Don’t be afraid to sell off an item for slightly less if it looks like you won’t make a profit. Don’t hold onto it forever for a few % profit. Just dump it and find another deal. You want your money to be in circulation, working for you, not static.

I can recall several times where I got caught spending most of my money (when not having a ton) on one item I thought would sell, having it up for a few days, and then during that few days seeing other, more lucrative, smaller priced items go on sale. That’s when it was frustrating. Just sell off your item for a smaller profit if this is the case and get back working.

Here is when you need to cut your losses:

• Money is locked up: You’re running short on money and have had the same item up for a few days without being able to take advantage of other offers, potentially more lucrative.
• Cornering a market isn’t working: So you find a niche which for a little while works. Perhaps it is enchanting supplies in relative high demand, and you buy up all of them at a discount, and resell for a small profit. (This is micromanaging and what I no longer do, but did once.) Well along comes another person who significantly undercuts you and the demand, due to higher supply, suddenly dwindles. It’s now his or yours and of course they’ll choose his. Only problem is, that he keeps putting them up and doesn’t seem to run out of supply. It’s time for you to move on to greener pastures.
• Your one of a kind item is now two: You spent a lot of money to buy up an expensive item, one that you figured would take a little while to sell anyway. Now there’s two on the market. Where’d that other come from? No matter, undercut the other person, get rid of it, and move on. You can wait it out if you have the time and extra money to spend on something else, and there are techniques to make the process go faster, but I’ll get to them in another post.
• Market has changed: here’s one that happens on occasion and will happen to you, too. This is actually a huge topic that I’ll just summarize at this time. I used to make a lot of money in rare set pieces. I knew how to search for them, exactly what prices were good and would sell. In a gold buyer’s market I’d make a fortune from people who would put theirs up according to some average - like auctioneer or allakhazam - and since the market wasn’t really like that, but instead prices were super inflated, I’d snap it up, and would easily sell it for a huge profit. This is a case where your auction house smarts are absolutely better than any other tool. Anyway, you have a surplus of inventory, or even one or two items that you know have changed from desirable to less than desirable, or you know they will soon enough.Take the case of a new expansion coming out, or a new patch with new items. You buy one of these newer items or have a leftover great item for what seems a good price, and you know that since there are much better items overall that people will begin using, the price of this item will go down, and soon. Get rid of it as soon as you can. The longer you hold onto it, the less you’ll make.I made the mistake of buying an epic enchanting item called Void Crystal when they first were on the market. There was a frenzy for them at around 200g per crystal. In just a few days when the rarity settled, the price went to about 100g for a few weeks. Then it was 70. Now you can find them for less than half that. Don’t get caught up in the flood of a new hot item unless you know for sure it is a good deal that will last or you’ll be able to sell it quickly. Most likely there are others who are caught up as well.

Here’s how to cut your losses. Put the item(s) up immediately (if not too many of them, definitely not more than a couple per bunch), undercutting any others there. If it’s already at too low a price, advertise in the trade channel “[item] for sale, cheap! Just whisper. CoD available.” Do what you can to get someone to agree to a CoD without looking at the auction house, and give it to them for a fair, if not slightly higher price than those undercutters already there. Begin looking for new deals immediately to offset your losses. Good luck.

Tags: auction house, losing money