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Hey, look at this! The cow is back! Moo f'n yeah! So let's cut to the chase here and if you have a question related to the economy of WoW, please feel free to drop a comment and we will definitely try our hardest to answer your questions. I do not claim to be a tycoon around WoW, but I definitely know a little something about earning some gold.
In the future, I am going to try to do some really basic type of guides on ways to earn some cash for your toons when they are first starting out with the auction house. Well, I do not want to take up too much time, but I will catch you later!
Keepin Mooooooovin!
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Question from Sunday Open Thread
I am somewhat surrpised. I do not recall ever receiving a posted question on the blog. So first off that makes me really happy. Anyway, the person did not leave a name or anything so let's just take a look at their question:
Well, I gave a pretty good answer to this question in my post on Monday, but if you do not want enchanting or have something else already established then I can definitely see where this could be a problem for someone. A lot of times you can just sell the basic materials you gain from gathering and earn some cash, but this question specifically wants to know a way to generate a quick cash quickly.
Well I did a little thinking and looked at some of the different items I list and here is what I would recommend. If you are Horde, then go to the Blood Elf starting zone and kill dragonhawks. They drop small eggs which is an entry level trade item for cooking. I have seen these sell for as high as 50 silver per egg. Now I would not recommend starting them out there, but they definitely will generate some quick cash. It has been my experience that on an overall level, that cooking trade items will typically sell well. Crunchy Spider leggs is a good option if you are in the Ghost Lands region. I apologize if you are Alliance as I do not spend much time on Allaince servers, but my recommendation would be to go to Darkshore I believe it is called and kill crawlers there. They drop the crawler meet and the crawler claws which I have heard sell very well on the Alliance auction house as well. I hope this helps you and I look forward to answering other questions that you might have. As always feel free to send me questions or comments through the blog or my email.
So I have been looking at your blog the last couple days and I was wondering what is a quick method that can generate some cash? I know there has to be basics and I am just not sure what to do. I have read a lot of different blogs and well you seem to think more like me. So what do you say?
Well, I gave a pretty good answer to this question in my post on Monday, but if you do not want enchanting or have something else already established then I can definitely see where this could be a problem for someone. A lot of times you can just sell the basic materials you gain from gathering and earn some cash, but this question specifically wants to know a way to generate a quick cash quickly.
Well I did a little thinking and looked at some of the different items I list and here is what I would recommend. If you are Horde, then go to the Blood Elf starting zone and kill dragonhawks. They drop small eggs which is an entry level trade item for cooking. I have seen these sell for as high as 50 silver per egg. Now I would not recommend starting them out there, but they definitely will generate some quick cash. It has been my experience that on an overall level, that cooking trade items will typically sell well. Crunchy Spider leggs is a good option if you are in the Ghost Lands region. I apologize if you are Alliance as I do not spend much time on Allaince servers, but my recommendation would be to go to Darkshore I believe it is called and kill crawlers there. They drop the crawler meet and the crawler claws which I have heard sell very well on the Alliance auction house as well. I hope this helps you and I look forward to answering other questions that you might have. As always feel free to send me questions or comments through the blog or my email.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Enchanting, An Auctioneer's Best Friend
Alright so one of the biggest questions I get is how to start up with next to no gold when you are new to the game or new to a server. Honestly, there are a lot of good guides on this subject but I want to share with you the quickest income generator I have found when on a new server! For me, it is enchanting materials. The materials currently cost nothing to list which allows you to ask a price that you feel is fair and does not cost you a copper if the items do not sell. On the flip side, if you are patient, there is always someone out there who will pay your asking price.
So as you can see from this picture I sold a full stack of large glowing shards and received 266 gold net sale. That is something that is relatively easy to get a hold of and you would be surprised at how much folks will pay for enchanting materials. As you look down the list notice that at the bottom you can see where I was selling stacks of soul dust for a nice 47 gold profit. The nice thing about utilizing the enchanting method for first listing items on the auction house is that it will cost you nothing. You can litteraly list the item until it sells with no impact on your current funds.
So the big thing to take away from here is that enchanting is a great profession to use to make money on the auction house. Not only can you disenchant the items you no longer need or get from quests that are useless and earn gold off that, but you can also typically pick up green gear for relatively cheap prices (often only a few silver). Then if you are patient enough, you can stack the materials for enchanting and turn a cool profit off of next to nothing investment. Well, good luck out there with your auctions and I look forward to other questions, comments, or concerns you may have.
So as you can see from this picture I sold a full stack of large glowing shards and received 266 gold net sale. That is something that is relatively easy to get a hold of and you would be surprised at how much folks will pay for enchanting materials. As you look down the list notice that at the bottom you can see where I was selling stacks of soul dust for a nice 47 gold profit. The nice thing about utilizing the enchanting method for first listing items on the auction house is that it will cost you nothing. You can litteraly list the item until it sells with no impact on your current funds.
So the big thing to take away from here is that enchanting is a great profession to use to make money on the auction house. Not only can you disenchant the items you no longer need or get from quests that are useless and earn gold off that, but you can also typically pick up green gear for relatively cheap prices (often only a few silver). Then if you are patient enough, you can stack the materials for enchanting and turn a cool profit off of next to nothing investment. Well, good luck out there with your auctions and I look forward to other questions, comments, or concerns you may have.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Sunday Open Thread: 9.5.09
So here it is another Sunday and I apologize I have not thrown these up in the past, but I had been rather busy with some other responsibilities. So feel free to post any questions. I will see everyone on Monday!
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Auction House Quantities
So I am always looking for ways to improve my sales in the auction house and often times will try new methods if it seems my sales are drying up some. Now sometimes it is just the fact that I am one of the more higher priced auctioneers on the server, but the other truth is that often times people will under-cut by a certain amount or perhaps someone doesn't want the quantity that I am offering. At any rate, a while back someone had thrown me a challenge of sorts. They said that I would earn more gold by not listing in individual items, but rather in stacks. So I took them up on their challenge and for the last month have been selling my items in stacks of however many I have in my bags.
So the month ended and it had some interesting results. The first few days of selling in large stacks seemed to be quite profitable. There is something about seeing 60-80 gold rolling in per transaction. However, the problem was that the transactions were few and far between and because of the easy nature of listing stacks verses my regular method, I was outpacing my profits in listing fees on average. I would guess I probably lost a little gold on the experiement. I know I certainly made nothing off of it and did not move no where near the amount of product that I typically will move. However, this post is not on the amount of gold gained or lost, but rather on the perception of if we are making a profit.
You see when I ran this experiment, it felt as though I was making quite a bit of gold for the first week. However, I was not able to sell any of my lower level items and if I did not have a full stack of higher items I noticed those did not sell. So after the first week when my inventory was down and my full stacks were disapperaing, so too did my profit. Now I have only been listing under my old method for a couple days and I managed to clear 1500 gold in the last two days. Now maybe it is just some dumb luck, but I do not think so. I have been selling a lot of lower level crafting items, which is exactly where I make my profit. You see my main method for listing is 100 x 1, 100 x 5, 100 x 10, and then in full stacks for the remainder of the product. I do not list any odd numbers from that formula and it has always proven successful.
So my end result showed that while the initial week made it feel as though I was going to be bringing in the big gold with minimal work, it definitely slowed down as the stacks dwindled. Under my current method, I cator to crafters in particular by providing them with options. After all, who wants to buy 20 of an item if they only need two? If they need two, it is a quick couple clicks and they have what they need. If they need multiple items, then they can select the stack that they are in need of and again a couple clicks and they are done. As always I encourage any questions or comments as I always read them and review the informatiom.
So the month ended and it had some interesting results. The first few days of selling in large stacks seemed to be quite profitable. There is something about seeing 60-80 gold rolling in per transaction. However, the problem was that the transactions were few and far between and because of the easy nature of listing stacks verses my regular method, I was outpacing my profits in listing fees on average. I would guess I probably lost a little gold on the experiement. I know I certainly made nothing off of it and did not move no where near the amount of product that I typically will move. However, this post is not on the amount of gold gained or lost, but rather on the perception of if we are making a profit.
You see when I ran this experiment, it felt as though I was making quite a bit of gold for the first week. However, I was not able to sell any of my lower level items and if I did not have a full stack of higher items I noticed those did not sell. So after the first week when my inventory was down and my full stacks were disapperaing, so too did my profit. Now I have only been listing under my old method for a couple days and I managed to clear 1500 gold in the last two days. Now maybe it is just some dumb luck, but I do not think so. I have been selling a lot of lower level crafting items, which is exactly where I make my profit. You see my main method for listing is 100 x 1, 100 x 5, 100 x 10, and then in full stacks for the remainder of the product. I do not list any odd numbers from that formula and it has always proven successful.
So my end result showed that while the initial week made it feel as though I was going to be bringing in the big gold with minimal work, it definitely slowed down as the stacks dwindled. Under my current method, I cator to crafters in particular by providing them with options. After all, who wants to buy 20 of an item if they only need two? If they need two, it is a quick couple clicks and they have what they need. If they need multiple items, then they can select the stack that they are in need of and again a couple clicks and they are done. As always I encourage any questions or comments as I always read them and review the informatiom.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Are All Items Created Equal?
So yesterday while I was writing my badger post I made a statement about how I feel that not all items are of equal value. It got me thinking that maybe I should explain my thoughts on this a little more. I have had people who would want something that I had listed in the auction house contact me and inquire about a trade. This is a good idea. I love when people think outside the box. However, say you are selling something like a Primal Fire. These items are still not in high quantities on my server and so their prices reflect this. These primals are also used in a lot of BC designs for crafters and because the gear levels did not leap between BC and Wrath like the did from Vanilla to BC, the items that can be crafted are extremely useful. Well, if someone is offering something like a Primal Mana for it, then this is not such a good trade.
Why would I say this is not a good trade? Well, when I look at what my crafters can make with Primal Mana and compare it to what the prices are going for on the auction house, it is a clear loss to me. Most of the items that I can make do not require Primal Mana, and it is apparant by the relative amounts of them that are on the auction house that many others feel the same way. So while the item level would be identical and even the way it is used is identical, it's usefulness is no near that of the Primal Fire and therefore it's value would be nowhere near that of the Primal Fire.
Let's take a look at another situation I encountered a while back. I had a nice level 69 cloth headpiece up on the auction house. I did not have a use for it and was trying to make some quick gold as at the time I was wanting to expand the bank tabs in one of the guilds I have set up. A person contacted me and asked if I would be interested in a trade. I always respond to folks whisper me with a legitimate question. I told the person to link the item they wanted from me and the item that they wanted to trade. Well, it turned out that the level to use both items were 69; however, the one I had listed was from Wrath and the one this person wanted to trade was from BC. That would be a bad trade no matter how you looked at it. I did not wish to insult them and explained to them that I did not have a character who could use their item and that if I tried to sell the item I would be unable to get the same value from the items due to the fact that Wrath items are item level 130 and can be disenchanted for infinite dust and cosmic essences; whereas, the BC items would provide BC enchanting materials which are currently not selling well. So no matter how I approached this offer, it was not a good deal.
So at the end of this, I hope you see that you need to really consider what it is that you are doing. Do a little research, see what the item could be used for or disenchated into. You may be sitting on a fortune of items that you are pricing to cheap or you may be overpricing something that will never net you the cash you are looking for.
Why would I say this is not a good trade? Well, when I look at what my crafters can make with Primal Mana and compare it to what the prices are going for on the auction house, it is a clear loss to me. Most of the items that I can make do not require Primal Mana, and it is apparant by the relative amounts of them that are on the auction house that many others feel the same way. So while the item level would be identical and even the way it is used is identical, it's usefulness is no near that of the Primal Fire and therefore it's value would be nowhere near that of the Primal Fire.
Let's take a look at another situation I encountered a while back. I had a nice level 69 cloth headpiece up on the auction house. I did not have a use for it and was trying to make some quick gold as at the time I was wanting to expand the bank tabs in one of the guilds I have set up. A person contacted me and asked if I would be interested in a trade. I always respond to folks whisper me with a legitimate question. I told the person to link the item they wanted from me and the item that they wanted to trade. Well, it turned out that the level to use both items were 69; however, the one I had listed was from Wrath and the one this person wanted to trade was from BC. That would be a bad trade no matter how you looked at it. I did not wish to insult them and explained to them that I did not have a character who could use their item and that if I tried to sell the item I would be unable to get the same value from the items due to the fact that Wrath items are item level 130 and can be disenchanted for infinite dust and cosmic essences; whereas, the BC items would provide BC enchanting materials which are currently not selling well. So no matter how I approached this offer, it was not a good deal.
So at the end of this, I hope you see that you need to really consider what it is that you are doing. Do a little research, see what the item could be used for or disenchated into. You may be sitting on a fortune of items that you are pricing to cheap or you may be overpricing something that will never net you the cash you are looking for.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
I'm A Badger, You're A Badger, We're All Badgers!
So here at Holeycow's blog we try to focus on the economy of WoW and items of interest in regards to that. I know I have not been around often and making a lot of posts, but like I said yesterday a lot of stuff has been going on and so the auction house had taken a back seat for other things. However, at work yesterday we had a meeting that was more just fun than anything else and they showed this video about being badgered:
So how does this fit in with the WoW economy? Well I actually believe that there are three types of badgers in WoW: the buying badger, the selling badger, and the stupid badger. At the end of this, I am just going to let the reader decide if they are a badger or if they know a badger!
The Selling Badger
So who could we consider the selling badgers? How about those folks who every five seconds send a message out across the trade channel offering services. Sure you want to advertise your business, but when you create these elaborate macros that have pictures and then you send them every few seconds, you could be considered a badger. I actually make an effort to avoid ever using these types of services.
Another form of the selling badger is the one that responds to you when you are looking to have something made with a rediculous amount of gold in return for the service. I am a big tipper (to anyone except for Ed, hee hee) but I despise when someone thinks that they are so special that they can demand outrageous gold for a service, especially when with a little patience you could have the item made for free.
The final type of selling badger (and yes, I consider myself in this category) is the one who lists their items on the auction house but at prices that may be out of range for the current items. Now this badger is one of the most cunning because he probably has more resources available and can wait for someone to purchase his goods. The downside to this is that he may have to hold the items for quite some time which may effect the actual profit of his selling.
The Buying Badger
So how can a buyer be a badger? The buying badger is a character who is very shrewed. They will make a request for a service or item and then attempt to badger the price of the service or item down. This is not a bad thing, but a good thing in my opinion. After all, we are all out to get the best products at the cheapest prices regardless of if we are buying, selling, or being stupid. Anyway, back to the buying badger! A lot of times this badger will try a few different methods. If they know you, they will attempt to persuade you to cut the price you are asking for. If they do not know you, then they may try to talk you down by making it seem you are overpriced. Another method I have seen is the badger who will offer to trade you an item of "equal" value (I say equal as not all items are always equal, even when they appear to be). Regardless of the method, the buying badger is a very clever badger.
The Stupid Badger
I believe that we have all been the stupid badger at one point or another in our WoW life. A stupid badger is someone who will purchase the first item they see, regardless of the price being asked. They often times do not compare prices on the auction house. If the item can be crafted, they do not think to look up the price of the materials to see if they are cheaper to purchase and then have made. Instead they will make a purchase and then IF they realize they overpayed for something, they will then go and complain to anyone who will listen. Perhaps they will even speak to the person who they bought the service or item from. These conversations are never pleasant and always result with the stupid badger becoming upset and resulting to name calling. Now I do not blame them for getting emotional because they feel they were cheated, but at the end of the day there are no friends in business. However, this can lead to a badger battle that may even spill over into the trade channel and there is nothing worse than badger on badger violence!
So other than being able to put in some funny badger videos, what did I want you to take away from this? I simply want you to think about what you are doing. If you are selling a service or an item, make sure you feel good about it. Let's not try to rip people off! If you are buying an item or a service, then make sure you really need it and have put the time in to know if it is a good deal. Remember that when you buy a service or an item that someone else has put time in to be able to sell the item or service and the price they are asking is what they feel that time invested is worth along with the item. If you are stupid, well......sorry.
Okay, let's give the stupid badgers something to take away as well. If you have been stupid in the past, then learn from it. Do a little research about what it is you want. Compare prices! Determine if the materials to make the item would be cheaper than purchasing it outright. Also compare prices for services. Do not jump at the first offer you receive. If you buy something on the auction house, look at both the bid and buy out price. Also make sure to compare the number of items you are getting in the stack. Not all stacks are 20 of a particular item. What is it that the news reporters always say? Oh yeah! Buyer beware!
So how does this fit in with the WoW economy? Well I actually believe that there are three types of badgers in WoW: the buying badger, the selling badger, and the stupid badger. At the end of this, I am just going to let the reader decide if they are a badger or if they know a badger!
The Selling Badger
So who could we consider the selling badgers? How about those folks who every five seconds send a message out across the trade channel offering services. Sure you want to advertise your business, but when you create these elaborate macros that have pictures and then you send them every few seconds, you could be considered a badger. I actually make an effort to avoid ever using these types of services.
Another form of the selling badger is the one that responds to you when you are looking to have something made with a rediculous amount of gold in return for the service. I am a big tipper (to anyone except for Ed, hee hee) but I despise when someone thinks that they are so special that they can demand outrageous gold for a service, especially when with a little patience you could have the item made for free.
The final type of selling badger (and yes, I consider myself in this category) is the one who lists their items on the auction house but at prices that may be out of range for the current items. Now this badger is one of the most cunning because he probably has more resources available and can wait for someone to purchase his goods. The downside to this is that he may have to hold the items for quite some time which may effect the actual profit of his selling.
The Buying Badger
So how can a buyer be a badger? The buying badger is a character who is very shrewed. They will make a request for a service or item and then attempt to badger the price of the service or item down. This is not a bad thing, but a good thing in my opinion. After all, we are all out to get the best products at the cheapest prices regardless of if we are buying, selling, or being stupid. Anyway, back to the buying badger! A lot of times this badger will try a few different methods. If they know you, they will attempt to persuade you to cut the price you are asking for. If they do not know you, then they may try to talk you down by making it seem you are overpriced. Another method I have seen is the badger who will offer to trade you an item of "equal" value (I say equal as not all items are always equal, even when they appear to be). Regardless of the method, the buying badger is a very clever badger.
The Stupid Badger
I believe that we have all been the stupid badger at one point or another in our WoW life. A stupid badger is someone who will purchase the first item they see, regardless of the price being asked. They often times do not compare prices on the auction house. If the item can be crafted, they do not think to look up the price of the materials to see if they are cheaper to purchase and then have made. Instead they will make a purchase and then IF they realize they overpayed for something, they will then go and complain to anyone who will listen. Perhaps they will even speak to the person who they bought the service or item from. These conversations are never pleasant and always result with the stupid badger becoming upset and resulting to name calling. Now I do not blame them for getting emotional because they feel they were cheated, but at the end of the day there are no friends in business. However, this can lead to a badger battle that may even spill over into the trade channel and there is nothing worse than badger on badger violence!
So other than being able to put in some funny badger videos, what did I want you to take away from this? I simply want you to think about what you are doing. If you are selling a service or an item, make sure you feel good about it. Let's not try to rip people off! If you are buying an item or a service, then make sure you really need it and have put the time in to know if it is a good deal. Remember that when you buy a service or an item that someone else has put time in to be able to sell the item or service and the price they are asking is what they feel that time invested is worth along with the item. If you are stupid, well......sorry.
Okay, let's give the stupid badgers something to take away as well. If you have been stupid in the past, then learn from it. Do a little research about what it is you want. Compare prices! Determine if the materials to make the item would be cheaper than purchasing it outright. Also compare prices for services. Do not jump at the first offer you receive. If you buy something on the auction house, look at both the bid and buy out price. Also make sure to compare the number of items you are getting in the stack. Not all stacks are 20 of a particular item. What is it that the news reporters always say? Oh yeah! Buyer beware!
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