Fortune Favors

Well, contrary to what some might think after reading that last post of mine, I have not in fact abandoned Fortune Favors for an RP server.  In fact, my lack of posting here has been due partially to my leveling of two new alts in the guild (I rather like McSplat, my new hunter), and partially due to the fact that I’ve been sick for a week now.

Really sick.

Party wipe because I had a coughing fit at the wrong time, sick.

Codeine cough syrup sick.

McDonald’s was wrong, I’m not lovin’ it.  Maybe it’s just because I made the mistake of taking my first dose on an empty stomach…. nevermind.  Let’s get on topic before it kicks in and things get out of hand.

First, let’s get some things out of the way:

• I do not give gold to beggars.
• I do not beg for gold.
• I do not endorse the purchase of gold for real-world currency.  Well, maybe Zimbabwe currency, but only because it would be like paying for something with a rapidly melting ice cube.  I want those gold farmers/sellers to squirm.
• “Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.” – Lao Tzu

So… here’s how I make money in WoW without even doing dailies.  I’ll probably divide this into multiple parts, because it’s a lot of tips and frankly this site could use the extra traffic.

The first step is to get Auctioneer.  No mater what your professions are, what level you are, or what class you play, you can make a mint with this addon.  I use WowMatrix to install, manage, and update all of my addons, but if you prefer to do so you can find it at Curse.com too.

Auctioneer is not like most addons, in that it doesn’t start working for you “out of the box.”  That’s enough to turn most users away, but it’s really only one button-click to get it ready.

The problem is that every server is its own isolated economy.  The price of Wool Cloth on one server doesn’t mean it’ll sell for the same price on another server, or even for the other faction on YOUR server.

To figure out what’s what, the first thing you need to do is head to the nearest AH and talk to the auctioneer.  You’ll notice the interface is a little different, with some DVD control-like buttons at the top.  Hit the “Play” button to start a scan, then go watch TV, make a sandwich, do your homework, tell your parents you love them, or something else that’s meaningful.  Most of my scans take 10-15 minutes to complete, depending on how many things are in the AH.

Once you’ve done that Auctioneer is ready to go!  Of course the more data Auctioneer has the more accurate it’ll be, so I re-scan every day.  You should at least re-scan every week, if not every couple of days, just to stay current.  Certain holidays will see sharp spikes in prices for particular items and you’ll want to stay on top of that.

Now that you’re done scanning look down at the bottom for the last tab on the right.  The “Appraiser” tab is where you go to unload anything and everything you don’t need to keep on you.  I have enough tips about this one section to fill two, maybe three posts, but for starters you can get by just by using the recommended prices that Auctioneer throws in there for you.

That’s right, you never have to guess at a price again.  Auctioneer looks at what that item is selling for and gives you a price that might not be the lowest but is very likely to sell.  Won’t work for everything (scrolls are hard to sell these days, for example), but my ore, leather, and cloth almost always sell.

I think that’s enough to get you started, at least.  Next time I’ll either talk about professions or how to play the AH like a stock baron, either of which is a lot easier now that you’ve got a great addon to do the number crunching so you don’t have to.