The Hours of Power

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:27 AM

Mommar here.

Sometimes getting lost in the maze of suggestions,  hints,  tips and tricks are some basics.   This assumption that somewhere in the past writings that I and others have done on this site that we explained a basic concept that of course you read.   You being the loyal readers of my missives and such.

But every so often there is a need to dust off the basic concepts we use as Gold Goblins to help both with new readers (and I do enjoy new readers) and the JMTC veterans.   One of these concepts is the idea of why we use the 12h model when listing.

There are three ending times you can use when listing an item.   12h,  24h, and 48h.   All of these have some viability when posting.   With 24h and 48h posting it is the idea of listing and forgetting.   The problem with listing at 24h and 48h is that there is an increased possibility that the item will be undercut.  Especially on volatile markets such as glyphs and crafting materials.   Once your posting is undercut then it has to wait it's turn to be purchased.  All of the other items ahead of it will be purchased before the chance of your item to be purchased.

Each time you post an item the Auction House requires a deposit for the post.  Some items are only a silver (or less).  But larger items can get into a larger cut each time posted.   The deposit is calculated for factioned Auction houses at

(Merchant Sell Value x .15)   12h
(Merchant Sell Value x .30)   24h
(Merchant Sell Value x .60)   48h

(On cross faction Auction Houses they are more expensive)

This may not seem like much,  but if you have to start listing an item more than 5 times (which with glyphs and crafting materials isn't far fetched) you can easily start cutting into profits each time.

The other reason that generally we use a 12h posting is the idea of ending an auction early.   On many types of auctions once it has been undercut,  the odds drop severely on the chances of selling the item in that round.   So a Gold Goblin has the choice of either letting the auction expire,  or to cancel the auction and relist.  Each relist costs the deposit cost once again.   At the height of the gem market crunch relisting 4-5 times during a session is not unheard of for big ticket items.   I am not a big fan of just handing gold back to the Auction House so trying to keep that listing cost as low as possible.

There are players that are on time constraints that do not have the time to babysit auctions.   So even the idea of jumping on every 12h is not feasible.  Once they log off they might not be able to log back on til the next night.  In these cases using the listing of 24h is still viable.   There is an old addage that says 'you have to be in it,  to win it".   So if you do not have the time to log on every 12h,   Listing for 24h is still viable for long term goals.   Profits will still occur with each sale even at using the 24h listing instead of 12h.

Now,   After thinking this entire menagerie of numbers out,   For those that have the time and ability to work the markets every 12h,   I would continue to list at 12h increments.   An adjustment can be made for 24h markets simply by looking at the chances for profit.   Glyphs and items that are easily undercut would still be more profitable to keep at 12h listing.  This saves the cost of the deposit since the longer the item is on the AH,  the further down the buying list it will fall.  But large ticket items that there may be one or two on the AH,   using the 24h listing fee can be more beneficial.

So lets set a new guideline and see what occurs.

Glyphs,  items that have a high probability of being undercut  -   12h.
High Ticket items,  items that are very rare   - List at 24h

We will continue to avoid 48h listing simply because it will be throwing away gold down the rabbit hole.

Servers may vary,  so don't keep this as gospel.  Paying attention to what the market demands,  you may move items from among your 12h listings and your 24h listings.  Just track them and see which sells better.  Researching places like theunderminejournal.com can give you insight on just what will sell within the 12h structure and what will sell in the 24h structure.

Wow,  that's a lot of math again.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Want to get in contact with me? . Email me at Dragonbearjoe @ gmail. dOT com or find me on twitter at "@JMTCMommar" You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 

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