The Right Time For The Deal

   In the business world, the timing of your undertaking into a certain market is one of the most important things. Well World Of Warcraft happens to work the same way. What i mean is quite simple, as in the real world, in WoW you need to be able to scope out the supply/need of given goods, then assess the situation and see if there's a way to take a bit of the over supply of one good and make it into goods that are in low supply. But enough about economics, i don't want to make this sound like a econ class, so lets get down to the WoW part of this whole thing.

   As it just happens, now we are in the perfect spot to take advantage of this strategy i have been using for a long, long time now. Before i go even deeper, let me make it clear that for this strategy to have the full profit making potential, you will need to have a Jewelcrafter, and preferably some of the WOTLK gem patterns. Now would be the place where you start asking why?  Well, that perfect spot i was just talking about, that's the pre patch period when everyone is capped on justice points and valor points. What this means is that you can find people trying to monetize on their excess points by any means possible, it's better to get anything then nothing right. Well this is where you come in.

     You have a choice, you can either try and do what almost everyone is doing, or you can play it smart and make triple that gold or even more. Here is how it all works.

   In Dalaran you will find a Justice vendor selling all kinds of goods, but among all those now worthless items are the WOTLK uncut epic gems, and behold they are only 220 justice points. So what this does is, it's opening up a kind of a exchange office for justice. Now first thing you would think is that those gems are pretty much worthless because we have Cataclysm  gems, but you would be wrong. Epic WOTLK gems are still a very much sought after commodity, mainly from people twinking out their alts, or by people leveling up their alts, it doesn't matter which ones, they all need gems.

   So at this vendor you can exchange your justice points for gems, or you can turn towards the troll cave (trade channel). Taking the latter would require just a hint of imagination for a catchy macro, and you will be swarmed with people whispering you trying to sell you their justice points. ( Are you capped on justice points, are you sick and tired of killing and plundering and getting nothing out of it because you are capped. Well whisper me and i will buy your justice points ) Another thing worth mentioning would be that, you are going to need another macro in which you will explain how to do it, because you will get gazillion whispers asking you how are you going to buy their justice points. This is also the part where you will need a way to get people to Dalaran, so being a mage, or having a friend of yours tag along and teleport people around is useful.

   Now that we got the where, out of the way, it's time to get on the what part. Two of the most used epic gems, and the biggest sellers are the Cardinal Ruby and the King's Amber .  The first one is the obvious one because it's the pure stats one, and the second one holds the +crit and the +resiliance buff which are both a great seller. What i've done in the past is, i have all those raw gems in a shopping list and whenever i would see them for less then 100g i would buy them out, cut them and repost them back for 195, and i would love it every time when i were to see them posted for prices like 20-30g. So if you are looking for some kind of a base line, check the prices on your AH, if someone has posted them for cheap (under 100g) buy them out and cut them. If you don't have a jewelcrafter it doesn't matter, buy them anyways and repost them at a higher price, and the person looking to buy one cut, will buy your raw gem and try the trade channel for someone to cut it for him. What i usually do is i pay 400g to someone for 1100 justice points (5 gems) and i end up selling them for 195g each which racks up nearly 1000, so there's 150% profit margin.

Before we head out, while you are still in Dalaran you might want to check out Frozo the Orb Trader. This is that crazy gnome flying on a carpet because he's too cheap to buy a mount. But crazy gnome aside, he's another exchange office kind of guy where he can turn those, usually, very cheap Frozen Orbs into things of a greater value like the Eternals or the Crusader Orbs (demand is very very limited). So while you are here, give ol' Frozo a check, and check the prices on Frozen Orbs as well as the Eternals and see if there's space for your profits in there.

   So there we are for now, we saw how to "help" people get rid of their excess justice points and make profit from it, we saw which gems we should keep an eye out and we saw a gnome.

   So, like always, keep an eye out for good opportunities out there.

Outland Dungeon Runner/Farmer (Part 3)

   So, here we are for the last part of the Outland dungeon farming post. In case you didn't get to read the previous two posts, you can find the first one and second one by clicking on the links. In this last part, i will cover the last three instances that are all around Tempest Keep. But enough of that, lets get down to the facts of the instances.

THE MECHANAR

    The Mechanar,  the first in the three instances that can be found in Netherstorm around Tempest Keep. This instance should be looked at as a possible gold mine. What i mean with this is, well it's a freaking gold mine, it's filled with a lot of humanoids as well as demons which means a lot of cloth, signets, marks, armaments etc.

   Best thing about this instance aside with the fact that it has a lot of  easy to kill mobs, is the fact that it can be done in about 10 minutes (depending on how long it takes you to loot all the dead bodies)
Time Required  : 10 Minutes
Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 70
- Fel Armament x 2
- Arcane Tome x 2
- Mark Of Sargeras x 10
- Sunfury Signet x 20
- Gold Acquired x 80 ( this is with selling the trash you get as well, so this is a +- 10g )
Average Gold Per Hour : 2550g/h

THE BOTANICA

   The Botanica is the second instance in the Tempest Keep. This instance is pretty much the same deal as The Mechanar, but instead of demons you get to kill flower like mobs that will be annoying, wont drop anything, ahh did i mention annoying?

   Well even with the annoying mobs this instance has a high gold per hour value due to the high volume of humanoids there, and for some reason i've gotten a higher then normal rate of drop on the tomes and signets per run from this instance then any other.

Time Required  : 12 Minutes
Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 50
- Arcane Tome x 4
- Sunfury Signet x 30
Gold Acquired x 95 ( this is with selling the trash you get as well, so this is a +- 10g)
Average Gold Per Hour : 2075g/h 


THE ARCATRAZ

   The third and last instance in the Tempest Keep area, is The Arcatraz. This instance is probably a Blizzard's way of implying Alcatraz, which was a very famous prison in the US, mainly because in running this instance you will get squat, zip, nada for loot from mobs.

   The instance is filled with shadow fiend like creatures, and some demons in the start and then some humanoids, but all in all not anything else worth mentioning about this instance.


Time Required  : 10 Minutes
Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 20
- Mark Of Sargeras x 10
Gold Acquired x 50 ( this is with selling the trash you get as well, so this is a +- 10g)
Average Gold Per Hour : 570g/h 


   So that's about it with the Outland instances, and their gold worth farming wise. Before i take off i would like to say that, all the instances i ran to get the information about the three posts i did, i used my druid tank who is not geared at all, but non the less its a druid that can tank and heal himself which doesn't slow him down a bit. What this means is that the times i've put in there are from my point of view, if you happen to run them with another class you might get different timings, but it shouldn't be that much off.


   Before you go on telling me that i've forgotten all about the instances in the Caverns Of Time, i haven't, but knowing that it's basically a timed event and it cannot be rushed i didn't do it. ( The fact that i've hated it ever since i had to do the alchemy specialization quest has nothing to do with it )

   So, like always, keep an eye out for good opportunities out there.

Outland Dungeon Runner/Farmer (Part 2)

   This post is a direct continuation from the previous Part 1 post, which is kinda implied by the title. In this post i will give you the "numbers" behind running the TBC dungeons, and is it worth it your time to do it, opposed to the usual farming by gathering. Well enough with that, lets get down to the facts, and get this show on the road.

SETHEKK HALLS

   Sethekk Halls is the third instance in the Terrokar Forest zone. This instance is a rather short one, well actually the shortest one i did in all the runs i did for getting the information about this and the previous post. But besides it's short duration it is not the best place to be farming, purely for the fact that it's not very profitable.

   Everything you kill in here will give you loot in the form of cloth and trash, but other than that you wont get pretty much anything else.

Time Required : 8 Minutes
Items Acquired:
- Netherweave Cloth x 40
- Gold Acquired x 75g ( this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a +- 10g )
Average Gold Per Hour : 885g/h


THE STEAMVAULT

   The Steamvault is the first of the two instances that are in Zangarmarsh. This instance has a very good gold per hour ratio, but even better if you happen to have herbalism you can gather the herbs from the dead bodies from the fallen mobs.

   In this instance you will be fighting naga, this on it's own means that the drops you will be getting are going to be Netherweave Cloth, and some smelly fish remains. But one thing that makes this instance a good place to farm is that you will be getting Coilfang Armament drops that can be sold on the Auction House. If you haven't played back in TBC, then you should know that these items can be turned in to get your reputation up with the Cenarion Expedition.

Time Required : 15 Minutes
Items Acquired:
- Netherweave Cloth x 10
- Coilfang Armaments x 20
- Gold Acquired x 70 ( this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a +- 10g )
Average Gold Per Hour : 1120g/h


THE SLAVE PENS

   The Slave Pens is the second instance in Zangarmarsh. This instance is a rather quick one, but same as the Sethekk Halls one, but the cloth output you get from doing this instance is even lower, which in return means even lower gold per hour.

   This instance has one thing you need to know, well it's not a ground breaking thing but still, after you kill the first and second bosses don't forget to press the consoles behind the bosses so you will be able to engage the final boss.

Time Required : 10 Minutes
Items Acquired:
- Netherweave Cloth x 20
- Gold Acquired x 50 ( this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a +- 10g )
Average Gold Per Hour : 456g/h


  Like i said in the previous post, while doing all these instances you will be getting green/blue drops. Don't vendor these items right away, but rather check out how they appear, because if you happen to like them or the way they look like, there's a good chance  someone else will like it too and with the coming of the transmogrification in the next patch those items are gonna be real good gold earners.

 Well this is what i had tested for this post, there's one more post coming that i will cover the rest of the instances that can be found in Outland.

   So, like always, keep an eye out for good opportunities out there.

Outland Dungeon Runner/Farmer (Part 1)

   Being a long time player, or a new player, getting gold is about the same. You can make gold by either farming materials, playing the auction house for profit, or you can take up a more creative approach where you make your profits from running old content instances.

   In this post, i will give you the outline, and what to expect from "farming" the outland instances.

HELLFIRE RAMPARTS

   This is the "intro" dungeon that you stumble upon once you get into Outlands. This is a rather quick run instance due to the fact that it only has 3 bosses. Before we get on with the whole shabang, you need to know that the profit from doing these instances mainly comes from being able to kill large amounts of "trash" mobs fairly quickly.

   But enough for the introduction part, lets get down to the facts and the possible profits that are there to be made.


Time Required  : 10 minutes ( This time may vary, basically how much you will need to loot all the bodies )
Items Acquired :
- Runecloth x 60
- Netherweave Cloth x 20
Gold Acquired : 40g (this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a 10g +- )

   With the current prices that i checked where the Runecloth was 30g/stack and Netherweave was 20g/stack the average profit from doing this for an hour would net you a 894g/hour


SHATTERED HALLS

   Shattered Halls is another of the three instances that can be found in Fellfire Peninsula. This instance has 4 bosses which make is a tad bit bigger, but in reality it takes about the same time to finish as ramparts does.

   One of the things that are worth mentioning about this one, is that there are a few things that lower the profit per hour. What i mean with this, is the fact that there are "mobs" in there that you need to kill first or they will keep spawning new reinforcements that upon being killed leave no loot.

Time Required  : 10 minutes ( This time may vary, basically how much you will need to loot all the bodies )
Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 40
Gold Acquired : 75g (this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a 10g +- )
Average gold per hour: 690g/hour

BLOOD FURNACE

    Blood Furnace is the third and last instance in the Hellfire Peninsula. This is another instance that can be put in the same "quick run" group instances. One of the things that are worth mentioning about this instance is the fact that it has quite the number of humanoids in there, which in turn means that the quantity of cloth from there is going to be high.





Time Required  : 10 minutes ( This time may vary, basically how much you will need to loot all the bodies )

Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 100
Gold Acquired : 75g (this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a 10g +- )

Average gold per hour: 960g/hour


MANA TOMBS

   Mana Tombs is one of the instances that can be found in Terrokar Forrest. This instance has 3 bosses, and like the previous instances it can be done quite hasty, and in return give you some nice profits.

   There are quite a few groups of humanoids in here that are worth killing that will net you some nice profits.



Time Required  : 11 minutes ( This time may vary, basically how much you will need to loot all the bodies )


Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 100
Gold Acquired : 75g (this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a 10g +- )

Average gold per hour: 849g/hour


SHADOW LABYRINTH

   Shadow Labyrinth is the second instance that can be found in Terrokar Forrest. Unlike all the other previous instances that we covered in this post this instance will take you a bit more time to finish, but not that much that it will be unworthy to do it, but quite the opposite.

   This instance has 4 bosses, a lot of humanoids and all in all, a good "farming" spot. One of the things that are worth mentioning in this instance, that is different that all the ones that we've covered until now is the fact that the mobs in here have a chance in dropping Mark Of Sargeras, and Fel Armaments, which are both items used to increase your reputation with one of the fractions in Shattrah City.


Time Required  : 15 minutes ( This time may vary, basically how much you will need to loot all the bodies )


Items Acquired :
- Netherweave Cloth x 70
- Mark Of Sargeras x 60
- Fel Armament x 3
Gold Acquired : 80g (this is with selling the trash you get as well so this is a 10g +- )

Average gold per hour: 1386g/hour (this can be higher/lower depending on the prices you sell your Marks and Armaments)


This is about it for the first part from the Outland Dungeon Runner, but before we head out, there's one other thing i must tell you.

    While running all these instances you will come across green/blue items from all the mobs you kill, once you loot the item check it out and see how it looks like visually, because if you think it looks cool there's a good chance that someone else would think it's cool as well, and is willing to pay big for it now that transmogging is at the door. As an example the mace that you can see on the image here is a simple level 63 green item that just happens to look kinda like the T2 for Paladins. Well that resemblance is what made that item sell for 800g on the AH. So keep your eyes open for "eye candy" items, usually weapons, shields, helms and shoulders.

   So you have a comparative gold number given to each instance, but put the worth of the items you can get and sell as "eye candy" and your profits go dramatically up into the cha-ching zone.

   So, like always, keep an eye out for good opportunities out there.


   

Do It Right Or Don't Do It At All ! (TSM Posting)

   From the start, i would like to make it clear that this post is going to try and give you an insight on how you should post auctions, so you don't end up "shooting" yourself in the leg with undercutting. The most usual mistake many new or "veteran" auction house posters that are using addons for their posting, is the fact that they are simply clicking the post button without checking for the competition.

   For the sake of a example, i will take the jewelcrafting market due to it's volume. At the start let us make one

thing clear, the reason why everyone is undercutting is so that their item is going to be listed as the cheapest one on the AH and get them the sale they desire. Well there is a back lash effect, meaning when you undercut you are lowering the price by a factor every time you do it, and if you are doing it in short intervals then the price of the given item is going to plummet, and with that the profit that you came after.

   In one of the previous posts The Auction House Bait, i talked about how to use this constant undercutting, and generally hasty way of posting to your advantage so you can acquire cheap items, well this post should be   like the exact counter to that strategy, and it should help you get better prices, or keep your prices rather high and not loose out on the profit.

   As always we are going to be using our favorite addon TSM. To be more precise we are going to be using one of it's options that are shown when you are at the posting screen at the auction house, name of the button is Show Auctions.

   After pressing that button, TSM will show you a list of all the items that are with that name on the AH at that given time. Reason why this is so important is that you can visually see the prices, and from there see if there are price irregularities, like sudden price spikes be it up or down, and act on it.

   As an example i've made this screenshot of the prices of the Stormy Ocean Sapphire. As you can see, the prices were normal at around 75g, until someone used a page from the The Auction House Bait book, or simply posted a few at that price. Well this is where the people not looking at the prices and shooting them selves in the foot part comes into place. As you can see after that single post of 3 gems at 19g (marked with yellow color) the next 3 guys that posted their gems posted it lower, where they could have buy out those 3 gems and post their at 75g and keep the price.

   The price of this particular gem might not be a very high one, but if you simply press that Show Auctions button and watch the prices of the items you are posting, and instead of undercutting that one guy that has undercut everyone for huge amounts simply buying him out, you end up with a good profit margin in the long run.

    So, you should never go in and do you scan and then simply click away, and post your auctions. Spend additional 5 min, and in those 5 minutes that you've spent to make sure that someone hasn't undercut you for quite alot, or dropped the prices for stupid amounts you are making sure that the profits you are getting are all at the right price.

   At a first glance it might look like a small amount, but there are items like the belt buckle ones where occasionally someone will come in and drop the prices for 100 or even 200g just for the sake of selling 1 or 2 and people will continue to undercut him opposed to buying him out and reposting his own items and robbing him of the profit. So use that Show Auctions button, and post your auctions at the right price.

   So, like always, keep an eye out for good opportunities out there.