Transferring items between alt characters

[Niwashi]

Who knows? But they obviously have some sort of reason. Maybe they actually rent server space? Something like cloud storage? Hard to say...

If SE ever tells me, I'll let you know. :P

For someone who doesn't know, you seem quite convinced that such a restriction actually exists. This game does certainly have a lot of hardware related limitations, but all the ones I've heard about relate to their game servers rather than their database servers. Passive storage of logged out characters is a different beast than active character inventory that you're carrying around while playing.

Not to mention that it would kill their income from extra retainer services, but that's another matter entirely. <.<

Not really. Players will still prefer to have their inventory available to the character they expect to use it. Stopping by a retainer bell is a whole lot easier than logging out, changing characters, logging back in, finding the item(s) your other character wants, going to a mail moogle and sending the items, logging out again, switching back to your first character, logging in again, and picking up your mail. While it's true that the ability to mail stuff to our alts would make bank alts possible, it wouldn't make them as convenient as retainers are.

Maybe it could be as simple as only allowing mailing Gil cross-character and not items?

Defeats the point if you're trying to let one character take care of all your crafting, providing the gear for all your other characters. Gil isn't the main thing that needs transferring.