It's been a hard day's night!

Here is what 100,000 gold, maximum preparation, seven hours of in-game work, and overcoming the odds can get you-

Realm first 525 enchanter!

Realm first 525 scribe!

...on the same toon.

I will reveal my strategy and all obstacles encountered in my next post.  Thanks everyone (all seven six of you, lol) for stopping buy.

I'm baaaaaaack! I'm back in the saddle again!

Quick update to let you all know that I am back from Iraq and looking forward to fast internet in which to post new gold making ideas.  Maybe not "new" but certainly profitable ones lol.  Thanks for your patience!

There he is! There he is! It's the Great Pumpkin!

Sometimes you just get lucky!

4 [point] Zero [dot] Won!

What a difference a day makes!  I lost track of my earnings after 20k.  Auditor is broken and that was my compass for such things.  I was confused about the transmute cool-down.  I thought it was going away.  My two transmute masters were kinda flapping today.  Oh well.  I completely bought out every Eternal and Frost orb right before the servers went down.  I have made that gold back in spades since then.

Here is a late tip but possibly valid for the upcoming expansion:  I was unable to get into the game so I went and purchased the $3 online AH.  I was able to post over 150+ auctions while waiting for the patch to do its thing.  I was also able to see what materials were going for.  Color me a fan!  I can see myself in the DFW Airport lounge in Dallas on my way home, watching and selling glyphs on my Ipod Touch via WiFi.  Go tech!

The Guide

Part One – Getting Started

There are many gold guides out here.  My ambition for this project is to explain mechanics, strategies, and lessons learned.  I understand that there a many things dealing with WoW’s AH economy that are elementary, implied, or taken for granted.  I would like to say up front that I am not here to insult anyone’s intelligence.  All of my discussions in this guide are my own opinions and are the result of person al experiences in the game, World of Warcraft, and are not taken from any other source unless otherwise stated.

Now it is time for some assumptions.  I will assume that you have at least one character that is level 80 and you have additional toons that are at least level 65 (65 is the minimum level required to max out your professions to 450).  There are a few things you need to consider (expansion planning) if you want to be ready for Cataclysm.  You need to make sure your gathering toon(s) is/are level 80.  This will allow the character to gather high level nodes and mobs to get the resources to support your profession tool box. 

I recommend having gathering toons that wear plate and have at least entry level (blue) crafted gear.  The combination that I use is a DK with Mining and Engineering (engineers gather gas clouds) and another plate wearer (warrior or paladin) with Herbalism and Skinning.  These two toons will be able to gather any raw materials you will need to support your other profession.  I want you guys and gals to realize that I am not proposing that you all become farmers to support your auction house game.  These two toons will help you get a jump-start in Cataclysm and are 100% voluntary.

The other professions- Tailoring, Leatherworking, Alchemy, Blacksmithing, Jewelcrafting, Inscription, and Enchanting.  These professions will make your wares that you will sell via the trade channel and the AH.  The are many ways that you can distribute these professions.  Some people like to pair professions that support one another.  This is something you must decide for yourself.  I will mention what I do as an example of how to maximize your profits.

Toon 1- Mining and Engineering.

Toon 2- Herbalism and Skinning.

Toon 3-Tailoring and Alchemy.

Toon 4- Leatherworking and Alchemy.

Toon 5- Blacksmithing and Alchemy.

Toon 6- Jewelcrafting and Alchemy.

Toon 7- Inscription and Alchemy.

Toon 8- Enchanting and Alchemy.

Toon 9- Jewelcrafting and Alchemy.

Toon 10- Jewelcrafting and Alchemy.

The total is eight alchemists, three jewelcrafters and one of everything else.  Why so many alchemists?  They get to transmute things.  All eight of them should be transmute masters.  That is a whopping eight transmutes a day (not including procs).  The Jewelcrafters will have a cool down as well.  They will also be able to get patterns three times as fast.  Like I said before this is just a suggestion, you must play how you like to play.

The time investment is insane I know.  This example is something that you can set goals towards.  You do not have to scramble to get to this point if you are a casual player.  Setting aside some time each day or weekend to level your alt toons will eventually get you more workers for your AH business.  I would also like to mention that I am not done leveling 10 toons with respect to this set-up.  I will share my achievements toward this goal as I write this blog.

This is all for now.  The next section of the guide will focus on add-ons, space, and stock.  Till next time!

8 Alchemists = Win

Ferengi Proverb of the day-

45.  Profit has limits. Loss has none.

An Old Proverb-

“A stitch in time saves nine.”

A little effort expended sooner to fix a small problem, prevents it from becoming a larger problem requiring a lot of effort to fix later; A little preparation can eliminate the need for repairs later; consistency (achieving a set rhythm) is better than trying to rush ahead.  Courtesy of Wiktionary.

Made up Proverb of the Day-

“A terrible tale of loss in the gold making game will yield you nothing but torment if shared with the trade channel. “ (true story)

Fickle Flaying

55. Always sell at the highest possible profit.

Current market values for this post: Borean Leather- 50s, Heavy Borean Leather- 6g, Frozen Orb- 29g, Arctic Fur- 43g, Icy Dragonscale- 1.5g, Icescale Leg Armor- 110g, and Heavy Borean Armor Kit- 64g.

My math:
(6x) Borean Leather = (1) Heavy Borean Leather
(1) Arctic Fur = (10) Heavy Borean Leather
(10) Borean Leather = 60g
Cost analysis of Arctic Fur is 30g > 43g

Example 1:
Icescale Leg Armor- AH Cost breakdown. (2) Arctic Fur for 86g, (2) icy Dragonscale for 3g, and (1) Frozen Orb for 29g = 118g investment.
Current market value- 110g with a net loss of 8g. The cost (2) Arctic Furs when they are purchased with (10) Heavy Borean Leather from Braeg Stoutbeard is 92g; with a net gain of 18g (19.5% profit).

Example 2:
The net gain of selling the (20) Heavy Borean Leather on the AH instead of using them to make the Icescale Leg Armor is 60g (100% profit).

Example 3:
The net gain of using (20) Heavy Borean Leather to make (5) Heavy Borean Armor Kits is 260g (530%).

I will be honest here. I hate Leatherworking. Skinning/LW were the last two professions I leveled based on previous experiences with them.

I like to keep it simple so I will always sell whatever sells the best in regards to LW.  I recommend that you watch the value of Heavy Borean Leather closely.  Example 3 clearly shows were the profit lies in LW but as long as you are making a profit it is safe to place your eggs in multiple baskets.

I find that waiting for opportunity to knock is the best course of action. When I accumulate the raw materials for making epic leg armors from doing daily dungeons and questing/dailies then I make and sell them. It is hard to beat 530% profit but offering more wares certainly gets your name known on the server.

Goblin tip-  Don't be caught dead with a Gnomish Army Knife...

Gnome tip-  Don't be caught dead with a Goblin...

 

I would like to thank The Undermine Journal for providing my statistical data.

 

Coming soon- More Diversa Aurophobia!

NOT Coming Soon- A Leatherworking guide...

 

Real-Life Tips-  A Gnome in your yard is money that you spent to put a Gnome in your yard.  Think about it...

Moral Merchants

2. You can't cheat an honest customer, but it never hurts to try.

I want to touch briefly on this rule. I am certain that as I go down the “The Complete Ferengi Rules Of Acquisition” that there will be certain rules that will not apply to WoW or making gold by using the AH in WoW. That being said this particular rule will not be part of my tool chest. I do not believe in cheating people whether they are honest or not; my credibility in this game is important and sticking to my morals in life will keep that in check.

I am, however, here to make gold. When I was a consumer in WoW I would often be “kited” into buying the right product but at either the wrong price or the wrong amount. These clever tricks to conceal items amidst other items of better value often left you holding a glass that was half full. This made me mad. I was not a wealthy Dwarf and thereby had to manage my spending if I wanted to play the game responsibly.

So in this (short) post I would like to ensure all of my (2) subscribers thus far that I will not talk about exploits, deception, or wrangling. I want to get gold capped while maintaining my integrity. So, in closing, the CFRoA rule #2 is not supported at Diversa Aurophobia.

My Long, Strange Trip...

Four score and five years ago I started playing this game. I was consistently poor and never leveled a toon to 60 before BC came out. I continued to stay consistently poor when BC hit but I did manage to level my main to 70 and started doing end game content. I was able to get both tailoring and enchanting maxed out and I raised all the factions applicable to granting me more recipes to increase my wares. I did my best to get all the drops I could so I could make some gold but I stayed consistently poor. [NERF BAT] Kara, Gruul's, Mag, SSC, TK, Hyjal, BT...loot was good but I was STILL consistently poor.

[Cherubim angels singing] Sunwell is released. Everyone bands together to open the raid. Dailies, dailies, dailies! TY Shattered Sun Offensive! Damn...SP is hard. SP is waaaay too hard. Dailies get boring. Gold reserves run dry. I am poor again...

I watch a video on YouTube. In this video this gnome is leading a pug in SP. He has a system that allows him to kill the first mob then CC pull both linked mobs leaving the dragonhawks CC'd as everyone runs out of the instance. Why was this so cool? Because those 16 mobs (14 kills) drop epics...lots of epics. As long as you left the two animals hibernated and ran out (since they were all linked) when you ran back in the mobs previously killed were restored... OMG! Sunmotes! Epic Gems! Best-in-slot gear! Epic Patterns! This guy was my hero.

So I started my own pug on my server. I found a good tank who only wanted an epic gem per run as payment, plus a chance to roll on any drops. I was the master looter. My payment was one Sunmote per raid for organizing the group and inviting attendees. Sunmotes were selling for 6-10k at the time. We were running this pug almost every day. I was making 6-10k a day. A DAY!!! I was rich for the first time in WoW. Then WotLK was announced, Sunwell was nerfed, my gold business was decimated. I was sunk. Within a month I was consistently poor...again.

[Fast Forward] July, 2010. I decided I was tired of being poor. I could not stand dailies. I could not stand grinding, I could not stand farming. I wanted to check my mailbox and see those lovely little scrolls that make coin sounds when you open them. …But how?

I crafted something. I put it on the AH. It sold. I crafted more things. They sold. I made alts. They leveled and maxed their professions. They made stuff. It all sold too. I was finally doing it. I was earning gold in WoW. I was not using some cheesy exploit to farm valuable BoEs. I was actually working for a WoW living. [Hums Huey Lewis]

[Friday, 27 August 2010] I have every possible profession maxed. I have a good understanding of the AH and the add-ons used to automate my interaction with it. I have 32k liquidity and about 40k in stockpiled items. My goal is to cap my gold and have ten toons ready for Cataclysm. I will use this blog to chronicle my successes and failures. I will refrain from revealing too much about myself or my toons but I will share anything that I discover along the way.

I am not trying to reinvent the wheel and there are certainly more blogs out there with more street cred. I am going forward despite these shortcomings. I want to do this for myself. I want to have financial freedom to play the game the way I want to play when new raid and pvp content is revealed in the expansion. I invite you all to tune in for future installments of my misadventures!

To keep this blog interesting I will be using The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition as a source of inspiration for my blog posts. Today’s lesson will be the defining rule by which all other rules are judged-

Rule #1. Once you have their money, never give it back!

...Don't worry 'Great River'...I won't.

Post quote- "Time is money, friend!"  ...every Goblin in the game says this...I wish I had listened from the beginning.

Coming Soon!

This blog will cover my journey to become an AH tycoon (or failure).  I am still developing my blogging strategy so check back soon.