Between Deathwing and the Panda Invasion

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:09 AM

With patch 4.3 just weeks away (if not days),  and the release of the new expansion Mists of Pandaria
expected in quarter 2 of 2012,    Plenty of time to make gold,  and lead the goblin pack.

For the past weeks JMTC and other journals ahve given you a large amount of information on how to make money,  fleece the market and be on the top of the heap.  With all this information you are aremed to the teeth to hit the AH hard,  fast and continiously.

So today in my tip,  I'm going to talk a little bit farther in the future.   By just asking question:   Are you prepared for the pandas?

The Plan


One of the strengths that a gold goblin we have is planning.    We've talked about research,  being the top of whats new.  But without a good base you end up still being dependent on the whims of the
auction house crowd.   The shrewd investor is not just going to be spending their inventory that they have stocked for 4.3,  but also looking for inventory to replace it.   The long investment that will pay off down the road.

The Bank Heist


The first step my young appreentice is to buy yourself a guild bank.    This has been a controversial subject at times due to the idea that it is  not what the developers designed the guild bank for.  For our  purposes,  we will step over any moral arguements and begin from scratch.

Between patch 4.3 and the opening of the pandarian gates,  there will be guilds closing up shop.   Raiders will find other pastures to plunder,   and with that becomes opportunity.   With the knowledge that the new void storage is going to be expensive,   the guild bank will be the prime opportunity for mass storage needs.

One of the biggest problems people run into is how much to pay.   The quick rule is "as little as possible".  Looking at it financially,  we know that the first slot is 250g,  the next slots being 500g,  1000g,  2500g and 5000g seperately.    This should be your guide on how much to pay depending on how many slots the bank being sold have.   Remember that this is going to be "easy money" for whoever is selling the bank.  Odds are they don't have anything invested in the bank,  so use this to your advantage.   A 2 slot bank should sell depending on server strength for between 250g (250g+500g).
You can add or subtract depending on your willingness to negotiate but if the price gets too steep,  walk
away.  You have the money,   they have an empty box making them no money at all for themselves.
As we get closer to the release,  more guilds will come up for grabs.  

You also have the option of creating your own bank,  this becomes a little bit more time consuming due to the fact you need to go to your guild vendor,  create a guild (if you don't already have one),  obtain 10 signatures (remember you can only sign your petition once,  and they must remain on the signature page of the guild charter til it's created).    Barking in the middle of trade channel and offering 10g+ per signature will cut your time for creation.  But purchasing your guild will be the quickest to your first goal

Stocking shelves

With every new expansion you have a prime opportunity to stash necessary materials for leveling
new professions.    People wanting to get to the latest and greatest max crafted armor,   and be
server first for multiple professions.     This again is where your research will become essential
for what to purchase.   Take the time to reorganize your guild banks (yes, plural,  2 will become very handy for separation of materials,  3 or more is optimum.   It may take some moving around of toons but you want your crafters to be associated with each bank that holds the materials they will consume.
Placing your Leatherworker with your leatherworker supplies,  your tailor with the cloth is a good step in
not having to run around mailing odds and ends for a central storage area.   Also don't forget to spread some of the gold into each guild bank from your stash.    Just in case you need to purchase items from vendors you want liquid assets to be available without the need to jump from toon to toon.  

As you do this,  become to obtain materials based on leveling guides.    With each expansion there is usually flux for points,  and obtaining points become easier and easier.  But along with this is almost always a shortage of items in areas that are not quested as often.   saronite ore became a hurdle along with cobalt ore as there was less travelling in certain areas of outlands and the WOTLK areas.   Bundles of herbs in the middle of leving alchemy become more and more expensive as people burnt through their stored stacks and looked to purchase more.

With the high cost of primal airs on most servers,  and the announced higher cost of alchemy specialization expect these items to become more and more expensive as we go.   Use your favorite leveling guide and see where the crafted blues start to become required for leveling.  Those will be the materials to store in your guild bank for your long term play on the market.     Build your nest now not only for your own leveling needs,  but also for the leveling needs of those that will pay top gold for
a few points.

Are you experienced?


As a gold goblin,  what recipes you have access to will be paramount to your success.   How many Mechano-hogs were sold to new horde toons with cataclysm (or Makgineer's Choper) for the alliance.   How many leg armor patches,   or wrath gems were sold due to the level restrictions placed on armor.   Planning just what reputations will be needed for certain patterns will place 1000's of gold into your pocket that maybe only a few others have on your server.  Or have the materials to make on a continual basis.   This is also a good place to know your transmutes for your alchemists.   That saronite bar that is inexpensive on the AH can be transmuted to a titanium bar (8 saronite bar to 1 titanium bar).   Between now and the introduction of the mists expansion,   max out the reputations you need to have those recipes at your fingertips.    Also don't forget about the traders in Negrand.  Did you max out your rep
with  the consortium?  If you haven't yet,  max out the rep using this resource and then start to turn in for your bag of gems.    These will be in high demand as people continue to level their Jewelcrafting (still considering arguably the highest income market).     The more planning ahead and storage you have available for your long term deals,  the better ahead of the market you will be.

Discipline equals Gold


From all of our writings we have echoed one constant idea,  make your money work for you.   In this case I'm going to give you a specific guideline to follow.   As you continue your normal flow of crafting
items to sell (making sure that you are making your 20% profit)'  For every 2g,  you need to save 1g
back and place in your bank.    keeping your items liquid will be very important for when a big deal
comes into play.    The object is have half of your gold placed in one spot and the rest split between the amount of banks you have.   In my case I have 4 guild banks,  so I have one master bank set up,  and each of the other 4 have a specific amount placed at each of my toons disposal.   That way if I have
a purchase to make,  I can keep track of the gold amount spent,  and turn it over to the appropriate toon bank.   Every week I make regular deposits to my master bank toon to keep a running total.     The time lost between swapping characters to purchase an item from the AH is the possibility of losing that item,  or that inexpensive material to someone else.

Build a notebook of ideas.

Between now and the introduction of the running of the pandas,   lots of information will be released.
If your not on the ptrs,  then do the next best thing and start to read the JMTC forums.   Have a notebook ready to write down any little bit of information (or a printer if necessary).  These are your bits of information for building your strategies for future sales.   Will blue gems become hot items because they are cheap now and used for leveling jewelcrafting?    That hypnotic dust that is selling for next to dirt may be in high demand quickly for enchanting leveling.     Be prepared to know what will sell,  what won't sell anymore and be able to adjust your plans accordingly.   If you think of your auction house sales as part of a stock market,   you can progress to 6 months ahead to know what to invest your time and gold in,  and what to keep a smaller supply of.

Have Fun


I have said it many many times,   this is a game,  and our mantra is "the auction house is the only true pvp".  How could that idea not get your blood flowing   Players will leave the game,  become bored when they don't see anything new.   This is your chance to set your own goals to accomplish.  Make enough gold to get everyone of your farmers Hawgs?   Don't have farmers on the payroll?  Solve that,  build your cartel of crafters and players and start to own the market.    Want 100k before MOP?   500k?   1 million,   set the goal,  set the plan and finish the climb.  You will be suprised at how it feels to not only do something no one else has done.   It's not just the destination,  but it's the travel as well.

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.

Links to Previous articles

Tools of the Trade

Goodbye Darkmoon Faire

Freud never said anything about warcraft gold