PVP Sales Are Not Kind To Me

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:17 PM

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Historically,  World of Warcraft sales have been strong with PVP equipment sales.   Most of the items are inexpensive to craft and can easily double or triple their value.   At one point there was a 10x profit margin when PVP was in high demand.

Lately it's become more difficult to make sales on the open market.  I still do sets of players who want to outfit a new level 90 for pvp.  And I still make decent sales of PVP pants and chest gear.  But the market became saturated with players undercutting the market instead of keeping it at a healthy price point.  Even to the point that some players were priced below costs to recoup some of the money they had spent earlier.

As an expansion matures and more people become burnt out on content,  they look for other options for in game entertainment.  PVP offers that option because of the quick queues and even quicker games.   With the changes of the PVP queueing system that allowed players to queue for what slot they would fill (healer or dps) it make those queues seem to go much quicker.  Maximizing your conquest/honor points for the week for higher gear became a lot easier.

This will cause a problem later on because the quicker players can get into higher end PVP gear they are less apt to spend the money for the 'starter' sets.   They might pick up a pair of pvp equipped pants or a chest piece,  but the bracers and boots and the lesser demand items can go unsold.

So making sure that you are getting the most bang for your materials buck becomes very important.  If you can sell 2 pairs of boots at a 50g profit,  or a chest piece that requires the same basic materials for 500g profit it makes more sense to craft the chest piece.  

Controlling your own markets and knowing what the going price on items can make your goblin life a lot happier and financially healthy.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Finding A New Ryhthm
Breaking The Million Gold Barrier
Bye Bye... I Will Take Your Gold Now
Post Patch 5.3:   The Lineup
Patch 5.3:   It's here... well tomorrow
Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting add-on for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold

Finding A New Ryhthm

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:17 PM

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Mommar here.

One of the things with being a gold goblin is the need for new adventures.   Once you have dominated a market long enough that it stops being entertaining,  it becomes time to look for new places to conquer.

In my case I decided that it was time to look at a new server.  After weighing my options including what i could carry over with my toon I went ahead and loaded up my bank with items that would sell,  took 50,000g (yes I know you can take more with you but what's the fun with that) and transferred to the new unnamed server.

As i and others have suggested before,  starting a new toon on your target server and getting the lay of the land economy wisely can save you a world of hurt.   If it's a low population,  low profit server then there will be a much larger battle to regain your fortune.   A high profit server will do the opposite,  giving you opportunities to regain your wealth in no time.

Having decided to look and test two or three servers I decided to take server A for its combination of competition and population.   I do enjoy a good challenge.   Deciding that one of my Jewelcrafters that also had the blacksmith profession to the new server I waited for the transfer to complete.

After a couple of days I was able to enter the new frontier and get myself settled.   I threw up some flare sales of the items I had carried over (a couple of Mechano-hogs and some other high end items) to see how sales would go.    They went okay for it being the weekend but this weekend will tell the tale on whether i can conquer this new land.

The key to my transfer is the key to doing anything both in game and out of the game.  Planning and research will put you far ahead of just guessing and finding out whether you're right or wrong.   Fortunes are gained and lost in a moment with bad research and not planning ahead.  

Have I abandoned my old server economy?  No,  I'm still there,  but it may not be as high a priority for me for a bit while I set myself up on the new server.   But what's the fun in doing something new if it's easy.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Breaking The Million Gold Barrier
Bye Bye... I Will Take Your Gold Now
Post Patch 5.3:   The Lineup
Patch 5.3:   It's here... well tomorrow
Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting add-on for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold

Breaking The Million Gold Barrier

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:58 PM

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Mommar here.

Hopefully there was a pleasant Memorial day weekend in your past.   Ending up playing around on Warcraft for a little bit on different servers than my main.   Wanted to get a feeling for other economies than my home one.

One thing that always brings back memories is reading people's recollections of meeting their goals.  When I first started WOW I thought 10,000g was a fortune.  With that I could buy anything I wanted and play better in my guild.  This was when Burning Crusade came out and money was more difficult to make.  

The mountain felt like it moved each time I was about to reach my goal.   I would hit the 9500g mark and someone would need a 'loan'.  Or I ended up with a rough day of raiding and my repair bill came up to 100g or more.   It was nerve racking trying to scale up that mountain and fall down just a little bit more.

I have told the story before of when things clicked money wise for me.  A friend of mine offered me a pattern Pattern: Bracers of the Green Fortress.   It was in high demand for plate tanking classes and the materials were easy to get.  I sold a large amount of these for profit.  This is when my thirst for finding deals and making gold really popped up.

After I broke my 10,000g set goal I knew that i could do better.   Hitting 100,000 came about 3 months later after I added two more crafters to my lineup.   As the expansions continued I increased the pile of gold I sat upon while still holding onto my beliefs in being honest in my trades and being loyal to my friends and guild mates.  

My 1,000,000g mark was broken somewhere during the Wrath of the Lich King expansion.   My Jewelcrafter brought in what could only be described as stupid amounts of gold just for a few button clicks.  As my WOW career continued I found the need to make larger goals for myself.  Instead of making number goals I changed to making goals for what each toon could create.  I wanted each of my toons to be able to make a 1,000,000g by themselves.  I still haven't accomplished this goal (11 toons with some of them having not leveled beyond level 5 makes this one a tough one to finish).

Blizzard introduced achievements which became a very popular quest for players who were burnt on the daily grind.   Very few gold making achievements are listed,  so the need to create our own became a form of self entertainment.   Plus 1,000,000g is a nice round number to be able to say.

So when it feels that your goals are not achievable,  keep in mind that anyone can make gold with the right knowledge and patience.   If you need an example just look at me.  I did it and when I first started I didn't even know you needed a shield for tanking (I miss my old guild sometimes).

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Bye Bye... I Will Take Your Gold Now
Post Patch 5.3:   The Lineup
Patch 5.3:   It's here... well tomorrow
Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting add-on for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu

Bye Bye... I Will Take Your Gold Now

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:33 PM

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Blizzard/Activision reported last week that they lost approximately 14% of subscribers in the past quarter.  Unless you do any type of investment in stocks and bonds this would mean very little to the masses.

But if you take a look at the loss of those subscribers it does show that players are starting to get burnt out again and look for other hobbies.  Many times this means players will go and stop paying their subscription,  waiting for the next expansion to arrive.

Other times players decide to completely leave the game.  This opens up a good opportunity for players to grab some extra items to sell,  resell or vendor.

Now this won't require a lot of work on your part.   All you would have to do is keep your eyes and ears open and talk to people who are leaving the game.  Talking to them to discuss what they plan on doing with their items when they leave.   Some will say no,  not interested.  Some will be more willing to give it to a guild member.  Others just want it done and over with.

Even if you are able to obtain one or two 'clearance sales' from players leaving the game your gold haul could be in the 1000's.  I've cleaned out guild banks and players for 1000's of gold in the past.

Just keep in mind that it's a negotiation as well.   Talk to them and explain to them the benefits of letting you liquidate the items for you.  Even throw in the idea of giving their guild x amount of gold.   Whatever points it takes to get them to let you take the heavy burden of emptying their items and pockets.

Also keep in mind that you should be fair with your offers.  If you can get all of their items for free that's great and wonderful.  But if your reputation takes a hit then you will pay more in the future.   That reputation is how people see you and treat you in your deals.

Looking for players leaving Warcraft can be a great opportunity to stack more gold into your future vaults.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Post Patch 5.3:   The Lineup
Patch 5.3:   It's here... well tomorrow
Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting add-on for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu

Patch 5.3: First Impressions

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:15 PM

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It's two days since patch 5.3 hit our greedy little computer hands.   Needless to say after the first day of bugs and fixes made its way through the system it was a success.

The new heroic scenarios definitely become a challenge at first.  The same with the new regular scenarios and added heroic quests.  It will take a couple of weeks before most of these will become much easier.

The content itself,  including the horde changes (no spoilers) were pretty good.   My biggest concern is the burnout factor that some of these will entail.  It took less than a month before the 'new' content of 5.2 became another grindfest.  With patch 5.3 not having as much new content as 5.2 contained,  there is a high chance that the wow factor will disappear quickly and everyone will be back to the wondering what's next.

PVP still has to shake itself out with the queueing issues for healers.  Also with the removal of one of the new battlegrounds of the random rotation a sure fire hit became a swing and a miss in a moments notice.

Still this patch will mature in the next couple of weeks which will help.   I was glad to see the upgrades to items returned.   Many players were running out of places to use their Valor points unless they were heavily into raiding.  Now there is a good funnel for extra valor points once a player has geared their toon.

Auction House has been doing well.  As always riding a wave of new shining items that people want immediately.  I was happy with the short investments I did in ore and in higher end crafting items for quick flips.   It's still early in the wave so this weekend will tell just how successful my gold goblin senses were.

Between now and the weekend I will be searching for players unloading their materials onto the open market.  Some players will be underwhelmed with the new content and look to leave the game.  So grabbing a good deal will become just as important as killing that latest mob.

Keep your head above the water.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Post Patch 5.3:   The Lineup
Patch 5.3:   It's here... well tomorrow
Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting add-on for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition

Strengthen Your Google-Fu

Post Patch 5.3: The Lineup

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:53 PM

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It's the day after patch 5.3,  and the world did not come to an end.   Cats and dogs are not laying together and the Mayans were still wrong.

One of the things I did before patch 5.3 is to change my lineup a little bit.  I kept my main characters but shuffled around some of the alternates and their professions.  

Mommar:
(The main man)

He will always be my main,  being a Leatherworker and Blacksmith since I started it's been a good combination of profession upgrades and the ability to gain patterns through dungeons and raids.

Move:

This is my farming toon,  having been my Skinner and Miner since I started her.   She also is my ranged player when I am bored with getting up in mobs faces and hitting them very hard.

Alt 3:  (you really think I was going to tell you who your competition was?)

This is my shaman Jewelcrafter and Engineer.   I inherited her from another player and arranged her professions to where I wanted them to be.   She also will do dungeons and the occasional raids to obtain patterns.

Alt 4:

This is my Druid.   Having flying ability has made her my Alchemist and Herbalist.  There was the thoughts of converting her to a different profession but I kept both of them for the time being.

Alt 5:

This is my Paladin.   She's one of my first pet projects because I became bored during the Cataclysm and wanted a different challenge.   Being my Scribe and Herbalist has made her play in the background since both inscription and Herbalism are most difficult professions to make profits in.


Alt 6:

My Warlock is my Enchanter and Tailor.   She has been a very steady moneymaker with bags and enchants though I have been lax in getting her leveled.   Still one of my top moneymakers since Burning Crusade. \
(I shake her a lot of extra coins on the mailbox)


Alt 7:

This is one of my two bank toons.   I keep her in Thunder Bluff for most of my flipping opportunities and the random big ticket items that I want to rotate for sale.  

Alt 8:

My other bank toon sitting in Tanaris.  I use her for flipping items between Horde, Alliance and vice versa.  I've also used her for food storage ever since Burning Crusade (anyone want some worg meat?)

Alt 9:

My Death Knight is in semi retirement.  I use him as my pet seller and the occasional odds and ends.  He is also my other Engineer.   One of my engineer has the goblin profession line and this one has the gnome profession line.   It is less of a problem than it was during the earlier expansions.

Alt 10.

My goblin shaman is my first that received the makeover.  Originally I took my own advice and gave her mining and Herbalism.  This has been profitable for both money and experience.  Recently I changed her mining profession to my second alchemist and started leveling her for the future transmutes.  

Alt 11:

My Rogue rounds out my lineup.  He originally was going to be a Jewelcrafter and Engineer but there is an internal debate with the lineup on whether I will ultimately need a third Alchamist.  Engineering is enjoyable but having three in the lineup is not always cost effective.  There are now very few Engineer only items available other than helms.

When I set my lineup I wanted a combination of enjoyable game play and money making opportunity.  My Druids became very strong farmers due to the flight capabilities and not needing to drop out of flight form to pick up herbs.

My hunter is my skinner because while I'm mowing down one mob I can set my pet to tag three or four more for killing and processing.

Keeping an eye on your lineup and adjusting based on the economy and available gameplay is to be expected.  The change should always be welcome with the right planning and budgeting.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Patch 5.3:   It's here... well tomorrow
Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting add-on for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu

Patch 5.3: It's here... well tomorrow

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:13 PM

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Mommar here.

Tomorrow is patch day for 5.3.   The race will be on to get the new achievements and new scenarios.   I"ve always prescribed to the wait and see what happens when it comes to the first day of a patch.

This isn't my first rodeo when it comes to new patches.   Four expansions with at least 4 patches in each expansion has taught me a few things.

1.   Be prepared to wait.

Problems with the patch will happen.   Some patches have had little problems other than a few bugs but none of the patches have ever been implemented that didn't need any type of quick fix.

2.   Update your add-ons for the next week.

During the first week of the patch you should just add the time to your daily progress to update your add-ons.  New items and additions to the UI interface wreck havoc on add-ons.  Especially anything that changes buttons or customizes how the interface looks.

3.   Players will want the best equipment and upgrades as fast as possible.

With the new shield heirloom items as well as new pvp weapons and cloaks,  players will want to add more power to each item.  This means not just direct enchanting will get a boost but also the materials will get a healthy boost at the start.   Later on when the excitement is done and everyone is back to their reputation grinding prices should go back to their stable amount.

4.    People will be grouchy.

Any problem with the patch will cause a ripple effect in the attitudes of many players.   WOW has an instant gratification game in many ways.   Players are getting used to the idea of login,  go to a certain place and loot loot loot.   This works to a certain point.  But if something goes wrong,  then players will tend to grumble and rant that things are too difficult or it takes too long.  Keep this in mind and do not let it drag down your attitude.

5.  There is gold out there.

New content brings back players into the fold.  They want to see the next part of the storyline.  So players who want some downtime will jump back into the fray and look to see the new shiny fun items.   Look to sell to them.  Gems,  Enchants,  patches,  crafted quality weapons and armor.   Return players can add a bit of coin to your coffers.

6.  Have fun.

It's a game.  Treat it that way.  If things get too frustrating,  then go and read a book and come back tomorrow.   The game has been here for over 10 years,  it will be there for another day.

Good Luck,  Good Hunting and see you on the other side of the patch.


Patch 5.3:  Preparing for the Arrival
Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting Addons for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu

Patch 5.3: Preparing for the Arrival

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:30 PM

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Mommar here

The powers that be announced in a tweet (yes,   people still tweet in this world and not just Kanye) that the new patch (patch 5.3) would drop on the 22nd of May.

Good news for those that are looking for new content and new opportunities.   Bad news for those that dislike new and shiny things.   If you haven't started downloading the patch in the background make sure to turn on your Wow starter screen before you go to bed tonight.

Between now and then will be a great time to pick up a few items to prepare for the oncoming patch storm.  There were very few direct changes to professions other than the mining and Herbalism.   With new heroic scenarios,  pvp battlegrounds and other changes this is going to feel more like a maintenance patch at first than a huge influx of content.

For the gold goblin in all of us there will be opportunities to flex our fingers and get to the gold grabbing.   New equipment always means new chances to sell item enhancements.   So having a good stockpile of enchanting supplies and raw materials (Living Steel,  Magnificant Hides) for patches will set you up.  Don't forget your conversions so that you're not just buying Hides at high prices when you can convert lower leathers to what you want.  

50 exotic leathers = 1 magnificent hide
1 daily Magnificance of Leather/Scales gives you the same Magnificent hide at half the cost (25)

If you're like me,  the Jewelcrafting market has been steady but not stellar.  Most of this is from the big 4 gems (+agi,  +str +int +stam) been up and down like a yo-yo for sales.  Just when I flip the market to a good price I like (200-250 per) someone runs in to quickly undercut it at drastic prices.   So in my bank there are a few extra red gems that need a good home.   Keeping an eye on sales and seeing just where the market rolls will let you get rid of some excess inventory.

Inscription is going to be an interesting beast to keep an eye on.  As I explained earlier with the introduction of the third specialization for their characters,  players are going to want to fill holes in their glyph book so that they can be a triple threat (tanking,  dps, pvp) or any other mixture.   The inscription market is depressed so it will be tricky to decide whether to craft/flip glyphs for players to purchase.  Or to just take the profits from other professions and walk away.   Keeping an eye on the secondary markets (herbs, alchemy) to see just what happens with their relationship to inscriptions.  

Excitement is always in the air with a new patch.  And new adventures await for the brave who take the plunge into new markets.   Keep your eyes on the prize and see you on the other side.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Patch 5.3:   Grasspicking World Order
Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting Addons for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu

Patch 5.3: Grasspicking World Order

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 11:14 AM

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If you read yesterdays missive we took a look at the mining changes in Patch 5.3.   Not surprising Herbalism received a similar mechanic upgrade.

Players who can get access to Pandaria (level 84 or higher) can start to pick any herbs in Pandaria.   They start off with a 1 to 10 ratio.  Basically for every 10 picks you get one usable plant.   As you continue this ratio becomes better and better till your skill level is able to pick at a 1 to 1 ratio (or higher depending on your guild level,  your picking level etc.).

I didn't believe that mining ore in Pandaria would have a major effect on the economy.   With these changes in Herbalism I'm getting a feeling of the opposite.  Herbalism is a nice farming area especially when combined with a potion or transmute master.   The Druids with flight form can just drop quickly on an herb patch,  pick it and run without anyone knowing they were there.  

These changes might not be earth shattering but it could encourage players to make sure they have some type of farmer in their arsenal.  As players become more and more burnt out on content they are going to look for more vegetative opportunities.   Places where they can just gather items and loot and still hold conversations inside their verbal guild halls.

Don't be surprised if the herb market takes a slow hit and then quickly adjusts.   Keeping an eye on the market when Patch 5.3 arrives (expected sometime in the next two weeks) should give a good opportunity to restock the pantry for Herbalism needs.

For scribes this is important as well.   Low costing herbs and inks can help get you back into a stagnant market that inscription has become on many servers.  With the knowledge that players will be finishing off their glyph books to fill in a 3rd specialization this is a prime opportunity to jump back into the market for a quick money fix.

So get your beer (root preferred thank you) and get to pick some grass.   Your army of alternates will be appreciative.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners
Enchanting Addons for quick flips
Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition

Patch 5.3: Bring Out Your Miners

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 11:52 AM

0 comments View Comments

Mommar here.

So patch 5.3 is just over the horizon.   It wasn't that long since we said the same thing about patch 5.2 and even rewinding to the introduction of Mists of Pandaria.

With MOP the powers that be are shrinking the difficulty of leveling new professions.   With the changes in Blacksmithing,  old world materials were no longer needed to obtain maximum level.  I would expect the same to occur over all of the professions at some point in the future.

Patch 5.3 also introduces this same change to the mining profession.  No longer will it be necessary to go to old world areas to level mining.   This is a great idea for players who want to change from a crafting profession to a gathering profession.   The caveat with this is that most players already carry a farming character on their roster.   And having two maximum level farming characters tends to be inefficient.

If you looked at this change in the mining profession casually it would almost be assumed that this would drive the cost of ore down.  The idea being everyone grabbing their favorite toon,  changing their profession to mining and picking the world apart.   Again the odds of this are slim because only a few do not carry a mining character already.  With little or no additional ore being placed in the Auction House,  prices won't raise or lower that much.

But for players that don't already have a miner on their roster,  this is a great opportunity to get one into the action.   Where I'm not a huge fan of farming for materials,  there is a benefit of taking the time and farming both minerals and skins.   Combine this with a Potion of Luck it's not unheard of to rack up 250-500g per hour for just the cost of your time.

All of this is based on your play style and what you enjoy doing.   Some players enjoy just 'vegging' out and mining/skinning for profit.  There is nothing wrong with this,  and this profession change can give players who have abandoned the mining profession to return to the fold and gather some rock.

Just leave a little out there for me.   I'm bringing my army of new miners.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Enchanting Addons for quick flips

Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition

Enchanting Addons for quick flips

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 8:00 AM

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Each of the addons I have in my arsenal serve a distinct purpose.   Using addons such as Spartan for my look and keybinding to Trade Skill Master for my general Auction house interface.   Every addon does a specific group of tasks that are useful to me.

One that I use continually is called Enchanting Shuffler.   Using this combined with either TSM or the Auctioneer package allows me to get a quick screen shot of the enchanting materials market on your server.

Where TSM is very useful for general overall information.  The bigger it becomes,  the more of a learning curve that is necessary to make it very useful.  With the volatility of enchanting materials on servers from time to time,  having up to date information can be crucial.

Where running a full TSM scan (or using the automatic scanner add-on they provide from the TSM website) is a good benefit if you're working on all of your auctions.   Having a small quick view of the enchanting market can show you where the market if flows that day.   

Keep this in mind and install it and give it a try.   Knowing your conversions (5 to 1 for each enchanting material level in MOP) will give you a quick view of just what is the cheapest way to obtain materials.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Prepping for 5.3:   Profit lines

Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition

Prepping for 5.3: Profit lines

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 11:40 AM

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Mommar here.

I had decided to take a couple of days off from World of Warcraft to work on some life projects.  Nothing spectacular,  just things that I had put off during the winter.  Now that it's finally Spring with it's matching weather on the JMTC campus:  Iowa edition.

There is a definite lull that appears to happen when a new patch is announced on the PTR's.   Now the same raids happen,  schedules are kept and loot appears in the pockets of fine young (and old players).  But the reality is that more and more players are looking at what the new patch will bring.  What new shiny toys will players get to play with?  

This can be detrimental to a Gold Goblin because players wallets tighten up at big ticket items.   We talked about that earlier with how free gear affects our profit potential.  That puckering up of the money flow causes  sellers to either change their lines of profit,  or sit back and complain when they go from 3000g a day all the way to 20g a day.

It's these times that your diversification becomes that much more important.  If you main profit lines are Jewelcrafting and Alchemy then when that well dries up,  you're parched and wandering around looking for a drink of gold.   Where if you have your three or even four different lines of profit then when one starts to fail, another can pick up the slack.

Every new patch brings on new possibilities.  The materials are inexpensive on many servers currently.   This gives you a good opportunity to prep another profession and have it add to your gold mountain.   Patch 5.3 is going to bring more opportunities for quicker leveling,  better access to higher level enchants and more opportunity to get your gold making engine running at peak efficiency.   So go back to square one,  and reset your lineup again to where it will be most profitable.  

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Realities Of Making Gold
How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition

Realities Of Making Gold

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:08 AM

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Mommar here.

Here as well as other journals give high expectations on the huge amounts of gold that can be made in World of Warcraft.  Each technique or though process gives you the chance to obtain gold.  Some of the ideas are easy,  others are much more difficult and eat up your time.

But break down gold making into an exact science is the gold grade for making gold.   To be able to do 4-6 clicks of a mouse and a few wiggles at the auction house is what all players are looking for.   But let's break down exactly how much it requires in gold to make your wants and desires.

Most players do not play every day.  So for example's sake lets assume that players play a total of 180 days a year with an Avg of 1 hour a day.  Yes I fully understand that you play 4 hours a day,  rock the PVP world and grab every gold piece.    Many other players only reach the bare minimum for how much they play,  combining their real lives with their gaming lives.   So here we go:


If you make a minimum of

10g a day  =  1,800 g  a  playing year
(Equals one daily every time you log in).

50g a day =   9,000g a playing year
(Equals one daily quest a day and one random dungeon)

100g a day = 18,000g a playing year
(Equals one daily quest,  one random dungeon and a basic material flip a day)

500g a day = 90,000g a playing year
(Equals and daily quest,  one random dungeon,  basic material and doubling profit for sales)

So on and so forth.   You can see that even if you chucking down 1000g a day every time that you play you can pack 180,000g a year.  This is over and above your repair costs etc.   Making gold in World of Warcraft has never been easier.   So now that I've just shot you need to read this journal in the foot,  why would you want to continue to read?   Because if you can see that making 1000g a day takes a small amount of listing/crafting effort, the skies become the limit on just what you can obtain with a little bit more added effort.  Is 2000g out of line?   3000g?   What is the limit that you set for yourself?  

We talk many times about gold and time management.   Getting more for your time buck becomes that much more important when playing this game.  Not just this game but any money based game that is available to play.   The idea is setting up your system to obtain your goal with the least amount of time spent with chores and trivial matters.

Keep this is mind when that gold making goal seems unavailable.  When you set your goal to buy that Fluffy bunny mount that you viewed on the auction house.   It's not about how easy or difficult it is making gold in World of Warcraft,  it is about just how much perseverance you have to show up.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?
Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition
Throwing A Line
Prepping For the Death Of PVP
Patience is a Virtue.
I Choose You....: Reputation Choices
Thunderforge Ready for Business

How Does Free Gear Effect The Market?

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 10:15 AM

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As a Gold Goblin,  free gear is the bane of my financial existence.  When I'm at my most goblinesque I would prefer to sell everything to a player,  including the Under-Roos they wear with Garrosh's face imprinted on the tucas (I said tucas,   we're a family friendly blog here thank you).

Players continue into the Mists of Pandaria,  leveling up alternates and getting them placed in whichever skill they choose them to have.  Whether they are raiding toons,  support professions or just so they can do a couple of pet battles for the fun of it.   Each has to be geared accordingly.   With each patch Blizzard makes the gear more and easier to obtain.  At level 90 with a few Valor Tokens a player can drift their toon over to the Isle of Thunder and get themselves a Epic Lvl Belt and Neckpiece.   With the new patch just a few weeks away another area becomes open and the more epic gear will be handed to those that help with the storyline of Garroshs' fall from the throne.

Where free gear does effect the high end players need to purchase certain items,  this doesn't eliminate them as possible sales.  Where belts and neck pieces are given out like Chiclets,  weapons and bracers and other gear areas are sorely lacking.   Players still choose many times to purchase items for their alternate toons instead of grinding out reputation for the more powerful items.

So where each patch introduces more freebies,  keep to your plan and look for the kinks in the free loot web.  Don't forget also your ability to flip/produce the enchants that will be in demand as well.  The more free gear that is bought out,  the more need to enhance that gear with new power and shiny gloss.

Free Items can adjust your plan of attack when it comes to making gold.  But it shouldn't knock you off your game plan.  Smart gold goblins know that when one door closes,  you just kick it open again.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


Pre Patch 5.3 Setup
It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition
Throwing A Line
Prepping For the Death Of PVP
Patience is a Virtue.
I Choose You....: Reputation Choices
Thunderforge Ready for Business

Pre Patch 5.3 Setup

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:52 PM

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Mommar here.

Patch 5.3 is on the PTRs and with the background data coming to a computer near you,  it will be soon that many will be leaving the Isle of Thunder and moving on to more fertile grounds.

This also means that players who don't actively raid will be looking to level their alts.  Many will be setting their alternates for level 90 crafting and obtaining patterns that still can sell.   This is of course assuming they haven't already been doing this as we go.

Patch 5.3 will be introducing some interesting wrinkles into both how players will set their mains and alt armies for both professions and daily grinding.   With a tri-spec system many players will be working with a PVP-DPS-Heal/Tank setup.  This will be a good opportunity to make sure that you have glyph sales available for players to pick up.  Not just after the patch drops but before.  Players are becoming more and more intelligent so they plan ahead and purchase before the glyphmas rush.

Pure PVP power gems are going to take a hit because the powers that be are lowering their strength.   So start making sure you have the PVP pwr/secondary gems ready to go.   With Gem Sales being weak a new breath of fresh air to possible sales would be very welcome.

I"ve already looked at flipping the market when it comes to gems and enchants.   Depending on the purchase cost of bracer enchants and weapon enchants they will be in high quick demand as players enter new PVP zones and new raids.  

As players continue to level and setup their alternate armies for professions,  some low level materials will continue to be in demand.   The change in Blacksmithing to allow players to use just Ghost Iron Ore/Bars to be able to max out their leveling caused a ding into this market.  But enchanting materials still are brisk from time to time as players look to have high level enchants on their team.

May is a good chance for beginnings,  take advantage and prepare for the oncoming profession storm.   Setting up your toon army to allow you to craft anything you want will save you gold.   Having the ability to process and craft anything for others will add more gold into your pocket.  And make you a happy gold goblin.

Good Luck and Good Hunting


It's Childrens Weak... I Mean Week
Patch 5.3 on the Horizon
Old World vs New World Profits
Bad Bad Robot.. The Warcraft Edition
Strengthen Your Google-Fu
Go To Sales
Weekend Warriors
Possible Glyphmas With Patch 5.3?
The Green Parade
Lions,  Tigers and Cooldowns O My
Snakes in the Playground
Craft Me Some Pants.. Or Something Else
Flipping the BMAH off
Dear Blizzard:   Noblegarden Edition
Throwing A Line
Prepping For the Death Of PVP
Patience is a Virtue.
I Choose You....: Reputation Choices
Thunderforge Ready for Business