stolen" tag on it really doesn't.
