Arbitrage: What is it and why aren't I doing it?

Posted by The Lost Meeple at 8:00 AM

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Post by Faid of Nerf Faids

Arbitrage is, quite simply, buying things from the opposing faction's Auction House, or the neutral AH, to sell on your faction's, or vice versa.  It's a pretty simple concept that seems to be lost to a lot of auctioneers.  Why? It can be very intimidating, the pure logistics of moving the items across factions was daunting enough to scare me away for a long time.  Many players assume that the prices they pay are the same the opposing faction is paying for the same item, but it rarely is.  Don't be scared, and don't be fooled: Arbitrage is a gold mine.
What's so great about arbitrage?
Arbitrage . . .

    * . . . requires very little time. You're profiting from the farming of others!
    * . . . will help develop your goldological imagination.
    * . . . is not as cuthroat as other options. It's an intimidating practice to get into and so competition is low.
    * . . . is extremely fun and profitable!


Why now?
Arbitrage is not a new thing, people have been doing it for quite some time and certain addons, such as Auctioneer, actually have built-in tools to help in arbitration.  So why focus on it now? Fluctuation!

New Cataclysm items have flooded the Auction House and demand for everything is high.  Be it something as simple as Whiptail or Volatile Air, or be it a big ticket item like a Crossfire Carbine, there's a lot out there for people to purchase.  Factions can value items very differently.  How much gold is available, how much farming is happening, how much demand there is for raid consumables, and many other factors can influence how much an item is worth and, so long as players prefer their AH to the neutral auciton house, these factors are unique to each faction, not each server.

The overwhelming demand for anything coupled with the uncertainty of item values makes this a prime market for arbitration and you should be taking full advantage.

How do I do it?
The bare bones of arbitration requires a bit of gold on both factions.  If  you're looking to buy a big ticket item, expect to need a lot of gold on the purchasing faction's side.  If you're going for smaller items, like pets or trade goods, sometimes just 100g can be a good start.
The other requirement is a way to move these items across faction lines.  You are not able to buy the auctions of a character on your account. I personally use a second account but often you can request the help of a friend, guild made, or even tip someone from trade (if you trust them) to buy the auctions for you.

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Recent Change - Recipe: Savory Deviate Delight

Posted by The Lost Meeple at 8:00 AM

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“ I’ve recently have gotten an influx of e-mails on how the Recipe: Savory Deviate Delight, and Elixir of Giant Growth’s drop rates have been buffed, read below.

Don't know whether you were aware, but the recipe for Savory Deviate Delight has become a fairly common drop in the NEW Barrens since the Shattering. I've picked up two of the recipe within an hour of questing through the zone, and already managed to sell one for 800G (a nice bit of capital for me since I'm playing on a new server with no personal resources.)

Your readers might want to know that if they've been marking up these recipes on the AH extravagantly, or if they find the recipe while playing a new alt, the time to sell is NOW!

Also, I've really enjoyed reading your site since I heard about it on the Incredible Podcast. Great job!

Cheers,
Dankhops (hey, it's a beer reference), Destromath US, Troll Druid “

You are correct Dankhops, The recipe drop rate has been buffed according to many sources, it appears to be a bug, and it may get hot fixed, but don’t quote me on that, it’s pure speculation. I’m going to snag roughly 10 of them, under 100g and hope that it indeed is a bug and it will be hot fixed. Thanks for the tip!

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