How to protect against Inflation and Deflation

Posted by Markco at 8:30 AM

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Today's Guest Poster is Bozzor, all the way from Romania!

How to protect against Inflation and Deflation

Most people know what Inflation and Deflation are.Now, in WoW, we experience both of them and most of the times, even unaware, we are affected by them.Both of them are denting in your gold.In simple terms, Inflation is when prices are going up and Deflation is when prices are going down.

Now, unlike in real life, both Inflation and Deflation exist is same time in WoW, except that they are affecting different items.If you manage to understand how and why exactly Inflation and Deflation kicks in, you will at least protect your assets and gold (or make a lot of profit).

It is a known fact that every expansion and major patch bring along big spikes in the price of new items, due to the fact that everyone wants to skill-up their characters professions, get new gear, enchants, gems etc.There are not enough materials available in /trade or AH, the pro traders (and not only) are buying huge quantities of materials to skill-up their professions and be ready to use them while prices are extremely high (enchants, gem, buckles), farmers know that selling now is most profitable and keep their prices…All in all, its frenzy for like 2-3 weeks , before things begin to settle.

It is also a known fact that prices drops heavily before a new expansion or patch (depending on patch, some might go up, but not for long time).

Now, since between expansions and patches it is a considerable amount of time and any major changes in prices are taking place shortly before and after expansions / patches (hence the best opportunity to make profits or stockpile at very low prices), what are you going to do after those major changes, when Deflation will hit almost every new item ?

The answer is simple : Arbitrage (or Flipping as commonly known).The answer might be simple, but doing it it’s not that simple, because many will do the same thing.Once the craziness of every new expansion / patch starts dropping to normality, the prices also follow this pattern.However, you can safely flip items, because prices can vary 2-3 times / day or 2-3 times /week, depending on items.You need to understand that there are two major factors that drive prices : Farmers and Traders.

Farmers sell huge quantities of materials, lowering the price of base materials (ores, leather, herbs and cloth) while Traders buying those materials, craft items and sell at highest possible prices (except when they start undercutting wars on specific items).There are also times when the need for a specific crafting material rise and farmers are focusing on providing those materials, leaving a shortage for other (the farm more ores than leather, or more cloth than herbs, etc).

There are many influences on item prices, and only being prepared for when those times come, can protect you from Inflation and Deflation.The simplest things anyone can do is to skill-up their professions BEFORE leveling up and stockpile for long-term.

While skilling-up in first day (or days) of a new expansion its expensive, the benefits are much higher than the expenses.When Cataclysm went live, i spent 400k to max 5 professions (BS, JC, Alchemy, Enchanting and Inscription) in 3 days.However, in next 5 days i have made 800k selling crafted items from those professions.Same for Wrath (well, 200k spent and 400k made, but same profit mark, about 100%).
Stockpilling large amounts of previous expansion materials and wait until players start skilling-up their alts professions brought me a lot of gold, at 200-400% profit mark.

Doing only the above two things protects you from both Inflation and Deflation.Making huge amounts of gold in first weeks of new expansions and selling your stockpile slowly, at high profit marks it’s the least you can do.I agree, most cannot spend to skill-up 4,5 or 6 professions at once, but they can do it for at least one or two.Stockpiling, however, can be done by anyone, even if some can do it in thousands and other in hundreds of materials.

You need to find a balance between you gold and your stockpile.Be smart, have enough gold and enough stockpiled materials prepared for any new expansion / patch.I, for one, always try to keep a ratio of 75-80% gold in cash and 20-25% gold in stockpile.I have found that this ratio is the one that works the best.

I can’t cover all the specifics of how to fight Inflation and Deflation in WOW, it will took a lot of time and huge wall of text, not to mention that it will be hardly to understand (if it would be easy, anyone will have millions in WoW).

But the least i could do i did in this post.

Peace,
Bozzor, Gold Multimillionaire.

You can read more of Bozzor's writings over at :- www.auctionhousegoldstrategies.wordpress.com

Account Safety

Posted by Shockkmaister at 8:00 AM

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Recently a fellow businessman's account has been hacked on my realm. Now that is nothing out of the ordinary, we all know that these things happen every day. However I have to point out something. On my realm there are thousands of regular players, but only a handful who have money like he did. That got me thinking. What are the chances of this, that the hackers accidently hit the jackpot? Then I figured that anybody on the realm who has been on the AH knows his characters name, because he is kind of a big trader, much like I am. So what if the hackers targeted him, because they know he has a lot of gold? It wouldn't be rocket science to figure out who are the "big dogs" moneywise, since 80% of the realms trading is done by 6-7 players, so it is pretty obvious.
I don't know if it is true, but I thought I had to share it with you guys. I attached an authenticator to my account right away, and right now I'm trying to improve my account's security further. I advise you to do the same.

You can buy an authenticator which doesn't cost that much, but if you have a smartphone, you can also download an application, that functions as an authenticator. The app is available for iOS, Android, Blackberries, and Win7 phones too. The app is free, so if you have a smartphone, I think you should use this option, since it doesn't cost anything.
Another thing to do is to change your password from your cat's name to something like J7dfh5OI34mff93S. It might be harder to remember but, even harder to guess for someone who doesn't know it.
Also, regular virus and malware-scans are advised. There can be keyloggers on your computer logging everything you type, even your password.
Finally, don't give your password to a lot of people. Remember, you not only have to trust him/her not to steal your stuff, but you have to trust his/her computer not to have any keyloggers and what-not. Besides, with an authenticator (which I very much advise you to have) you can't even give your password to anyone.

Allocating Time Effectively

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

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Declining subscriber numbers. Patch 4.2 fatigue. New expansion news. All of this adds up to a weaker (though still profitable!) economy. So how should we spend our time? Factoring long-range planning into our daily gold-making routine can help us make more gold over time.

Common Time Sinks
There are lots of things that take up our time when making gold, such as:

• Daily Routine
  Any serious gold maker will have a certain list of tasks that need to get done on a daily basis in their business. Clearing mail, posting auctions, purchasing materials, and crafting products are all examples of daily routine tasks that need to be done.
• Weekly/Monthly Tasks
  Some things don't need to be done every day, but instead can be grouped into bulk activities that happen regularly, but not daily. Milling/Prospecting large quantities of materials, crafting larger quantity items that can easily be stored in large quantities (for example, Gems/Scroll/Glyphs in stacks versus armor in singles), and bank/bag maintenance (clearing out useless items/materials or things you never get to so you have room for the more profitable stuff) are examples of frequent but not daily tasks.
• Long-Range Planning
  Big gold is made by planning ahead for patches, expansions and other game changes. Leveling new characters and stockpiling for patches are examples of long-range planning.

If you want to use your time most effectively, you'll be dividing it between these activities (and possibly some others that I haven't thought of) based on what's going on in the market. Where you allocate your time changes based on where the most gold potential is to be found. Lately, I've spent much more of my time preparing for patch 4.3 and Mists of Pandaria than I have doing my daily routine. Some days I don't even bother posting auctions because I know the value of those goods will be so much more after the patch.

In addition to prepping for 4.3, I've also been getting ready for Mists of Pandaria (yes, really). For me, that means leveling some new characters. I'm working on another Alliance toon to bring my level 85 count to 5 on Alliance side. I'm also working on leveling a Horde character to 85 to get into more serious cross-faction arbitrage and to have a steady source of income on the Horde side.

How are you spending your time right now? Have you started thinking about Mists of Pandaria planning yet?

I consider myself a somewhat casual auctioneer. I can be found via Twitter @Aleithia3. I also like getting email at Aleithia AT jasonthedce DOT com. Send me your questions and I'll try to write about them on the site.

Between Deathwing and the Panda Invasion

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 12:09 AM

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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

Tips on How to Maximize Your Weekly Gold Income

Posted by Alerick at 8:00 AM

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Tuesdays are arguably the most important day of the market cycle. Tuesday is the day of the week when Blizzard applies patches, conducts maintenance, and makes overall repairs. These events occur during the morning on Tuesdays, and along with the above, there is an overall reset in the WoW community. All raid lockouts, valor point caps, conquest point caps and heroic dungeon lockouts are reset. In addition, through the early hours of the morning, to the afternoon following the maintenance, a lot of auctions will have expired, leaving said markets empty. This allows the attentive auctioneer who can try and be online as soon as possible after the servers are up, to post his auctions for whatever price he sees fit, and when people log on they will buy his stuff because it is the only of it up there.

People are often rushing to cap their conquest points on Tuesdays through arenas and rated battlegrounds in order to get their shiny new PvP gear asap. When these people get the gear, most of the time they want it enchanted and gemmed asap. They will pay the price on the auction house, and if you're keeping a close eye on it, the reset should have pushed the price up substantially if you were the first to post. For example, lets say the average price of Delicate Inferno Rubies on your server was 150g each. If they all expired during the hours directly before and during maintenance, there are none up. If you are the first to post, you can set them for say, 300g each. Now most of the time, people will begin to undercut from there, going from 299 to 298 to 297 and so on, and every gem that sells will be bringing in almost twice the gold it would have otherwise. Now on paper this sounds great, but if your market has a notorious auctioneer who will only post his items for a set price, and like to keep the market at a low(ish) profit margin where he is not maximizing gold, but instead holding himself to a certain limit; this could be a problem for you. For the most though, the market reset brings in a high demand for items like gems, enchanting mats,food, flasks, potions, and enchanting scrolls.

Now in addition to PvP, PvE raids also reset on Tuesdays. Many raiders will be looking to raid later that night, and in turn will have to stock up on flasks/potions not only for that night, but possibly for later in the week. The sales will be ok on Tuesday afternoons, but if you know what times the raiders on your server raid, try and make sure you are the only poster of an item they will need for the raid such as flasks,potions, and food, and try to create the most appealing auction using stack size, price, and number of stacks(if you want more detail, see my previous post on stack sizes). Since you know the demand will be high, and if the market is flooded at first, you can wait for the people whose auctions are much cheaper than yours and are selling for a loss to sell, or you can buy them all and repost a few of them at a time; channeling gold into your own bags if the demand is right. Keep in mind, doing something like this is only good if you know the demand of an item is high when you plan to sell it.

While keeping an eye on your auctions, make sure you're catering to the lower end audience as well as the higher. Oftentimes, people will be willing to spend less gold on things such as enchants, and since many people are more invested into the higher end and supposedly higher profit markets, having one for the more casual players will allow you to diversify, and diversity is key in this auction house game. Lesser versions of enchants such as +35 strength to gloves as opposed to +50, and +15 stats to chest as opposed to the better +20 can be a much better market to get into. The material costs of the slightly lesser enchants are oftentimes extremely substantial. You could be crafting the slightly worse one, for 10x less gold, and still be selling it for half or more of the price of the best one. Hardcore raiders and people looking to maximize their characters in every aspect will be the people who buy these high end enchants, but if you're just looking to throw an enchant on an item, and don't care if you're missing +5 stats or not, you will indefinitely purchase the cheaper of the two auctions especially if you're saving 50 percent gold. Keep all of these in mind while doing your auctions today or next week, and GL!

If you have any suggestions for future topics of discussion, want to get touch with me, or just want to give me feedback, feel free to contact me through my twitter @AlerickF

The Future Of WoW

Posted by Shockkmaister at 8:00 AM

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At times like this, just before a major content patch comes out, I like to take a look further into the future through my imaginary crystal ball. What comes next, and what comes after that?

Patch 4.3 is right around the corner. It will probably come out in two weeks. The patch will introduce new content: several dungeons and raids, renewed Darkmoon Faire, etc. It will keep the players busy for a few months, and it will keep us busy, since the new patch will surely bring a boost to the AH traffic. However the boost won't last untill the next expansion, so as always, the last couple of weeks will be about selling all the junk what you are left with. I'm already selling a few mats that I know I won't use before the Xpack (for example pyrite and truegold stocks), and I advise everybody to look through their stash for mats that you have too much of.
Before the Xpack no other major patches are expected. Surely, there will be minor patches and hotfixes, but no content, and definately nothing that would bring a boost to the AH like 4.3. However, these minor patches can still bring changes to items that would change the market, so this doesn't mean that you don't have to be on the lookout anymore for patch notes.
The Xpack is expected to come in Q2 of 2012 as speculated in many articles on other blogs, and seen in an old leaked Blizzard product plan. We all know what the Xpack holds for the average player. On BlizzCon, they introduced the new features, and there were many followup interviews and articles all around the blogosphere. We covered the basics as well. What we don't know is what the Xpack holds for us, the "businessmen". Surely, with the new mats and items, we will have to acquire all the new recipes, and start buying all the new mats, while selling the new items. Xpacks have come out before, and we all know how to "level with it". Though the recipes itselves, the sets, the weps, all the items, are still unknown. We will have to learn a whole new set of items.
With the new Xpack, renewed subscriptions are expected. Players will come back and they will start to play more, which again is good for us.

This I'm sure was not brand new info for most of you. So what is there to add?
Based on the last several months' budget riports, interviewes, announcements and such, we can safely say that WoW has began it's downfall. Subscriptions peaked late 2008/early 2009 around 11.5-12 million. Ever since, the game has been in a slow but steady decline. One might say it was inevitable. Nothing can last forever. The game itself is very old, around 7 years. It is still the most subscribed MMORPG by far, which is quite an accomplishment considering that it's 7 years of lifetime makes it almost antique in the MMORPG market (and in the video game market on general as well).
The future of the game is debated and speculated about on many forums and blogs. Most people think that after a long decline, it will be forgotten as every other game, which I'm sure they are right about, the only question is how long this decline will be? Blizzard stated in many conference calls as well as press releases that there is still a lot of opportunities in the game. They say that this decline is expected on the end of every Xpack, and that christmas and the new Xpack will get the subscriptions back on track. This might be true on some level, though I personally doubt that the game will ever reach 12 million subscribers again. Cataclysm didn't help it, so I'm not sure why MoP (still funny) would, and we've seen christmases before.

This doesn't mean that it is time for us to sell everything, or leave the sinking ship. All this means is that the recent decline in realm activity that everyone is experiencing may not be temporary.

Getting Ready for 4.3: Stocking Up

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

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Last week I talked about what to dump prior to 4.3 hitting. But what should you be saving? Patch 4.1 and 4.2 both brought nice bumps in gear improvements, and as a result the gear enhancements for those items saw a nice bump in sales. Patch 4.3 brings not just some dungeons (like 4.1) or a raid (like 4.2), but both, plus the new Looking For Raid feature. With that in mind, here are some things I'm stockpiling in anticipation of higher profits, especially for the first week or so of the patch:

Enchants

A lot of the enchants that I sell have fallen close to the cost to make them, so I've been holding mine or even buying some of the cheaper ones on the Auction House. Once the new gear becomes available, the significant uptick in gear acquisition will send prices up. Weapon enchants are particularly lucrative as many people are still holding onto their Zandalari i353's or Molten Front i365 crafted weapons.

Leg armors are also going to be hot items. With more people involved in raiding, there will gradually be a stronger emphasis for having all of your gear enchanted. Tanks/Healers, notoriously big spenders compared to DPS, will be looking for top-end enchants to do everything they can to complete the LFR. On top of this, you have all the guilds that will be moving into the normal raids that need to get their raiders enchanted.

Enchanting Materials

Because of the new Maelstrom Shatter (1 Maelstrom Crystal shatters into two Heavenly Shards), I expect Maelstrom Crystals to rise slightly, and Heavenly Shards to drop to about half the cost of the Maelstroms. If you have a large supply of Heavenly Shards, you might consider trying to sell some of them on the AH prior to the patch, then repurchase them at lower prices once the price drops. Plan to have enough Maelstroms to shatter for your enchanting needs if you want to stock up now, as it's much more cost effective now to by the crystals for shattering later.

Gems

Yes, epic gems are coming in 4.3. But everything out of Blizzard suggests these are going to be very limited in drop rate. While everyone will want the epics, the reality is that most people will still be buying the rares. Red gems (Bold, Brilliant, Delicate) are always good sellers, so if your market has tanked, buy them up and hold for re-sale. Undercutting is frequent on my realm, so I've been able to pick up 100's of gems below the cost of Inferno's currently.

Orange and Purple gems will also be good sellers, though probably not as strong as the last cycle. Typically, hybrid gems are more important early in the expansion's life cycle because socket bonuses are more important. As you're able to get your mandatory secondary stats (Hit cap, haste soft cap, etc.) from gear alone, the socket bonuses are less important. That said, Blizzard has done a much better job of making set bonuses attractive in this expansion, so perhaps the drop won't be to bad.

Shadowspirit Gems should see a nice bump in sales as well as anyone who doesn't raid doesn't really have access to helms above i353 at this time. However, with the new dungeons dropping i378 helms, many people will be looking for upgrades. Again, the primary attribute shadowspirits will be your best sellers, but all should see a nice bump in price. Austere, Burning, Reverberating and Agile are some of my favorite to stockpile.

PvP Gear

With the release of a new patch, PvP gear will again see a bump in sales as the iLevel of our crafted gear gets bumped up a notch. This is a great time for people to get into PvP, so expect armor to rise in price. Don't craft it until after the patch, however, as existing armor doesn't gain power, only the recipes. After posting all my usual products, PvP gear making will be my next emphasis so I can get in on the initial rush. I plan to have the products queued and materials purchased and in my bags so I can immediately hit that craft button after getting in post-patch.

Consumables

I don't know about you, but unless I'm raiding, I haven't been consuming food and flasks. Even the troll dungeons don't need the buffs anymore for most groups. Looking For Raid, new dungeons and increased guild raiding will send food, flasks and potions up in price again. Right now, some of the traditionally highest priced foods on my realm are selling for 20% of their normal cost. If you're seeing similar (in food or flasks/potions), consider buying them up and reselling after the patch.

Volatile Fire?

I'm undecided on this one and curious to know what you all think. With the Molten Front and Firelands becoming "old" content, volatile fire farming should decrease. But I'm not entirely certain about that. Any advice to share with me and the other readers on this one?

I consider myself a somewhat casual auctioneer. I can be found via Twitter @Aleithia3. I also like getting email at Aleithia AT jasonthedce DOT com. Send me your questions and I'll try to write about them on the site.

Tool of the Trade

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 1:46 PM

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Research is what will drives your warcraft gold business to new heights.    Being one of the first on your server with new changes from the ptr.   Not just following blind trends on the ah but also seeing them develop from the ptrs.    Stock researchers make millions of dollars on just a little bit of information they
harvest from different sources.  

How do they do it?    By retraining their minds to not just follow the heard,  but know exactly where the heard is going.    Knowing exactly what will be bought and sold at future times.    Knowledge is power,  and to be powerful,  you have to find every little bit of knowledge available.

First thing to look at is to have the tools you need for research.   World of Warcraft gold making changes dynamically depending on information.    Nothing screams this louder than the introduction of a new patch.   Changes in manufacturing,   changes in players spells,  new armor and new weapons.  These allow the gold researcher to be ahead of the challenge.   Letting them being prepared to take advantage of changing supply and demand climates.

Information is at a premium,   and the more premium information you have at your fingertips,  the more money you can be prepared to make.  

Tools of the Trade


Wowhead

This is one of the best resources you will find for information.    Need to know where an item drops in the game?  Wowhead gives you a good amount of information not only of where it drops,  but an avg percentage of dropping chances.     The amount of time i have personally spent looking up things on wowhead is large.     One of the biggest things about wowhead is that it has a seperate ptr section.  Many of the updates become useful for changes on mobs,  as well as the expected droprates for new items
(ala darkmoon island) when the patch goes onto the live servers.   This is my personal #1 source for information

Crafters Tome

In my second month of playing Warcraft,  I was introduced to Kaliopes blog/website.   If I need a quick
guide on materials needed to craft something.   Bring up her website answers my question.    The blog has always been kept up to date,  even with new PTR items and is a good resource to have when planning out new crafting items.

Bankalt.com

Keeping spreadsheets of crafting items can become tedious.  JMTC has kept links to some well respected and useful spreadsheet links (click on links at the top on the forums and search spreadsheets). But occasionally I need a quick and dirty look at how much something will cost me to craft.   Bags are especially notorious for this.  Where a netherweave bag is an easy mental calculation (1 stack netherweave,  1 thread),  it can become a little more complicated when dealing with Imbued Netherweave bags etc.    In comes a quick calculation guide at bankalt.com   Finding the recipe,  typing in the number
of how much the raw materials cost,   and I know what they minimum cost it will be to craft that item.   Depending on this information tells me whether it's worth crafting or not.  

The Gold Queen

There are a staggering amount of warcraft gold blogs on the internet.   Recently it was surmised there was something amount 10,000+ blogs that had been started at one point or another about how to make gold.   One of the reasons the Gold Queen to me stands out is not just information,  but it does have a personal feel to it.   Generally I read her blog every other day,  and even if my job here is to find tips and tricks,  i learn things from reading her entries as well.  

Consortium

If Warcraft forums have rock stars.  This is it in the gold making circles.     Cross referenced with the forums on JMTC,  you will not find information any faster between the two sets of forums.   The speculation section on the forums have been on top of every little change that has happened (including the changes to the holiday pets,  as well as the pyrite speculation).     Always a good read to see what has changed and opinions.    Bring a pad an paper when you go to read the entries,  you are more apt to learn something everyday.

Undermine Journal

The Undermine Journal is going to be your bread and butter for pricing information.   It is also the most daunting when looking up information.   Not only can you look up items,  but you can look up your competitors to see at what times they are posting.     Unsure what to list an item at?   UJ will give you
a list of any previous listing and variation.    The site itself can be intimidating  with the pie charts and
varied amount of information.  But once you get used to reading the charts,  you will have more success in sales.  

Are there more tools to be used?   Absolutely,   JMTC has it's own forums which work very well with the consortium forums.  Many of the entries are found on both forums.   Multiple journals and blogs can be found in different spots on the web.   What I wanted to present was your starter set of tools to use.  With any tool chest,  you will add your own that become your favorites.   Share the sites you use in the comments section and why they are useful to you.

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.   Would love to know how your experience with this tip works out.

Bags, And How to Maximize Gold When Selling Them, Part 2

Posted by Alerick at 8:00 AM

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Hey everyone, Alerick here again here to talk to you all again this week about bags. In this post I will elaborate on some of the profession specific bags, as well as a possible bag niche market on your server that could net you a bunch of gold.

Herbalism/Alchemy Bag (can also be used for inscription materials like herbs):

As of now, the most up to date(one with the most slots) bag for holding herbs is the Hyjal Expedition Bag. This bag costs 20 bolts of embersilk cloth ( 100 cloth), and 40 volatile life. This is quite a useful bag to have because it can be used for three seperate professions that end up using most of the same materials; predominantly herbs. This is useful if you plan on farming herbs in bulk, as well as if you are going through a process that takes a lot of herbs/bag space. Ex. Milling a ton of stacks of herbs for inks for mysterious fortune cards, glyphs, relics, or Darkmoon cards, or creating flasks and potions in bulk to sell on a raid night.

Molten front, including the Mining, Jewelcrafting, and Inscription Bags:

There were three bags 36 slot bags for Mining, Inscription, Jewelcrafting introduced to the game with the arrival of Firelands and the Molten Front daily quests in Patch 4.2. These bags are all 36 slotters, meaning that they are currently the most high end bags, and oftentimes the most in demand. The downside to these is the amount of work that needs to go into unlocking these bags. You have to unlock the actual vendors for these patterns on one of your characters that either has Tailoring or Leatherworking. Overall though, since these bags are currently the best in-game they create a buyer base of people who want the best, and will usually be willing to spend gold to get them. Although you won't be able to move these as quickly as you could when people first started unlocking these bag patterns, they are still a good investment because since they are currently the best in their specific professions, they will still sell alright.

Why Being Revered or Higher with the Kaluak on a Tailor or Leatherworker will Benefit You:

Having a revered or higher reputation with The Kaluak on either a Leatherworker or Tailor, will give you access to what I believe to be the largest Skinning/Leatherworking bag as well as an pretty well sized(32 slot)Herb bag. If the WoTLK materials are priced in a reasonable range on your server, buy them and craft these. Oftentimes people won't be looking to buy the absolute best bag possible for their profession, and if there is a decently sized price difference, most buyers will go with the lower priced one every time.

Enchanting/Engineering Bags:

Both of these professions have had access to 36 slot bags since the beginning of Cataclysm. The Engineering one is called an "Elementium Toolbox", and is crafted using Elementium Bars, and Volatile Earth. The Enchanting is called "Otherworldly Bag", and is crafted by Tailors with bolts of Embersilk Cloth, Greater Cosmic Essences, Hypnotic Dust, and Dream Shards. Depending on the price of WoTLK enchanting materials on your server(look into shattering abyss crystals if they aren't) as well as cataclysm dust and cloth, these bags could be a great source of income for you. The toolbox is a bag created by Engineers for use by Engineers. It can contain a number of different items/gear/schematics (526 to be exact) and along with the other bag, looks extremely cheap to craft and sell.

Separate Bag Tip:

This last piece of information was one that I came across while browsing the vendor selection my Traveler's Tundra Mammoth mount had to offer. The vendor Hakmud specifically offers a BoE common bag called a Thick Hide Pack for only 12 gold! This can be sold for a solid markup on the auction house if your netherweave bag market is either unprofitable, or there is too much supply and not enough demand. Diversification is key, and this is a good niche market not too many people know about. If you know, see, or have a mammoth yourself, don't hesitate to give this a shot.

If you have any suggestions of topics to write about, have questions, or want to know anything, don't hesitate to follow me on Twitter @AlerickF

Low On Mats

Posted by Shockkmaister at 8:00 AM

1 comments View Comments

Hello there, fellow goldmaker! I'm sure that by now you must have heard that 4.3 is so close now, it's practically on our doorstep. Of course no one can know it for sure, but all signs say that it is probably about 1-2-3 weeks away. As always, the new patch means a great boost to the business, which we have to prepare for. Particularly challanging can be stocking up on mats. Even on higher population realms, the fall in realm activity since the last patch came caused the prices to rise and there is less stock on the market. There is a few things though you could do to increase your chances.

• Frequent AH checks.
• Spam your trade channel macro.
• As we've said many times over: try to locate the farmers/farmbots on your realm. They are the best source of materials.
• Make fixed price agreements with resellers. I'm person A, and I say to person B, that he can send me Obsidium Ore at 40g/stack any time, any amount. Now, of course I can't be online always, so when I'm in offline, person B is still on, looking for mats under 40g/stack. Every mat he has he will send it to me. It is like I'm constantly online and buying mats. He makes money (he does it for the profit of course), and I make money. To serve with an example, I've had two big suppliers in the last couple of month. One of them is a guild bank, but the other does reselling. He is happy with the 150k gold he made off of me, even though I've made 2,5 millions of which at least 750k is from his materials.
• Look for guild banks of high pop guilds where you know the players can send in mats for DKP or whatever currency they are using. The guild bank is probably selling the mats to buy raid supplies. You can either buy their mats or even make an agreement with the bank to be their crafter.
• Trade with your competitors. If there is another "businessman" on your realm, keep in touch with him, so that you could trade stocks. He may have a surplus of whatever you are low on, and vice versa. Also, if you are very lucky, and catch someone who is quitting, you can buy him out (happened once, it was great).
• Ad yourself at us.battle.net/wow or eu.battle.net/wow forums (realm forums). Just opening a topic, and saying that you buy mats at fixed prices will get you some supply. The amount depends on how much traffic does your realm's forum have, which is usually very low, but it's still something.
• If you are very very low on mats, and you need much more, and you have lots of free time, then you could consider farming. I'm saying it like this because I'm very much against it, because it is very boring, and compared to playing the AH, not highly profitable, but in some cases you "gotta do what you gotta do".

That's it for today, I wish you many materials, see you next Saturday (don't worry, the other writers will keep you occupied in the meantime).

PS: If you have some other magic way to conjure materials, please feel free to share it in the comments section below, we are all eager to learn.

Getting Ready For 4.3: Clearing Inventory

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

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Bashiok, one of the Community Managers at Blizzard, recently posted on his Twitter feed that PvP Season 10 is ending November 29. Historically, PvP seasons end approximately one week before a new patch drops. It's safe to assume that Patch 4.3 (now in release candidate form on the PTR) will be available on live servers as early as December 6. What does this mean for the avid gold-maker? Time to get ready for the patch.

This week I'll look at the first part of getting ready for the patch: getting rid of stuff that will lose value soon. Next Friday, I'll look at what to invest in for 4.3. With the recent news that WoW lost another 800k subscribers, the outlook may look bleak for 4.3, but I'm expecting 4.3 to bring back some of those subs and cause demand to sky-rocket. So stop by next week for some tips on what to do to get ready for the new patch.

Out With the Old

The first step to getting ready for Patch 4.3 is getting rid of stuff that will lose value soon. There are a number of items to be concerned about, across multiple industries:

• Bind-on-Equip Gear
  If you've been trying to make money flipping cheap BoE gear, it's time to get out. The most notable drop will occur in 359 Plate Tank Shoulders (Pauldrons of Edward the Odd and Heaving Plates of Protection). Until now, those were Best-in-Slot items for Paladin and Warrior tanks who don't have access to raids. Hide of Chromaggus, popular with druids, was already hurt by the BoE Flickering Shoulderpads from Shannox, but this too will dip even further. The reason for this is that the current loot tables for 4.3 have iLevel 378 Shoulders for all specs in 5-man heroic dungeons. Other 359 BoEs like Soul Blades, as well as the current 378s from Firelands will see their value drop with gear of the same iLevel found in the new 5-man instances.
• PvP Armor/Items
  If you've got any PvP gear you're trying to sell, now is the time to get rid of it. Recipes will again be upgraded to a higher iLevel version of the PvP armor, so your current crafted gear will become nearly useless. If I had any lying around, I'd get rid of it for materials and a possible tip. Getting the mats back at a minimum allows you to hold them for crafting the new version when 4.3 hits and make way more money.
• Chaos Orbs
  If you're sitting on any Chaos Orbs, now is a good time to sell them via trade chat. I recently crafted and sold a 365 weapon for about a 5k profit. That's 1,000/orb (higher than I expected for sure). In trade chat they go for 200-300 gold. They will become Bind-on-Equip in 4.3, so you'll be able to pick them up on the Auction House (or sell them if you prefer). This will drive the supply up and prices down, so get as much as you can now for your chaos orbs. (Note: If you're a tailor, don't use your orbs until after 4.3. Your primary use for orbs is dream cloth, and the cost is dropping form 5 orbs to 4 with the new patch.)
• Darkmoon Cards
  This could be included with the BoE Gear category above, but I think it deserves it's own mention. There's one more Darkmoon Faire left between now and when the patch drops. 359 trinkets will all be replaced in 4.3 with 5-man drops, so sell what you can now.

What are you dumping prior to patch 4.3? What items did I miss? Sound off in the comments with your ideas.

I consider myself a somewhat casual auctioneer. I can be found via Twitter @Aleithia3. I also like getting email at Aleithia AT jasonthedce DOT com. Send me your questions and I'll try to write about them on the site.

If you don't have Time...have Patience

Posted by Markco at 8:00 AM

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Guest Writer For The Day : Bozzor

Most WoW players have limited time to play.They have jobs, school, families or another real life
activities that limits their time to play.Those players have a low gold income and many of them struggle
to sell whatever they farm or craft, and when they manage to sell, they are doing it with low profit.

So, if you are one of those players, what can you do? You can't spend more time to make gold because you want to enjoy the game, doing heroics, raids or pvp, and those activities are consuming most of your game time.

The answer is in the title : if you don't have Time...have Patience.

Patience is the key to make as much gold as possible, even if you can play 12 hours a day.It is a
known fact that the WoW economy have ups and downs, prices go up and down all the time, sometimes on a daily basis, sometimes weekly...and this is chaotic for anyone who is not a serious AH trader.

At this point in game, after more then 6 years, its safely to say that most of the players have at least
one character with two professions.It really doesn't matter what professions, all of them are good to make gold. However, the more professions, the better chances to make gold, but also the more time used for farming or crafting.

I am personally against farming, its not worth the time.However, if you don't have enough gold to start using the AH for making profit, keep farming until you have a small capital to invest (3-5k is more then enough).Once you have this capital, start making a schedule and stick on it.

Use your time wisely, because its limited.If you don't have an AH addon, install one.Auctioneer and Auctionator are the most used ones.Do AH scans twice a day , for couple of days (preferably for one week) before you start your AH endeavour.Once the scans are done, start buying the materials you need, just be sure you don't buy more then you can process with your limited time, but buy as much as you can if the price is low.

This should take 2-3 days, before you start processing the materials you have gathered.

If you are a JC, there is no point to buy 10 stacks of ores, prospect them, cut the rare gems you got and selling them along the uncommon ones.You should buy until you have a bigger stockpile before start prospecting.

Once you done prospecting, cut the rare gems into the most used ones , save the Nightstones and Jaspers for daily JC, save Hessonites also (they sell quite good atm) and vendor the rest.If you have an Enchanter or an Alchemist, use Carnelians to craft Carnelian Spikes and disenchant them, or use them to transmute them into Inferno Ruby.

Also, do not pass the opportunity to buy Chimera's Eyes for tokens and sell them.

If you are a Miner, buy ores when low priced, smelt them into bars and wait when those ores are either high priced or they are missing / low supplied in AH, then start selling them.Do not go for high profits, just 20-25% above what you have spent for the ores.Don't do it only with Cataclysm Ores, smelt as many types of ores as you possibly can.

For LW, there is the option to buy Scraps or Leather and craft them into Heavy Leather.

All types of Heavy Leathers sells good.A good option is to buy low priced Savage Leather, craft them into Heavy Savages and trade them for Pristine Hides.Wait for when the price for Heavy Leather is high and sell the Pristines.Go for a small profit, just 20-25% above your cost for 10 Heavy Savages.

If you have more time, buy low priced Dragonscales and Volatile Fire and craft the Epic Leg Armor Kits.Sell them for low profit also, 20-25%.

Tailors should buy low priced Netherweave, Frostweave and Embersilk, craft Bags, add a small profit of 20-25% and sell the bags.There is the option of Leg Enchants, just stick to same profit mark.

Blacksmiths should focus on Ebonsteel Belt Buckles, Enchanting Rods, Weapon Chains and when a new patch that brings a new PvP season gear, have materials ready to craft that gear.Go for small profit also, 20-25% above material cost.

Alchemists.Those who have access to a JC, be transmute masters.Use the daily transmute always.Both Truegold and Living Elementals nets same gold profit, but i prefer Truegold due to more market stability (nobody ''farms'' Truegold, but there are plenty Volatile Air farmers).Use the Carnelians from prospecting to transmute them into Inferno Ruby.

If you don't have a JC, be elixir master.Buy low priced herbs and additional materials to craft flasks, wait for the raiding days and sell them.

Inscription.I retired from Glyphs market after Cataclysm changes, and went for PvP relic and Dust of Disapperance. Both sell good, PvP relics 2-3 / day, but high profit, and Dust in hudreds, but low profit.Be sure you add a small profit for Dusts and high for relics.

Engineers should craft engineering mats : Khorium Power Core, Felsteel Stabilizers, Adamantite Frames, etc. Along those, sell also scopes of every type.Do not underestimate also the Companions.Just add a small profit, 20-25% above material cost.

If you have enough patience to wait for buying at low prices and wait to sell when prices are high, your patience will be rewarded.And the reward is not only gold, but more important the trust you gain in yourself.

Even if the profit mark is not high (15-20% - there is always 5% AH cut), the income will be higher if you wait and sell in larger quantities. Don't go greedy, stick on your schedule and your profit marks.

Once you decided to sell, post your items for 48 hours.With the low profit mark you have, you will sell almost everything. Don't be afraid of the AH campers.They will have only two options if you post for 48 hours : they either let you sell or they will buy your items.AH campers are greedy and have plenty of time and gold to choose the above options.You will not be competition for them, because you sell once or twice / week due to your limited time to buy, craft and play the AH.

Remember, any profession is good, but try to have as many professions as you can, preferably a profession combo that allows you to diversify : like JC and Alchemy, JC and Enchanting, Mining and Engineering or Mining and Blacksmithing.

The options i wrote about are not even close to what a player can do.Those options are only for players who have limited time to craft and sell in AH, usually under 30 min / day.But even those with a lot of time to play should learn that Patience is probably the most important factor in making gold.

If you don't have Time...have Patience.

Peace,

Bozzor, Gold Multimillionaire.

If you like this article, feel free to visit my gold making blog.

WoW Crusher : Final Announcement

Posted by Markco at 7:37 AM

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Wow Crusher : How The Pros Do It

As you know, our ground-breaking system WOW Crusher system was released 10 days ago to much fanfare.

We are very pleased to announce that demand for WoW Crusher has been overwhelming, squashing ALL previous records as well as swarming my inbox with an avalanche of mail, which I assure you will be answered down to the very last letter. Please be patient, guys =)

Over the past few days we have been busy creating a TON of new content, fixes and changes in the Member’s Area – way too many to fit into a single post so please be sure to check into WoW Crusher frequently to check out the new changes.

Best of all is the amazing feedback we’ve gotten, like:

 "I've easily tried at least 3 guides over the couple of years.. but this was by far the most
eye-opening and comprehensive one I’ve seen so far"

- Theo Covington

"Brilliant guide, a 9/10 at least in my book. It took a while for me to download the addon because of technical problems, but when i got it, it was worth the wait :) I never have to worry about talents or armour or items! The fact that you’re planning on updating it frequently makes it worth every cent.”

- Jane K.

Recent Update

The initial plan was to stop accepting any more subscribers once the initial group of open spots were filled, which is exactly what happened 2 days ago.

However… since that time I've received dozens upon dozens of e-mails from people who desperately
want to be part of the WoW Crusher group, but weren't able to do so in such a short span of time.

Therefore,  we have decided to open registration for a couple more days to let those of you who were shut out have a chance to see what the fuss is all about.

Go check out our controversial video while you still can

WoW Crusher Video

Time is of the Essence!

Now is your chance to work with me on a more intimate level than I’ve ever offered before in the past to create the character you’ve always dreamed of and play at the highest level possible.

I speak for both Kevin and myself when I say we can't wait to help you change the way change the way you play the World of Warcraft for the better and start seeing measurable results in the fastest time possible,

Check out what the fuss is all about.

Talk soon

Markco

Bags, And How to Maximize Gold When Selling Them

Posted by Alerick at 8:00 AM

4 comments View Comments

Hey guys, Alerick here again with another gold making tip. Todays post is going to be about bags, and I know this is a heavily discussed topic, but it is definitely one worth discussing. Bags are a crucial part of every WoW character's journey through the game. Although you could basically go through with only your default bag, basically every player fills all 4 extra slots with whatever they can buy. Now there are regular bags which can hold whatever you want them to, but another market that is less looked at is the one that contains profession specific bags. These allow you to hold for the most part a lot more materials than a regular bag would, but the materials have to be specific to that profession. Ex: A mining bag could hold ore, and other mining materials. Keep in mind while selling bags that every player will need a total of four, so it's up to you to cater to them and reap the huge profit ready to be made.

Now to begin I'm going to be talking to you guys about regular bags, ones that will hold whatever you want. Probably the most popular of these bags is the Netherweave one. This is because these bags require a relatively small amount of materials that are generally found in good supply. These are 16 slot bags, and you should definitely check this market and your netherweave cloth markets out on your server. Now for the most part I wouldn't suggest dealing with bags that have less slots than this one. Mostly because people would much rather have bags with 16 or 20 slots than they would a 6 or 8 slots bag. But if on your server the netherweave cloth prices are way too high for a profit, and there is a drought of cheap bags on your server, there is a bag called a Draenic Leather Pack which can be purchased cheaply from bag vendors (around 12g each) and can be sold on the auction house for an excellent markup value.

Frostweave, and Embersilk bags are also an excellent market to look into. The Frostweave bags require thread, and imbued Frostweave bolts which require both Frostweave cloth as well as infinite dust to create. These are 20 slot bags which make them each have 4 more slots than the Netherweave ones which put them in a higher demand. These can be crafted and sold for a much higher price than the material cost is for sure. The next regular bags I'm going to be discussing are the 22 slot ones. The ones that can be crafted and sold on the auction house are the Abyssal Bags, which require Ebonweave and Spellweave to create, and the Embersilk Bags which require bolts of Embersilk and hypnotic dust.

Now finally, the largest bag I am going to be discussing is the Illusionary Bag. These are 26 slot bags, which make them extremely large. People looking to maximize all aspects of their character will buy these just because they are the best. These bags are crafted using 8 Dreamcloth, and are a good investment if the Spellthread tailoring leg enchant market on your server isn't worth it. This is a good way to consistently use your Dreamcloth cooldowns, and still make a profit without piling up unused cloth or not using your CDs.

Now I am going to be talking briefly about profession specific bags. Like I said earlier, for most professions there is a bag. This allows players who use that profession often to have quite a bit of extra space at their disposal when using it. There are bags for mining, herbalism, leatherworking/skinning, enchanting, JC, engineering, and inscription. This leaves someone with a bag crafter available to them in a position to tackle a whole bunch of markets. If you look into these bags, and all of the opportunites, you'd be surprised how much profit there is to be made. Basically every profession has a bag available to them. Go out there and find the markets that are best for you.

If you have any questions at all, or would like to get in touch with me, you can follow me through my twitter @AlerickF

Addon Tweaking

Posted by Shockkmaister at 8:00 AM

4 comments View Comments

An addon can be the greatest tool in a fellow goldmaker's hands. An addon can turn hours and hours of pushing the same button into nothing. There are a variety of these addons, each with it's level of customizability, however in most cases they are not exactly what you need. Even with addons that have lot of options and settings, you can't always get what you want. Not to worry though, nothing is impossible, you just have to go deeper in the rabbithole. If you are missing a function from your favourite addon, or you want it to work just a little bit different, you can edit the code anytime. It might seem impossible for someone without any programming skills to tweak the source code, but in some cases it is very self-explanatory, and thus possible to anyone.
In most addons you will find files in .lua, .xml, .toc, and .txt formats. What you need is almost certainly in the .lua files. They are written in a programming language called LUA (shocking, right?). These files are not precompiled or encoded, they are merely script files, meaning that you can easily read them, and with a little bit of thinking, figure out how they work. Let's look at some examples.

TSM whitelist problem
TradeSkillMaster is one of the most frequently used addon for goldmakers. Everybody knows what it does, so I'm not going to get into an explanatory article about it now. However it has a function that not everybody uses. It is called the whitelist. The whitelist is a list of players that you do not wish to compete against on the AH, meaning that you don't want your addon to undercut them. In these cases TSM instead of undercutting, will post at the same price (given that the player on the whitelist has the lowest buyout price posted). This is not always what a user is looking for. If you have an agreement with a fellow trader, on not undercutting him on a product, then posting at the same price is not the best option, since buyers will buy your and his products in an even split, which is not what the agreement is about. In these cases you want your addon not to post, or post at a price higher then your buddy (so that when his is sold, yours will be up). There is no options for it, so you have to make one. The algorithm that does the posting can be found in the ...\Interface\AddOns\TradeSkillMaster_Auctioning\modules\post.lua file. The file itself is a mile long, what interests us starts in the 406th row. Let's look at the code:

elseif (isPlayer or isWhitelist) and not differencedPrice then
buyout = lowestBuyout
bid = min(max(lowestBid, threshold), buyout)

Now, even if you don't have any programming experience, it's not that hard to understand, it's almost in normal english. Following the same syntax that you can find in the whole file, you can modify this three lines to:

elseif (isPlayer) and not differencedPrice then
buyout = lowestBuyout
bid = lowestBid
elseif (isWhitelist) and not differencedPrice then
buyout = lowestBuyout + 1
bid = lowestBid + 1

It does the exact same thing, except that if the lowest price is from someone on your whitelist, it will post at his price +1 copper.

Exporting MySales data
MySales is an addon that records every sale you make on the AH, and displays them in a window in the game. This is very useful, however it lacks the option to categorize items by their nature. For example you can see how many Glyph of Backstab you have sold, but not how many glyphs you did, you can see how many Bloodthirsty Pyrium Belts you have realized, but not how much money you have made from the PVP (bloodthirsty) sets overall, etc. It is hard to determine how much gold you are reaping from your professions this way. The solution is to export the data from the addon. The data can be found in ...\WTF\Account\USERNAME\SavedVariables\MySales.lua. It might look sophisticated at first, but everything is there, and you can easily read it. Now, you can always write a small program that converts this mess into a readable format, however there is already an application for that. You can find it here. It will convert that file into a .csv format that excel can read, and with excel you can easily create all the graphs you want, categorize the items and such by using excel's functions.

AuctionMaster search problem
AuctionMaster is an addon that replaces your auction interface. It is very lightweight compared to Auctioneer, but it has just the best function. In my opinion Auctioneer has too much and too sophisticated functions, and it's so crowded that I can't even use the simple ones. That is why I use AuctionMaster (among many others). It only has one problem. There is an improved search interface in the "Scanner" tab. You can set the name, level and quality of the items you want to search for, as well as class, maximum price and such. However, if you do not input any number into the "maximum price" field, it will set it as zero, and return with no items. It can be solved easily by inputing a huge number so that it will give you all the items, but when you are doing a 100 searches on an average day it can become pretty annoying. That is why you should look through the code.
What you are looking for is in ...\Interface\AddOns\AuctionMaster\src\main\Scanner\SearchScanModule.lua, in the 73rd line. There is a function there, which the addon uses for the search. What you need to do is to tell it that if the max price is set to 0, then reset it to a very large number. Now, even if you don't know anything about LUA's syntax, and the variables that are floating around in this code, just by looking at the rest of the file, and others in this addon, you can easily figure out the rest. But just in case you don't, all you have to do is to write this to the beginning of the function (starting at line 76):

if (self.searchInfo.maxPrice==0) then
self.searchInfo.maxPrice=9999999999
end


I hope that these examples convinced you that poking around in the addon files can be very rewarding, especially if you have something in mind that you want to change in your addon. I think that minor changes can be made by anyone, since LUA is a pretty straightforward language, however, if you feel overwhelmed, try asking for help on our forums.

Why Do You Make Gold?

Posted by Aleithia at 8:00 AM

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I first got into gold making because I needed some money to cover my usual expenses in-game. Training, mounts, enchants, gems and other expenses add up. My buddy loaned me 200 gold early on (Wrath era) so I wouldn’t have to worry about not being able to train or repair. I look back at those times now and simply can’t remember how I ever functioned that way.

As I started reading blogs, testing addons and learning the ins and outs of the auction house, I quickly discovered that I enjoyed playing this side of the game. But my first love was still running dungeons with friends and getting into the occasional raid. The problem is I don’t have much time to do those things, so I had to find short-cuts to make it possible.

One thing I've learned on my way up the auction house ladder is that it's important to have a purpose or goal in mind while making money.

Putting My Gold To Work
Eventually, I realized that I had everything I needed to make my life easier because of my auction house business. When Cataclysm dropped, I loved the idea of challenging heroics. Shortly after hitting 85, I wanted to get into them quickly, but I couldn’t afford the time to grind regulars for gear. So I purchased several 359 crafted items and BoE’s to get into the game quickly. I’ve done the same on two other characters so I could enjoy the game the way I want to.

I also love helping out my friends in-game. The buddy who loaned me gold recently celebrated his birthday. He was leveling his Hunter and was almost to 85. I wanted to run dungeons with him, so I sent him the two crafted 359s for his class in the form of wrapped gifts to speed along his journey into heroics. I also like gifting gems and enchants to guildies when needed.

Does it cut into my profits? Yes. But having a purpose for gold-making helps keep me going. I enjoy the auction house game, but I think I’d grow bored with it if there was no other purpose than to have lots of gold. Knowing the purpose of my gold-making also helps me spend it wisely to get the most enjoyment possible out of the game.

The Auction House isn't a total grind for me because there's a reason I'm doing it. It's fun, because it helps me run dungeons and raids with friends by providing gear upgrades and enhancements. It's fun because I get to help others who need it, while making a healthy amount of gold along the way.

So why do you make gold? Is it to purchase mounts, pets or gear? Are you chasing the gold cap? Do you do it just for the enjoyment? Are you trying to dominate a market? Is this your PvP? Or is there some other reason? How do your goals help shape your auction house game?

I consider myself a somewhat casual auctioneer. I can be found via Twitter @Aleithia3. I also like getting email at Aleithia AT jasonthedce DOT com. Send me your questions and I'll try to write about them on the site.

Goodbye Darkmoon Faire

Posted by J.E. Douglas at 9:30 AM

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(Original Introduction of Darkmoon Faire Video circa 2008)

This month unless something changes with the 4.3 PTR will be the last month of the Darkmoon Faire
as we know it.

Since Patch 1.6 (Original Wow "Vanilla") we as players have been running around picking up Small Furry Paws, Toughened Leather Armor and many more items for reputation,  and the greatest gift that the faire could give us;  the Darkmoon Faire Prize Ticket.

So why is it important to know this is the last month of the faire?   Due to the change of the faire going to an island of it's own.  All those tickets that you might have been saving for a rainy day will be useless.   They will go the way of the do do bird.  As will possibly many of the items that were used for turn ins for tickets.

With the limited information we have about the new faire.   Odds are that all of those turn ins will be changed to something different.  Probably more appropriate materials  by todays gaming standards.   The furry paws that don't appear as much as they used to might be easily replaced by lower level crafting mats.   Items that are crafted by professions (this was set up by the previous faire where Dense Grinding stones were used specifically to obtain tickets to turn in.

Many had already been doing the "Darkmoon Prize shuffle" for their blacksmiths.  Or another available turn-in depending on the profession or gathering skill.   Balancing to the idea of gaining tickets to turn in for both the Greater Darkmoon Prize and Lesser Darkmoon Prize.

Last Chances

This will probably be your last chance to do this before everything changes for the turn ins.  The three items your looking to either craft or purchase from the AH are:

Evil Bat Eye (farmable mostly in Eastern and Western Plaguelands)
Glowing Scorpid Blood (best farm places are scorpids and mobs in Tanaris and Silithus)
Dense Grinding Stone (crafting by blacksmiths,   from Dense Stone gathered from early mining)
Thorium Widget (Crafted by Engineers from Thorium Ore/Bars and Runecloth)
Rugged Armor Kit (crafted by Leatherworkers from materials by skinners {rugged leather}

All of these are "tier 5" turn ins that will not give you any reputation above friendly with the darkmoon faire.  But will give you tickets to turn in for the Darkmoon Prizes.

Inside these prizes will be a mixture of level 45-55 greens,  some blues and the more important thing.  Rare Recipes.  Some of the recipes you gain are no longer available.  Including the Schematic: Lifelike Mechanical Toad.

The key to this is to start looking on the AH now.   It may be only a week away from the faire,  but you still have this last opportunity to take advantage of a decent money making initiative.

Plus don't forget to pick up your Jubling.  Everyone needs a frog in their collection.

If you need more information the faire, including getting your reputation with the DFaire as high as you can before the big change.   Check out the Massively Obsessive guide here.  

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.   Would love to know how your experience with this tip works out.

Stack Sizes and Their Gold-Making Efficiency

Posted by Alerick at 8:00 AM

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Hello readers, Alerick here again today with another tip. Today I am going to be talking about a crucial part of every auctioneer's routine. This is stack size. Every time you post an auction, stack size is a factor. I am going to be telling you all about how to maximize sales through stacks sizes.

Ore, Herbs, Cloth, Leather are all commodities that are extremely important to the WoW economy as a whole. Countless markets rely on these materials for their gold making strategies. Now many people don't like to mess around when it comes to buying this stuff. They want it in bulk, and they want it in stacks of 20. Even if the consumer is losing some gold by buying in stacks of 20 rather than 1, it is still convenient for the buyer because it takes less time, and its easier for him to click once than it is to click 20 times. I know personally when buying commodities like this that I will only buy stacks of 20 unless I need stacks of 1-5 or so to finish off a crafted good that requires less than 20 of an item. But basically when dealing in goods like this, your best chance is to sell

Enchanting materials are similar to the commodities listed above, however they are very different in a way or two. When dealing in enchanting materials, you are catering to a few different audiences. People power leveling through a profession will be buying materials in bulk, and this applies to the items listed above as well. Stacks of 20 will always be an excellent choice when dealing with goods in high demand. Stacks of 20 also allow the seller to move their items much more quickly than they would be able to if they were selling in stacks of 1. About 20 times more to be exact. The second audience you are catering to is people who are looking to enchant a full set of gear such as a freshly crafted 8/8 bloodthirsty PvP set, or are looking to fully upgrade the enchants on their gear. This audience also includes people who are churning out enchanting scrolls and running a business on their server, or people that are stocking up on that material either as a prediction/investment or just because its cheap at the time and they know that they can either flip it for profit or use it in the future.

Both of these groups are going to be buying in bulk, apart from that, there is the main consumer base. People who have just received an upgrade, and are looking to put an enchant on it. This will rarely be over 10 dust or so, so stacks sizes anywhere between 1-5 are usually best selling here. While on the topic of low stack sizes, I thought that I would remind you auctioneers that a lot of the WoW community does not even have an Auction House add-on installed. This means that for the most part they will be looking at the lowest price/bid price which will almost always be the smaller stacks. People will buy yours just because they see them as the lowest priced on the Auction House.

Another important thing is to know your server's price cycle. Monitor for a week, maybe two to get a good idea of what it's like. You should know when the best time to sell is, and when you can churn out more gold when dealing with any good in any stack size. Know your market, and know what materials you're dealing with. Stack size is crucial when dealing with any item in any market. Know what your doing and make more gold!

If you have any questions, or want to get in touch with me, feel free to contact me through my twitter @AlerickF