With the fairly recent news that Diablo 3 is coming (Diablo III, Diablo 3?) I became really excited. To me the series is one of those that will go down as one of the all time best. While I don’t prefer it to Heroes of Might & Magic II or III, nor Ultima, nor Deus Ex, it is right up there at the very top of the 2nd tier of games I’ve ever liked. You see, it created an addictive experience almost better than anything else out there… but it didn’t quite capture the emotional experience that some of my other favorites did, for me at least.

What makes this exciting beyond the great and I’m sure totally different gameplay between the classes, is two things. Definitely the items. I mean, that’s where the addiction is… well, where it mainly is. Diablo games have really revolutionized loot. The entire gameplay addiction is based on it. And I am stoked and impatient to see what those new prefixes and suffixes and loot types and item slots are.

The other addiction for me, and you won’t find this surprising given where I’m writing this, is that I’d often just log on to Battle.net to accumulate wealth. Not play the game, but play people. There’s a certain streetwise attitude you need to take within the free barter system in order to get wealth. And I think some of that I took with me into Everquest or World of Warcraft when I deal with people to negotiate for items and wealth.

It was Diablo and Diablo II that first got me addicted to acquiring money or items in a game with others. So I’m wondering… will Diablo 3 ditch the barter system in favor of an auction house like World of Warcraft? Will it have both? Sure, in World of Warcraft there’s the trade channel and that can be profitable, but it’s nothing like what you find in Diablo II where the only method of trade is hawking your wares in public at breakneck speed.

Well, I have no answer for that. But in the chance that D3 will keep or enhance the barter system, here’s a brief primer.

A barter system is one in which players trade items (or gold) for other items. The base currency is often not gold but some other value, like gems, bottlecaps (hey there Fallout), or Stones of Jordan. Ah, the SOJ. I haven’t visited Diablo II in quite awhile, but when last I was there, it was the Stone of Jordan, the “unique” ring that was the basis for all major transactions.

If you had a good weapon and wanted to sell it, you’d type in some cool ascii text attention grabber like:
//–~~GREAT WEAPON OF FIERY WRATH~~–// only 2 SOJ!

And then you’d watch it scroll down almost faster than you could read it. So you’d copy ctrl-c and paste it ctrl-v, and when a page or so scrolled down, you’d send it out again for a bit. Sound exciting yet? Well, that in itself wasn’t. The exciting part was actually bartering with people about what you had, what they had and what kind of deal you could end up with. In a barter system, usually both people are satisfied and it isn’t so much the customer and proprietor rather than two mutually satisfied traders. The best part was that after an hour in the trade channel, if you were good, your character was significantly upgraded from what they had before. And that is the beauty. In WoW, everything sells for gold (well most everything), while in Diablo, you could actually directly get better items with your loot without having first to exchange it for gold.

I’ll be talking about how to trade in a barter system, about what happened to my Amazon character and why I quit the game cold turkey for more than 6 months in a future post. See you next time.

When Wrath of the Lich King launches, your level 70 bind on equip items will become less expensive, immediately. You’ll be finding new (and expensive) greens that match the epic or rare you were using. So how do you combat this?

Well, immediately, as it happened also in Burning Crusade, you can buy greens with good stats. It’s a decent racket while everyone is scrambling to learn what the new items and stats are. It cools down fairly quickly but you should be able to get a few good weeks up to a month or two out of it, with dwindling prices as the new rares start showing up on the auction house.

Also, start looking for *anything* at all that is new. Be warned that the prices will be in high flux. They’ll be wild, and spectacular. But… the great absolutely wonderful thing is that some will be spectacularly low. This is where you make your killing. Search often the same way I’ve been teaching on this site, by category and in order of highest profit to lowest potential profit. That means recipes, rares, epics, etc. There are lots of categories out there to tap into.

Remember what sells though when everyone is trying to scramble to level 80? It’s not armor so much (though deals will be had in that business). It’s weapons. Everyone wants the newest, greatest killing machine… since the game, afterall, is based on combat.

So, watch out for scams and steals when you go searching the AH right when Lich King opens. If you’re really shrewd, do some upfront research to find out what’s new in Lich King before it opens. Check Blizzard’s site, and the sites where they’re going NDA-lift crazy.

Thanks and see you soon.

Tags: auction house, lich king, new market

I’ve been digging for a few hours for actual studies to support a peak time economic theory, but have thus far come up short, so if anyone finds a link, please feel free to contact me.

There are two main peak times in an MMO. The every day peak hours and the “entire weekend”. In any adult-played MMO, where work becomes a factor, peak hours every day are around 7-8pm. This is when the majority of people are logged on and searching or posting. Then there is the weekend. The population on weekends is noticeably higher in any MMO, and the peak hours are greatly expanded, from about 3pm to 10pm, with many more people logged on throughout the day.

During peak hours you’ll find the auction house fuller and more rife with deals, but you’ll also have to weed through more of the bad during these same times. So what does this mean for the keen auctioneer? Should you save your best, costliest items for the weekend?

For the answers, let’s look at exactly what types of items and transactions are affected during peak hours.

During peak hours you’ll have more competition and prices will generally be lower. So on the weekdays, you’ll typically find higher prices for most everything. This has held true throughout my 3 years of experience in World of Warcraft. That means that if you want to sell something at a higher markup with perhaps slightly less recognition, the weekday or off hours is the time to do it. I have had great success selling during the weekdays and in fact other than making sure to search for deals on the weekend, typically make no other distinction. My prices are usually based on general market desire anyway, not on finicky weekday to weekend differences, and priced accordingly. However, there are exceptions.

Peak hours, especially during the weekend, attract more casual players, so as a buyer, this is the absolute best time to look for deals. If you look 3 times on the weekend vs. 3 times during the week, the same person on the weekend would theoretically be much richer after a set time. There is not only more to look at and thus more to find, but casual players can be a big source of opportunity as well. They (the more casual player base) a) spend less time (because they usually have less time) worrying about what to price something at the auction house and b) more often fail know the actual value of an item, which both lead to many more opportunities for the intelligent searcher.

For selling your own items, for the rarer, costlier item, you’ll have an easier time selling it on the weekend, but you should definitely put it up during the weekdays as well, as they attract more niche buyers and you usually don’t have to worry about competition with the same item or competing for general pricing in the same category.

When you hawk your items on the trade channel, the weekend and peak hours are the best time to use, though I have nothing against using the trade channel from time to time regardless of time of day. More people mean more exposure to the same item and even a slight feeling of competition between the masses for one advertised item is a good thing. Be somewhat warned that if you advertise when few people are around, those few are usually the hardcore or vocal minority, and you are perhaps more apt to get some negative feedback in the trade channel regarding the price or how much that item just stinks. Dealing with “hecklers” in the trade channel is another post however.

I do not claim to be an expert in commodities, but know that prices are lower on the weekend with all the competition so were I to try and corner a market I would want to do it in off hours, non-weekends, and buy up some of the low weekend prices on those same commodities for selling during the week. In fact, prices can wildly fluctuate in commodities such as trade goods over the weekend, so if you buy in bulk, your profit margins are going to be better if you use a strategy such as this.

Don’t leave out the weekdays or off-hours for finding deals however. On many occasions I have found an “impossible” deal in the wee hours and have wondered how it was that I found it. Well without as much exposure, sometimes you can capitalize on deals that almost wait for someone to find them. The fewer people, often the longer they wait. During the weekend, with the volume so high, amazing deals can also get lost in the magnitude of auctions so the general point is, though you are able usually to find deals at all times of the week, if you had to specialize, look on the weekend a few times a day.

Happy auctioneering!

Tags: General tips, Timing

In my March to 1000g podcast series I go through several trade channel negotiations to make big deals, exactly what I say and do and think. I believe that this topic is itself worthy of a small series and so I’m going to cover the Art of Negotiating in several posts. These techniques will be applicable any time you chat or barter with others, and will be particularly effective when the trade channel helps open up negotiations. The first part is attitude.

• Always be open to negotiation. It is the basis of trade. People expect it from honest, real people, (and even dishonest people) and respect you when you budge a little but not a lot. But you’re not necessarily after they’re respect, you want profit. Negotiation has the benefit of making things happen - it’s like the enzyme in any deal. A stubborn seller gets two choices: either a yes, or a no. Either 100% of what they’re asking, or nothing. A negotiator gets 100%, 50%, or 150% of what they really want, but rarely nothing. Their money is active and working even when they make less of it.

  How many times have you wanted something and asked what the going price was, and the seller wouldn’t budge? C’est la vie for you right? But if the seller would be willing to go down even a little, it would make you more willing to go up even a little. A deal is eventually made and you’re both happy, well… happier than if he still had it and you still didn’t. That little bit more is easy to rationalize after all.

  The great thing about negotiations is that whatever it is that you’re negotiating usually starts with both sides already nearer an extreme position than to a bargaining position. This usually means that, whether retail or the AH, prices are usually set at the ideal price people thing that buyers or other opposite side is willing to accept. Retailers try and lock in the price with a huge profit. So do sellers at the auction house. Yet, most people will accept lower, even just a little, if they can sell it and make a profit right now.

• Keep your emotions in check - at least until you have money in hand, and don’t let the other you’re bargaining with notice it. High emotions can escalate any reservations that a buyer might have, leading to preventing a deal from taking place even if one was in motion - the others can sense that you are excited just by your speech and that you just want to make the deal. They will often then bow out at the last minute due to a gut feeling.

  This is especially important when closing the deal. When negotiating a fair price, use phrases like “would you be open to negotiation?” or if you’re selling something, “the average price is usually xyz, but if you can do n, then it’s yours”. No emotion, just business, and friendly as well. People are open to this kind of bargaining on the whole. Those that aren’t are usually brash people you don’t want to be dealing with anyway. Even if you can’t go lower, at least be friendly about it: “sorry, but 300 was as low as I wanted to go”. What you are really doing is giving them every chance to change their mind. If you’re curt, smug, stubborn, you’re essentially willing all but the desperate to go away and not bother you with every sentence. Often, by being polite and keeping your emotions pleasant and business like, you will profit in the end.

  Be sure that before you have money in hand, you are not over-excited, and maintain a business-like nature. This will focus both parties into completing the deal. Then, feel free to open up and even make them feel good about it by using the truth: “I’ve heard from others that it’s a nice item” or if nothing else, “thanks, and good luck!”.

• Know what you want - even if you don’t. Have a number if you’re offering to buy something, and if you’re not sure what it should be, make it up. This implies confidence even if you’re not. If they in turn laugh, you can too but it’s not too late to say “ok, I’m willing to go 350″ and be serious. If the buyer offers you too low a number, do not just say “that’s too low” because that begins to escalate the emotion. Say something like “the item averages much higher but I’d be willing to take xyz” or “if you can offer 100g more, then it is yours”. The point is, do not just hope that they will magically offer you an ideal amount. Have some sort of idea of your own magic number. If you’re unsure, consult like items in the auction house, or on a website such as Allakhazam before you’re selling. Another popular method is to just simply ask others: “what is the usual going price for xyz?” Many will be more than willing to quote you a number.
• Do not let the losses get you down. Of course it can be frustrating (even very much so) but realize that everyone at some point loses money, simply because it takes some amount of risk to make money. If you’re not risking anything, you’re not making as much as you could be. It will happen on occasion and is part of the natural cycle of making money. When you know you’re heading for a loss, it is important to focus. Make your goal to minimize it and move on as quickly as possible. Focus on selling that item, reclaiming as much of the money spent as possible, and using it to buy something else with a better profit margin.

  Often when I’m trying to get rid of something quickly, I will simultaneously put it in the auction house as high as I think it will sell, but also be pro-active and advertise it on the trade channel, putting special focus on the item so I can get it out of my inventory and move on. If I manage to make a deal in trade or chat, I’ll cancel the auction house and personally deliver it. Don’t ever tell them they can buy it in the auction house when you can deliver it in person and make sure the deal is done.

Tags: negotiation, trade channel

First, I’d like to give a nod to Og who’s similar auction house website can be found here: http://ogsledger.blogspot.com/. He’s contributed to this site’s comments and has been a supporter of my tutorial podcast series (even though his attention span needs a little work ;). His site is an interesting one and he covers actually a different market than myself, that of commodities and lower priced bargains. He’s also a big fan of auctioneer and has provided some great tutorials!

Here’s a subject that I’ve touched on a couple times, and others have mentioned. Now I’ll cover it in more depth. Having an auction house alt (alternate character) in any game is important for several reasons. First, a definition:

An auction house alt (AH alt) is another character you’ve created that “parks” him/herself right near an auction house/broker/etc., receives incoming items from your main playable characters and then you login to the alt, collect said incoming items, proceed to the auction house to post them / search for deals, and then log off. If your other playable characters need money, the AH alt sends it to them, but they should keep enough for necessities in any case.

Just having an AH alt can benefit you in these ways:

• Time Savings: When you’re out adventuring and accumulate items that you need to sell, should you just cut it short, take a trip back to the city with the auction house where you can unload your goods, then come back later to check to see if they’ve sold or repost the same items? That’s a lot of time spent running back and forth that can be better spent earning prestige, levels, and being out with your friends.
• Inventory Space: How many of you have gone off adventuring with your main character only to have all your bags filled up and no where to unload? That’s in part what makes bags in these types of games valuable. Will there be an MMO that has infinite inventory space? Maybe you might then be able to take this one off the list, but managing a whole lot of items would probably be something that many of us would procrastinate in doing any way, so the alt is the better, proactive bet.
• Money Management: If you have several characters making money using the auction house, it becomes an organizational mess to figure out where your money is, what items you have for sale and by who, and whom (did I get that right?) you need to go to for money when you need it. Instead, if you keep all of your disposable income on just one character, and items, it becomes easy to allocate money and incoming items. Just give your played characters enough to persist, and perhaps a little more if you can spare it for those unpredictable expenses.
• Your Reputation: Whether your post your items at sky high prices (which I don’t do or recommend), or if you want anonymity for any reason, having your AH alt’s name out there for everyone to see lets you play your other characters knowing that they’re reputation is safe. This is especially good if you buy low/sell high, which some will look on as unfair. In any case, it’s easier to create a new level 1 character than rebuild your reputation if something goes awry.

Tags: auction house alt

Welcome to the last of the tutorial series where I take a brand new character (Night Elf Druid) from scratch on a brand new server and earn 1000 gold in the game World of Warcraft. This is without the help of any addons, extra characters, or of course, begging!

This is the podcast I didn’t think I’d make. Instead I thought I’d make one with about 500g several days ago, a step backward because most of my money was tied up. With a little persistence, however… things happen. I also attempted to follow the advice of a poster on the main page with regard to normalizing the audio quality so hopefully it will sound a tad better for some people.

End Note: This is the last podcast of this series. I thank you very much for listening and hope I helped to perhaps open your eyes to another way of making money, and that it’s definitely possible without help… once you know how.

To listen to the 7th (and last) Podcast, go here:
WoW March to 1000 Gold: 7th Podcast, 2172g26s

As for what happens now? I am open to other suggestions for podcasts, experiments, or series. I had a great time with this, and would definitely do more. With regard to the site, expect more tips, and we have decided to try another MMO in addition to World of Warcraft so will let you know how the economy looks to a newbie like me in that game as well.

Tags: auction house tips, Just Starting, march to 1000 gold

Welcome once again to this tutorial series where I take a brand new character (Night Elf Druid) from scratch on a brand new server and earn 1000 gold in the game World of Warcraft. This is without the help of any addons, extra characters, or of course, begging!

This is the podcast where I make many smaller deals (10-20g +) and some larger to catapult myself into a different league altogether. Enjoy!

To listen to the 6th Podcast, go here:
WoW March to 1000 Gold: 6th Podcast, 643g26s

Thanks for listening, and see you the next!

Tags: auction house tips, Just Starting, march to 1000 gold

Welcome once again to this tutorial series where I take a brand new character (Night Elf Druid) from scratch on a brand new server and earn 1000 gold in the game World of Warcraft. This is without the help of any addons, extra characters, or of course, begging!

This is an exciting podcast. The lessons are bigger, the money is bigger, and it’s multiple sessions of “work” all condensed into one podcast. Enjoy!

To listen to the 5th Podcast, go here:
WoW March to 1000 Gold: 5th Podcast, 25g14s

Thanks for listening, and see you the next!

Tags: auction house tips, Just Starting, march to 1000 gold

Thanks again to those who have given feedback, and that even if you haven’t, it’s my hope you’re getting something from this tutorial series. This is where I take a brand new character (Night Elf Druid) from scratch on a brand new server and earn 1000 gold in the game World of Warcraft. This is without the help of any addons, extra characters, or of course, begging!

In this podcast, things start to heat up financially. Though I begin not having spent all the remaining money in my account for the first time (97s was in my account when I checked the mailbox), things are looking up fairly quickly.

To listen to the 4th Podcast, go here:
WoW March to 1000 Gold: 4th Podcast, 2g97s

Thanks for listening, and see you the next!

Thanks again to those who have given feedback, and that even if you haven’t, it’s my hope you’re getting something from this tutorial series. This is where I take a brand new character (Night Elf Druid) from scratch on a brand new server and earn 1000 gold in the game World of Warcraft. This is without the help of any addons, extra characters, or of course, begging!

In this podcast, which is significantly shorter than the last, I make several more buys and play a little more with searching in the very early stages of having a lot of money… which is inevitable!

To listen to the 3rd Podcast, go here:
WoW March to 1000 Gold: 3rd Podcast, 1g95s

Thanks for listening, and see you the next!

Tags: auction house tips, Just Starting, march to 1000 gold