Understanding Your Economy

Each server in WoW has a uniquely balanced economy. A successful Auction House shark needs to understand the laws of supply and demand for their server. Some things to consider!

Server age. Is it a new server? If so, try to consider what YOU needed when first beginning on a server. Low level crafting goods, for example, would be in demand. High-level goods and items you might want to hold onto, until demand increases and drives prices up! If it's an old, well-established server, don't be afraid to raise the price on your good, low-level gear, especially good twinking gear like The Butcher. People will be rolling new toons, funded by high-level alts, and they can afford to pay extra for the convenience of buying good gear rather than finding it.

Patience! Before putting an item up for auction, consider the competition. If they are under value, don't sell yet, because you won't make maximum profit. Bidding wars can drive prices of items down for weeks at a time, especially for items in high supply like crafting materials. But eventually, prices will go back up. Wait for this! Don't be so focused on making a profit that you limit yourself. Alternatively, BUY LIKE CRAZY when prices are down. Then when they go back up, you can sell at a profit. It's risky, and can sometimes take time to come to fruit, but it can be worth it.

World Events. When a new instance is opened, do some research. What kind of monsters are in it? Before AQ opened up, the most expensive +resist gear was fire, because it was essential to surviving in Molten Core. After AQ opened up, the price of +nature resist gear skyrocketed, because it was suddenly in high demand. Also, the price of all the items needed for the turn-in quests to open AQ jumped by around %1000. Medium leather that was going for a gold a stack suddenly costed 10 gold a stack, and it was selling, because EVERYONE wanted it.

Do your research, everyone, I can't stress this enough. It isn't sufficient to simply use Auctioneer blindly. Yes, you can make a profit this way. But if you are able to understand, predict, and take advantage of the demands of the market, you stand to really make some serious gold. Just remember, you're a player too. If you see a shortage of something, or wish there was more of something available, you aren't alone - a lot of others probably agree with you. But if you're the first to take advantage of it, you win.

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