I have good news, and bad news. Which do you want first? Bad? OK.
The bad news is twofold: 1) A hard drive crash caused me to lose Accumulation's meticulous screenshots/documentation. 2) Real-world busy-ness (E3, moving to a new city, etc.) have caused me to not play Accumulation with any regularity for many weeks, now.
But don't despair! I said there was good news too, remember?
The good news is that Accumulation's Adventure has always been on a sort of delay. What I was writing about was never what had just happened. Sometimes the events were days or even a week old. So the last time I gave a status update here on the blog, Accumulation had 10G to her name. But in truth, she has 60G(!!) in her coffer.
Point being, even though I haven't been giving her much attention, there's still 50G worth of Accumulation profits to document. Profits that were made back in May. So, while I get her back up to speed and begin dipping into the AH once again, I'll still have plenty of Auction drama to report to you, my faithful readers.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Relocated!
Accumulation heard that that thanks to various tax incentives and pro-capitalism statutes, Ironforge would be a more favorable location for her to conduct business, rather than her native Stormwind. (OK, so the truth is the mailbox/bank is slightly closer to the AH - but what's the fun in that?)
So... hello, from Ironforge!
Incidentally, that was the BEST of three screenshots, I tried to take. Yes, the best one features a screen-tearing mammoth ruining the shot.
So... hello, from Ironforge!
Incidentally, that was the BEST of three screenshots, I tried to take. Yes, the best one features a screen-tearing mammoth ruining the shot.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Herbing to Victory
As I predicted, most of my modest herb bids I was outbid on and lost overnight, but I did manage to win three significant auctions. All three were bid-only - they had no buyout. Not a great strategy for the seller, but GREAT for patient buyers trying to save some G. This "bid, don't buy" strategy is a little bit like slow-playing all night at the poker table. It's vanilla, and it isn't a ton of fun, but you're much more likely to come out ahead, in the end.
I picked up three Silver Bars for just over 3S a piece, and a total of 37 Earthroot for a total of 15S (ie just a few coppers a piece). I relisted both for a very conservative price - much lower than the next-closest listing. I wanted to ensure they were priced to move and I could afford to do so, since I nabbed them so cheaply.
The Silver Bars sold for 1G a piece, and the Earthroot for 10S each. These small victories plus a few other misc auctions have pushed Accumulation over the 10G mark!
For the curious (and/or skeptical), below is Accumulation's complete auction history for the last few days (click for full size):
I picked up three Silver Bars for just over 3S a piece, and a total of 37 Earthroot for a total of 15S (ie just a few coppers a piece). I relisted both for a very conservative price - much lower than the next-closest listing. I wanted to ensure they were priced to move and I could afford to do so, since I nabbed them so cheaply.
The Silver Bars sold for 1G a piece, and the Earthroot for 10S each. These small victories plus a few other misc auctions have pushed Accumulation over the 10G mark!
For the curious (and/or skeptical), below is Accumulation's complete auction history for the last few days (click for full size):
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Bid, Not Buyout
The EZ-Thro Dynomite schematic sold for my 3G asking price, tripling Accumulation's net worth. I think the days of x50 and x17 jumps in net worth are behind her sadly, even as the amounts of money made continue growing.
With a few G to her name, I decided it was time to change Accumulation's tactics, somewhat. It took her MUCH less time to crawl out of the deep pit she started in than I expected, I admit. I thought I would have to be pinching coppers for weeks!
In any case, it no longer makes sense for Accumulation to build her fortune a few coppers at a time, so I've moved on from trawling the lowest-priced auctions for the occasional vendor fodder. She still doesn't have enough money to truly "play" the AH or do much speculating, so my new tactic is to place bids on items that (for whatever reason) have a very low bid price, but a more normal buyout price. They're fairly common - something might have a 25g buyout, but a 25s bid.
This is a very low-risk proposition, because if someone outbids you or buys out the auction, no harm done - you get your bid money back. You might lose most or almost all your bids, but that's OK. The occasional auction you do win off of a very low bid will be pure gravy - you can immediately relist for a buyout price cheaper than everyone else on your server, and still have a very healthy profit margin.
I started this bidding method modestly, bidding on some herbs. We'll see how it goes!
With a few G to her name, I decided it was time to change Accumulation's tactics, somewhat. It took her MUCH less time to crawl out of the deep pit she started in than I expected, I admit. I thought I would have to be pinching coppers for weeks!
In any case, it no longer makes sense for Accumulation to build her fortune a few coppers at a time, so I've moved on from trawling the lowest-priced auctions for the occasional vendor fodder. She still doesn't have enough money to truly "play" the AH or do much speculating, so my new tactic is to place bids on items that (for whatever reason) have a very low bid price, but a more normal buyout price. They're fairly common - something might have a 25g buyout, but a 25s bid.
This is a very low-risk proposition, because if someone outbids you or buys out the auction, no harm done - you get your bid money back. You might lose most or almost all your bids, but that's OK. The occasional auction you do win off of a very low bid will be pure gravy - you can immediately relist for a buyout price cheaper than everyone else on your server, and still have a very healthy profit margin.
I started this bidding method modestly, bidding on some herbs. We'll see how it goes!
Jackpot!
After the success with the Oily Blackmouth, Accumulation may have had a few Silver to her name, but I didn't want to get overconfident. So I resumed my now-standard initial AH move: browsing the absolute lowest-price items, hoping to find a few I could vendor for more than their asking price.
To my GREAT surprise, someone had generously or (probably more accurately) ignorantly listed a Northsea Pearl with a buyout price of 10c! These auction for about 1G on my server, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I snatched it up and promptly vendored it, for 50S.
Accumulation was now rich! OK, not rich rich, but in one auction she had once again upped her net worth by a huge multiple (x17, this time), and she finally had enough money to pounce on some of the better AH deals that were simply too expensive, before.
Someone had listed 20 Ichor of Undeath individually, with a buyout price of 2S each, despite the fact that they vendor for 4S. By spending my newfound winnings to pick all them up, along with a few other misc auctions... Accumulation had officially made her first gold coin. The pace is beginning to pick up!
So what's next?
I managed to find Schematic: EZ-Thro Dynomite for sale for just 6s, by searching recipes, low price to high. My asking price?
Fingers crossed...
To my GREAT surprise, someone had generously or (probably more accurately) ignorantly listed a Northsea Pearl with a buyout price of 10c! These auction for about 1G on my server, but I didn't want to take any chances, so I snatched it up and promptly vendored it, for 50S.
Accumulation was now rich! OK, not rich rich, but in one auction she had once again upped her net worth by a huge multiple (x17, this time), and she finally had enough money to pounce on some of the better AH deals that were simply too expensive, before.
Someone had listed 20 Ichor of Undeath individually, with a buyout price of 2S each, despite the fact that they vendor for 4S. By spending my newfound winnings to pick all them up, along with a few other misc auctions... Accumulation had officially made her first gold coin. The pace is beginning to pick up!
So what's next?
I managed to find Schematic: EZ-Thro Dynomite for sale for just 6s, by searching recipes, low price to high. My asking price?
Fingers crossed...
Friday, May 8, 2009
Blackmouth Success!
I awoke this morning to some happy news: Accumulation had won the Oily Blackmouth x3 auction at the low, low price of 18 copper.
This was a big deal, for a couple of reasons. First off, it was the first item I had purchased with the intention of relisting. Oily Blackmouth actually vendor for under 18c. I still found it to be a very safe purchase, given the steady player demand for them. Second, I set the auction buyout price (Accumulation's first auction!) at 3S. This would more than triple Accumulation's net worth in just one transaction, and would give her the "breathing room" I was earlier complaining about not having.
3S is actually a very low price - half that of the next-cheapest auction. But it represented such a huge shift for Accumulation (she would now be dealing in Silvers instead of Coppers - a 100x increase in scale) that I didn't mind. I just wanted them to sell.
...and sell they did:
In just 12 realtime hours, Accumulation had proven that you can start with just the clothes on your back, and not be without options.
This was a big deal, for a couple of reasons. First off, it was the first item I had purchased with the intention of relisting. Oily Blackmouth actually vendor for under 18c. I still found it to be a very safe purchase, given the steady player demand for them. Second, I set the auction buyout price (Accumulation's first auction!) at 3S. This would more than triple Accumulation's net worth in just one transaction, and would give her the "breathing room" I was earlier complaining about not having.
3S is actually a very low price - half that of the next-cheapest auction. But it represented such a huge shift for Accumulation (she would now be dealing in Silvers instead of Coppers - a 100x increase in scale) that I didn't mind. I just wanted them to sell.
...and sell they did:
In just 12 realtime hours, Accumulation had proven that you can start with just the clothes on your back, and not be without options.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
My First Copper!
One interesting thing about Accumulation is that the first day or so were almost guaranteed to be the hardest. The lost deposit from just one failed auction could ruin her; leave her unable to list anything else, and end this experiment before it began. Think I'm kidding? By selling everything she owned, Accumulation managed to begin with a grand total of... 18 copper. EIGHTEEN. This was gonna be harder than I thought.
Before I continue, a quick word about my addons. I do have the auctioneer suite installed, but I am using it STRICTLY for the UI enhancements. I am doing no automated purchasing of any kind. Every single transaction is and will always be 100% manual.
Anyway, because of the risk inherent in listing items (as I outlined above), I decided my initial strategy would be to look for an item available for buyout for a price lower than what it vendors for. A longshot? Maybe. But what other choice did Accumulation have?
In the end... SUCCESS! By sorting items by buyout price (low to high), I was able to find a Light Feather available for a 4c buyout, and Light Feathers vendor for 7c. BWA HA HA... Accumulation now had 21c to her name. Using this, I was able to quickly snatch up two Mining Picks for 20c, and vendor them for 32.
From there, things moved a little more quickly. Another Mining Pick, some Spider Ichor, Shiny Fish Scales... Accumulation had more than tripled her money!
It didn't take long for my options to be exhausted, however. I quickly hit a wall, having bought out everything I could afford that had a higher vendor price. I closed out my (in my opinion) successful initial foray by placing very low bids on items that will turn a significant profit, should the auction close before I'm outbid. My complete Auction history, for the day:
All the the items above were purchased to be vendored - none were relisted.
My total bankroll, including current bids. If the Mark, Blackmouth, or pants come through, it'll be HUGE:
Beginning bankroll: 18c
Ending Bankroll: 72c
Before I continue, a quick word about my addons. I do have the auctioneer suite installed, but I am using it STRICTLY for the UI enhancements. I am doing no automated purchasing of any kind. Every single transaction is and will always be 100% manual.
Anyway, because of the risk inherent in listing items (as I outlined above), I decided my initial strategy would be to look for an item available for buyout for a price lower than what it vendors for. A longshot? Maybe. But what other choice did Accumulation have?
In the end... SUCCESS! By sorting items by buyout price (low to high), I was able to find a Light Feather available for a 4c buyout, and Light Feathers vendor for 7c. BWA HA HA... Accumulation now had 21c to her name. Using this, I was able to quickly snatch up two Mining Picks for 20c, and vendor them for 32.
From there, things moved a little more quickly. Another Mining Pick, some Spider Ichor, Shiny Fish Scales... Accumulation had more than tripled her money!
It didn't take long for my options to be exhausted, however. I quickly hit a wall, having bought out everything I could afford that had a higher vendor price. I closed out my (in my opinion) successful initial foray by placing very low bids on items that will turn a significant profit, should the auction close before I'm outbid. My complete Auction history, for the day:
All the the items above were purchased to be vendored - none were relisted.
My total bankroll, including current bids. If the Mark, Blackmouth, or pants come through, it'll be HUGE:
Beginning bankroll: 18cEnding Bankroll: 72c
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