This week we have a great story of success from Drayper - it's been a few weeks since I received this submission so I'm betting he's gone beyond his latest target by now!
If you'd like to submit your own gold making Milestone Interview, instructions & more details are on my Milestone Interviews page. Any milestone is suitable - whether it be 100k or 10 million, we want to hear about YOUR story. Don't be shy! You've seen what others are sending in over the last couple of months so come on - tell us how you've been doing it! Don't make me persuade you too! lol
******************
About me
Hello, I go by Drayper in-game on US-Dalaran. I have been playing since July of 2013. I played a few years back pretty seriously on Alexstrasza, but quit right before WotLK released. I have since started out brand new with no help from friends or guilds. My wife and myself play together in our own personal guild just bankin' that gold!
What is your milestone amount?
My first milestone was 10k, I worked hard and it came easily within my first few weeks of playing. So I would'nt be tempted to spend, I set my next milestone for 50k which wasn't as hard as I thought it would be looking back now. I set my next milestone for 100k, which came really fast to my surprise due to the fact that I had a good couple of weeks in sales. I just reached 200k the first week of October and I think for the amount of time I put into strictly making gold versus playing the game and taking into consideration the short time I've been playing, that impresses me and I am proud of my gold stash.
What got you started making gold and when?
Honestly, a few days after I started playing I told myself I wanted to have enough gold to buy whatever I want. Although that isn't a definable amount, I proceeded to do my homework to get started on my goal. After nearly 4 years of not playing and 3 expansions later, I had some catching up to do. I did some research on new gold making tactics, weeded out ones I didn't want to work with or couldn't yet and set myself up with some helpful addons.
Which markets have you concentrated on, if any?
You can call me a flipper... I'll flip anything I believe I can profit on. In my early levels I started my bank by farming and selling resources, mainly ore. Once I had money to spend I started to invest. Invest in what...?
I started out in transmog gear. Being a noob to MoP, I barely knew what it was or why these pieces were considered so valuable. After further research I understood, and that was almost my main source of income to my 10k milestone. I started to delve a little deeper into more and more pieces with less luck than I'd hoped for. I then came across transmuting Saronite Ore into Titanium Bars and made a good profit that way. I just farmed the Saronite in Icecrown which with no competition is very fast. After a few more weeks of trying to sell off my stash of transmog greens, I finally had gotten rid of most of them and stumbled upon MoP blues for levels 80 - 85.
Once I found this "hidden" niche, I pretty much cast out all attempts to stay in the transmog market (except the more rare and valuable items).I invested completely into these MoP blues that many players toss in the auction house for 50 - 250g not knowing their full potential. I time and time again, sell level 81-84 items for 1500 - 3000g depending on the slot and item. Belts, bracers, feet, rings, and back don't tend to sell for as much as other slots from my experience.
Level 80 ilvl 409 rares are outrageously overpowered to any level 80 and some players decide to "Twink" there. Ilvl 409 weapons generally range from 5-10k depending on the item and buyer, other 409 pieces will bring 2500g+. Level 85 ilvl 450 items will also bring a bit more than the lvl 81-84's but not quite as much as the ilvl 409 weapons for any slot in the 450 category.
Long, most likely confusing, but it works for me and I know this market very well on my server and I generally don't have competition besides the players who get a drop and see what I have mine priced at in AH then undercut me by 1g... I have weeks where I'll make 10k and some I make 50k, like my last week!
Biggest successes or biggest failures
Strictly talking flipping, my biggest successes would be a few things I'll list here:
Sealed Tome of the Lost Legion x 2 - Paid 50g ea - Sold 6k ea
A few ilvl 409 MoP rare weapons - Paid < 500g ea - Sold 7.5k ea
A couple pending sales I have:
Plans: Dirge - Paid 25g - Worth 15-25k
Skullflame Shield - Paid 200g - Worth 20k+
Heaving plates of Protection - Paid 250g - Worth 15k
Biggest Failure would be these two [The Night Blade]'s that I have. Paid 500g for one posted it up for 10k, soon after someone posted one for 2k and I had been doing well so far so I gambled and bought it. Had them both for like two and a half months and dropped the price to 5k ea and still no buyers lol. Mainly a transmog item nowadays so I still have them for sale needless to say. Anyone want to buy them...?
Advice for new goldmakers
Don't get all excited about some new gold making strategy you just read about and dump all of your funds into it right away. Do your research, test the market (competitor's, demand, realm population and trends), and then once you are more comfortable with the market you can decide whether it's worth the investment/effort. Every realm is slightly different than the other so your results will differ slightly.
Just looking at all the glyphs and inscription items in AH, I told myself right away I would not touch that market based on the amount of effort it would take with competitors etc. I feel I can make better gold, faster and easier in other ways. Choose whats right for you. There is money to be made everywhere.
I feel your gold making strategies and decisions are heavily based on your play style and time available. I myself wanted to find a market where I could post an item, let it sit, go back to playing and not care about it anymore until it expired or sold. I like to spend my time productively progressing in the game rather than solely making gold. I think I've learned my markets well enough to be able to do both very well.
Addons!
I use a few great addons for helping me specifically in my gold making endeavors. After using them, I would hate to play without them, but they are not necessary, mainly preference.
I would recommend these addons:
Auctioneer - A must have for me! Makes posting auctions a breeze and very easy to use. Also has a separate "Search" tab with many different search filters (the "resale" filter is a great way to find these great deals).
Accountant - Keeps track of gold flow. In/out and what categories it went to or came from.
TSM Accounting - A nice addon to keep track of sales. Has detailed info about every item you buy/sell. Great addon!
I know a ton of big time gold makers say TSM Auctioning is an essential addon. I personally do not use it because I feel that my market isn't one where I'm mass posting gems, ores, glyphs, herbs etc. I am posting mostly one of a certain item due to its rarity and Auctioneer works perfectly in that manner.
What's your new goal, if any?
My new goal is to hit 500k in the near future. I have a long run goal to break 1 million.
Reward yourself for reaching goal?
I have yet to reward myself with a "big" purchase. I plan to reward myself by making a Ruby Panther with my Jewelcrafter here soon, maybe once I pass 250k!
I'm just glad I set myself in a gold making mindset right off the bat this go around. I know my market has risk but I dont get scared and just bail out on a certain item to break even. I stick it out and I think thats where a lot of people go wrong, they just get scared to easily too soon. Obviously it takes gold to make gold, and Im not afraid to make those investments.
******************
What a great interview CJ, thank you! Full of useful & interesting bits to keep us thinking. And that's what gold making is about, isn't it? I've often said that the best add-on a goldmaker can use is his/her brain - you can look at numbers, screens full of information, websites etc but unless your brain is switched on, it won't make a blind bit of difference.
I know when I'm coasting, my sales figures drop and that jolts me awake again, especially as I post my results weekly and you guys can all see me being lazy too! I'll warn you now though - I've had a hellish busy week so Monday's report isn't looking very pretty either! Oh and I'm still addicted to Hearthstone too!
****************
Check out some of my Squidoo lenses!
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comment is awaiting moderation - I hate to do this but so many spammers around these days :(