Preparing For the Future: Alts 101

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:44 PM

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As Mists of Pandaria matures and we continue on with the storyline.  More and more players will be creating alternate characters from their mains.   A tank main may create a ranged dps class.    A healer may want to try to enjoy relaxing with a melee dps class.

The farther that players get into the raiding depths,  the more apt their guilds will have a need for specific toons.   And this is where your preparation will become important.    Players will need to get their players geared quickly up to raid level standards.  So they will be ready to pay large amounts of gold to get the best gear that gold can buy.

Patch 5.2 is already on the PTRS,   and one of the occurrences that players on the PTRs are noticing that there is a large amount of powerful BOE weapons being dropped.   Those weapons will find themselves quickly on the market as will just as powerful armor.   The key to being on top of this wave of Alternate gearing is to have both BOE crafted gear available as well as the enhancements that are needed for raiding and high level questing.

So to be prepared for this,  investing and farming in raw minerals such as ore and enchanting materials will be very important in the next couple of weeks.   Those that wait til the last minute to start to prepare will end up being in the back of the line,  depending on the ebb and flow of the Auction House.

Plan both your material strategy as well as your gold strategy to be on top.   All materials will become just as valuable in the opening weeks of the 5.2 patch and future patches.   So setting your strategy and goals now will allow you to execute them correctly and effectively.

Keep your eyes on the prize and the prize will be yours

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. 

Previous Entries

Anonymous Gold Goblin 
Eyes On The Auction House Prize
Self Motivation: The Key To Success
BMAH Blues Return
How Not To Make Gold
Time Management With Faction Grinding
Receipt Isolation Sales
Breaking Through The Wall
Transmog Me First
Pay What
Outside the New Years Box
Heat Of The Moment
Five Star Sales
The Gauntlet Thrown Down
Post Holiday Toys

Eyes On The Auction House Prize

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:20 AM

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Mommar here.

It's a crisp mid winter day at camp JMTC iowa branch.   As with every other day I woke up to do my daily chores and list some auctions.  

One of the things that I do on some items is keeping a close eye on their bidding.  Whether it is items that I want for my own personal need or selling items.   Keeping a close tab on auctions can give me a good idea of just how the market is flowing that day.

The auction house has an ebb and flow to it that can change even by the hour.   Now in no way am I saying do I sit there and scan the auction house every minute keeping graphic listings of each sale.   But anytime I'm close to an auction house to empty out bags or grab needed items from my banks,  I will duck my head into check to see what the status of certain sales are going.   First it's always nice to know that I have some gold that should arrive in my mailbox soon.  Also it gives me a chance to make adjustments if I need to cancel and relist an item that has been undercut by another player.

There are also days that I fire up auctions and forget them til the end of the day.  These are generally days that I'm used to there not being as much activity during the day.   Your non raiding days and days that there are a lot fewer players buying items.   This is determined many times by just trial and error.    Each server is different on what days the Auction house is more active.   Your research and own experience can help you determine what days you should be paying closer attention to your sales.

Another time to be paying close attention to your auctions is just before the normal late night hours of your server.  This is many times a good time to grab deals from farming players who just want to grab their gold and move on.   Undercutting of raw materials can be seen late at night.  So picking these up on the cheap can keep your production costs down.  

The last time I would pay close attention to your buying and selling is the night before the server restarts.   Blizzard grants us a heads up on how long the downtime will be.   With this knowledge you can make a quick view of what auctions will run out during this time or will arrive on the short sale list.   Making a small bid can gather lots of items on the cheap with just a few minutes of sorting and looking.

Your eyes and your experience are the greatest weapon when it comes to being a gold goblin.   Use your time management and visual skills well and you will be on top of the heap in no time.


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. 

Previous Entries

Self Motivation: The Key To Success
BMAH Blues Return
How Not To Make Gold
Time Management With Faction Grinding
Receipt Isolation Sales
Breaking Through The Wall
Transmog Me First
Pay What
Outside the New Years Box
Heat Of The Moment
Five Star Sales
The Gauntlet Thrown Down
Post Holiday Toys

Pay What?

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 2:02 PM

2 comments View Comments

As I was rolling through the Auction House aisles looking for some bargains yesterday I came upon an interesting site.  

Someone had posted up a Green Iron Helm for sale.    Nothing fantastic on the piece.  nice leveling helm that can be handy.   I then looked at the price of what they were asking for it.

35,000 g!!!!

After I picked myself off the floor and got done laughing I wanted to figure out exactly why someone would post an item such as this at a super inflated price.   A couple of reasons came to mind:

1.   The seller hoped someone really really really (add a couple of more really) wanted a new hat.

2.   Seller was banking on someone thought it said 35g and bought it (ummm no)

3.   Their pricing addon had a spastic attack and sold them down the river.

4.   Dumb (very rarely will I say that someone is dumb when it comes to listing auctions)

In the Warcraft economy as it is now,  35,000g is a lot of money for any item.   With the changes that Blizzard has added,  gold isn't as free flowing for the average player as it was before.   So pricing an item this high is a fool's run.   This is an extreme case of course.  Pricing your items is a combination of knowledge and feeling for how your economy rolls.   On one server that has many many Warcraft millionaires,  items will be more expensive.   On a new server,  items tend to be on the lesser side because they do not sell as well.

The key is to pay attention to your market and don't just assume that number the addon gives you is the most accurate addon.  An item is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.   Though 35k gold would be nice for about 4 gold worth of materials.   Auction house,  I see a Green Iron Helm flood in your future

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. 

Previous Entries

Outside the New Years Box
Heat Of The Moment
Five Star Sales
The Gauntlet Thrown Down
Post Holiday Toys
Rock Star Pricing
Follow Your Strength
The Go To Gold Goblin???
Keep Your Head Up Gold Goblin
Plant Pvp Enigma Seed vs Songbell Seed
The Short List
Decking Out Your Farmer
Winter Veil Farming: Head Start
A Perfect Circle of Goblin Life
Addon Abandonment Issues
The Guild: Striking Tone For Sales
Controlling Your Reputation

Tis The Season

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:18 PM

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Tomorrow is the big day.  The big red fat guy shows up to give presents to all of the good gold goblin boys and girls.

But you also can be a Santa Claus yourself.    Many people will be receiving the Mists of Pandaria expansion as Christmas gifts.   With the discount that Blizzard and other online markets are offering for the entire Warcraft experience there will be brand new players into the game.

With brand new players arrives brand new possibilities for sales.  And opportunities to be Goblin ambassadors.  Keeping and eye on the Auction house for items to flip on the Auction house (blue items are especially good at being flipped for a quick profit.  As well as foodstuffs and potions) will give you a happy feeling in your Warcraft pocket book.

As you're sharing adding profit to your pocket book,  add a little spice in life.  If you see someone new struggling,  or having inferior equipment.   Throw them a new weapon that you can craft.   Give them the experience in Warcraft that not everyone is a scrooge.   You might just be adding to a great day for someone  in their first experience in Warcraft.

If you end up drinking a little too much egg nog for tonight.   There is always dancing on the mailboxes for tips in your hottest transmog wear.   I will be in Orgrimmar dancing the night away.

Have a safe and happy Christmas.

Mommar

The Short List

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:15 PM

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Mommar here.

JMTC:  Iowa branch got struck by flu bug this week.    There were good times that I was able to put together an article and some days that getting out of bed sounded like a really bad idea.

Included in all of this was a minimum amount of logging on World of Warcraft.   But out of this lack of will to log on to finish up anything but the basic chores it reminded me of time management.

Whenever you look to start or even continue your gold making career.   Time management is the first thing to check off on your list to master.   There are days that you will only be able to log on for a little bit that day.   Other days you will have some extra time to work before having to go to family functions.   Then there are thos magic days that the family is out,  clouds part and you have all day to longue around and work at your own pace.

Myself,  I have three different sets of tasks to perform depending on my time constraints and ability to invest.

Short:  (30 minutes)

I only do my three transmutes/daily crafts (Inscription,  Jewelcrafting, Alchemy).  If I have any time I will do a quick scan of the auction house for quick purchases to flip.

Medium (1-3 hours)

I choose 2 to 3 of my top selling crafters and do their normal listing routine and crafting.   If I only have 1 hour then I use the top seller as the number 1 priority.   Second hour I work with the number two seller down the list.  

Long  (3+ Hours)

This obviously is a full listing of all of my auctions,   crafting items that will sell (PVP,  weapons, speciality enhancements).  Also included is my scanning for items to flip for a profit and resetting any markets that need to be rebalanced for added sales.

The time frames are estimates.  Many gold goblins don't want to spend three hours working on Auction house sales.   There are days that I have three plus hours to play that I just look do to a short day and then go to finish up dailies.  These are always dependent on your own adjustments.  

Setting your own time management expectations will allow you to work quicker and more effectively in both short and long term time investments.

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. 

Previous Entries

Decking Out Your Farmer
Winter Veil Farming: Head Start
A Perfect Circle of Goblin Life
Addon Abandonment Issues
The Guild: Striking Tone For Sales
Controlling Your Reputation
Are You Experienced
Farming Post Patch 5.1
The Hours of Power
Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days

A Perfect Circle Of Goblin Life

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 8:00 AM

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Mommar here (again,   someone else is going to be writing these things?   You've miss me too much)

About a week ago I entered an article called Profit Calculation 101 - GPH.   It was chuck full of math parts, digits,  symbols that only fed to the small math nerd in all of us.

But there was one thing that I hope you caught that was wrong with the calculations.   A couple of people wrote to me about them.   The math was correct,  but it was all dependent on a perfect circle between crafter and purchaser.

Think of this as the Gold Goblin version of the circle of life (No,  I will not be singing the song thank you).  A crafter obtains the raw materials. This is done via the auction house,   contacts with your own cartel or farming them yourself.   The crafter makes and prices the item for sale on the open market.   These are the only parts that are directly effected by the crafter.  

The problem with the GPH equation I offered and our perfect circle of life is the need for buyers.   Value is a subjected issue when it comes to crafting.  Any real life collector knowing what their doing will tell you that an item is only worth what someone is will to pay for it.   You can have a 100,000 dollar baseball card according to the Beckett's baseball card manual.  But unless someone writes you a check for the money,  it's worth nothing.

The same idea applies to everything that a Gold Goblin crafts.  A Gold Goblin producer can make neat items from all of the expansions.  From Mechano-Hogs to Copper Bars can be produced continually if the materials are available.  But the value is only worth what someone is willing to pay.  You have a minimum amount that a vendor is willing to pay for an item.  So that can be considered your base value for an item,  but do that too often and you will be a poor Gold Goblin.

So our perfect Circle of Gold Goblin life has to be developed with not just the production of items,  but the knowledge of who is going to purchase the item.   There are certain items that you can list over and over it's a relative guarantee they will ultimately sell.   But as an expansion continues,  the profit margins for each of those items become less and less.  Demand becomes less and less as players purchase vanity items and upgrades.  

That knowledge that we search for,  knowing the ebb and flow of people buying is what sets our standing on the food chain.   The idea that we can list the right items,  at the right price and continue to produce gold out of raw materials.  

Okay,  I admit it,  I started whistling the song as I was finishing the entry.  Ignore the writer,  he got a little dust in his eye.

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. 

Previous Entries

Addon Abandonment Issues
The Guild: Striking Tone For Sales
Controlling Your Reputation
Are You Experienced
Farming Post Patch 5.1
The Hours of Power
Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words

The Guild: Striking A Tone of Sales

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 8:00 AM

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Mommar here.

If you have read these articles for a bit you've heard my story of why I started learning how to make gold in wow.   The short of the story was that I wanted to be productive for my raiding guild and try to obtain patterns and gold to advance the group.

Selling to your guild mates is a tricky subject.   Some guilds charge for everything.  Guild members sell crafting items or potions.  Some mages will even sell access to their water and food creations.   Other guilds have a completely cooperative attitude when it comes to guilds services.  

With the guild ranks,  gold for the guild bank became much easier.   With rank 16 guilds receiving an automatic deposit into the guuild bank with each looting of a killed mob.  (Cash Flow Perk).   Before this a guild member had to directly deposit gold into the guild bank.   From this repairs could be deducted depending on what the guild master had allowed for guild members.

The idea is just how valuable is your guild when it comes to your gold making experience?    Many times guild banks are full of items that just sit there for a long time.  Gaining virtual dust that other players might find valuable.   Sitting down with your guild master and working out a deal to empty out some of the less useful items.   You even have the choice of working out on a commission basis or just buying the items outright.  

The one caveat with something like this is that you should want to stay in the good graces of your guild.  If you put on your gold goblin hat and put the squeeze on your guild for a few extra gold,  they will remember this when you need something.   An extra gold piece is not worth bad feelings between guild members.

This was one of the reasons for my personal gold making I decided not to sell to fellow members.  The only time that I broke this rule was when someone was taking advantage of the guild.   If I find items that I have a difficult time selling (some glyphs,   older gems etc) I would drop them into the guild bank.  Many times on purpose I would drop items that were in demand by guildmates for their own use.  Meta diamonds are always in demand.   This was during the Wrath expansion and I took a look at who had been taking items out of the guild bank.   I noticed that all of the raw meta diamonds I had placed in there had been removed.   Not a big deal since I figured they were being used to level.

I took a look at the auction house and noticed that all of my meta diamonds had been undercut.   Unfortunately it had been by the person who had removed them from the guild bank.  I talked to my guild master and they were confronted.   They said they were using it to recooperate the cost of the leveling of there jewelcrafting.   I had a problem with this since I had no intentions of suplementing someone's crafting with my production.  Ultimately they left the guild in a huff.

Another time I broke my rule for not selling to guild matest due to abuse by another player in the guild.  They had just recently been brought into the guild and were asking everyone for items to 'level'.   Being in a friendly guild many people were donating.   But even in the most friendly of guilds there comes a limit.  Going with my gut feeling on everything I started to sell at cost the items they were looking for.   Jumping onto another toon that the player didn't know not from the guild I told them I had heard 'rumors' they were selling items.   Getting them to tell how they were 'taking advantage' of their guild wasn't to difficult.   In this case instead of presenting my evidence to the guild I just talked to the people he was buying from and made sure that they were getting full value for their materials.   Once again the player left the guild shortly after.

Selling to your own guild can be tricky at best.  You have to measure both your motive and the motive of your fellow guildmates.  Keeping a healthy attitude between each other can be beneficial to both.  

Keep what you want in mind and whether the risks are truly worth the rewards.  Sometimes not selling is just as beneficial as a room full of gold.

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. 

Previous Entries

Controlling Your Reputation
Are You Experienced
Farming Post Patch 5.1
The Hours of Power
Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words

Controlling Your Reputation

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:03 PM

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Mommar here.

There is a fine line in World of Warcraft between hero and villain with the community.   Many players revel in their ability to troll at a moments notice over subjects that incite 'flame wars'.   Jumping onto trade chat and starting up highly combustible topics.

The problem with this type of behavior is that ultimately it affects a players personal standing in the community.   They ultimately become a pariah among their peers.   And no one buys from the pariah if they do not have to.  The Ultimate punishment for a flame troll is to be ignored.   The ultimate punishment for a Gold Goblin who becomes a pariah to the community is to have one ore multiple strategies destroyed from non sales.

Before Mists of Pandaria it wasn't as difficult to survive something like this.   There was vast amounts of gold being slung around for items by players.  Many of them not even paying attention to who they were purchased from.   It was 'I want this item and I will pay for it'.   Players ran around with the knowledge that they could easily replace the gold with a few quests and a few sales of items.

With the changes in money with Mists of Pandaria,  players are a little tighter with their wallet.  They are less apt to go on a spending spree because replacement of gold is that much more difficult.   Understanding that there is gold out there for those that want it,  but it isn't dropping into players' pockets with the same amount of ease.

So keep in mind just what your reputation is with the community.   Where a good Chuck Norris joke never hurts anyone,  not everyone needs to hear your opinions on gay marriage or the President.  Unless gold isn't really that important to you anymore.  

So keep your reputation golden to the buyers.  It works out better for you in the long run.  

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. 

Previous Entries

Are You Experienced
Farming Post Patch 5.1
The Hours of Power
Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words

Are You Experienced???

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 8:50 AM

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Mommar here.

There is nothing from the Gold Goblin tool box that beats experience.  From the upside of getting a big score for a sale, to the downside of an investment gone horribly wrong.

To get that experience takes a combination of trial and error.   The reality is that as a starting Gold Goblin you will make mistakes.  You will at some point sell an item for less than you put in to craft it.   You will get a rare drop that will sell for much less than someone would have bought it.

How do I know this?   Simply from experience.   In my own personal Gold Goblin career I have made every mistake in the book as well.  A valuable lesson was learned with each mistake.   Learning from your mistakes is a major key in becoming a stronger and wiser Gold Goblin.

As you go start through your weekend of crafting, farming, flipping and selling.  Be prepared to learn from both your successes and your failures.   And each time you pounce on someone Else's mistake,  remember that hopefully that is an error that you won't ever repeat.

There are 5 mistakes that Gold Goblins make:

1.  Underselling a valuable item

2.  Crafting at a loss

3.  Mismanagement of inventory

4.  Loss of a sale due to motivation

5.  Forgetting to read every day JMTC (okay, had to throw in a plug there)

All of these are self explanatory.   They all involve staying on top of your game and sharpening your skills.   Take chances,  learn from your mistakes and always have fun.  It is a game you know.

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. 

Previous Entries

Farming Post Patch 5.1
The Hours of Power
Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words

Farming Post Patch 5.1

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 11:32 AM

0 comments View Comments

Mommar here.

It is Tuesday and by the time you read this hopefully the servers will be open.   But let us first jump into the way back machine a couple of months ago and get some comments on the farming just after Mists of Pandaria opened.


......  So many materials,   so little time

----- I can't make gold,   too easy to get Ghost Iron Ore

------  mmmmm Herbalism

Mists of Pandaria from the start made crafting materials very accessible.   This time around there was not a shortage of skins or ore to craft with.   It drove down the prices of stacks of crafting material,   which drove down prices on many of the items that were going to be gold making winners.

Now,  let's fast forward to post patch 5.1.   With the patch release,  spawn rate for Ghost Iron Ore and herb nodes were reduced.

Now before we all start panicking and running out.  This is good news for Gold Goblins.   Where farming gold may become a little bit more work to obtain,  the commodities themselves should start driving up in price.  Nodes for mining and Herbalism are still there,   There just will be a lower amount on the Auction House as players will have to take longer to collect.   It will raise crafting prices on items,  but also should raise selling prices on items.   

Your best bet is to keep a close eye on materials as they arrive to the Auction House and look for the best buy.   Also keep your cartel farmers happy with little trinkets and help when you can.  Having a good solid base of farmers will help you keep your costs down as you continue to produce gold making opportunities.

Also keep an eye on automatic posting from addons.   Don't be afraid to buy an underpriced item that you know will sell and relist it at a higher price.   With the new upgrade system with 5.1 and excess points that players have,  they are more apt to upgrade weapons as they proceed through the quest lines and dailies.

Keep your head up high,   gold is just around the corner.   

Good Luck and Good Gold 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. 

Previous Entries

The Hours of Power
Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words

The Hours of Power

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:27 AM

1 comments View Comments

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. 

Previous Entries

Profit Calculation 101:  GPH
THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
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Old World Farming
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Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
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Is Your Cartel Happy?
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Profit Calculation 101: GPH

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:54 PM

1 comments View Comments

Mommar here:

There are sometimes that when you get started with being a Gold Goblin you need to build your base first.   The easiest things to forget are the basics,   walking over dollars trying to find another dime.

In this case we're going to look at calculation of profit when it is in regards to your per hour investment.

Most players when they are leveling can do between 12-15 quests and hour.  With the avg income being around the 200g mark.   We're going to use this as a baseline.

Regular Questing = 200 gph (gold per hour)

Now,   if your up to your dailies,   finishing 15 dailies in an hour is not unheard of.   So the avg of those being in the 15g range (remember this is avg,  so depending on which ones you are doing your milage may vary.)

Now with both of these you need to include vendored items,  and green/blue items that will drop for either resell or disenchanting.   lets place this in an avg of another 50g per hour

So along with your dailies of 200gph or your regular questing take in of 225g,  add another 50g to give you a grand total of 250g (275g) per hour.

When it comes to crafting,  our calculations become a little bit more difficult.

Calculation of GPH will depend specifically sales.   So you won't know your GPH til after everything has sold for that cycle.   Lets assume that you spend half an hour per profession to gather materials,  craft and list on the AH.   So any sales that occur after the sales cycle (always use the 12 hour cycle for sales)
=
Your calculation ends up being [(Total Sales} - (Cost of material) ] x 2 = GPH
(you multiply the entire formula x2 because your using a half hour base for your crafting time)

Example

Sword of Ubersmacking sells for 9,850 (this is minus the Auction House cost).  Your cost to craft was 4500 gold in materials purchased.

With this first formula we get

[(9850) - (4000)] x 2 = 11700 GPH.

This formula works for many items that don't require BOP items (Spirits of Harmony is a good Example)
it also sets your baseline for how much your gold and time your investing and how to use your time wisely.

But there is a hole in this formula when you get into more advanced items.   There is no calculation for the cost to gather the Spirits of Harmony.   It may take an hour if your planting Songbell Seed on your farms in Half Hill.  Also there are farming lanes in many of the zones that can produce a total of 1-3 per hour.  To fully calculate your GPH you have to add the time it took to produce these Spirits of Harmony.  As of Patch 5.1 these cannot be purchased via gold.  The only way to obtain is to farm them or gather them as your leveling.  

If you look at your dailies in another way,  being able to gather Mote Of Harmony add value to your GPH when it comes to questing/dailies.   The higher the areas that you are working on dailies,  the higher percentage of possibility of having Mote Of Harmony to drop.   Either way whether you choose to farm directly or to work on dailies as your gathering Mote Of Harmony this has an effect on both your GPH through questing and your GPH for production.

I know what your thinking,  Mo,  that's a lot of math there.   What is it really telling us?   As I've said before, your time is valuable when it comes to logging onto Warcraft.   And knowing just where your time is being spent in regards to how much gold your making is just as important as going to the mailbox and gathering the coin.   This has a large effect on players with limited time to play.   Where 30 minutes to some players just the tip of the iceberg for playtime.  Some players only have an hour to get everything done they want too,  including making gold for the future usage.

In no way do I expect people to keep retentive listings of just how long they spend farming,  and how long they spend crafting.   But getting a general look of exactly how you are investing your time can give you hints on maybe switching to another area to obtain a higher GPH.  A higher GPH can place you faster onto the track of getting your goals done.  

Just keep in mind one idea.   Do not let formulas completely dictate how you play the auction house game.   Being a Gold Goblin isn't just about plugging in numbers,  it's about knowing your business and knowing what others want.  That takes experience and thinking outside the box.   A formula is a tool,  and a tool is no better than the person using it.

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. 

Previous Entries

THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!
Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words

THIS IS GOLD MAKING!!!!!

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 10:16 AM

0 comments View Comments

Mommar here.

When World of Warcraft was first introduced,  it took an extraordinary player to excel at gold making.   There were a few millionaires but for the most of the population there was a struggle to make gold.

In todays Warcraft a player is tripping over gold.   Blizzard developers have made it so that opportunities abound in making gold.   The question is not a matter of whether a player can make gold,  but can a player
get back to making exceptional amounts of gold.

Looking around the blogosphere there are many journals that come and go.   Some will start out with the same precepts to making gold.  Craft this,  farm this,  go here,  sell this.  All are viable methods and 85% of the known Warcraft universe who read these run out and will perform them.   The more that players perform the same action,  the more watered down in opportunity those gold methods become.

Spartans were trained in close order combat.   A solo soldier could defend himself and defeat most attackers/defenders in a one on one contest.  But against an army they would soon fall.   But as a unit,  the Spartan formation could defeat just about any army.   Even today many of the formations that were used for protection by the Spartan armies are used by modern day armies.

So what made the Spartans that much better than all other armies?   It was training and discipline and technique they had developed on their own.   As Warcraft gold goblins we have done the same thing.   Instead of just settling for the 85%,   we look at the 15% that is left over that can push our gold making above all others.

This isn't always easy.    Gold making is more of an art form than just a repetition.  There is a baseline of activities that will make players gold.   Performing dailies,   crafting regular gear and even the occasional speciality gear that is requested.   But looking at the extra 15% of possibilities that exist for gold making will make a gold goblin that much higher on the food chain.  Closer to their goals and able to shield themselves and the other members of their Gold making cartel.

So time to lace up your boots for the weekend,   get your sword sharpened and your wits ready to pounce on good opportunities in the upcoming week.   This may not be Sparta,  but we are gold warriors by nature.

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. 

Previous Entries

Prepping For Darkmoon Faire
Limited Item Is My Favorite Word
Patch Me Now
Old World Farming
Shake Off The Bad Days
Secret Of  My Success.html
Know Their Roles
Flipping Off The Competition
Kyparite: The New Pyrite
Pilgrim's Bounty For The Educated
Is Your Cartel Happy?
Brawlers Guild: Your Killing Us Here
Change of Scenery
Mists of Pandaria in 5 words