Patch 5.04 Brings Glyphmas or Glyphcrash?

Like most of you, I was excited to log into WoW yesterday to experience the latest patch that prepares us for the Mists of Pandaria.  After about 5 minutes of looking around to see that all was well with my characters, I quickly dove into the glyph market expecting there to be some frenzy.  What I got instead was a rather lackluster result for all of the prep work that was done.

The Background: Patch 5.04 had major changes to the glyph system, by eliminating Prime Glyphs and then adding a bunch of new glyphs into the game.  Inscriptionists everywhere prepared for the patch by stocking up on inks at all levels to be ready for the mass infusion of sales.  It appeared on the Beta that the Blackfallow inks would not be tradable for lower level inks, so everyone traded and hunkered down for the storm.

The Reality: The patch hit, the glyphs changed and new ones were added.  Blackfallow ink is still tradable after all and the market is flooded with glyphs.  Sales were slow.  I am betting this was on most servers, so I would be curious to hear from others how it was on their servers.  I posted about 200 glyphs and sold maybe 12 for a total of about 2400 gold.  On a typical day this would be fine, but on patch day this is horrible.

Some of my feelings about this are probably stemming from the awesome patch 3.0 which was the pre patch to the expansion for WOTLK.  This patch introduced us to Inscriptionists and glyphs for the first time.  This is also known as “Glyphmas”.  I was posting glyphs, as were others, and they were selling so fast we could not keep up.  I made over 50k in sales that first day and nothing can really compare to that day since then.  So when we do have a day like yesterday it seems so mild in comparison that it feels likes a letdown or a market crash even though it wasn’t.

So why was it a letdown?  There were many people posting glyphs, more than ever on the server.  Normally there are about 3-4 regular posters of glyphs on the Auction House on my server, yesterday that number was over 20 and each one was undercutting the last one, cancelling their listings and reposting them etc.  I am sure that if you were willing to sit there and post, cancel and repost these glyphs for a few hours straight then you would probably have made some decent sales for the day.  But that is not my game, I love to spend a small amount of time to get big rewards and I had other stuff to do, like check out my talent specs, try out an instance to see how they affected game play etc.

Yesterday was not a bust however…Most people overlooked the secondary market.  This would be the herbs that people use to mill and get ink.  I made a killing here.  I spent most of my auction house time over the last month or two stockpiling herbs that were selling so cheap due to the large number of alts running around the server who were farming their herbs to level their profession.  Everyday these herbs were sitting at such low prices, many times I would pick up entire stacks of herbs for less than 10 gold.  Sales were slow on herbs for the last 2 months; evidently few of these alts were becoming alchemists or inscribers. 

How good was it?  I was selling those stacks of herbs that I bought at 10 gold, for 200 gold or more!  Sales were not crazy, but I had little to no competition and after spending all of 10 minutes posting some of my herb stocks I was able to clear a handsome profit of over 10k in one day and the sales are still coming.

Lesson of the day: Don’t follow the crowd!  While everyone else was focused on inks, I decided that I would focus on herbs and it is paying off.  There are many people unwilling to spend the 400-500 gold for a new glyph and are either an inscriptionist or know one in their guild and so they just make them and buy the herbs in the AH if they need them.  Based on what I saw in the AH, very few people were stockpiling herbs, they had milled them into inks.

The Recipe to Making Gold is in the Recipes!

There are tons of ways to make a lot of gold in WoW, regardless of which expansion or Tier of raiding is available.  There are so many that sometimes I even forget until I am standing at the mailbox and wondering what made me so much gold and then I see it, recipes!

I have seen many suggestions about buying recipes from vendors and then reselling, a legitimate way to make some gold but not what I like to do.  I prefer flipping recipes.  These are the ones that can net you big amounts from one sale and require very little effort.  I have several recipes that I search for each day and will buy out and then relist at much higher prices. 

These are niche recipes, rare or uncommon drops that people need to fill out their collection.  Some are used for their purpose, such as the recipe for enchanters, Formula: Enchant Weapon - Fiery Weapon.  People still use this enchant and so it has demand for those who want to use it as well as the collector.  Others, like the recipe for Leatherworkers, Pattern: Dusky Boots, are more for the collector wanting to complete their list of recipes but can sell for big gold!  Just ask Chame (guildy of mine on Bronzebeard) who bought this for 150 gold and then listed and sold it for 10k gold. 

So why don't more people do this?  Why do some people list them so cheap?  How come everyone else isn't writing about it in their blogs?

Because it requires patience.  Some of these may take several weeks to sell while others may move a little faster.  This is not a method to get gold rich overnight, but it is an awesome way to make thousands of gold over time.  In fact, I would venture to guess that I have made well over 200k from recipes over the last few years and that is probably understating it.

To get into this market you need to know your crafting professions and prices and be prepared to buy more of the same recipes if they should hit the AH before your sells.  Here are some of the recipes I go after in the enchanting profession:  (this is just a small sample)

These can go for 2-5k easy and more!

[Formula: Enchant Boots - Cat's Swiftness]
[Formula: Enchant Boots - Boar's Speed]
[Formula: Enchant Boots - Vitality]
[Formula: Enchant Boots - Greater Agility]

[Formula: Enchant Bracer - Restore Mana Prime]

[Formula: Enchant Chest - Greater Stats]
[Formula: Enchant Chest - Major Resilience]
 [Formula: Enchant Cloak - Major Resistance]

[Formula: Enchant Gloves - Herbalism] 
[Formula: Enchant Gloves - Advanced Mining]
[Formula: Enchant Gloves - Advanced Herbalism]
[Formula: Enchant Gloves - Riding Skill]

[Formula: Enchant Shield - Frost Resistance]
[Formula: Enchant Shield - Shield Block]
[Formula: Enchant Shield - Resistance]

[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Potency]
[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Battlemaster]
[Formula: Enchant Weapon - Spellsurge]

Happy recipe hunting!  Remember to put these and otehr recipes into your daily Auction House hunt so that you do not miss out on some sweet easy gold.  It is not uncommmon to find them for as little as a few hundred gold or less.

Stockpiling for MoP Part 2

One of the areas many people do not think about before an expansion, is what items will I need to level my professions?  This mistake could cost you thousands!

I highly recommend that you research your professions in MoP and figure out what recipes you currently have that could award you skill points (the ones in green, yellow or red) and stockpile those now!  By the time MoP hits those same mats will go up big time as others buy them for their professions to level.  Many folks will want to use the new recipes but supplies in the AH will be limited for the first few weeks.  This is BOTH a gold making opportunity and a Heads Up for you profession levelers!

Take some time and look at your current list of recipes that will award points, then figure out what the materials are and start collecting them now.  Get enough to level at least 10 points to 20 points for yourself.  If you have multiple professions as I do, then you will need even more stock!

On the other side of this equation will be the buyers!  There will be tons of people who did not stockpile enough or at all, and they will be buying mats like crazy for the first few weeks of the expansion.  Mats that went for 1 gold will now suddenly be 10 gold or more!  So when you are looking at your list for your toons, take the time and buy more to resell.

Example:  Hypnotic Dust.  This stiff was selling for as low as 10 silver each a week ago.  It is already climbing on my server to as much as 3-4 gold each!  I bet that it will hit as high as 15g each within the first few days of or weeks of MoP being released.  If you can still find it cheap, then buy it!  I have well over 500 stacks of this stuff!  I have even unloaded a few stacks now at the current prices to recoup my investment. 

There are tons of examples though; Savage Leather, Heavy Savage Leather, Embersilk Cloth, Bolts of Embersilk, Pyrite Ore, Pyrium Bars, Maelstrom Crystals, Heavenly Shards, Volatiles, Herbs etc.  These are still cheap, but they won't be for long. 

Watch for prices to start climbing each day we get closer.  The farmers will either stop farming or stop posting so supplies will dwindle as we get closer.  Others will not post because they want it for MoP, so your time is short for this massive potential of profits!

Before you ask, yes, I am taking my own advice.  I have been stockpiling for the last 2 months as prices bottomed out.  I have 18 Guild Bank Tabs that are full, 3 Auction House Toons that are maxed out on bags space and banks space that are full.  I also am bouncing mail between toons to keep inventory! 

Stockpiling for MoP Release?

If you have not already started your stockpiling, then you are behind!  With about 7 weeks to go before the official launch of Mists of Panadaria, there is still time to get a few good deals.  Here are a few of my thoughts on things to buy.

Pyrite Ore - If we use the release of Cata as a benchmark for pricing, then there is a huge opportunity for this to make tons of profit.  On my server I am finding the ore for about 30 gold per stack as people dump their stock.  During Cata, I was averaging about 400 gold per stack of Titanium Ore, WOTLK's equivalent of Pyrite Ore.  Could it go this high again?  Who knows?  But I am willing to sit on a a few hundred stacks to see.  If it does then you will make a HUGE profit.

Chaos Orbs - I really don't see too many people discussing this item but I think there is a huge upside to this one.  It is hard to compare these to their equivalent, Frozen Orbs, but I think there is even more upsaide this go around.  Why?  Illusionary Bags.  We have found out that there will not be a new bag in MoP that is more than 24 slots.  Illusionary Bags are going to remain the biggest bag in the game at 26 slots.  The way to make these is by using Dreamcloth.  Dreamcloth is made with bolts of Embersilk and either Chaos Orbs or 30 Volatiles of your choice.  For now, there is no change in the cooldown period for Dreamcloth (which could change) so you are limited to 1 per week per type of volatile.  The good news?  No cooldowns for Chaos Orb Dreamcloth!  Want that bag right now?  You need 8 Dreamcloth.  At least 3 will have to come from Chaos Orbs which means 15 orbs!= with very few people running heroic 5 mans from Cata...get the point?

Whiptail - Herbs always have a use, but I like Whiptail for 2 reasons; alchemy levelers and inscription.  The trick here is to stock up on while it is cheap.  I see thousands sitting in the AH for about 20 gold per stack or less.  Buy it, mill it and process it into Blackfallow Ink then trade the ink for lower inks in inscription.  You will have 2 ways to make some serious coin, selling glyphs or selling the ink.  I tend to get bored with the glyph market so I usually sell the ink.  While everyone yells at me for this strategy, let me just say that if you do it right you can make 5-10 times your investment selling the ink which is far less work and effort.

I will be back to post some more items, but this gives you something to think about for today!

MoP Release Date!

You may have noticed that I have been absent, mostly real life keeping me busy and some WoW doldrums keeping me away. I have been doing the raid thing and that's about it. Then I see an article over on WoW Insider that MoP will be released on September 25th! Holy cow do I have a lot to do until then!

One of the best times to make gold, and I mean a lot of gold, is to flip mats that people are stocking up for MoP. Yes, you need to stockpile for MoP as well, but you need to be smart and watch the market fluctuations and supply. I am willing to bet you will see some mats suddenly dry up and prices sky rocket just because of this announced release date. So if you needed to stock up it's too late right? Nope.

Make a list of what you think will be in demand in MoP and watch the markets closely. Buy on lows and buy it all if you can. Then take 50% of your newly purchased goodies and relist at much higher prices. You would be surprised how many people will stock up on these mats even at the higher prices! I call this "Free Stockpiling". The concept is simple. Buy it as cheap as you can, stockpile half and relist half for at least double the price you paid. Stay in this market and keep buying and resisting, you will sell the stock and when you do you will have earned back all the gold you spent on your stockpile! That means your stock starts out at zero cost so anything you sell it for is profit!!!

Be patient, I say this a lot because to make serious gold you must have nerves of steel and be patient for the rewards sometimes, and stick out the market. It will be a wild ride for the next 3 months!

Profits with Fiery Weapon

One of the oldest enchanting recipes, fiery weapon, is still one of the best moneymakers in the game! It it used by leveling toons because it is a great stat modifier for dps and it works on BoA gear for alts. The recipe requires 4 small radiant shards and 1 Essence of Fire. These mats are cheap, unless I am the one selling them! Try to keep the market clear of these mats at cheap prices while you work the enchant market. I can usually find these items for 2-3 gold each or even lower. Sell the enchant for 150 gold or better if you can. On my server we seem to sell about 30 of these per week right now.

you will see people post these for much less, so you have 2 choices; buy them out or let them sell them cheaper. you may have a 3rd choice which is to undercut them but I hate undercutting if it means low profit margins. my strategy is simple, buy out the mats in the AH and buy out the cheap enchants, relist 4-5 at a time for 150-100 gold each and watch my profits soar!

Don't forget about those mats either, I usually relist the Small Radiant Shards for 15g each and the Essence of Fire for about 20g each.

Easy Gold!!!

D3 Auction House Blues

Diablo 3 has been unleashed and it is wreaking havoc on our sales because so many that play WoW have gone to the dark side to play Diablo 3.  Mists of Pandaria is on the horizon, most progression raiding has come to a halt and now the release of Diablo 3.  It is the perfect storm!  Sales have slowed, prices have fallen and for those that are willing to invest in the market, there will be plenty of opportunities to buy, buy, buy!

This particular combination of events has combined to give us a unique look into supply and demand at work.  Most people know that when supply is high and demand is low then prices fall, when supply is low and demand is high then prices rise.  A lot of people don’t know what happens when supply and demand meet in the middle, this is called equilibrium.  Basically this means that we have hit an unusual point in time in the AH, where we see the equilibrium of prices for the goods we sell because the demand and the supply are balanced.

This also means that we are about to shift, meaning that the market is about to move in a direction from here based on the laws of supply and demand.  The question is whether it goes up or down.  I believe that prices are about to down because I see demand slowing for a while and supply rising. 

This is considered a tipping point.  Why do I think this?  Diablo 3 will keep people busy for the next few weeks, and then slowly they will come back to WoW and put more time into WoW, we have seen this before so the pattern has already been established.  But raiding will still be slow, so what do people do when raiding is slow?  They start ALTS!  That’s right, more toons!  Most people think this means demand will go up on items, and it is true we will see some spikes here and there, but many of these toons will will have farming professions of mining, herbalism or skinning.  That’s means we will see supply increase for all levels, demand will not catch up and prices will drop.

Oh, and one more thing, summer is here which means kids are out for the summer and they will be logging in more than ever to play which will also increase supply.

I see the following weeks as an opportunity to stock up when prices are at low points, in many cases these low points have not been seen since last expansion.  Relist when the opportunity presents itself but do not go overboard because you will find that there will plenty of others listing under your price.  Do not let this discourage you, be smart, buy smart and stock up!