Choke Points = More Gold!

One of the methods I like to employ is by knowing where potential choke points are in the crafting process.  There are several if you look for them and are patient enough to let them work out for your profits.  One that comes to mind is Eternal Fire, something I discussed in an earlier post.  Eternal Fire is used in 40 recipes, most of which are not really used unless someone is leveling their crafting skills on an alt.  So how is it a choke point?  One recipe: Smelt Titansteel

Titansteel is not in huge demand but is in demand.  It is used in many recipes, but one in particular helps keep this material in demand, the Mekingeer’s Chopper.  People are still buying that mount and having it crafted.  The only way to build this mount is to smelt Titansteel Bars and to do that you need Eternal Fire which means it is a choke point!

How to capitalize on this?  Buy Eternal Fires and mark them up.  Buy Crystallized Fire and create Eternal Fire with them.  Craft the Titansteel Bars and mark them up.  Make it tough on your competition to craft Titansteel Bars because you own and control the Eternal Fire market.  If they want to craft them then they need to have Eternal Fire in their bank, or farm them. 

How much profit?  This one opportunity gives us the following:

Eternal Fire – I buy them for pretty much any price under 50 gold and then relist for 75 gold minimum.

Titansteel Bar – Takes 3 Titanium Bars, 1 Eternal Fire, 1 Eternal Earth and 1 Eternal Shadow.  The average cost of these mats are 25g for the Eternals and 35 gold each for the Titanium Bars so that is an overall cost of roughly 180 gold.  I sell these for 400 gold each.

Titanium Bar – I buy any bars listed for under 35g a bar, most of the time they are around 20-25g each.  I then relist them for 50g each.  These are smelted from Titanium Ore, another great choke point! 

Titanium Ore - I buy the ore at under 20g each and most of the time I buy them for 10-15 gold per each ore.  It takes 2 ore to make 1 bar.  I relist the ore for 25g for each ore.  This helps push the price of the Titanium Bars which I then relist for 50g each.

So let’s review.  I found 2 decent choke points that both lead to an end product, the Titansteel Bars.  I try to control the different levels of the production line so that the costs to create the bars justify the cost for the end product, in other words, they can’t make it cheaper by buying the lower mats and smelting them so they just buy the bars from me.  But if they do buy the materials then I make huge profits there too.

At each level I am making a minimum 50% profit, and in most cases over 100% profit.  There are tons of other choke points in the market, can you find them?