Guide: Merchanting by Miracle
Hello fellow forumers!
I present you an in-depth guide that will teach you the art of merchanting. There is another guide by Zao but I have different ways that I would like to share with you! Merchanting is when you buy an item for lower then its average price, then selling the item for the average price or higher to make a profit. You dont need to be a specific level or class to merch, however you need 1000 gold to start merchanting. It is easy once you get the hang of it ;).
Firstly, you need to know your budget. You should buy items that you can afford and not try finding deals 50% off, which could be easily rejected. Here is my list of reccomended items to buy on different budgets:
1000-5000 gold budget = Merch with chests and a few eggs.
5000-10000 gold budget = Merch with some cheap pinks (rings) and eggs.
10000-25000 gold budget = Merch with forerunner/founder/high level pink items.
25000-50000 gold budget = Merch with the cheap elite items and pink eggs.
100000+ gold budget = Merch with the more expensive and popular pet eggs and Elite pinks.
1m+ gold budget = Merch with mythic weapons
5m+ gold budget = Merch with mythic amulets, armors, rings.
15m+ gold budget = Merch with arcane items such as maul, kershal, singe, samael, whim etc
Secondly, you need to know the average/normal going rates for the items you want to merch. As AH is overpriced sometimes, you will get ripped off occasionally, so try selling and buying the items a few times so that you get experianced with prices. The game is new, therefore it is difficult to remember prices because they will be unstable, so ask friends or look at the traders market for hints if you're unsure. For example, the best version Vorpals were going for 200k each before, but because of update they are the new powerful weapons, thus resulting in prices rocketing!
Thirdly, you need to know the demand and supply for the item. You wouldnt really know the exact number but depending on the item price, you can guesstimate! Say if the item you are selling is 5000 gold in AH, but there are 6 others too, it means that the demand is quite low but the supply is high therefore meaning the value of the item decreases. In this situation it would be smart to not sell the item yet and WAIT until prices increases and until there are not many in AH. If the demand is high but the supply is low, the value of the item is high so they will be expensive/overpriced in cs eg. Vorpal swords, this is the best time to sell your item. This plays a big role in merching as your item sales and prices depend on this, so dont overprice or underprice - sell for the right amount.
There are 3 main ways to make money:
1. The Auction House farm method - You scroll through the AH pages, looking for cheap deals. When you find a good deal you buy it quickly (before someone else), then depending on the prices you brought the item for and the cheapest item in AH atm, you relist the item in AH. This would be a better way than to sit in Kraag/Outpost, selling in chatbox, because the AH is open to a wider range of customers, in different time zones and if you want to sell an item to someone, you could put it in cs and tell the buyer to buy from cs.This method requires patience as it will take time scrolling through pages looking for a deal. The drawback with this (awesome) technique is that commission fees are sky-high and expensive, also you will have a chance of being undercut by someone selling their item cheaper. Another disadvantage is that you might miss a good deal if someone is selling in chatbox because you cant see the chat.
2. The open selling method - You sit in Kraag/Outpost while saying a copy/paste message. It usually goes like: "Selling XXXX cheaper than cs(AH) pm me!" The key point to selling this way is not only to see the chatbox and advertise openly but its to save listing fees in AH (commission). However lots of players spam the chat, which is just plain annoying and people will mute you, resulting in a slower sell (and more in future sales), if you want to be a successful merchant, do not spam and always be nice. The disadvantage of this method is, its not advertized to a large audience.
3. Farm and sell items - Farming is when you repeatedly run a dungeon, to loot a pink. The most popular items in AH are elite, so selling your looted elite items will make you rich in short time. Be careful, prices are sometimes unstable!
Miracle's Do's of merching:
● DO sell your item cheaper than the current price!
● DO ask friends (alternatively forums) if you need a price check!
● DO buy extra auction slots.
● DO report if you see scams.
Miracle's Dont's of merching:
● DO NOT overprice/rip people off.
● DO NOT sell your item same price as AH.
● DO NOT be stingy (gold wise) when youre buying an item or selling one
● DO NOT spam towns, guildchat OR dungeons.
● DO NOT buy for 50% off - fail merch IMO.
● DO NOT undercut by lame prices ie. 1 gold.
● DO NOT be rude.
GL on your Merchanting journey!
~ Miracle
