Confessions of a Money Manager

This post turned out way longer than I though it would turn out. I though I would just answer a few things but to explain things it turned out longer than I thought. But after spending the time writing it, I'll leave it as it is. But a regular reader here on the blog ask the question in comments:

"I still don't understand how you make so much money. Would you say that most of your profits come from playing the auction house or selling herbs/pots?"
Augustian

That's a very good question. But you know I really don't think I make all that much though one may view that differently to their own asset stake and in how you may choose to play the game of World of Warcraft. We all play the very same game, the thing is each of us play the game differently and choose to use our professions, skills, time differently. However I do many things with patience and focus as well as using my professions to my advantage.

Almost any activity in WoW that one person finds boring another person see profitable. Another activity that players Choose Not to waste their time doing, another person does it for their own reasons. Some players hate to farm X, you can make it you business to farm that X if its profitable enough, I've done that too.

Some players love to raid thus needing certain items a player can make it his business to find things that they need and make it profitable by providing that service to the economy. Learning to use one chosen profession properly goes without saying. Learning what sells, what sells profitable, what sells often is important to take notice of and when it sells in the economy. Soloing quests is also profitable thats just the way I quest also unless it require 5 people.

Doing your dailies add up over time they are not hard to do and are often fun. Playing lots of alts can be a drain on all your resources and time, as you know I don't spend much time playing Alts. Learning how to save money and not spend it all goes without saying.

Its always a good thing to find niches in the market that your profession can serve and fill that niche or make it your own niche. For instance i'm the only person on my Server that will make certain Elixirs, because I have being doing it day in day our for months. Players keep buying and I keep making them. Its also a good thing if you can check AH a few times a day. Along with that maintaining market scaresity sometimes in valuable items is good, always flooding the market with your goods is never always good for your good, your competitor and the economy in WoW. In case i forget to mention using Auctioneer is a good thing but using your own brains is even better when using whats considered a tool. After I've said all that, making money for me is all a game I play withing the game inbetween doing everything else. I just have fun doing it when i'm playing.

Daily Rituals:

1. Log in check Alt Bankers and see what sold by checking Mail. See what sold and how much. Depending on what sold I may restock AH with whatever it is that I usually sell. I check my competition on goods and see if its a usual seller or just a one day seller dumping goods on AH. If item is way below market price I may buy it all up on AH and relist it at my price.

a. Most of what I sell are Alchemy related being Elixirs. I don't often do transmutes but if I do it may just be Arcanite Bar, nothing fancy but profitable. I very rarely do high level Alchemy transmutes, like once in a blue moon often.

b. On Herbalism you may not believe it but I don't really sell many or much of my Herbs. I can if I wanted to but i don't have a need to sell them either. Herbs are raw material for doing my Alchemy even when I have excess. The only herbs I ever sell is usually Fel Lotus if that and not all the time or often, only when I have excess inventory way pass a full stack. Sometime i sell Mana Thistle but its because I may have in excess of 12 stacks on hand. Other than that I don't sell herbs or many.

c. Sometime I sell Primals. Can be Primal Fires/Water/Life often its Primal Life since I collects lots of motes of life picking herbs. Again I don't sell it all the time, most the time I can have in excess of a full stack. I don't need to sell them, but will when prices are good on AH or the market is inflated by some player who puts like 10-20 primals up all at once.

d. My Paladin does a lot of Instancing/questing/grinding when questing or doing dailies and picks up all kind of loot or green and blue gear and I sell those too. I spend allot of time fishing and I sell all that fish I collect for a handsome profit also on AH so may be selling some of those things too.

e. Market Speculating selling. Here I only trade in what I Know, Use and Track in the market. This is not something I do daily. But i do check prices daily for a good deal on underpriced items on AH. If the valuable item is low enough in price and say in multiple stack I may buy the gems, get them cut and resell them for profit. However thats whenever I find a good deal on another player selling their goods cheap.

2. I check the price of about 10 mid level alchemy herbs than grows in Azeroth and if its at a very low price to me, i'll buy the herbs and sometime for stock inventory. Send herbs to Galo to brew the needed Elixirs/Potions, send pots back to banker. Take the herbs and provide a service supplying the AH market with the Elixirs that people need to level their millions of alts with. With that i make about a dozen various Elixirs that are core elixirs that people need or like to have.

2.b If someone selling their pots on AH cheap that day. I may not even bother to list any of my goods. Let that person sell their goods and at some point later i list mines. However I never list my items under competitors price. You be amazed how often you item sells when you sell it at your regular price and not just underbid to the lowest price.

I never never make health or mana pots why because everyone makes them and cheapen the market. I often make elixirs that no one else chooses to make and for that those are profitable to me. A profit of 50s -1 gold here and there adds up over time when you make hundreds and hundreds of elixirs/potions. I do this every single day, because i'm desiplined enough to do it.

3. When I have too much excess inventory of herbs and i mean a lot of inventory I take a few hours and brew up hundreds of Elixirs/Flasks and restock the the Personal Alt GuildBank as needed with supplies. Some of these Elixirs my main Paladin do use or can use however many are used by Raiders and Casting Raiders and needed Flasks also. I NEVER MAKE ANYTHING THAT WON'T OR DON'T SELL .....Period. My Paladin usually have full stacks of Elixirs I use often, excess goes to my bank for stock supplies. Elixirs that I don't use or excess stock needed by other classes get sold on AH. That is pure economics because I hate loosing money on something that don't sell well. Everything I make is an Elixir/Flask since I'm Elixir Mastery. I don't make and sell Super Mana Pots/Potions, I put those herbs to other uses often or in Flasks. Most Super pots are make for my main.

4. When I list stuff on AH to sell it is always in (5) stacks never in (10) when it comes to any high level Elixirs. When I sell any of the Flasks I make I sell them in singles due to their price since making Flasks are more expensive and cost more. However also when i sell Flasks only one or 2 are ever listed by me on AH at any one time. If i put one up and say someone buys one when i'm at AH then I will list one more on AH and so on. That goes with every single thing I sell thats consumable. I only put enough up to sell, never in excess.

When selling low level Alchemy pots i sell them in single item because people are at lower level and have less income or may be just using the pot for first time or only need one of item. Some pots i make are quest items which are always in demand. When I list Elixirs on AH I never flood the market even though I can if I wanted to cheaply. I don't believe in being a cheap seller on AH, you should be able to make money with your profession or be crafty enough to do so at and affordable price.

Its better to sell your product often and consistently at and affordable consistent price than once in a while at and expensive price. You will never ever see me in Trade channel asking to sell and item, I never ever peddle any of my items to sell in Trade channel. The only one time i may ever do that is If i happen to be listing something on AH during the hours immediately before or during raids I may say so and so Flasks are now in AH. That's what I do.

5. When I sell green items I don't sell it at a crazy high price. I check the market price of comparable items and i price it as needed and affordable but not too high. Often it sells in 24-48 hours of first listing and i get my profit and maybe some my deposit back. I will relist and item twice but never ever three times on AH to sell it. If it does not sell being listed 2 times on AH it goes to the vendor or I may get a dis-enchanter to disenchant the items. You will just about be loosing money because of the deposit cost of and item to keep listing it and it not selling. Right now I have so many green items I don't have time to sell them.

6. Before log out for the day, check in with Banker Manager alt and see what sold and restock AH if needed.

Outside of that I don't really spend much money on things. I'm not leveling alts to be spending money on alts and then again when it comes to the ones I play they are self sufficient to make their own money. When it comes to my main the only things I ever usually spend money on is getting and enchant maybe or buying Wizzard Oil on AH which my Banker usually buys also when pricing is good for stock. When I every fly anywhere in Outland I use my Epic Flying mount and fly a herbing route to get from point A to point B. I collect herbs all the time to and from wherever I go, so I have lots of inventory to do whatever I need. When someone over inflates the market at high prices selling herbs I though I never need to sell mines I can put a stack or two up to regulate over inflation of prices.

When I need mats that I can obtain farming I check AH if prices not too high i buy it there, if prices not seem reasonable I go out and farm it. I find the mob and go Paladin farming it often its Primals and I have fun doing it. If herbs in the area farm that too. While farming often I get to pick up other valuable items that may drop green items sometimes. Though I don't have to farm often, whenever I do I make it fun.

Now you ask when the heck do I have time to do all that. Since I don't spend time playing alts and so forth I can do all that inbetween running Instances & Heroics. You will also never see me sitting idle in Shattrath City or Orgrimmar sitting on mailboxes, jumping around or whatever. I'll be out heading somewhere, farming something for fun, herbing, doing alchemy, fishing. Like said we all play the same game, we all just play the game differently.

Doing all that with Patience and Decipline while having Fun is how I earned full and paid for 2 Epic Mounts, every enchant I need for my tanking gear, have a Alt Banker with a personal Guildbank with 2 bank tabs full of stuff, more green gear to sell than I know what to do with and 10K in savings that I'm just sitting on. After a while it gets a bit boring making money. Simply that's all I do and do most those things daily the other things if needed. Nothing I do is hard to do. Its the simple things I do that counts.