subject: Auction House Secrets in a Cataclysm Gold Guide [print this page] Auction House Secrets in a Cataclysm Gold Guide
Ever hear of supply and demand? Maybe you've heard of buy low, sell high? Let me tell you straight up, you've heard wrong. Prepare for a lesson in cataclysm gold making on the auction house that will make you reevaluate your ah understanding.
First off, buying low and selling high sounds like a great idea, but it doesn't happen with any kind of reliability. Even if you use the powerful addon auctioneer, if you pick up items for super cheap and then try to sell them for above average prices they still won't sell. The real way to sell on the auction house is by selling at the normal value of the item. So let's call it buying low and selling normal.
This seems like really simple stuff and it is, but you wouldn't think that asking players how to make gold on the auction house in cataclysm. Sell high they say! What a load of crap, who's going to want to buy you stuff for above the normal value anyway? The secret is in learning to buy at a lower value so that you can sell for less than your competition and still make gold.
Ok, time for your next lesson in cataclysm auction house economics.
Supply and demand determines the price of your items, not how much gold you want to make off your items. In a perfect world, supply and demand would be equal so that prices would never change. However, these two things are always moving, both in the real world and cataclysm. Understanding how these changes can affect pricing is your next lesson.
When supply is high and demand is low, prices go down. When supply is low and demand is high the price goes up. Think about it, if there are too many items up for sale and not a lot of people are buying then more and more appear and the price keeps going down with the additional competition. When supply is low and demand is high then the lack of items and consistent buying makes for rapidly increasing prices.
So who cares about all this theory crap? How does it apply to game mechanics and situations?
Here's a quickie for you:
Player one has 100 ore he wants to sell and there is only 20 on the auction house right now. He can post all 100 right now and as more competition appears they will undercut his price down to nothing. Instead, player one should post another 20 or so ore for the same price as the other and make far more over time. Maybe he should buy the ore right and then post the 100? Nope, wrong again, you'll end up with the same demand and too much supply again. Instead, if player one is going to buy out the first stack he should post another 20 for around 150% value.
