October gold update: +21K gold, but most of that spent

September was another lucrative month for earning gold via the auction
house.[1] I didn't earn as much as in August (+39K), though. On a net
basis, I'm only up 2K from a month ago as my spending skyrocketed.

SHOPAHOLIC
1) I resumed leveling a druid during the month. She is now in Northrend
and has so far consumed:

* 1K for dual spec at 40
* 1K for heirloom-based Cold Weather Flying at 68
* 4.5K for Artisan riding as a prerequisite for Swift Flight Form at
71
* ~1000g in spending money, repair bills, herbs for alchemy, etc. At
least now, in Northrend, questing has become profitable in the sense
that gold from loot and vendoring unneeded quest rewards finally
exceeds repair bills. Admittedly, the druid has returned probably
300g from herbs and green-level items found while leveling.

2) I spent another 4.2K on a Nobles deck which I redeemed for the agility
version of the Greatness trinket. I have it on auction for a
price that's significantly above the market rate; I figure that either
a) it'll sell and make me even more money than normal, or b) it won't
sell and my druid will have the #1 feral trinket. (Along those lines,
now that she has turned 75 I've started running Coren Direbrew to
stock up on level 80 trinkets.) That said, in retrospect I really
should have invested in more than one deck, as I normally do.

3) I've invested another 7.5K in a short-term opportunity and will
likely invest another 5-10K before its completion. My downside is
reasonably limited, but the real possibility exists I'll lose up to
50% of my investment. More on this later.

GRAND SLAMS
Some items with huge returns during the month:
* Three Goblin-machined Pistons, bought for 30g each and sold for 800g
each.
* An Undeath deck, bought for 36g bid, converted into Darkmoon Card:
Death, and sold for 1000g.

But, again, note that a single Greatness sale can equal the return
from all three pistons.

UPS AND DOWNS
The market for 71-80 blue-quality gear remains below the pre-3.2
levels remains depressed, if not as badly as in early August right
after the patch. While the inventory level has decreased the demand
is, I believe, also down due, in part, to the ease of getting good
gear through the new Argent 5-man instance. Some items have maintained
their price, though; Greathelm of the Unyielding Bull has maintained
its 250g buyout price, while Cast Iron Shackles fell from 150g to 100g
and has held steady since. The market for Stormjewels, very lucrative
several weeks ago, has now tightened. After many many markdowns I was
able to sell for 2000g one of the Assassin's Blades I bought for 1750g
each in August, and expect to sell the other one sooner or later, but
overall that's been a disappointing investment.

FOR THE HORDE
I've also begun trading on the Horde auction house. In the past people
have occasionally advertised on Trade money-exchanging services
between the factions, but I couldn't find anyone doing so at the
moment.[1] Besides, I was curious to see just how far I could get with
my methods when starting from scratch. I am pleased to report that in
three weeks I have turned 10g into ~1000g in cash, plus another 1000g
worth of items on auction. Once I get into the five figures I may
start a currency-exchange service of my own.

[1] As a reminder, I earn all gold through buying and selling over the
auction house, spending 15 minutes (now 20-25 with the addition of the
Horde side). I do not gather (now with the minor exception of herbs my
alchemist/herbalist druid does not use while leveling), farm,
disenchant, or craft anything.

[2] Each and every time I asked for someone who could perform this
service, I got some know-it-all who confidently told me of the "secret
way" of using the neutral auction house. Of course they'd never tried
this for themselves or they'd know why this doesn't work for anyone,
like me, with only one account. Besides, I'd not want to lose 15% in
the process, anyway.

--
<URL:http://www.pobox.com/~ylee/> PERTH ----> *
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Auction House change?
    ... realms in ways you cannot quantify easily. ... Pearls used to sell for 30g or more. ... His point is that gold sellers are negatively affecting the natural ... Why would anyone sit at the mailbox for the end of an auction that may last ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)
  • Re: Auction House change?
    ... realms in ways you cannot quantify easily. ... Pearls used to sell for 30g or more. ... auction delay hurts everyone. ... His point is that gold sellers are negatively affecting the natural ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)
  • Re: Plans: Steelgrip Gauntlets
    ... How much does it cost to create the auction for these plans? ... Lets say for example it costs 2 gold to create the auction for these ... Now, whether you sell them for 300 or 3000 gold, you are still ...
    (alt.games.warcraft)
  • Re: Semi-OT: Second Fiddle to an Old Master
    ... By JOHN MARCHESE ... Marchese sorta' makes the point that the purpose of the investment at ... It doesn't matter what it is as long as more than one person really ... we will see bids at auction be much less than what was ...
    (rec.music.makers.guitar.acoustic)
  • Re: How to encrypt a negative?
    ... quid will sentence in conjunction with the particular auction. ... Ramzi never i.e. dictated at the investment. ...
    (sci.crypt)