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

Two accounts... Twice the Profit???

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:07 PM

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Mommar Here.

When I started playing World of Warcraft I was in awe of everything I saw.   Players that could get high damage in raids.   Players who could be on the top of the charts with PVP.   Gladiator titles and epic weapons.

But what put me in awe the most were the legends of players having multiple accounts.  2, 3 even the dreaded 5 box dancing Moonkin (epic funny).   But I never saw that I would need that many accounts. As I progressed in making characters,  and maxxing out their professions.  Discovering new ways of adding to my goblin fortune.  I started filling the 10 slots I had per server rather quickly.  8 leveling toons and 2 banking toons parked in different areas had me wondering whether it was time to take the plunge and pay for a second account.

There are many benefits to having two accounts.  Besides allowing you to have multiple characters from both Horde and Alliance,  it makes sending items across the joint auction house less of a hassle.  If you have a quick enough computer you can just have two versions of Warcraft open and flip between the two.   On busy servers this can become very lucrative.

Then I looked at the downside.  It was an extra 15 dollars from my account.  And if I needed another slot for characters I could open up on another server.  The challenge of making another fortune on another server was very tempting.    Now some gold goblins will swear that to be in the big leagues you must have multiple accounts.   That the markets become wide open if you are able to swap materials across the great divide of factions.  

But in the end i wasn't willing to sacrifice more time to build,  level,  craft just for a few more handfuls of gold (yes,  I know very ungoblin like).   So what was I to do to get items across the auction house?

This is where I made a deal with a friend.  They wanted gold and I wanted materials to sell to the bad guys (yes,  I'm horde all the way).   So working out a deal for 10% of my profits,  we worked out a system to get items to the Alliance.   It's been lucrative all the way.  Items that were available only for the Horde were sold on the alliance AH in a heartbeat.   All in demand and all being sold at a very large markup.  Nothing like relieving the Alliance of some of their gold.

Spending some time on Theunderminejournal.com  I could get a quick idea of what would sell quickly for a large profit.   Later when Blizzard introduced Free to play accounts I grabbed a quick account,  ran a toon to org as my AH spy.   Where I couldn't sell anything with that toon,  I could get a good idea of what to transfer later on in the day.

Does this mean that I think having multiple accounts is a bad thing?  Not at all.  Everyone has the choice on their playstyle.   It can be lucrative to have multiple playing accounts on multiple toons.   It gives a different flavor to the game,  and allows you more flexibility.   But I do not think that it's something that you have to have to be top in the Gold Game.

10 slots full of production can make a lot of gold.   Try it,  you might like it.

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Previous Entries

Thanks Uncle Scrooge McBlizzard
Goblins, Pandas and Blood Elfs O My
MOP Prep:   Prepping the Farmer
MOP Prep:  Get to the Points
MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory
MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff
MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup
MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel
MOP Prep:   Zero Balance Investment
The Secret For Investing for MOP
I know what the Rock is cooking (in PVP Gear)
How Much Effect Do Bloggers Have?
The Death and Life of Truegold
Time vs Gold Investment
Return to your Essence
Harmony - We Don't Need Harmony
Jewelcrafting dailies or something
Its All Attitude
It's the Little Things
The Doh Club
Psychology of Selling

I know what the Rock is cooking (in PVP Gear)

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:17 PM

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Babysitting markets can become a tedious experience.  As we progress to the opening of the gates of Mists of Pandaria,  it's important to know what is still selling in a market and what sales can be slowed down and discontinued.

I personally have sold a lot of PVP gear with my Leatherworker and my Blacksmith.  Between buying inexpensive materials on the Auction house,  and my cartel providing materials.  Production has been continual over the past year and a half.  It was easily the #1 continual seller on many servers.

Even now PVP gear sells,  and it brought into my mind exactly why it's still selling.  We are still almost a month and a half from the expansion release.   Most players are taking their wowcations due to being bored with the repetition of questing or dungeoning.   Others are taking their family vacations,  spending more time with their children and friends.

But there still exists a dogged community of players that are leveling up new toons,  getting them PVP geared and beating the pixels out of each other.  These are our target audience when it comes to sales of PVP gear.  Where the days of 4000g sales per piece are long in the past,  there are still good opportunities of producing items for 150g or less.  The main pieces (Chest,  Pants,  Helm) many times can still sell for 750 to 850g.

There is a caveat when taking advantage of this.  Going out and crafting 10 pieces of [Vicious Pyrium Breastplate] takes a chance that you will sell those for a profit before the release of Mists of Pandaria.  If your server is still very active in PVP events then it isn't an impossibility.  But many servers you may sell one or two,  ending up with 8 in your inventory looking for a home.

To me the best strategy would look at what is selling on your server.  Through the magic of TheUndermineJournal.com you can look at your individual server needs,  and plan accordingly.  Also look at just how many are listed by your competition.   It's a safe bet that a undercut war could break out at any point.   Being back to babysitting duty on a new money making progress can add just one more chore with little reward.

There is a skill in downsizing production to maximize profit while minimizing risk.  Research will be your best guide towards that.   Research on what your server is doing,  and where it's plans are between now and the Panda Infestation.

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" or leave a comment here. You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 

Previous Entries

How Much Effect Do Bloggers Have?
The Death and Life of Truegold
Time vs Gold Investment
Return to your Essence
Harmony - We Don't Need Harmony
MOP Prep:  Get to the Points

MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory

MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff

MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup

MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel

MOP Prep:   Zero Balance Investment
Jewelcrafting dailies or something
Its All Attitude

It's the Little Things

The Doh Club

Psychology of Selling

The Death and Life of Truegold

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 4:20 PM

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The alchemist dream all through the Cataclysm expansion was the Truegold transmutation.   Processing three volatiles ([Volatile Fire] [Volatile Air] and [Volatile Water]) could create mini fortunes for players. This was one of the most in demand crafted item during Cataclysm.

Fast forward to today and the lull between the Cataclysm expansion and the introduction of Mists of Pandaria.  Truegold demand is down,  as well as the profit margins in the material.  If you read the article I posted called Tipping Point I discussed the switch between production of Truegold and crafting volatiles.   All of this was dependent on your server and crafting demands.

A reader of the journal brought up an interesting point to me.  They had decided to start to collect Truegold for the MOP expansion.  Being honest I read his explanation and found that I had made a judgement error.   Interesting enough he used the same logic that I had to collect materials for another item during Mists of Pandaria.

In another article I discussed 5 things that an engineer should be selling.   One of the big money making items was the Mechano-Hog.   A new batch of players wanting cool and interesting mounts,  and whats better than a Motorcycle.  Well the reader brought up that there was one more ultra cool mount that might be in demand.  Vial of the Sands is the mount that turns a player into a two seated dragon.  This was in high demand during the Cataclysm expansion,  but at an ultra high cost.  Most servers had these at 41k plus,  or even higher.   With the rarity of the pattern on many servers (grinding out 525 archaeology and the right pattern from Uldum deterred many players from obtaining this).

So this brings us to an interesting dilemma.   Is there a 3rd tipping point between production of Truegold for quick profit sales  Production of Volatile Water or Volatile Air,  or collect Truegold for resell during Mists of Pandaria.   It was a very interesting theory that the reader had created.  So lets do a little math.

(all numbers provided by Theunderminejournal.com)

Truegold (median) = 332g


Volatile Life = 4.5g
Volatile Air (median) = 11g
Volatile Water (median) = 7g
Volatile Fire (median) = 6g
Pyrium Bar (median)  = 8g



To currently craft a piece of truegold it will cost you

Volatile Air x 10
Volatile Water x 10
Volatile Fire x 10
Pyrium Bar x 3

====================================

Total of 264g 

Selling at 332g

Profit margin of 68g

Now take 15 Volatile Life at 4.5g (67.50)

Transmuting 

15 Volatile Air (teleporting to Uldum)

15 x 11g = 165g 

165g - 67.50 = 97.50g profit

(yes,  I realize that you can proc a second set of elements.  This is the low side profit if there is not a 2nd set given)

15 Volatile Water (teleporting to Vashjir)

15 x 7g = 95g

95g - 67.50 = 27.50g profit

Now these are numbers for the current cycle between the Cataclysm expansion and Mists of Pandaria.  They will change once MOP is released and there is an upswing of demand for these volatiles.  Right now would be a wise idea to change your transmute to Volatile Air to save towards Mists of Pandaria profit taking.

Now a second option would be to start buying Truegold and if the materials are inexpensive 

and continue to use your Truegold timer.   Much of this depends on your current cost of materials, and also the selling point of your server.  These investment opportunities give you multiple variations for a long term investment for your Mists of Pandaria gold making project.  

Good Luck and Good Hunting

Time vs Gold Investment
Return to your Essence
Harmony - We Don't Need Harmony
MOP Prep:  Get to the Points

MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory

MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff

MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup

MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel

MOP Prep:   Zero Balance Investment
Jewelcrafting dailies or something
Its All Attitude

It's the Little Things

The Doh Club

Psychology of Selling

The DOH club

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 11:28 AM

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Any gold goblin that has been playing World of Warcraft for an extended period of time can share some of their mistakes.   The club that invites everyone to commiserate over beer and pretzels on the bonehead things that we have done.   Sometimes the club will tease about the mistake.  Other times it will laugh out loud over how someone could do that.

A friend of the journal emailed me the other day explaining that their guild decided to change servers.   At that same time they were looking at taking up a new profession to gain more gold.   This is where the tragedy begins.

After having changed professions they decided to take up inscription.  At one point it was the easiest to make gold with,  and also very very profitable.   After having transferred to a new server, they discovered they had made a very fateful error.  Currently on many servers inscription is dominated by undercutters.  Players that are selling glyphs at just above cost or even less.   TSM and other addons show minimum profit levels and the glyphs being listed are far below these thresholds.   Setting up the idea that it would be next to impossible to gain gold on the new server.

As I sympathized with the player,  I also looked back and thought how something like this could have been prevented.   And one word came to mind,  research.

There are many tools at the fingertips of the gold goblin.  From Spreadsheets for just about any profit level,  Theunderminejournal.com and Wowhead.com  to look up current trends.   Multiple levels on a server on what sells and what doesn't sell.  But there is no better research than to get on a server,   and see just what gold is being made and where.

After having sent some tips to the distressed player on how they can recover from the error,  I felt bad that others probably have fallen into this trap,  and unfortunately joined this all too popular of the DOH club.

So whether it's a new toon that you intend to make gold with.   If your wanting to create a new profession for your toon.  Or just to figure out what the most profitable way to make gold on a server is.  Make sure that the next step in your to do list is to do you research.   It will save you the club membership dues.

What stories do you have that had you joining the club?

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 "@Dragonbearjoe" or leave a comment here. You can find me hanging out on the Shandris Server, chat me up and I will buy you a glass of juice. 

Past Entries

Wowcations

Psychology of Selling

Value for the Buck

Pokewow Goes to the argent Tournament

Blah Blah Blah

Don't Drink the Orc Aid

Whats the Frequency Mommar

The Return of Vendor Prices

MOP Prep:  Get to the Points

MOP Prep:  Reduction in Inventory

MOP Prep: Stuff to Gold,  Gold to Stuff

MOP Prep: Setting the Lineup

MOP Prep: Setting up the Cartel