Alright, so you know the how, but what about the why?
Why do Netherweave bags sell on a consistent basis?
I've come up with a couple of reasons why this item is the best selling container:
1. The mats (ergo the price).
When compared to other bags, the Netherweave bags are the simplest to make as they require only the cloth + thread. Runecloth bags require Rugged Lether, and Imbued Netherweave bags and Frostweave bags require enchanting mats. Usually, less mats (or less unique mats) converts to less cost. Not always, but definitely true in this case.
And less cost means people are willing to make them.
2. Price per slot. The Netherweave bag price works out to be around 50 silver per slot; while smaller bags offer slightly better price per slot, they fall off in value in that they just don't carry as much. This is where the whole (the total bag space) is more valuable than the parts (the slots).
The larger bags have a much bigger price per slot, so it appears that the Netherweave bags are just big enough.
3. BoE. That's right, they're Bind on Equip. While this might not seem to be significant, it's huge for the market. BoE means that when little Johnny gets all jacked up about starting a Warlock and buys all Netherweave bags for it, and then abandons it at level 6...I make money, and Johnny sells the bags to a vendor for a gold each.
Then, next month, when Johnny gets all excited about rolling a Druid....well, I'm sure you can see the pattern. I like Johnny. I like him a lot!
So, there you have it. Availability, value, and consumption combine to create a steady, profitible market where I can make some coin!
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business. Show all posts
Monday, July 27, 2009
Netherweave Bags
I'm a bit leery about posting this, but it's been a while since I wrote something useful.
Everybody knows that I sell Netherweave Bags on a fairly consistent basis, and that it's a pretty lucrative business. So, how do I do it?
First of all, since leaving Outlands on Vanco, I stopped collecting Netherweave cloth in the course of questing, so I buy all of my mats off the Auction House.
For those of you who don't know, 1 stack of Netherweave = 20 Netherweave = 4 Bolts of Netherweave = 1 Netherweave bag (with the addition of 1 Rune Thread).
Rune Thread costs Daxie 40 silver.
Stacks of Netherweave cost anywhere from 3 to 6 gold.
I sell Netherweave bags for either 9.25 gold or 10.25 gold, depending on the market.
There is one particular tactic that I use to make sure that I have bags to sell - Every time I log in on my bank toon, I buy up all the Netherweave cloth that is priced under the current market price.
Sometimes, I don't buy any because the price is at 115% or greater; other times, I buy up stacks and stacks and stacks because someone graciously posted 20 stacks at 75% of the market price. I love those guys.
So, my costs are averaged around 4.5 gold, and my sales are around 9.5 gold. 5 gold profit, or I double my money - either way you look at it, I'm makin' bank!
The sweet part of using this tactic is that I have deprived the other Netherweave bag sellers of cheap mats, and they either have to farm it up themselves or buy more expensive mats. Either way I come out good because most players won't go farm Netherweave and more expensive mats = more expensive bags = my bags sell.
Everybody knows that I sell Netherweave Bags on a fairly consistent basis, and that it's a pretty lucrative business. So, how do I do it?
First of all, since leaving Outlands on Vanco, I stopped collecting Netherweave cloth in the course of questing, so I buy all of my mats off the Auction House.
For those of you who don't know, 1 stack of Netherweave = 20 Netherweave = 4 Bolts of Netherweave = 1 Netherweave bag (with the addition of 1 Rune Thread).
Rune Thread costs Daxie 40 silver.
Stacks of Netherweave cost anywhere from 3 to 6 gold.
I sell Netherweave bags for either 9.25 gold or 10.25 gold, depending on the market.
There is one particular tactic that I use to make sure that I have bags to sell - Every time I log in on my bank toon, I buy up all the Netherweave cloth that is priced under the current market price.
Sometimes, I don't buy any because the price is at 115% or greater; other times, I buy up stacks and stacks and stacks because someone graciously posted 20 stacks at 75% of the market price. I love those guys.
So, my costs are averaged around 4.5 gold, and my sales are around 9.5 gold. 5 gold profit, or I double my money - either way you look at it, I'm makin' bank!
The sweet part of using this tactic is that I have deprived the other Netherweave bag sellers of cheap mats, and they either have to farm it up themselves or buy more expensive mats. Either way I come out good because most players won't go farm Netherweave and more expensive mats = more expensive bags = my bags sell.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
New Business
So, I'm sticking my nose into the Glyph business just to see how the market is and if there's room for another Inscriptionist.
My first impression is that there seems to be just one major player in the market. Of course, that's just one snapshot, so I'll need more information to make a better assessment.
I do have quite a bit of information on the market prices of the various glyphs, so I made a list of the more lucrative ones and created one of each. I also wrote down all of the glyphs, the ink used to make them, and the price that I listed it at. Yeah, a booking.
I made around 200 gold over night. Not bad, eh? My plan is to list just one of each of the profitable glyphs in hopes that I won't tank the market or attract the attention of the major player. Of course, I've targeted the glyphs above 10 gold, and the mats are pretty cheap (I think), so I could undercut pretty far before it becomes unprofitable. I'm already regretting selling all of the herbs I gathered on Vanco as he's been leveling Herbalism.
I could also look at the middle glyph market (from 3-10 gold) and see what the competition is like in that arena. Daxe is still working on Northrend Research, so I'm sure the glyphs I'm discovering will also have some marketablility.
My other business of selling Netherweave bags nets me anywhere from 30-80+ gold/day depending on how many times I have to post bags (4 at a time, no more) and the current market price.
And I need to grab a bunch of Borean Leather to convert to Heavy Borean Leather as I've sold all of my stacks. This activity is profitable; it's just not a quick profit. As per Greedy Goblin, I need to look at the Ruined Leather Scraps -> Light Leather and the Knothide Leather -> Heavy Knothide Leather conversions as well.
So, why the sudden interest in gold making? Well, Daxie got this Bronze Dragon from the timed Culling of Stratholme and can't use it until she gets epic flying. I know, I know, 3.2 is going to lower the cost (and I may wait), but I'd like to have the money to burn and not have it affect my liquidity. Yeah, that's it, I don't wanna be poor.
My first impression is that there seems to be just one major player in the market. Of course, that's just one snapshot, so I'll need more information to make a better assessment.
I do have quite a bit of information on the market prices of the various glyphs, so I made a list of the more lucrative ones and created one of each. I also wrote down all of the glyphs, the ink used to make them, and the price that I listed it at. Yeah, a booking.
I made around 200 gold over night. Not bad, eh? My plan is to list just one of each of the profitable glyphs in hopes that I won't tank the market or attract the attention of the major player. Of course, I've targeted the glyphs above 10 gold, and the mats are pretty cheap (I think), so I could undercut pretty far before it becomes unprofitable. I'm already regretting selling all of the herbs I gathered on Vanco as he's been leveling Herbalism.
I could also look at the middle glyph market (from 3-10 gold) and see what the competition is like in that arena. Daxe is still working on Northrend Research, so I'm sure the glyphs I'm discovering will also have some marketablility.
My other business of selling Netherweave bags nets me anywhere from 30-80+ gold/day depending on how many times I have to post bags (4 at a time, no more) and the current market price.
And I need to grab a bunch of Borean Leather to convert to Heavy Borean Leather as I've sold all of my stacks. This activity is profitable; it's just not a quick profit. As per Greedy Goblin, I need to look at the Ruined Leather Scraps -> Light Leather and the Knothide Leather -> Heavy Knothide Leather conversions as well.
So, why the sudden interest in gold making? Well, Daxie got this Bronze Dragon from the timed Culling of Stratholme and can't use it until she gets epic flying. I know, I know, 3.2 is going to lower the cost (and I may wait), but I'd like to have the money to burn and not have it affect my liquidity. Yeah, that's it, I don't wanna be poor.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
More thoughts on business
Business in WoW is just like business in real life - the basic action is to buy low and sell high.
If I can buy 10 Crystallized Fire (in the form of an Eternal) for 25 gold and sell the individual CF's for 5 gold or 50 gold for 10, I've just bought low and sold high.
If I can buy the Ardent Defender for 5 gold and sell it for 88 gold, I've just bought low and sold high.
If I can buy 4 Saronite bars, and 1 each of Eternal Water, Shadow, and Earth for approximately 40 gold and sell the Eternal Belt Buckle I make out of it for 60 gold, I've just bought low and sold high.
And finally, if I can buy 120 Borean leather for 48 gold and sell the 20 Heavy Borean leather in stacks of 4 @ 20 gold each, I've just bought low and sold high.
Now, you might say, but Rusty, you used your professions to transmute/manufacture/whatever the item to something of higher value. And I would agree with you for the latter two examples. But the first two are available to even my level one bank toon.
Ok, ok, the real focus of this entry is to emphasis the first part of the equation - buy low.
I'm doing pretty well in the Eternal Belt Buckle business, and I plan on working it long term. As such, I try to keep an eye out for cheap mats to keep my costs down. If I can get my costs down below 40 gold, more profit for me!
I am also trying to keep at least a stack of each of the mats in my bank so I can make the belt buckles whenever I need them. This allows me to ride out any spikes in the markets that come from patches, new PvP seasons, and the like.
So the previous two concepts put together means I look at the prices of all three Eternals as well as Saronite (bars and ore) on a daily basis. If mats below my preset cost for them and I don't already have my preset inventory level for them, I buy them for future belt buckles.
Of course, I'll have a bit of money tied up in inventory, but as I'm experiencing currently, you can't sell what you don't have the mats to make. For some reason, Eternal Waters on my server have shot up to unreasonable (read unprofitable) levels, so I had to wait for the price to drop before I could make more Eternal Belt Buckles because I didn't keep enough waters on hand.
Lesson learned.
If I can buy 10 Crystallized Fire (in the form of an Eternal) for 25 gold and sell the individual CF's for 5 gold or 50 gold for 10, I've just bought low and sold high.
If I can buy the Ardent Defender for 5 gold and sell it for 88 gold, I've just bought low and sold high.
If I can buy 4 Saronite bars, and 1 each of Eternal Water, Shadow, and Earth for approximately 40 gold and sell the Eternal Belt Buckle I make out of it for 60 gold, I've just bought low and sold high.
And finally, if I can buy 120 Borean leather for 48 gold and sell the 20 Heavy Borean leather in stacks of 4 @ 20 gold each, I've just bought low and sold high.
Now, you might say, but Rusty, you used your professions to transmute/manufacture/whatever the item to something of higher value. And I would agree with you for the latter two examples. But the first two are available to even my level one bank toon.
Ok, ok, the real focus of this entry is to emphasis the first part of the equation - buy low.
I'm doing pretty well in the Eternal Belt Buckle business, and I plan on working it long term. As such, I try to keep an eye out for cheap mats to keep my costs down. If I can get my costs down below 40 gold, more profit for me!
I am also trying to keep at least a stack of each of the mats in my bank so I can make the belt buckles whenever I need them. This allows me to ride out any spikes in the markets that come from patches, new PvP seasons, and the like.
So the previous two concepts put together means I look at the prices of all three Eternals as well as Saronite (bars and ore) on a daily basis. If mats below my preset cost for them and I don't already have my preset inventory level for them, I buy them for future belt buckles.
Of course, I'll have a bit of money tied up in inventory, but as I'm experiencing currently, you can't sell what you don't have the mats to make. For some reason, Eternal Waters on my server have shot up to unreasonable (read unprofitable) levels, so I had to wait for the price to drop before I could make more Eternal Belt Buckles because I didn't keep enough waters on hand.
Lesson learned.
Friday, January 16, 2009
A ledger
I have been very undisciplined in my business dealings in that I have not ...really... written anything down. I became pretty lazy early on and need to get on the stick.
The problem is that my Crystallized fire is selling so well that I'm comfortable with where I'm at financially. No, I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination (I couldn't afford epic flying for one of my toons currently, but I can afford Cold Weather flying), but I have enough.
On other aspects, I've lost track of my armor markets and have stopped monitoring (to my loss) the Heavy Borean leather market. My excuse? I've been sick. Yeah, that one will do.
What the real reason is is this: I start quick, get amped up about a subject, make all sorts of plans, and then the initial excitement wears off and I drop it. I've seen this over and over again in my life and have the financial and relational scars to prove it. It seems that when the situation requires real work with no fun that it loses its appeal.
The real work is presenting itself now in this business. I need to keep a ledger or booking. I'm not talking about a Greedy Goblin type where I analyze my profit/time spent, but rather a more simple list of mats cost and item sales values. A spreadsheet would suffice.
And once the initial mat list is done, I won't have to redo it! I would leave the cost columns blank for penciling in the current market value of the item as well as leaving the sales value column blank for the same purpose.
I just have to make it up...(*looks around for real work around the shop to avoid goofing off on a WoW spreadsheet at work*)
The problem is that my Crystallized fire is selling so well that I'm comfortable with where I'm at financially. No, I'm not rich by any stretch of the imagination (I couldn't afford epic flying for one of my toons currently, but I can afford Cold Weather flying), but I have enough.
On other aspects, I've lost track of my armor markets and have stopped monitoring (to my loss) the Heavy Borean leather market. My excuse? I've been sick. Yeah, that one will do.
What the real reason is is this: I start quick, get amped up about a subject, make all sorts of plans, and then the initial excitement wears off and I drop it. I've seen this over and over again in my life and have the financial and relational scars to prove it. It seems that when the situation requires real work with no fun that it loses its appeal.
The real work is presenting itself now in this business. I need to keep a ledger or booking. I'm not talking about a Greedy Goblin type where I analyze my profit/time spent, but rather a more simple list of mats cost and item sales values. A spreadsheet would suffice.
And once the initial mat list is done, I won't have to redo it! I would leave the cost columns blank for penciling in the current market value of the item as well as leaving the sales value column blank for the same purpose.
I just have to make it up...(*looks around for real work around the shop to avoid goofing off on a WoW spreadsheet at work*)
Monday, January 12, 2009
A level 1 bank toon cleans up
My bank toon is a level one pally, and as such, he has no professions, skills, etc that would allow him any sort of money making opportunities in the traditional game (outside of playing the AH).
One thing that my banker can do is create one Eternal whatever from 10 Crystallized whatevers; he can also make 10 Crystallized whatevers from one Eternal whatever. This is gold!
On my server, Crystallized Fire sells for around 40 gold/10 or about 4 gold each. An Eternal Fire sells for anywhere from 24 to 30ish each. All I have to do is buy an Eternal, break it into pieces, and relist it as individual Crystallized Fires. As with the Heavy Borean Leather, a number of crafters are looking for single Crystallized Fires and don't want to buy a whole Eternal.
And I help them out by doing that hard work of breaking those Eternals for them. Of course, they could do the same thing and sell the excess for a bit of a profit, but SSSHHHHHHH....don't tell them that!
And to everyone on Kael'thas, Alliance side, you are prohibited from doing this. Go, uh, farm them or something....
One thing that my banker can do is create one Eternal whatever from 10 Crystallized whatevers; he can also make 10 Crystallized whatevers from one Eternal whatever. This is gold!
On my server, Crystallized Fire sells for around 40 gold/10 or about 4 gold each. An Eternal Fire sells for anywhere from 24 to 30ish each. All I have to do is buy an Eternal, break it into pieces, and relist it as individual Crystallized Fires. As with the Heavy Borean Leather, a number of crafters are looking for single Crystallized Fires and don't want to buy a whole Eternal.
And I help them out by doing that hard work of breaking those Eternals for them. Of course, they could do the same thing and sell the excess for a bit of a profit, but SSSHHHHHHH....don't tell them that!
And to everyone on Kael'thas, Alliance side, you are prohibited from doing this. Go, uh, farm them or something....
Thoughts on Business
One can argue that aside from selling things that we find (I include equipment, farming proceeds, and cloth in this category), we either gather materials to make something that exceeds the value of the base materials or we break something into pieces, which are more valuable than the item that we broke.
Most times the making/breaking action is one way. If I DE an item, I can't use the Enchanting mats to recreate the item. If I smelt ore into bars or make Borean leather into Heavy Borean leather, I can't reverse the process.
I have found a couple of these one way markets that are somewhat profitable (plate armor, titanium rods, armor kits). Most of my created items that are meant for equipping present a risk in that I depend on someone needing to equip or use the item.
But one of my better ideas for the one way markets is simply gathering up mats and making them into higher level mats and finally listing them in small groups. Specifically, I buy Borean Leather for around 8 gold a stack. It takes 6 stacks to make one stack of Heavy Borean leather(HBL). That represents about 48 gold invested. Now, one stack of HBL sells for around 90 gold on my server - 42 gold profit! Not bad.
But where I am able to really get all that Heavy Borean leather sold is my strategy to list them in groups of four instead of twenty. See, most people who want to buy HBL don't need 20, so by listing the stacks of 4 I provide them with what is closer to what they need.
I end up charging, if I listed them as a stack of 20, 100 gold for 20, but because I break up the stack, I'm not affected by people selling that same stack for 90 gold.
So, it turns out that some crafters would rather buy two of my stacks at a higher cost/HBL rather than one of the 20 stacks that has a lower cost/HBL. The crafter saves money, I make money, and we all smile, except those trying to sell full stacks of HBL....
Now, if the Leatherworkers were a bit more saavy, they'd just go grab the Borean Leather and make their own HBL for cheaper than I'm listing it. But thankfully, they don't...
Next post is on the other side of the make/break issue: The two way market - 10 Crystallized -> 1 Eternal and 1 Eternal -> 10 Crystallized.
Most times the making/breaking action is one way. If I DE an item, I can't use the Enchanting mats to recreate the item. If I smelt ore into bars or make Borean leather into Heavy Borean leather, I can't reverse the process.
I have found a couple of these one way markets that are somewhat profitable (plate armor, titanium rods, armor kits). Most of my created items that are meant for equipping present a risk in that I depend on someone needing to equip or use the item.
But one of my better ideas for the one way markets is simply gathering up mats and making them into higher level mats and finally listing them in small groups. Specifically, I buy Borean Leather for around 8 gold a stack. It takes 6 stacks to make one stack of Heavy Borean leather(HBL). That represents about 48 gold invested. Now, one stack of HBL sells for around 90 gold on my server - 42 gold profit! Not bad.
But where I am able to really get all that Heavy Borean leather sold is my strategy to list them in groups of four instead of twenty. See, most people who want to buy HBL don't need 20, so by listing the stacks of 4 I provide them with what is closer to what they need.
I end up charging, if I listed them as a stack of 20, 100 gold for 20, but because I break up the stack, I'm not affected by people selling that same stack for 90 gold.
So, it turns out that some crafters would rather buy two of my stacks at a higher cost/HBL rather than one of the 20 stacks that has a lower cost/HBL. The crafter saves money, I make money, and we all smile, except those trying to sell full stacks of HBL....
Now, if the Leatherworkers were a bit more saavy, they'd just go grab the Borean Leather and make their own HBL for cheaper than I'm listing it. But thankfully, they don't...
Next post is on the other side of the make/break issue: The two way market - 10 Crystallized -> 1 Eternal and 1 Eternal -> 10 Crystallized.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Staying Ahead and Sinking Some Gold
I am not a business person; I repair medical equipment for a living at a Veteran's Affairs hospital. So a lot of my "Aha!" moments in this business endeavor are pretty much common sense to a person who is familiar with selling stuff. Heck, I've never even held down a retail job, so I don't even have that kind of experience to draw on.
With that said, let me clue you in on a little discovery I've made in the learning process.
Keep some Inventory on hand.
It turns out that I can't sell what I don't have - who knew?!?! Anyways, in an attempt to broaden my item base, I started making the Savage Saronite gear. I made one of each of the helm, legs, and chest. Just one....of each....
Now, on the good side, I figured if the items didn't sell, I wouldn't be out a whole lot. But what I really didn't count on was the items actually selling! And quickly at that. Ok, well, it was only the chest piece, but dang it sold fast!
So, I'm going to start keeping an inventory of items that have a good history of selling. I've already done it for Titanium Rods and Tempered Saronite Bracers, and just have to build up my stock of the Savage stuff.
And speaking of the rods, the undercutters filtered out, and I was the only one left....and then there were none on the AH. So, I'm thinking that I'll continue to list mine for my predetermined set price and sell them occasionally. I'm making about 21 gold per sale, so it's not a huge amount, but helps out.
That previous paragraph also brings to mind another aspect of my business that is very helpful (IMA[rrogant]O): I'm in no hurry to sell stuff. I have enough money to get by - yes, it'd be nice to power level my other professions, but it's not absolutely necessary.
I think when people get in a hurry to sell their wares, of course, prices drop and the bottom falls out of the market. As my short experience in the Titanium Rod market has shown, the patient person can sometimes wait out the undercutters and get his asking price. Of course at other times, like in the Nerubian Leg Armor kit market, it seems that the market hadn't settled out when I jumped in, and I'll probably end up selling my kits for less than I originally thought.
And, finally, a last thought that I'm chewing over: Customers. I'm thinking about trying to put together a clientele list. The idea is to provide consumables at a discounted price to dedicated customers. This would involve quite a bit more work than I'm currently involved with, but also has the potential to create a nice steady income.
One of the downsides include having to be available to provide the service (and this may be what ultimately kills the idea). I can try to counter this by getting my customers to buy in bulk and providing them with the names of my alts. But I can just see the time when I'm in the middle of a Heroic, and one of my customers has an urgent need for whatever. I think I just talked myself out of it...lol.
Of course, my customers would have to understand that I couldn't be available 24/7 and that I wouldn't be available even though I was online. I'll still muse on this and see what else floats to the top....(and we all know what floats!)
With that said, let me clue you in on a little discovery I've made in the learning process.
Keep some Inventory on hand.
It turns out that I can't sell what I don't have - who knew?!?! Anyways, in an attempt to broaden my item base, I started making the Savage Saronite gear. I made one of each of the helm, legs, and chest. Just one....of each....
Now, on the good side, I figured if the items didn't sell, I wouldn't be out a whole lot. But what I really didn't count on was the items actually selling! And quickly at that. Ok, well, it was only the chest piece, but dang it sold fast!
So, I'm going to start keeping an inventory of items that have a good history of selling. I've already done it for Titanium Rods and Tempered Saronite Bracers, and just have to build up my stock of the Savage stuff.
And speaking of the rods, the undercutters filtered out, and I was the only one left....and then there were none on the AH. So, I'm thinking that I'll continue to list mine for my predetermined set price and sell them occasionally. I'm making about 21 gold per sale, so it's not a huge amount, but helps out.
That previous paragraph also brings to mind another aspect of my business that is very helpful (IMA[rrogant]O): I'm in no hurry to sell stuff. I have enough money to get by - yes, it'd be nice to power level my other professions, but it's not absolutely necessary.
I think when people get in a hurry to sell their wares, of course, prices drop and the bottom falls out of the market. As my short experience in the Titanium Rod market has shown, the patient person can sometimes wait out the undercutters and get his asking price. Of course at other times, like in the Nerubian Leg Armor kit market, it seems that the market hadn't settled out when I jumped in, and I'll probably end up selling my kits for less than I originally thought.
And, finally, a last thought that I'm chewing over: Customers. I'm thinking about trying to put together a clientele list. The idea is to provide consumables at a discounted price to dedicated customers. This would involve quite a bit more work than I'm currently involved with, but also has the potential to create a nice steady income.
One of the downsides include having to be available to provide the service (and this may be what ultimately kills the idea). I can try to counter this by getting my customers to buy in bulk and providing them with the names of my alts. But I can just see the time when I'm in the middle of a Heroic, and one of my customers has an urgent need for whatever. I think I just talked myself out of it...lol.
Of course, my customers would have to understand that I couldn't be available 24/7 and that I wouldn't be available even though I was online. I'll still muse on this and see what else floats to the top....(and we all know what floats!)
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
More impressions of my business
It's looking like I caught the market in a bit of a lull when I jumped in. Several of my items are now the highest priced items available as the undercutters have swooped in.
So, I'm changing some tactics. I continue to list my items one at a time, but I'm looking for new markets and marketable items. In other words, I'm trying to stay ahead of the market and not get stuck on a few items.
For instance: Last night, I was looking at the other Tempered Saronite items to see how viable the markets were. Specifically, I was looking at the helm to determine the mats cost and what I could sell it for, when the only one on the AH (the one I was looking at) disappeared. Hmmmm...someone just bought it, and there were now a grand total of zero on the AH.
I quickly bought the mats for two, had Nitro make them, and listed one. It sold fairly quickly last night, and I listed the second one. So far, the undercutters haven't shown up, so we'll just have to see how long the market holds. I did list the helm for slightly higher than Auctioneer suggested due to it being the only one available.
A note on mats, specifically metals and leather: I always check the prices of both ore and bars when looking for metals. Sometimes, ore is cheaper than bars, other times, bars are cheaper than ore (and yes, I account for the 2 ore to make one bar).
It's really interesting when the one is significantly cheaper than the other since I don't remember getting any skill points from smelting Cobalt, Saronite, or Titanium.
I do the same for Heavy Borean leather and (regular) Borean leather. Most of the time buying the Borean leather and creating the Heavies is cheaper, significantly cheaper! As in, I buy a stack of regular leather for ~8, which makes 3 Heavy Borean leathers. Those same Heavy Borean leathers go for 5 gold each. I could double my money just by making regulars into Heavies!
Anyways, I was able to sell enough product to splurge on an Aviary Guardsman's Hauberk for 225 gold for DV. He's very happy!
So, I'm changing some tactics. I continue to list my items one at a time, but I'm looking for new markets and marketable items. In other words, I'm trying to stay ahead of the market and not get stuck on a few items.
For instance: Last night, I was looking at the other Tempered Saronite items to see how viable the markets were. Specifically, I was looking at the helm to determine the mats cost and what I could sell it for, when the only one on the AH (the one I was looking at) disappeared. Hmmmm...someone just bought it, and there were now a grand total of zero on the AH.
I quickly bought the mats for two, had Nitro make them, and listed one. It sold fairly quickly last night, and I listed the second one. So far, the undercutters haven't shown up, so we'll just have to see how long the market holds. I did list the helm for slightly higher than Auctioneer suggested due to it being the only one available.
A note on mats, specifically metals and leather: I always check the prices of both ore and bars when looking for metals. Sometimes, ore is cheaper than bars, other times, bars are cheaper than ore (and yes, I account for the 2 ore to make one bar).
It's really interesting when the one is significantly cheaper than the other since I don't remember getting any skill points from smelting Cobalt, Saronite, or Titanium.
I do the same for Heavy Borean leather and (regular) Borean leather. Most of the time buying the Borean leather and creating the Heavies is cheaper, significantly cheaper! As in, I buy a stack of regular leather for ~8, which makes 3 Heavy Borean leathers. Those same Heavy Borean leathers go for 5 gold each. I could double my money just by making regulars into Heavies!
Anyways, I was able to sell enough product to splurge on an Aviary Guardsman's Hauberk for 225 gold for DV. He's very happy!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
24 hour impression of my business
Most of my impressions on my new endeavor come from last night and early this morning. I have not gotten home from work yet to see what the day brought, but since today is maintenance day, I don't expect a lot.
My tactic for keeping the prices up on my goods is to only list one item at a time. When that item sells, I list another one. Using this technique, I've sold a couple of Nerubian Leg Armor kits, a Titanium rod, and a pair of Tempered Saronite Bracers, although a caveat is due on that particular set of bracers as they were a flip (bought them for 22 gold, sold them for 75 gold).
I'm already seeing the market soften for my items as other sellers are starting to undercut my prices. I'm not sure if I happened to catch the market on a good day - before the regulars listed their goods, or if there was a surge in manufacturing to level skills, and I'm seeing the one time posting of surplus items.
I suppose time will tell. I'm starting to look into other items that may be profitable, namely Greater Planer Essence. One of these little sparklies sells for around 10 gold on my server, and if I can figure out a reliable item to disenchant to get it, I may start up making that item as well. I'm thinking that tailoring would be the easiest profession to make a go of this.
Teurion has also indicated that there are a couple of other Blacksmith items for which end game tanks are looking; I'll need to check out their markets as well.
My tactic for keeping the prices up on my goods is to only list one item at a time. When that item sells, I list another one. Using this technique, I've sold a couple of Nerubian Leg Armor kits, a Titanium rod, and a pair of Tempered Saronite Bracers, although a caveat is due on that particular set of bracers as they were a flip (bought them for 22 gold, sold them for 75 gold).
I'm already seeing the market soften for my items as other sellers are starting to undercut my prices. I'm not sure if I happened to catch the market on a good day - before the regulars listed their goods, or if there was a surge in manufacturing to level skills, and I'm seeing the one time posting of surplus items.
I suppose time will tell. I'm starting to look into other items that may be profitable, namely Greater Planer Essence. One of these little sparklies sells for around 10 gold on my server, and if I can figure out a reliable item to disenchant to get it, I may start up making that item as well. I'm thinking that tailoring would be the easiest profession to make a go of this.
Teurion has also indicated that there are a couple of other Blacksmith items for which end game tanks are looking; I'll need to check out their markets as well.
Monday, January 5, 2009
The beauty of professions
I've been reading a bit over at the Greedy Goblin, and I'm trying out some manufacturing businesses.
I'm trying to take a pure business approach to these endeavors, so I'm not farming the mats, but rather, I'm looking at buying the raw materials and creating the item. I'm not worried about getting skill points (although for a couple of the items, I will get them for a little bit), and I want to make sure I don't flood the market with my product. On the other hand, I will not be trying to monopolize my chosen markets either.
For the most part, I will be focusing on item enhancements and consumables, which should always be in demand. I have two items that may or may not be profitable due to the small markets for them and the one time purchase nature of the items.
So, what are my items? First, the one time purchase markets:
Titanium Rods.
Needed by Enchanters.
Mat cost ~24 gold
Sell for ~45 gold
Profit ~21 gold
Tempered Saronite Bracers.
Needed by Plate wearing Tanks.
Mat cost ~26 gold
Sell for ~75 gold
Profit ~49 gold
As I've said, these markets depend on people making a one time purchase, so I'll have to see how fast the items sell.
The other items are all enhancements.
Nerubian Leg Armor
Needed by cheap Attack Power DPSers not wanting to invest in the high end leg armor.
Mat Cost ~30 gold
Sell for ~60 gold
Profit ~30 gold
Eternal Belt Buckle
Needed by everyone for an additional gem socket.
Mat Cost ~40 gold
Sell for ~60 gold
Profit ~20 gold
Mammoth Cutter ammo x10
Needed by gun hunters
Mat Cost ~35 gold
Sell for ~80 gold
Profit ~45 gold
Saronite Razorheads arrows x10
Needed by bow hunters
Mat Cost ~30 gold
Sell for ~80 gold
Profit ~50 gold
Now, all of these prices are approximations (as designated by the "~"), and I will try to keep you updated on how the items sell. And, by the way, I am using my Engineer, Leatherworking, and Blacksmithing professions on my various toons to create all of these goodies!
I'm trying to take a pure business approach to these endeavors, so I'm not farming the mats, but rather, I'm looking at buying the raw materials and creating the item. I'm not worried about getting skill points (although for a couple of the items, I will get them for a little bit), and I want to make sure I don't flood the market with my product. On the other hand, I will not be trying to monopolize my chosen markets either.
For the most part, I will be focusing on item enhancements and consumables, which should always be in demand. I have two items that may or may not be profitable due to the small markets for them and the one time purchase nature of the items.
So, what are my items? First, the one time purchase markets:
Titanium Rods.
Needed by Enchanters.
Mat cost ~24 gold
Sell for ~45 gold
Profit ~21 gold
Tempered Saronite Bracers.
Needed by Plate wearing Tanks.
Mat cost ~26 gold
Sell for ~75 gold
Profit ~49 gold
As I've said, these markets depend on people making a one time purchase, so I'll have to see how fast the items sell.
The other items are all enhancements.
Nerubian Leg Armor
Needed by cheap Attack Power DPSers not wanting to invest in the high end leg armor.
Mat Cost ~30 gold
Sell for ~60 gold
Profit ~30 gold
Eternal Belt Buckle
Needed by everyone for an additional gem socket.
Mat Cost ~40 gold
Sell for ~60 gold
Profit ~20 gold
Mammoth Cutter ammo x10
Needed by gun hunters
Mat Cost ~35 gold
Sell for ~80 gold
Profit ~45 gold
Saronite Razorheads arrows x10
Needed by bow hunters
Mat Cost ~30 gold
Sell for ~80 gold
Profit ~50 gold
Now, all of these prices are approximations (as designated by the "~"), and I will try to keep you updated on how the items sell. And, by the way, I am using my Engineer, Leatherworking, and Blacksmithing professions on my various toons to create all of these goodies!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
