In my most recent poll, Gold Making tips came in 2nd place on what some of my readers wanted me to write about next, so I'm going to discuss some of my Auction House strategies. I will write about Raiding and DPS tomorrow, when the poll actually ends.Playing the auction house can be extremely profitable if you know what to look for. The problem is, finding your niche.
My recommendation is not to try and cover too many areas. Find 3 or 4, maybe even 5. If you cover more than that, then your funding is spread thin, and it actually becomes quite time consuming.
What I will focus on here is buying and reselling. I cover 3 main areas, and I am one of the top sellers of these items on my server. I also venturing into several other areas for the purpose of writing posts for this blog. These are the most successful AH methods for me the last couple months.
Level 25-29 Twink Gear
This is probably my biggest mover in terms of how quickly I turn over items. I buy gear every day I log on and resell it. There is always level 25-29 gear that is under priced. Why? My theory is that there are several beginning players still in the game that don't realize what their drops are worth. You also have many, many kids in the game at low levels who may or may not understand the functions of the AH. Finally, there are even normal players like you and I who just do not realize the market for these items.
Specifically, I look for the following items:
Helms (Green Quality)
Starting at level 25, players get their first taste of head armor with stats. These are the crown jewel of the twink 25-29 gear, and my top money maker.
Top 10 Helms and what I sell them for:
- Leather of the Monkey - 75-100g
- Mail of the Bear - 40-50g
- Leather Emblazoned Hat - 40-50g
- Mail Glimmering Mail Coif - 30-35g
- Cloth of the Eagle - 30-35g
- Leather of the Bear - 30-35g
- Slayer's Skullcap - 30-35g
- Mail of the Gorilla - 30-35g
- Mail of the Monkey - 25-30g
- Leather of Stamina - 25-30g
Helms to avoid are anything with spirit as a stat. These do not sell well at all, so avoid them if at all possible. Cloth helms of the Owl do okay, but nothing huge.
Mail Gear
Look for items of the Bear and of the Tiger. The big sellers are the chest (15g), shoulders (10g), and legs (15g). Watch out for the Green Iron Leggings. Blacksmiths leveling up will dump these in mass quantities on the AH, so avoid mail legs when you see these up.
Leather Gear
Huge sellers and the scarcest of the three types of gear. Of the monkey and tiger is what you're aiming for. I sell chest gear (25g), legs (20g), shoulder (15g), gloves-belt-boots (10-15g).
Cloth Gear
Looking for of the Eagle, and top pieces are chest (10g), legs (10-15g), and shoulders (10-15g).
Weapons
- The Butcher - Will sell for 150-200g, purchased at no greater than 125g.
- Zealot Blade - Will sell for 150-200g, purchased at no greater than 125g.
- Crystal Starfire Medallion (25-30g)
- Monkey (20-25g)
- Tiger (15g)
- Bear (15g)
- Eagle (10g)
- Gorilla (10g)
- Falcon (10g)
- Agility (10g)
- Stamina (7.5g)
- Strength (5g)
This is another of my big money makers. Recently, I've seen some pretty stupid AH listings of this, so I know this isn't an uncommon method, but here's how to do it right. Blade of Misfortune is one of the best PvP and leveling weapons at level 60. Usable by Paladins, Death Knights, and Warriors, it's in high demand almost constantly.
People often mis-price this in the AH, so here's how I nail it every single time. These rarely make it through a 48-hour period without getting sold.
- Buy at 250g or less (If there are multiple under this price, buy them all)
- Sell at anywhere from 350g to 500g
- Anything above 500g is way too much. You're wasting deposit money.
When Paladins and Warriors hit 40, they gain the ability to wear plate armor. The usually has a good choice of gear, except that the prices are outrageous. 125g for gloves of the Bear. Come on! You can play this game, and make some money, but not make people laugh at your prices.
- Buy at 6g or less, any plate gear lvl 40-41
- Helms (25-30g)
- Chest, Legs (20g)
- Shoulders (15-20g)
- Gloves, Belt, Bracers, Boots (10-15g)
Titanium Ore & Titansteel Bars
With the new ability to prospect titanium ore for epic gems, their value has skyrocketed. The shortage of titanium ore for other professions due to the JC demand has spiked up titansteel bars as well.
Since prices vary greatly from serer to server, and these items are always moving very rapidly, it is hard ot put a set price on them. But for me, I tend to buy Titanium Ore if it's about 20% below the other AH prices. Titansteel Bars I purchase at 100-110g and resell for 125g-140g per bar.
