So now contest prizes can be bought?

[Doozer]

Greater point, tho, is nothing is guaranteed permanently exclusive. And, frankly, if you're putting such a huge amount of significance on having a game item that other people don't, maybe you're taking the game a little too seriously. Other people having items that you have does not have any impact on the game for you. Play the game. Enjoy the game. Quit worrying so much about what other players do or have.

It's funny that you say "play the game, enjoy the game" when what's fun for me is having an item that I earned with a skill that I have outside of playing the game that shows that I was able to win something. It's not about them not having it, it's about it not having the same worth and having someone look at my character with it and go "oh wow they must've won a contest". Now it's just another item. Rarity and uniqueness has value.

The same would apply if my real life accomplishments were given to everyone as well. I was chosen to have one of my real life photos on a soda label recently, which only less than 1% of submissions ever get. Over a million photos have been submitted in the past, and mine was one of the ~1,000 or so ever chosen. That's a big deal to me because it means my entry must've been noteworthy, which is a reflection of my skill. If every entry was used it wouldn't be an accomplishment. The same applies to the prizes I win for screenshot (and creative writing) contests.

Taking prizes and making them purchasable by anyone defeats the purpose of entering at all, if you can just buy it in a few months or a year anyway.