Written by: Ashley. If you enjoyed this article then please let Ashley know in the comments.
When making gold with professions the process is generally simple:
- Acquire materials
- Craft items people need
- Sell for profit
There is however a logical path through professions in order to get to end products.
At each step along this path there is gold to be made. The further down the path you go, the more gold can be made.
Let me illustrate my point with an example, I can take Ore, prospect into gems,
craft gems into jewellery, disenchant rings into enchanting materials, use materials to make scrolls and sell on the AH. This path starts with mining, then jewelcrafting and finally ends with enchanting. I have created an arbitrary diagram to show the sequence of events in this process and how gold can be made at each step.
This is of course just one of many routes through professions. However the same
point remains for all. The path always starts with gathering professions and ends
when you produce a product which cannot be used to craft another product.
When it comes to making gold through professions, players will generally decide
what they like to do in the game and fit into this chain somehow. Me for example, I hate gathering so I rely on people who do like gathering (mining, herbalism and skinning) to dump their raw materials on the AH and not wish to carry on further down the chain. I can then buy raw materials at a price I deem cheap enough, then begin my path through the production chain.
My advice is this – broaden your selling horizons so that you sell in demand products at each step along the chain. The best profit margins will come from products at the end of the chain, but that isn’t to say they sell the best. Selling at each step along the chain means you cater for all types of player.
So next time you are planning on doing your favourite gold making technique using professions ask yourself the following questions:
point remains for all. The path always starts with gathering professions and ends
when you produce a product which cannot be used to craft another product.
When it comes to making gold through professions, players will generally decide
what they like to do in the game and fit into this chain somehow. Me for example, I hate gathering so I rely on people who do like gathering (mining, herbalism and skinning) to dump their raw materials on the AH and not wish to carry on further down the chain. I can then buy raw materials at a price I deem cheap enough, then begin my path through the production chain.
My advice is this – broaden your selling horizons so that you sell in demand products at each step along the chain. The best profit margins will come from products at the end of the chain, but that isn’t to say they sell the best. Selling at each step along the chain means you cater for all types of player.
So next time you are planning on doing your favourite gold making technique using professions ask yourself the following questions:
- Am I starting the production chain as early as I could be?
- Am I stopping the production chain too early?
If the answer is yes to either of these, consider adjusting your process so you can sell more products along the chain. Learn to get the most out of your raw materials utilizing all the professions you have and you will make more gold along the way.
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6 comments: on "Working Through Wow Professions"
daniel.stewart1993 said... July 14, 2011 at 8:04 AM
I really liked this innovative and unique post which has been much different from other trial posts. Thumbs up.
Martin said... July 14, 2011 at 11:22 AM
I enjoyed reading the post, but I wouldn't say it was innovative. The issues presented are sound common sense techniques that are often overlooked. Sometimes we do need to see them in print to remind us to do them.
Definite thumbs up.
Karot said... July 14, 2011 at 3:28 PM
I like taking advantage of the entire chain. Diversification is a big key in maximizing your profits. The main trouble I run into, however, is keeping enough materials on hand to take advantage of the whole chain.
A perfect example is Carnelians. These beautiful red gems are useful for so much. The three major uses for them are: transmuting with Heartblossom to make Inferno Rubies (to cut and sell), transmuting with the other 5 green gems to make Shadowspirit Diamonds (also to cut and sell), and finally, to craft Carnelian Spikes which often disenchant into Greater Celestial Essences (for making scrolls to sell).
I never seem to have enough Carnelian to take maximum advantage of each of these markets, so I either have to split up the small amount between the three, or try to work out which one is currently most profitable.
Patros said... July 15, 2011 at 7:26 AM
"Selling at each step along the chain means you cater for all types of player."
Enchanting mats/scrolls for example:
While this will give you gold in your pocket you, this will lower the mats cost to make the scroll and you'll be selling to your competiton.
What I do if I have more mats then I can use is to sell the scrolls to horde and sell the mats to alliance.
Working small/medium scale doesn't make much difference. But if you're one of the major players in the market it will make a little difference.
Ashley said... July 15, 2011 at 10:06 AM
Thanks for your comments all.
Patros - good point on the fact that by selling matts you are selling to the competition. My philosophy is just to sell as broad a range of products as possible whilst maintaining a healthy profit margin. Typically i do as you say and make all the best scrolls i want, then sell the excess as matts. You raise a good point of selling matts to Alli and scrolls to Horde, however i am too casual a player to go to that depth :)
Anonymous said... July 15, 2011 at 9:13 PM
" "Selling at each step along the chain means you cater for all types of player."
Enchanting mats/scrolls for example:
While this will give you gold in your pocket you, this will lower the mats cost to make the scroll and you'll be selling to your competiton."
I calculate my scroll profit off of the mats I make myself by disenchanting rather than AH price.
Factoring it in this way means I'm picking up sometimes a 100% return on some DE mats by selling them separately as well as making a bigger profit margin than anyone selling the same scrolls as me unless they have also have a cheap source of mats. I win on both counts.
BTW, I just finished my first week of serious gold making and almost made 50k just on the few markets I picked on my server - I don't touch gems or glyphs as it's too competitive and I can't be bothered with the undercutting and camping. :) Next week I'm diversifying further and hope to make even more!
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