Diversity: the key to Success

In every market there are ebbs and flows. Some markets move very predictably as with the release of content patches and arena seasons. Others move sporadically with the availability of raw materials, which can (and often are) effected by a massive ban on bots. In all of these markets, some will find themselves to have steep peaks and massive declines, while others will stay relatively calm - with very slight growths and declines.

The key to maximizing your profits, and to protecting your liquidity, is to diversify. Diversity protects you as a Goblin in that it gives you wiggle room. As an example of this, I will use my own story.

When I re-started my career as a goblin, I used Inscription to spearhead my operation. In a matter of two weeks, I moved my liquidity from 2,000 to 8,000 gold - and then the MMO-Champion articles were released. Over the course of 3 days I went from earning 500g to 800g nightly to a meager 150g to 300g. I was fortunate at the time in that I have both a Jewelcrafter and an Enchanter - and so it was at that point that I began working the Saronite Shuffle.

If it hadn't been for my opportunity to diversify with some of the other professions that I had maxed out, I probably would have been run out of the market at that point. Since that shift, I have decided to bring down the Glyph market in order to weed people out while I continue to make profits elsewhere.


What I'm doing Now

Fortunately, with the capital I've earned from the Glyph market, I've been able to diversify into several areas.

Jewelcrafting & Enchanting

I'm doing the usual Saronite Shuffle stuff with these two professions. I haven't bothered to look into the Enchant Scroll market yet - but that option is always open to me.

Tailoring

About a week and a half ago I brought my Tailoring up to 425, and basically sat on a stockpile of Netherweave Bolts made from cloth I bought on-the-cheap. It wasn't until late last week that I found out how fast Netherweave Bag's sell out (and usually in sets of 4). I'm still working on finding a cloth farmer to make this a bit more profitable, but otherwise it's a HOT market to be in if you can get cheap Netherweave. I also make the various "weaves" (Ebon, Spell, Moonshroud) for a nice chunk of change. I'm still slowly working toward being able to make the Spellthreads for some cash.

Alchemy

Two nights ago I maxed out my Alchemy, complete with Elixir Mastery. This week I'll be testing the waters on Flasks, and hopefully sometime soon Potions of Speed. Right now the profit on an individual Flask can be pretty marginal, but hopefully the mastery proc's will serve to make this more profitable.

Inscription

Right now I'm working on keeping this market's profit margins fairly low. I'm throwing 48 hour posts on the AH in stacks of two, with a "Smart Undercut" against my competition. I don't do ANY cancelling, so that my competition will continue to keep undercutting me for marginal profits.


One Last Tip

I suggest buying in BULK if you plan to work up a new profession on an alt. If someone catches wind that you are mass-buying items that look like you're power leveling a profession, their sure to buy the next item up and re-list it for exuberant prices. This happened the day after I broke 425 on Tailoring - and luckily, I wasn't buying much at that point.

Also, check out www.wow-professions.com for some great guides for working up those new professions. Good luck!

~ GG

In a world with competition, Efficiency is King.

On Thursday evening I began investing in the Saronite Shuffle again. Having done this before (and not knowing what it was called), it was rather easy to get into a groove. The process used to be easier for me, as I had both Enchanting & Jewelcrafting on the same character - but no matter. With the help of a nice macro and BulkMail's autosend feature it was easy to get everything together and sent on to the characters it needed to get to. The only extra step I had to take in the process was to "dust off" my extra bank alt (get the pun?), and send him some money.

On Friday morning I woke up with 1050 gold in my mail box on my Saronite Shuffle bank alt, and 505 gold on my Glyph bank alt. Needless to say, I've been disappointed with the Glyph market on my server lately. I've tried selling 2 Glyphs at a time, with thresholds lower than my cost-per-glyph (3.50g at the time). I've also tried selling only Glyphs above my threshold - again, very little net gain.

So now, I'm trying yet another strategy. Instead of keeping my Glyphs stacked at 4 a piece, I've decided to start buying out Glyphs that are below my threshold in order to get my Glyph stacks to 20. Sometimes in the process of doing this, I manage to buy out all of the glyphs below my threshold - and as a result, I end up throwing 4 more Glyphs back onto the AH at above my threshold cost. I mean, after all, why pay more to make Glyphs that your selling out of when your competition will sell it to you for less?

Furthermore, if your competition is trying to crash the market at a cost that is below their own threshold - buying out their glyphs to fill your stacks only hurts their pockets. And on the other hand, if your competition is able to afford undercutting you at a profit - then you probably can't drive them out of the market anyway. So why not use them to fill your own stacks, allow your competition to drive others out of the market, and wait for the Glyph prices to rise a little?

In other news, I've recently been told of a way I might go about off-setting my cost-per-glyph in order to lower my threshold significantly. After my recent mass-purchase of herbs, I'll probably put it into effect and see how it goes. I'll be sure to let you all know if it works out. Also, I've recently tested the waters of the Card market - and sold 2 of my Nobles Decks already! Woohoo! Lastly, I'm still looking to expand into another market, as I have at least 3 profession slots on level 70+ characters that ought to be filled with something useful.


Next time on Green Guts...

Check back next time to see if my new Glyph strategies work out, how the Saronite Shuffle is treating me, and what new professions I'll be working up next!

~ GG